Interview | ALEXANDRA DA SILVA - August 2014

Alexandra Da Silva, who trained at ALRA tells us about her own cabaret show and some of her past experiences including Streets, the gritty musical that premiered at Hackney Empire.

Tell us about Streets, presumably that's where you met Kris Rawlinson, the MD for your cabaret show?

Streets was such a fantastic show to be a part of, because it totally changed to boundaries of what musical theatre can and should be. It was more like a play with a live soundtrack (with a bit of spoken word, beat boxing and street dancing thrown in for good measure!) but everything worked so well together and nothing felt out of place, mainly thanks to our MD Kris Rawlinson and our director Adam 'Bo' Boland. All the cast and creatives were from different walks of life and parts of the industry, but the belief we had in the show brought us all together and I think that's what made it so successful.

I played Lily, the pregnant but headstrong teenager which was a lot of fun! But I never had the chance to sing any of the beautiful music in the show (written by Finn Anderson) so when Kris and I were first talking about the gig, we both agreed it was a given that some Streets songs had to feature.

You were in Search For A Twitter Star, how was that experience?

One word: crazy! The whole process happened as I was graduating from drama school, so I was kind of flung head first into the industry which was scary, but really exciting and just what I needed. I had no idea that it would gain the momentum that it did, but social media is such a big part of theatre now and I think it was a clever concept to incorporate the two. I came second, but the whole competition taught me a lot about my voice, about how far I can push myself, and how powerful Twitter really can be!

Tell us about Panto Factor and your lead role last year?

With so many graduates and not enough jobs, I saw this opportunity to win a part in a professional panto and I just knew it was too good to miss. It was an X-Factor style competition, with video episodes aired on YouTube, ending with a grand final show at the Stag Theatre where the winners were revealed. I won the part of Maid Marian alongside Rebecca Lauren, who played Robin Hood. We had the best time, I've honestly never had so much fun on stage! However it can be quite tough; it’s long hours and a lot of shows (sometimes three a day), but it helped to have such a wonderful cast and crew. Christmas isn’t Christmas without panto!

What can we expect from your cabaret? Any particular songs that are a favourite of yours?

It will be a mixture of old and new musical theatre - some songs that everyone will know and love, and some that have been written recently by very talented friends of mine. I love songs that tell stories and have a character to them, and my close friend Joe Louis Robinson wrote something just for me that has such a wonderful arc; the audience can really relate to it. I guess that has to be my favourite song in the show!

Will this be the first time you've ever presented yourself in a solo cabaret?

I’ve done quite a few cabarets in the past as a featured guest, however I’ve never performed a solo cabaret before. It’s pretty daunting to think that it’ll be just me, a piano and a mic! But I’m so excited; a lot of planning and work has gone into the show so it will be fabulous. I’ve got some great guests too who will be coming along to sing some duets - Jos Slovick who was in Spring Awakening and Once, my fellow panto cast member Rebecca Lauren, and my best friend of 18 years Vangelis Polydorou, who is an up and coming singer/songwriter.

Who do you look to for inspiration in the musical theatre world?

For me, a performer that acts through song is someone that I admire and look up to - it’s great if you can hit those high notes but unless you know what you’re singing about then, in my opinion, it’s pointless. Jeremy Jordan, Kelli O’Hara, Rachel Tucker and Cynthia Erivo are a few of those that really tell a story when they sing, they are so wonderful to watch. But my ultimate inspiration and the reason that I’m an actress today has got to be Idina Menzel. Ever since I queued up in the freezing cold at 5am for day tickets to see her in Wicked, I have counted her as my idol. I was lucky enough to meet and work with her two years ago (there’s a funny story there which I’ll be revealing at the gig!) and she is even more fantastic in the flesh.

What are your favourite musicals, or the best that you've seen recently?

That’s a tough one! I recently went to up to Edinburgh for the Fringe which is a great place to catch new musical theatre. I went to see Finn Anderson’s (writer of Streets) new show Alba - A Scottish Musical and it was absolutely beautiful. I cried so much, his music always gets me! It’s been shortlisted for a few awards and rightly so - hopefully it’ll come and do a London run somewhere.

Review | WEST END SWITCHED OFF (Album) Vol. 1 - April 2014

At a time when new musicals are struggling to sustain themselves and the old ones are loved - but hardly fresh, the young team behind new album West End Switched Off may have have just come up with a winning formula. Success, at least in this case, is not by risking new, unfamiliar territory but revisiting previous musical triumphs and breathing new life into them with the best from the current West End talent-pool.

