Eve Of The War
http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/

Wotw Live
http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=266		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Cylinder [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:25 pm ]
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Hi All,<br /><br />This is my first post to this site but I have been viewing it for some time now. Firstly, I would like to say what an excellent site it is and it is great to read topics from so many fellow WOTW aficionados. <br /><br />I thought I would start this topic off as there was nothing that quite touched this subject on this forum yet and it may be of some interest to some of you, especially those interested in playing the music.<br /><br />I was lucky enough to be involved with an official production of WOTW back in Feb 2002 as musical director. It was performed at the Sandpit Theatre in St. Albans, UK www.sandpittheatre.co.uk part of Sandringham school where my wife works as a drama teacher. The theatre had just been built and they wanted a BIG production to launch it, which would show off all the new facilities. I have always been a big fan of WOTW so I suggested it because it would incorporate music, lights, drama, dance and sfx and also, because I didn’t think it had ever been put on as a show before, it would have a unique appeal.<br /><br />I managed to track down Jeff Wayne and it turned out that he lived quite close to us so I was able to negotiate the rights via email and actually got to meet him when I visited his house to collect the score. He was an extremely nice guy and invited us in for tea and we had a great chat in his studio. He was very gracious, despite having recently hurt his leg in a car accident, and even let us take a couple of pictures (something I don’t normally do but then it is not every day you get to meet a great man like Jeff Wayne).<br /><br />The show itself was incredibly challenging for all concerned, especially the musicians but was a fantastic success. It was a great personal achievement to pull something like this off and, to date, it is still the best show I have ever done. It was a real pleasure to play the music live that had haunted me as a ten year old when I first bought the album.<br /><br />I won’t go into more detail at this point as this post has gone on long enough. If anyone would like to know more about the show and how we did it than I am quite happy to answer any questions. I also have pictures from the show that I could send/submit if the administrator would like them for his gallery. <br /><br />It would also be interesting to hear of anyone else who has performed the music live or has seen it. As I discovered from talking to Jeff, WOTW has been put on many times around the world and he has also conducted orchestral performances of it himself. <br /><br />“No one would have believed in the first years of the 21st century that a bunch of nutters from St Albans would put on a live version of Jeff Wayne’s WOTW�. But we did – and it was brilliant !!<br /><br />cheers,<br /><br />Cylinder<br />
Author:  Ullah_la [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:28 pm ]
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Sounds stunning yes please to some images and more details, please admin please lets get them on the site :D
Author:  eveofthewar [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:19 pm ]
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Cylinder wrote:
Hi All, This is my first post to this site but I have been viewing it for some time now. Firstly, I would like to say what an excellent site it is and it is great to read topics from so many fellow WOTW aficionados. I wont go into more detail at this point as this post has gone on long enough. If anyone would like to know more about the show and how we did it than I am quite happy to answer any questions. I also have pictures from the show that I could send/submit if the administrator would like them for his gallery.


Welcome to the forum Cylinder!
Yes, I would love to host some pics and info, please send them to lee@eveofthewar.co.uk

Cheers.....
Author:  Horsell_Common [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:27 pm ]
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Hello Cylinder & welcome<br /><br />Jeff is planning on a 'live' tour of The War Of The Worlds in the very near future. While down at his studio on Monday I was having (yet again) another good look at the model mock up of the show he has planned - lavish production is what it will be with Fighting Machines (too stand some 30 feet in height) are being used along with some superb visual sets and FX.<br /><br />No time has been set to the show due to his very busy work load with his album re-launch this Summer and his CGI film and other projects.<br /><br />H_C<br /><a href='http://www.waroftheworldsonline.com' target='_blank'>http://www.waroftheworldsonline.com</a>
Author:  Cylinder [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:56 pm ]
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Wow !! Excellent. Does he need a bass player ?! Does he need synths with all the sounds programmed in ?! I would love to get involved with a project like that.
Author:  Cylinder [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:53 pm ]
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Ullah_la wrote:
Sounds stunning yes please to some images and more details, please admin please lets get them on the site  :D


The rights to perform the show specified that it had to be played in it's entirety with no deviation from the script or the soundtrack which was incredibly challenging. This meant that we had to play the whole piece from beginning to end without a break, except for an interval after Thunderchild. We did not use any backing tracks and even the sfx were played live, including the Martian Ullas. This was all achieved with just seven band members - three keyboard players, two guitarists (one of which played Parson Nathaniel but that's another story), a drummer and myself on bass. If anyone is interested in more technical info on equipment etc I can post that up too.
Author:  Flaming Poultice [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:02 pm ]
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Cylinder wrote:
The rights to perform the show specified that it had to be played in it's entirety with no deviation from the script or the soundtrack which was incredibly challenging.


