Blog 4! 4 weeks to go...14 rehearsals to go!

Hey there,

Happy Friday!

Can you believe its now only 28 days until the Olympic Opening Ceremony? We have a chalk board up in our flat with a countdown on. I remember when I started the countdown and it was over 100 days to go!

Since my last blog, I've had a busy and tiring couple of rehearsals.

Last Sunday, we arrived at the Stadium for an early call of 8.30am. Having to be up that early on a Sunday should definitely be illegal. Once we had made our way through the tight airport style security, checked in, collected our lunch pack (yum!) and made our way to the Stadium stands - it was more or less 10am! It's actually making me wonder how long it is going to take about 100,000 people in total to get into the Stadium on show night!

The Sunday rehearsal was really exciting. This was the first time all of my section were in the Stadium together (as we had only been together in Dagenham) complete with full props, set and scenery. We did a full run through of our section which looked and sounded AMAZING!! Although the 1,000 in my section have only been rehearsing on the spot at the moment, it’s weird how quickly your energy goes - especially when you are doing strenuous arm exercises for 17 minutes (I'm determined to still not reveal the full secret of what we are doing)!!

We were quite lucky actually, as we had just finished our complete section when it decided to belt it down... and when I say belt it down, I mean belt it down! Well, it was lucky for us! The rest of my section had the task of resetting the props and set back to the start so that we could do another run through - this involved being out in the rain and moving lots and lots of different pieces of set back to their places - nice how i got to stay in the comfort of the dry stands though!

On Monday, you guessed it; we were back at the Stadium. We were back to the 1,000 of my group and set to work on 'blocking' where we would be entering from, the beat in which we will be walking to and what we will be doing when we get to our spots.

I was actually quite jealous as a good few of my group, got to go up the 'Tor' - If you look at the picture of the set from my earlier posts; it's the bit where the big tree is! It's actually really high up and I can imagine that the view from up there is just immense.

We managed to get through quite a few different technical aspects of the sequence which we were unfamiliar with before, so it was nice to come away feeling like we were getting closer and more prepared for show day.

I don’t know if you seen the other day, but in the London Evening Standard and The Sun newspapers, they had printed an Arial view image that someone had taken of the set being built. It's actually really sneaky that the papers would do that and would even want to ruin the surprise factor that the global audience are going to get - but hey. they were only speculating as to what they think everything is and to be honest, it was all news to me. Lesson learnt: Don’t believe everything you read in the paper!

So, two more rehearsals this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and then this time next week, it will be only three weeks to go - Yikes! I best get off and practice my 'Marshalling Routines'!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll leave you with a few pictures below!

Until next time...

Craig



Sneaky picture captured from above the stadium.





External shot of Olympic Stadium.





Blog 3! From secret location to Stadium!

Wow! What can I say? The Olympic Stadium is absolutely awesome. More on that later though.

Last weekend, I was back home in Coventry for fathers day but travelled home early on Sunday morning to attend an afternoon/evening rehearsal in the 'Top Secret' Dagenham location.

For some reason, it was such hard work to get through the rehearsal. I spoke to a few different people on the day who all felt the same. I think the fact that it was a) Sunday evening - its work the next day, b) Fathers Day and c) Pollen Day - My eyes were streaming and I couldn't stop sneezing due to Hay fever, really didn't help and we couldn't wait for the evening to be over. It also didn't help that I knew I would have a near to two hour journey home ahead of me! Ugh!

With that being said, we were all still very productive and managed to crack on with blocking and rehearsing our section. We weren't the only performers there on Sunday as we were actually rehearsing with everyone that is going to be performing in our section. It was amazing to see how everyone slots together within our 17 minutes. It was also a great opportunity to meet a few people from the different groups and learn more about what they are doing as part of the ceremony.

I actually left on a high as it was a great feeling to see it all coming together and I couldn't wait for the next rehearsal - in the actual Olympic Stadium.

So, I arrived at the Olympic village on Tuesday evening to be greeted with a massive queue of performers waiting to get in - Great!! With that being said, I was actually in the Olympic Stadium within 30 minutes, sitting in one of the stands, waiting to start!