Following a launch performance at St James Studio, the first in a series of albums is released. A relatively new company, Parallel Productions - produced by Kris Rawlinson and assisted by Ed Theakston - brings together an incredibly accomplished line up of musicians and performers to arrange musical theatre songs that you know – and a few that you may not – into unheard acoustic, ‘unplugged’ covers.

The popularity of 'Live Lounge' has finally found it's home in the West End and Simon Bailey (I Can't Sing, Phantom Of The Opera, Les Misérables) begins the album with a surprise version of Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid. A rockier sound to the original, it's fun and a perfect opening song to set the tone for the rest of the album. Traditionally a female song, what this does and what the album continues to do is let anything go, it's experimental and challenges the songs origins, offering a fresh perspective that delights at every moment.

Next, Tori Allen Martin sings Touch Me from Spring Awakening, the song about expressing desires for physical intimacy, not one you'd often find on a musicals compilation, but Martin delivers a sensual, haunting sound that remains lustful with plenty of opportunity for the vocal to simply flow.

Ian Stroughair

From his heavenly performance of Angel in the recent concert tour of RENT, Ian Stroughair hots things up with Judas' Heaven On Their Minds from Jesus Christ Superstar. It's followed by Wicked's Ashleigh Gray with Somewhere Over The Rainbow. You'll have heard several versions but with such faultless vocals, there is every reason for this beautiful rendition to contend with Garland and Cassidy.  Equally as beautiful, Nothing Stops Another Day from Ghost The Musical, effortlessly performed by Ambra Caserotti (RENT, Cockpit Theatre) is next. Fans of Ghost shouldn't notice too much a difference between this and any Molly they've seen on stage - it's just as powerful and if not, more so, given the intimacy of the set-up and expert arrangement.

Dale Evans

The albums biggest change in tone is Dale Evans' Stranger In This World from the Boy George musical Taboo. Evans, who will covering the role of Chris in the revival of Miss Saigon has recently been seen in From Here To Eternity the musical. A recent graduate, there is no inexperience, one of the most powerful performances and definitely one to look out for.

Perhaps the most reinvented song is You Can't Stop The Beat, sung by Hairspray's long-serving Seaweed, Adrian Hansel. What is so clever about this particular track is that it bares resemblance to the slow groove that the kids dance to in the detention scene. In-keeping with the musical's own sound, it is cleverly re-invented, completely relevant and yet couldn't be further from the high energy, no-time-to-breathe finale of the musical.

Defying Gravity... I don't think there's been a musical theatre concert since 2006 that hasn't featured someone trying to belt it out like Idina and yes, it has to be on the album, but here - you're safe. The traditional two-female duet is here performed by Thomas Suttcliffe and Chlöe Hart. The only duet on the album, there's great opportunity for harmony and the mix of male and female voice is a real treat.

Jodie Steele

Currently wowing audiences across the UK as Carmen Diaz on the tour of Fame The Musical is Jodie Steele, riffing her way through Footloose's Lets Hear It For The Boy. This is the track that'll have you tapping your feet, it's girly, it's country, it's fun. She has a phenomenal voice and must return for the second album with a version of Fame's In L.A. - that's my request in!

Katie Hall (Phantom Of The Opera, West Side Story) sings Bring Him Home from Les Misérables and Falsetto King Jordan Lee Davis concludes the album with Summertime - Porgy & Bess. What's great about both of these is that you'll never hear these versions within the musical. Valjean is never going to be female and last time I checked, Jordan Lee Davis wasn't a black woman... it's unique and just an absolute joy to listen to. You'd struggle to find better.

The album's biggest strength is that although these are reduced orchestrations, stripped back and laid bare, each song could easily replace it's original within the musicals. Rawlinson's genius rediscovery of some of theatre's classics allows for much more of the emotion, the original message and the talent to shine through. Nothing is overwhelmed, it's from the heart and this album is the very reminder of the talent in today's West End, both currently and upcoming. If this is just the beginning then I'm very much excited by the future.

CLICK HERE to purchase the album.