Sounds amazing. Where would one obtain the sheet music for WOTW? Was it commercially available?
Author:  Horsell_Common [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:01 pm ]
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Flaming Poultice wrote:
Sounds amazing. Where would one obtain the sheet music for WOTW?  Was it commercially available?


You could at one time get the sheet music for Jeff's album. It was not the full score, a cut down like the 'Highlights' album. The odd copy can be found in book search companies and I have seen a few over the last couple of years popping up on http://www.ebay.co.uk

H_C
http://www.waroftheworldsonline.com
Author:  Martian Myster The New Ma [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:31 pm ]
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Fantastic Cylinder, I think we would all love to see some of the images from the play.<br /><br />I bet it sold out at the theatre, I would love to WOTW at the Theatre. I actually used to work for a theatre production company and I know how hard you guys work at the theatre's. The only annoying thing about the theatre is Clear Channel who try to rip everyone off. :)<br /><br />Anyway lets see some pics Cylinder and welcome, hope to see more of your posts.<br /><br />Later Dude :smoking:
Author:  Cylinder [ Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:37 am ]
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Flaming Poultice wrote:
Sounds amazing. Where would one obtain the sheet music for WOTW?  Was it commercially available?


Part of the licence agreement for the show included the borrowing of the full orchestral score from Jeff Wayne Music. This had to be returned once the show was over. The sheet music had been available commercially at some point in the past because one of our keyboard players had a copy of the book and we used that, and our ears, as a guide for working out all the parts for the show. This is because we knew we would not get the proper score until very close to the opening night and this would not have left us enough time to rehearse such complicated music. By the time we did get the full score we had already learnt 95% of the show. We used the full score just to check that what we were playing so far was correct and also to clear up a couple of grey areas where we were not sure exactly what was going on. Considering that we had just used a piano/vocal line/guitar chord cut down version of the sheet music, we were bang on with all the material and did not need to use the orchestral score in the end. So, if you can get hold of the book, it does have the basic parts and arrangements (more or less) to enable you to accompany the album. Check Amazon or Ebuyer or places like that.
Author:  Cylinder [ Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:38 pm ]
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Martian Myster wrote:
Fantastic Cylinder, I think we would all love to see some of the images from the play. I bet it sold out at the theatre, I would love to WOTW at the Theatre. I actually used to work for a theatre production company and I know how hard you guys work at the theatre's. The only annoying thing about the theatre is Clear Channel who try to rip everyone off. :) Anyway lets see some pics Cylinder and welcome, hope to see more of your posts. Later Dude 


It sold out in no time. The really cool thing was that loads of parents came to the show because they had grown up with the album as well, especially the Dads. So many people came up to me afterwards and said what a fantastic experience it was to see it all brought to life and how close it sounded to the original. You couldn't get a better compliment than that. One guy who came to see it owned the lighting company which hired some of the specialised lights we used. he had actually seen a couple of live productions of WOTW through his job and he said that our production was the most accurate version that he had heard. That sort of comment made my three months of synth programming worthwhile, alone! I have contacted Lee and will be sending some pics shortly so stay tuned. cheers for the interest Cylinder man
Author:  Gerkinman [ Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:16 am ]
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Its storys like these that get me so excited about my own original WotW production.
Author:  Loz [ Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:32 pm ]
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Cylander, a prudoction of War of the Worlds was staged at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool by Lippa Students back in 1999. The music was great and they played it right through with no deviations. However the guy reading the Narrator was unbelievaby awaful. He had no inflections and a weak voice. The rest of the voices were also pretty poor and the Artillary Man was camper than a row of tents. No effects either.
Author:  Cylinder [ Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:33 am ]
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Loz wrote:
Cylander, a prudoction of War of the Worlds was staged at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool by Lippa Students back in 1999. The music was great and they played it right through with no deviations. However the guy reading the Narrator was unbelievaby awaful. He had no inflections and a weak voice. The rest of the voices were also pretty poor and the Artillary Man was camper than a row of tents. No effects either.


Apart from the music, the narrator has the hardest job of them all. He has to come in at specific times with his lines and only has a fixed time in which to say them. This requires a lot of concentration because, if you think about it, he has no cues for when to start talking like you would get in a normal play. He has to know the music and take his cues from that and, because the lines have to fit in with specific sections, he also has to get all the words in correctly without rushing them or missing any out and he has to be acting while he is doing it. The other monumental problem for a narrator is that, no matter what he does, he is always going to be compared to the great Richard Burton.

For our production the directors split the role of the Journalist into two and the lines were shared between them. This was so that one journalist acted as narrator for the story and the second journalist was his other self and could continue the story from within the action. It worked very well and helped make it clear to the audience what was going on.

