Behind the scene, Les Miserables rehearsals!

So I just thought I would give everyone an idea of how it all works before the show actually opens. I found some pictures online from the early days of rehearsals

 Here is our kid group. There are 12 kids (4 Cossett's, 4 Eponine's & 4 Gavroche's) there are 4 teams of 3 kids and each group takes a couple turns on stage each week. The picture above was our first day of rehearsal! The two adults in the picture are the kid chaperons. They monitor the kids at all times and give us (as parents) feedback if we stuff anything up (lunches, drop off times, forgetting things etc...) They run a tight ship, but I am grateful they do!

Here is what the music room looks like when the cast come together to sing through the show. Olivia told me that sitting in the room was an overwhelming experience. She said everyone has amazing voices and they all sing very powerfully. She said it was probably like sitting in heaven with a bunch of angels around you.

I think she is right, these are some of the best singers in Australia and the cast come from all over the nation to be a part of this amazing production. When the show is not in their home state, the cast members stay in a hotel. When the tour goes to their state they get to stay at home. This picture is focused on Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean), the tall guy is Hayden Tee (Javert) and then our favorite Patrice Tipoki who plays Fauntine.

On the first day of rehearsals Olivia was very nervous. She said she walked in and met everyone and the first person she saw was Patrice. Patrice gave her a big hug and asked how Olivia had been. Olivia told me she was so happy she knew at least one person in the group. Patrice was Olivia's very first voice teacher in Sydney. Patrice then moved to Brisbane and Olivia moved to Melbourne and now two years later they were able to see each other again!  I was also over the moon to see Patrice!

Luckily for Olivia Patrice was not the only person she knew in the cast. Jackson Rudge (Gavroche) was also cast in the musical. Olivia and Jackson go to the same dance school, have the same singing teacher and now that they are rehearsing together have become best of friends. I am so happy for Olivia to have a built in friend and another adult at the opera house to keep an eye on her since I am not able to stay with her and watch.

After a few weeks of rehearsals at the Opera house, the cast were able to move into the theater and start practicing on stage. Here is a picture of all the props getting loaded onto the truck.

The show will be at 'Her Majesties Theater' which is in the middle of the city right near a hub of other theaters. I was so excited, because that theater is directly across the street from where I work!  This meant when Olivia had lunch breaks we were able to meet up and hang out!

Once the kids were in the theater they worked through stage movements, lighting, sound, the orchestra came to start rehearsing with the cast, this is called the Sitzprobe which Olivia said was AMAZING!

The technical aspect of the show is amazing. The set was imported from England and they even bring their own stage so the props can fit into the grooves necessary for moving from scene to scene.  The backstage area is so small that some of the props are hoisted into the air just to make space for other props to come on during certain times of the show. The parents were given a backstage tour with the kids, which was really fun since the kids were amazing tour guides. 

Olivia showed me her dressing room, where she gets tutored, where they eat, color pictures etc. Olivia is at the theater 4 nights per week. Two of those nights she is on stage, the other two she is behind stage, in full costume ready to go on in case the other kids needs her to fill in. How often do kids get used to stand in if the other has a problem?  Fairly often (not a ton) but it happens more often then you would think!

After 8 weeks of rehearsals it was time for OPENING NIGHT!