Chlöe Hart: "When I was approached about taking part in West End Switched Off and learnt what the concept was I was totally excited, I love the idea of songs being rearranged and interpreted differently, and then I was told which song I would be doing and I got very nervous! It's a very VERY well known song and there have been many versions of it done before. However when I heard the new arrangement I got excited again! It's so different to any other version and Kris Rawlinson, our genius arranger and MD had so many brilliant ideas. He also allowed us all to add our own little touches which means it feels really personal. If you are expecting a generic musicals complication album, this is not the one, but if you want something fresh and innovative then go for it! I don't think you'll be disappointed!"

Hope that WEST END SWITCHED OFF becomes a regular fixture. I'll be back for more if/when it is!
— Mark Shenton (@ShentonStage) April 27, 2014

For more information visit www.parallelproductions.co.uk or follow Parallel on Twitter @ParaProd.

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WEST END SWITCHED OFF (St James Studio) Rebecca Trehearn and Simon Bailey join the line up!

Rebecca Trehearn and Simon Bailey join Alice Fearn, Sophie Linder-Lee and more for launch of West End Switched Off at the St James Studio!

Fresh from playing the lead role of Molly in the UK Tour of Ghost The Musical to critical and audience acclaim, Rebecca Trehearn will be joining a superb cast of West End performers to launch new album West End Switched Off in an intimate concert at the St James Studio on Sunday 27th April.

The launch night at the St James Studio on Sunday 27th April at 6.30pm will give the audience the chance to have an up-close and personal experience of some of the never before heard tracks on the album before the official release. Tickets are available from just £15.

Trehearn will be joined by Simon Bailey, who’s performance as Liam O’Dreary in I Can’t Sing the Independent recently called ‘spot on’, and Alice Fearn, who can currently be seen in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy and recently Shrek The Musical and on stage and screen in Les Miserablés.

Completing the line up will be Wicked’s current Stand-by Glinda and Elphaba; Sophie Linder-Lee and Emma Hatton. The thirteen-strong cast also includes West End regulars Chlöe Hart, Adrian Hansel, Dean John-Wilson and Dale Evans as well as Jordan Lee Davies, Tori Allen-Martin, Thomas Sutcliffe and Ambra Caserotti. A live band led by the album’s musical director Kris Rawlinson will accompany the performers.

West End Switched Off, produced by Parallel Productions, is set to be the first in a series of albums that arrange musical theatre songs that you know – and a few that you may not – into unheard acoustic, 'unplugged' covers. The eleven-track album which features Ashleigh Gray, Ian Stroughair, Jodie Steele and more will be available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon and other platforms from Monday 28th April.

Listen to exclusive clips on Official London Theatre here.

For more information visit www.parallelproductions.co.uk or follow Parallel on Twitter @ParaProd.

INTERVIEW with Kris Rawlinson - February 2014

If you're keeping up with current West End trends, you'll know that an evening spent in an intimate cabaret venue is the new way to enjoy the incredible talent that London's theatre-land has to offer. Right at the heart of it is Kris Rawlinson, a musical director who before he's even finished university has built up a pretty impressive CV. Kris took some time out of a busy schedule to chat about his experiences so far.

At what age did you first take an interest in music and what was the first instrument you learnt to play?

I was about four when I started to play piano. I actually only started because my sister was having lessons, and I was insanely jealous of her (she gave up pretty soon after…). I carried on having lessons through school, and learnt the recorder (as most kids do!). Since then, I’ve learnt the saxophone and gig in a soul band travelling around the country, which is a laugh!

You study music at university, was that because you just liked it or did you always know you'd like to be a musical director?

I’m studying Music at Goldsmiths in New Cross. Whilst at school, I always knew I wanted to do something music related; I used to MD quite a lot of amateur stuff, including school shows, local pantomimes, review shows, and full scale musicals, and even directed a few things too; it was something I just landed in by lending a hand as a rehearsal pianist, which led to arranging and then eventually MDing. As a person, I always have to be in control and aware of everything going on, so I suppose a musical director is the perfect job! I wanted to study music to further my musical knowledge, and am really enjoying the course. The modules are really interesting, and I’ve met a lot of great musicians and lecturers. I finish in April 2015, so not long left!

When you think of musical director, you don't really think of someone as young as you - do you think there's a call for more younger directors?

There will always be young musical directors working their way “up the ranks”. I’m not in any pretence that I’m going to breeze straight into a West End job – I’m enjoying working on some great projects, and some brilliant fringe/off-West End jobs and I’m happy to continue this for a while. Sometimes it’s good for people to work with different, younger musicians, who have had a different musical education to some of the West End greats. There are a lot of talented people out there all looking for the same job, but like anything, people will move on, and there will always be the next job waiting to be snapped up if somebody starts another one.