Our Artilleryman was a bit dodgy at first. he was the only one who auditioned for the part and he was very keen so we had to go with him. I remember at rehearsals, the directors had a hard time with him because he was very inconsistent and i was a bit disappointed because BNW is my favourite track from the album and i felt he was letting the show down. Then, suddenly at a late rehearsal he pulled it all together and blew us all away. When we finished playing the song, the band looked at each other and said 'wow, where did that come from ?!!' After that, he was excellent and BNW was one of the show's highlights. He was still slightly maverick but i think that suited the part. The part of the Artilleryman is very underrated. I think it would make an excellent audition piece for any budding actor. It is a twelve minute tour de force of full on singing and acting and is not an easy song to sing either as it has lots of different sections within it. When you come off stage after singing that song, you know you have worked hard.
Author:  Cylinder [ Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:43 am ]
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Gerkinman wrote:
Its storys like these that get me so excited about my own original WotW production.


Is that something you have done or something you are going to do ?
Author:  Loz [ Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:51 am ]
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Cylinder wrote:
Apart from the music, the narrator has the hardest job of them all. He has to come in at specific times with his lines and only has a fixed time in which to say them. This requires a lot of concentration because, if you think about it, he has no cues for when to start talking like you would get in a normal play. He has to know the music and take his cues from that and, because the lines have to fit in with specific sections, he also has to get all the words in correctly without rushing them or missing any out and he has to be acting while he is doing it. The other monumental problem for a narrator is that, no matter what he does, he is always going to be compared to the great Richard Burton.


Yes very hard to achieve but it could be done but not as good as burton as you say. makes you wonder how Wayne will pull it of on stage.

Well done for your show though.
Author:  Horsell_Common [ Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:15 pm ]
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Loz wrote:
Yes very hard to achieve but it could be done but not as good as burton as you say. makes you wonder how Wayne will pull it of on stage. Well done for your show though.


I just asume that with a 'live' version of Jeff's album, Jeff would use only Richard Burtons voice (recordings), really there would be no need for someone visually on stage.
Author:  Loz [ Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:20 pm ]
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Yes that would be the best way. But does that mean, Phil Lynott will be used or will the singing be live? And that would mean re recording Phil's dialogue.
Author:  Cylinder [ Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:42 pm ]
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Hi All,<br /><br />Sorry for the delay in getting show pictures sent but i have been on holiday over easter. Now i am back at work i have been able to send loads of pics to Lee. I am sure he will pick and choose the best ones and post them up shortly, so stay tuned....<br /><br />cheers,<br /><br />Cylinder
Author:  eveofthewar [ Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:03 pm ]
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Cylinder wrote:
Hi All, Sorry for the delay in getting show pictures sent but i have been on holiday over easter. Now i am back at work i have been able to send loads of pics to Lee. I am sure he will pick and choose the best ones and post them up shortly, so stay tuned....


Yep, I am working on it! Check your email first though Rob.... :)
Author:  eveofthewar [ Fri Apr 08, 2005 6:16 am ]
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Image<br /><br /><br />All done, hope you like!<br /><br /><a href='http://www.calibra.eclipse.co.uk/eve/sandpit.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.calibra.eclipse.co.uk/eve/sandpit.htm</a><br /><br />
Author:  Starscream`s Ghost [ Tue Apr 12, 2005 4:28 pm ]
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Looked like it was a top production, wish I could have seen it.
Author:  Cylinder [ Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:51 am ]
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Horsell_Common wrote:
I just asume that with a 'live' version of Jeff's album, Jeff would use only Richard Burtons voice (recordings), really there would be no need for someone visually on stage.


I think it is much better to have a 'live' journalist (we had two) because, with so little dialogue in the show, you need all the visuals you can get and he helps keep the audience's attention focused on the story. This is something we take for granted because we all know it inside out but if an audience member is not familier with the book or the music it can be quite hard to follow. I know it is a tall order to get someone to fill Richard Burton's boots but that should not be a handicap to any future productions.

And, at the end of the day, a 'live' production should be performed live. Otherwise you may as well just play the record through the pa and have lots of flashing lights going off :wink:
Author:  Horsell_Common [ Wed Apr 13, 2005 12:33 pm ]
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I still feel that 'no' visual narrator should be used, Burtons voice will still have the desired effect. Looking at the mock-up stage I have seen in Jeff's studio, there is more than enough to see with giant screens, moving sets and huge towering Tripods. The narration is a backdrop and having someone on stage for you to see will take the watchers eye away from the visuals on stage. People will instantly recognise Burtons voice and automatcally associate it with the album/show

H_C
www.waroftheworldsonline.com
Author:  Cylinder [ Mon May 16, 2005 10:41 am ]
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hello all,

I have recently been intervieiwed for the official Jeff Wayne web site and it is now all up there in the features section. If anyone reading this topic requires more in depth info on our production and how it was staged, then this is the place to go. And, don't forget that Lee has done an excellent job putting up lots of photos on his site so check them out too.

Just off to pre-order my collectors edition. Can't wait :)
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