ACTING CLASS - 6 Nov 18 / HAMILTON - REVIEW / HAMILTON - COMIC-CON PANEL 2018

WHAT A HAMIL-TASTIC BLAST!

Tuesday's Acting Class was a special class. We went on a trip to the Victoria Palace in the West End to see a musical called Hamilton which tells the story of one of the greatest well-known pioneers of all time: Alexander Hamilton.

We had a "COMIC-CON PANEL" style Q&A discussion with the cast. Here's the questions we've asked and the answers they answered.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE PERFORMING TO THE SAME HIGH STANDARD EVERY SINGLE DAY?

"In terms of keeping up...maintaining the level of work, we all happen to do that. What keeps me going is the company, they always keep up a high level of performance and when you got your brothers and sisters doing their best, you got to do your best, you got to follow the lead that you all set. But also, as an actor, it's about being responsible for your well-being, staying healthy and keeping fit. Hence, this water, I have to drink a lot of water to sing because our voices are muscles and we have to keep them hydrated in order to use them. Any performer of sports has to keep up with looking after themselves. Physically, emotionally, psychologically and so on and that's what I've been doing." - Jamael Westman (Alexander Hamilton)

WHAT WAS THE FIRST STEP IN THE REHEARSAL PROCESS FOR YOU AND HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT BUILDING YOUR CHARACTER?

"Well, first of all, we had to get on Spotify to familiarise ourselves with the material itself and in terms of building your character and looking at the songs you're doing and the songs that other people are doing; how your character interacts with other people. It's not just your stuff, it's how you meet other people on stage and looking at sisterhood....so you're starting to look at ways you relate to your character...and take your time, ask questions, when you're in the rehearsal space, you got great directors and actors that are amazing and you start to talk about what doesn't make sense, playing things off each other and that's what builds the character and it all comes from truth, you want to play it, enjoy playing it and finding different things. So, it's kinda how it works and obviously it's a much longer process but that's how it starts: it starts from truth and showing your enthusiasm and prepping yourself and then we run for each other and that's how we get better and better at it." - Rachel John (Angelica Schuyler)

"We understand who we are and how everyone else is. We recognise who we are as performers. We are working together to create and that's what we've done throughout this rehearsal process and that's what they've provided us with." -  Jamael Westman (Alexander Hamilton)

IS THERE ANY SONG THAT IS PARTICULARLY EMOTIONAL TO PERFORM?

"Well, first things first, I die twice on the show. Basically, Laurens' death, the first death you see, it's an emotional thing because you hear about it but the second death (Philip Hamilton) you have to watch as an audience, so for me to perform that, it's not actually easy because everyone obviously...and with me and with that scene, I have get myself to a place that puts me on the edge, that actually makes me feel the emotion that I'm going through. So, what you saw in front of you on stage is not me trying to fake being upset or trying to fake being hurt, I am generally feeling that...somedays I go beyond that line that I don't wanna cross and these lot (the cast) have seen me do that and I am a mess, I'm crying so much, I can't get words out. Other days, I manage to maintain that but I think, in terms of that, that is one of the hardest songs for me and the most emotional song for me to perform every night." - Cleve September (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton)

"I would have to say...for me, this is one of my favourite numbers in the show Because of Forgiveness, I think it's such a powerful word and I think everybody in this room would have to forgive at one point. I know, personally, I had to forgive. I know other people had to forgive me and I think it's really a powerful word and something to take really seriously, so for me and I think for a lot of people in this company, it means a lot" - Obioma Ugoala (George Washington)

WHO YOU THINK ON MODERN-DAY HAMILTON IS AND IS THERE ANYONE IN THE MODERN ERA THAT ECHOES HAMILTON'S SUCCESS?

"On modern-day Hamilton, I think many of you possess the ability to be a modern-day...that's the point of the story, isn't it? He came from nowhere, he was the ultimate beginner, immigrant; whatever you wanna call him and he took it and he rode with it and he became this guy who shaped this country, that's over the other side of the Atlantic to what it is today and I think that's pretty inspirational. So, I think anybody's (which I think that's what this show is about) got it in them, so go for it." - Michael Jibson (King George)

"I would say is if it's personified...or Obama or people that you see yourself in, people that are making a difference, working hard and choosing to say I made a decision to be who I am and be honest and to work really hard to achieve goals and to stand firm...people around me. I think people like that are the modern-day Hamiltons and I believe...if we look up to those people and we make those decisions to stand for the things that we believe in, I think we can all be modern-day Hamiltons like Obama...like the people that we see in our day today." - Sharon Rose (standby)

WHO IS THE MOST SIMILAR TO HIS/HER OWN CHARACTER?

"He's dirty, he's boisterous, he's really boisterous, he's got a lot of bad, I'm here for it and he's got a lot of energy and I'm also obviously here for it. I love playing him, I love just getting involved, I love that every time he just got...he's a hype man and I see myself as a hype man, so everything about him, I just love playing him every single night." - Tarinn Callender (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison)

We previously were reviewing Hamilton, there were both positive and negative responses. We just went all critic-box office budget-rotten tomato style on this. Basically, we thought there was too much singing and rapping in this play, making everything go off balance or off genre. Although, the play was almost 3 hours, it still felt rushed but the rest was great. We praised the play with its determination, dynamics, casting, actors, actors' performances, explosiveness, use of colours, effectiveness, musical numbers, synchronisation, compound styles, modernised reboot, discipline, morality, concentration, self-explanation, connection of the ensemble, representation of women, comedy, research and its production. It was very energetic, uplifting, it kept us up, we didn't sleep at all, it wasn't boring like all of those quiet period dramas. I think Act 1 was better than Act 2. Act 2 was more serious and intense. The play showed what forgiveness truly is. I like that there were actors that play more than one character (dual characters) and the music was on point.

77%🍅

8/10

If you don't know what a Comic-Con Panel looks like. Here's an example:

We have to get Tom Hardy to visit our college since him and Rob are best buddies😁