Tell us about some of the projects you've been involved in already...

When I moved to London in September 2012, I got involved with Interval Productions playing for a few rehearsals of their production of RENT. In February 2013, they approached me to talk about a new project they were co-writing/producing called Streets Project, and I got on board as MD and arranger. The show was brilliant and the music was incredible, and we were lucky enough to get a transfer to Hackney Empire for two shows. I was also Assistant MD for their next show, “Another Way” staring the beautiful Julie Atherton and Andy Coxon in September 2013. I’ve also worked as Assistant MD on Geek, The New Musical, which debuted at the Tristan Bates Theatre starring CJ de Moii (aka. Eggheads). I’ve also set up a few projects of my own including “West End Switched Off” that I’m sure you’ll hear about soon!

Some of the performers involved with West End Switched Off, including Jeremy Legat, Jordan Lee Davies, Chlöe Hart and Ambra Caserotti

You've teamed up with Ed Theakston to create Parallel Productions - tell us a bit about the company and what we can expect from it in the future?

Ed is one of my best friends, and is my right hand man, and always knows what I should do, so having him involved with Parallel was a no-brainer. We both have the same vision in regards to new work, and are both very passionate. We’ve got a lot of plans this year; we’re working on a series of intimate gigs, and will be producing some more Switched Off gigs. We’ve also got the big album launch for our debut album later on in the year, and will be working on a few other albums this year, but I can’t say much more! On a personal level, Ed and I are working on a few writing projects too which is exciting! Darren Bell has come on board as Associate Producer for Parallel, and we are working closely on a few secret projects after the success of A Very West End Christmas!

Congratulations on A Very West End Christmas! Who's idea was that? And how did you round up so many established MT performers?

Thank you! It was a day in summer of 2013 after I had been in the studio all day, and I had been chatting to Darren, who is a fabulous photographer, and we decided to do something for Christmas. Within a few weeks it went from a YouTube video, to a 5-track EP, and on the 14^th October, 50 West End guests (including the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Michael Xavier, Simon Deacon, Jodie Jacobs, Chloe Hart) gathered at the St. James theatre and recorded something special. It was released on 15^th December and money raised is going towards Great Ormond Street Hospital and Cry UK, with a donation to the Band Aid Charitable Trust. The recording process was fun, and there were definitely a lot of personalities to contend with, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle!

You can buy A Very West End Christmas! on iTunes here. (Yes, it's not always Christmas, but it's a good listen!)

Is there a lot of work out there for aspiring MD's? Or do you have to largely impress by creating your own work/gigs first?

If you know the right people, and have the right attitude, there is plenty of work out there, from rehearsal pianist, to teaching, arranging and orchestrating. There are lots of different paths to go down in terms of music; personally I love arranging and orchestrating, but obviously also love the feeling of a show or gig. I have a go-get-it attitude; if you want something, you have to achieve it yourself, and this is why I decided to set up Switched Off. It’s something I’ve always thought about doing, and last summer I was chatting to my bass player and he convinced me to just book studio time and do it. So I did! We’ve got our first album finished up and it’s being mixed and mastered at the moment! Because I am still studying at university, I’m not particularly looking for work, so I thought that whilst I can’t commit to a heavy rehearsal period, I have the time to think about other projects.

Are there any musicals that you'd particularly like to MD in the future? Or are there any new musical scores that you've been impressed with?

I have a very eclectic taste in musicals. I’ve always loved Wicked; I won’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it… I love it for many reasons; the story, the strong female characters, the score is incredible. So I guess MDing Wicked would be a dream come true – it’s probably the show that properly got me into going to the theatre a lot. I’m currently obsessed with Ordinary Days, by Adam Gwon, which I would love to MD. It’s a show about 4 people living in New York who’s lives all intertwine without them realising. One piano and four people creates so many possibilities in something that should be quite limiting, and the melodies are beautiful. “I’ll Be Here” is one of my favourite musical theatre songs.

Finally, we all hear performers advice on becoming an actor or a dancer but what advice would you give to aspiring musicians/MDs?

Go for it. There is always going to be somebody that’s better than you for a job, so when they get the job instead of you don’t worry. Things will always work out so don’t get put off. It’s about the right time and the right place, and networking and being a good sport will allow yourself to be in these situations. 

For more information on Parallel Productions, visit the website here. Or for West End Switched Off, click here. 

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