A word from the Bring it On team!

Hello guys! A massive welcome from the entire crew here at Bring it On. We are so excited and thrilled to be starting on our journey. From creating the bid for MTS last term we have working insanely hard over the summer holidays to make everything perfect for the auditions which are nearly around the corner. My name is Lucy and I will be the director for Bring it On, below is some information regarding the storyline, auditions, why we chose the show and more!

The Story.... To be brief!

Bitingly relevant, sprinkled with sass, and inspired by the hit film, Bring it On: The Musical is the MTS Autumn Term Show 2016. This high-flying journey filled with complexities of friendship, jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness. Set in the high stakes world of competitive high school cheerleading, Bring It On: The Musical tells the story of Campbell, cheer captain and most popular girl at the uber-affluent Truman High School. Before she can lead her award-winning squad to another win at Nationals, tragedy strikes: School redistricting forces Campbell to transfer to the multi-ethnic Jackson High School. Knocked off her throne as teen queen, Campbell tries to make sense of her new “outsider” status. Soon she discovers that Eva, a plotting sophomore with delusions of grandeur, is responsible for knocking her from the top of the cheer pyramid. With a national title on the line, Campbell must convince Danielle, Jackson’s “it-girl” and leader of hip-hop dance troupe The Crew, to start a cheerleading squad and help Bring on some sweet revenge.

Why Bring it On??

Bring It On: The Musical was an obvious choice for the Autumn Term Show. Not only is it high energy and modern, the music is techno genius; it’s an eclectic mixture of rap, pop, hip-hop and Broadway show tunes. The music is largely attributed to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is the mastermind behind the ground-breaking musical Hamilton. Listening to the soundtrack you can easily hear his unique influence in songs such as ‘It’s All happening’. Although this is seen as a dance heavy show I myself believe that MTS members should not be under estimated, we have the ability and talent to do this and look fabulous whilst doing it. There is a part for every type of personality, shape, size hair colour which is why I believe it’s perfect for MTS.

‘Bring It On’ with its female led cast encompasses all of the things I love in a musical! It oozes fun and excitement, with contemporary electric dance numbers and hilarity for all ages. Whilst I was originally drawn in by the music, the characters don’t disappoint. Whether it’s the sheer passion within Campbell, the grounded realness that is Danielle or the competitive cattiness of Eva; the storyline is so compelling. While it seems easy to dismiss these characters as mere stereotypes, exploring and rounding out these characters is one of my main aims. For example Cameron is a jock, a basketball player he’s not the brightest, yet you see there is still a heart inside him. It is finding these moments that will make this musical shine. However even though the main characters lead the story this is a heavy ensemble based musical in which all roles are key. During the rehearsals teamwork is vital and will be at the forefront including fun of course. The ultimate aim of ‘Bring It On’ is friendship, every rehearsal we will begin with fun bonding games and trust exercises including a Sass Off, Wange and good old Buzzy Bees bringing the cast and crew together as a whole.

Auditions

While most of this will be covered in our audition pack (stay tuned on our Facebook Page and audition event for more details). I will give you some general details regarding the auditions. First of all auditions are nothing to be worried or nervous about, we aren’t going to ask you to learn lines or an entire song. The first round will be in two parts a individual audition and a dance audition at the end of each hour (at 6:40/ 7:40 etc depending on which hour slot you book into). There will be one of our team outside the room with a signup sheet and selection of very small monologues/duologues. It doesn’t matter which you chose but if you prefer select the character you would most like to play or stands out to you. You DON’T have to be off book, you can take this in your audition. In addition you will be given an individual audition slot and a dance audition slot. Please try and be prompt for your slot as we don’t have very long and we want to see all of you. You will also be a given a signup sheet which will have some questions for you to fill out. In the individual audition you will sing a verse and chorus of any song that has a Bring it On feel. This means it doesn’t matter if you want to sing a song that’s not from a musical, we just want to see you at your best. Sing a song that you think shows you off! Rap, pop, musical theatre bring anything you want. You will also recite your monologue. Then at the end of the hour you will come back and learn a small dance section lead by the chorographer Dana. If you have any worries about this please see the section labelled ‘We ain’t no cheerleaders’ or if you still have queries do not hesitate to message the Bring it On page or any of the crew members directly on Facebook. After the first round a recall list will be posted on our official page, they will be asked back for a second day 6pm-10pm. The recalls will be of a similar nature, you will sing, dance and act. However you will be given more time on each section and you will be taught by members of the production team. More information on the recalls can be found in the audition pack. The best advice I can give you for both the first round and the recalls is really show us what you can do, and don’t be afraid to give it your all! Most importantly HAVE fun!

Body Blind Casting

Over the summer although there has been many questions one that stands out is worries over body image. I will STRONGLY discourage the assumption that we will base our casting on the typical cheerleader aesthetic. As a crew we will be implementing Body Blind Casting. Which means regardless of size, age or race we will examine talent and skill first and foremost before even thinking of making decisions based on an individual’s appearance. ‘Bring It On’ celebrates diversity and equality and our cast should reflect that. I want to create a safe atmosphere where no one should feel like they can’t audition because of their appearance or size and I will stress in the auditions that it is not necessary to look a certain way in order to gain a role. This is highlighted in one of my favourite characters, Bridget who is judged on her weight and is seen as an outcast in Truman High. When she attends Jackson, her acceptance should be a positive message for the audience and is a good example of demonstrating the true ethos of the musical. We will be sensitive to these issues and no issued of gender, race, body image should come into play at the Bring it On auditions. We aren’t casting the Broadway show, nor is this a professional production. The students at Royal Holloway are perfect and discrimination is something my team and I do not tolerate.

But ‘we ain’t no cheerleaders’…

We’ve noticed a few of you have questions about the level of dance required both in auditions and the main show. While Bring It On is famous for being a cheerleading musical, the show has a variety of styles to it, including hip-hop, street, classical musical theatre and naturally some cheerleading aspects. We would like to reiterate to you all that the Bring It On team and I are more than happy to tailor the difficulty of dance based on what we see in the auditions. This is to say you do not have to be an incredibly strong dancer to audition for Bring It On. There are many roles in the production which do not require strong dance ability, while of course there are some who do require those who can move or pull off choreography. We do not expect to see west end level dance ability or professional cheerleaders, the team and I will be working with the cast to bring out the best of their abilities and work on the cheerleading aspects of the show. That’s not to say if you can perform any tricks then please, let us know on your forms in the auditions!

It’s all happening!

I hope this has given you some more insight into our journey with Bring it On. We really can’t wait to meet you all. But if you want more information or you want to get to know our faces we will be at the MTS stand at Freshers Fayre, Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th. Come say hi and ask us as many questions as you want. Or if you just can’t wait for the auditions there is a MTS taster session on Wednesday morning where you will find out what MTS is all about. We will be playing some hilarious games and you can meet students old and new. Again, don’t hesitate to message our Facebook page with any questions or worries. MTS is one of the friendliest societies on campus and I promise you won’t regret your journey with them.

#RHULCANBringItON

#MTASSSSSSS