I've never actually been in an Olympic Stadium before - actually I tell a lie, I did visit the one in Berlin during a school trip, but I definitely cant remember what that was like - but I have to say, I was actually expecting it to be much bigger thank it actually is. It actually looks bigger when you are standing in the middle of it, but that's a whole new paragraph to talk about!!

Once we had our bib's on (I'm number 837 by the way just in case you wondered), we were called onto the main stage which is also known as the Field of Play. We spent a good hour blocking where each performer will be standing during the athlete's parade. I'm not one to brag, but I have a fantastic position meaning I will be really close to the athletes - result!

Done! We were all set in our places as if it were the actual ceremony. The only thing that was missing was the 80,000 live audience - gulp! We were guided to where our starting positions would be... way back into the actual stadium itself, behind the Queen's box, behind where the audience are seated - hidden from everyone!!

ACTION! We were set to go! It was great to make our way to through to our destinations on the Field of Play. It was a great feeling knowing that all eyes and cameras are most probably going to be upon us. I couldn't begin to imagine what the feeling will be like when we have a full stadium of shouting, cheering, screaming, music, whistling and lots of flashing cameras.

The rest of the evening was spent rehearsing our next part (which is Top Secret but I can guarantee is going to sound (did I just write that!!) amazing!!!).

Why is it when you are having so much fun, it has to end so suddenly?! The five hours just flew by. It didn't feel like we were there that long but everyone let out a massive cheer - it wasn't just me that was enjoying the experience, everyone was!! The stadium was erupting in noise. I suppose that (times by 80) is what it will sound like on the night.

The next rehearsal over the weekend is also in the Stadium. Although it's an early start (far too early for a weekend morning), I know that i am going to be there, raring to go! It will also be the first time that my whole section is in the stadium too so that's exciting to see everything over again!!

Knowing that you are going to be part of the 'Greatest Show on Earth' is an amazing feeling and I'm so grateful to be part of it.

Until next time...

Craig.

Blog 2! Olympic Opening Ceremony!

Hey there,

So, it's only 45 days until curtain is up on what is going to be the greatest show on earth.

A village cricket team, 12 horses, 10 chickens, 70 sheep, a model of Glastonbury Tor, two mosh pits, and the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world are among the sights that will greet the world when the curtain comes up on the Olympics in July.

Although I am not able to officially reveal anything that we have been rehearsing towards, I can guarantee you that it is going to quite spectacular.

Group 51C have been been rehearsing for nearly four weeks now and it is both physically and mentally draining. Picture this... 1000 people of all different ages, races, builds trying to learn a 17 minute routine that will become a pivotal and key section of the Opening Ceremony - it's not going to come to get together easily!!

Between now and 27th July (showtime), we will have completed over 30 rehearsals (some of which are 9 hour days!!!) both at the Stadium and two secret locations in East London.

Danny Boyle (Artistic Director) has already revealed that the three-hour opening ceremony will be titled Isles of Wonder, a title based on a speech by Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest that will be referenced throughout the four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

He said there would be British humour and that the country's history would be represented but "not in a box-ticking way", and the show would reflect "parts of our heritage but looking forward as well".

A troupe of NHS nurses will appear in one sequence, but Boyle said the show would not be overtly political - I have actually seen these guys rehearsing... and it looks amazing!!

What to expect (without giving too much away) - Lots of musical noise, a big transformation, tall structures, fake rain and a lot of fire!!!!

Be sure to look out for me on TV, although I'm not too sure you will be able to see me amongst the 10,000 other performers... but here's hoping!!

Until next time...

Craig

The 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony Set Model

Blog 1! Welcome!

Hey there,

I've always been meaning to find the time to write a blog - whether or not I will keep it up or if it will be interesting or not is another question - but here it is!!

The blog will initially feature a weekly update (on a Wednesday) and will focus on everything that is happening in my life -  Olympic Opening Ceremony rehearsals, Auditions, my weekly whereabouts and more - the first of which will feature later today and will be solely around the Olympic Ceremony Rehearsals - stay tuned!

Feel free to get in contact and it would be nice to hear from anyone that shares the same interests or who simply enjoyed reading the blog.

Until next time...

Keep smiling.

C.x