Calling Freshers!
Are you coming to Imperial in October 2009 and keen to fill your student life with some exciting new activities? Maybe a budding musical theatre star from school? Musical Theatre Society always has a great intake of Freshers, and we’re looking forward to meeting you in October. Your first chance to meet us will be at the Freshers Fair on the Tuesday of Freshers Week with our introductory meeting on the Thursday.
What is MTSoc?
MTSoc is Imperial College’s Musical Theatre Society. Lots of people enjoy MTSoc for lots of different reasons… but most will give you one of two answers depending on how much theatre they’ve done before…so here come the answers…
Just before I launch into my comical promotion of the society… let me make it very clear that MTSoc is open to all Imperial College students (and associate members of ICU) and we really do look forward to welcoming anyone to come and join us!
So, do you go see shows or what?
No, we put on two performances in College each year. There’s the Freshers revue- a showcase of new and existing members’ talents through collection of songs from various musicals. Auditions happen at the beginning of term, we rehearse Mondays and Tuesdays evenings and Sundays to perform to shows on a Sunday and Monday evening near the end of term. Recent revues have included songs from Rent, Wicked, Guys and Dolls and Grease.
The main Spring Production is our big production of a well known show. Auditions occur at the end of the autumn term and we rehearse, again on Mondays, Tuesdays and Sundays to put on five performances Tuesday to Saturday near the end of term. Recent Spring shows have included A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Batboy! – The Musical and A Slice of Saturday Night.
But I’ve never been on stage before…
Then let me try and explain to you what it’s all about. It’s an amazing feeling, after rehearsing for weeks and working to perfect a show to go out on stage in front of an audience to perform. The adrenalin that pumps through you, the nerves that keep you going, the buzz that you get from entertaining the audience… are all things that I love about being on stage. But, perhaps the best bit of being part of a company like MTSoc is the friendship, the camaraderie and the socialising… everyone is there for everyone else. It is great feeling.
I know that might sound a bit luvy-ish, but when you’re at uni (especially IC), it is good to be able to take some time out from science, medicine or engineering to enjoy yourself!
Thats all old hat to me…
Then let me try and show you what MTSoc can offer. I had been involved in all sorts of amateur productions before coming to Imperial College, from pantomime to West Side Story. I’d seen my fair share of Youth Theatre… but I can honestly say, that when I took part in my first MTSoc spring show… it felt like I was in a professional production.
The company itself was so professional, with great directors, musical directors and choreographers, but what made it really impressive, were things like the costume design, light design and sound. The technical side of the production was amazing, and we owe a lot of that to DramSoc (another society at ICU). The friendship amongst the cast and great feeling back stage were just as good as I’d ever remembered in the past. I made some really good friends at MTSoc, with people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Gee, that sounds like an awful lot of rehearsing…
You won’t be called for every rehearsal, even if you have a lead role you won’t be required for every single minute of every single rehearsal. Typically Tuesdays and Sunday afternoon will be for chorus work and Mondays and Sunday mornings for smaller groups and solo parts. Rehearsals can be hard work but are also a lot of fun!
So what goes on during show week?
On the Sunday we have the sitzprobe in the morning where the cast sing along with the band in a sort of “Musical Theatre Karaoke” style. The afternoon, evening and sometimes night is dedicated to Technical rehearsal in costume on the stage so that the techies can sort out lighting, sound and staging. It’s a long day but it’s a chance for everyone to bond, plus there’s a bring and share lunch so if you’ve nothing to do you can always eat!
Dress rehearsal is on the Monday and the show goes up Tuesday, running through to Saturday. Throughout the week we sell tickets at lunchtime and generally publicise the show during the day. After the show on Friday there is usually a group meal and after the Saturday show, the cast helps to clear up and then has it’s after show party.