Previews & New Billies

[Eltonjohn]

Before the show officially opened in Toronto, weren't there a few performances that were not 'official' for fine tuning the brand new production?

So after a new Billy undergoes Billy Camp successfully (more like a super intensive) does the novice, fledgling get to do a dress rehearsal before a live audience or the equivalent? If the child is already used to performing e.g. YAGP, Lion King, then they have some sense of what it is like to perform solo on a stage before a crowd. But if they don't have this in their LBB background (Life Before Billy) prior to joining the cast, then I wonder how they are prepared for the day when they will face a theatre full of faces?

So how does the preparation process work I wonder.

[kport]

Before the show officially opened in Toronto, weren't there a few performances that were not 'official' for fine tuning the brand new production?

So after a new Billy undergoes Billy Camp successfully (more like a super intensive) does the novice, fledgling get to do a dress rehearsal before a live audience or the equivalent? If the child is already used to performing e.g. YAGP, Lion King, then they have some sense of what it is like to perform solo on a stage before a crowd. But if they don't have this in thir background prior to joining the BETM cast, then I wonder how they prepare for the day when they will face a theatre full of faces?

So how does the preparation process work I wonder.

It is common for a new production to hold a number of performances that are not listed as official ones, but are clearly ones to try out the production, make changes, and get it right. I believe in recent times Spider Man had one of the highest number of such performances (there were major changes made). There are also 'press nights' when a performance arrives at a new venue for a longer period; there were several in Tampa two years ago, before the three week run began. This allows the press to write up reviews for the sake of publicity; these are often discounted matinees for school parties etc. If memory serves, BETM officially opened on a Friday in Tampa, but there were two press performances before.

I am not aware that a production of BETM has ever been considered anything other than normal when a new cast member is rotated in, at least on the Tour. Perhaps others will correct me.

[LiamM]

The first show in Toronto was Feb. 1 and they had an "opening night" on Mar. 1. So, one could consider all the Feb. shows to be previews, but that would be a rather long preview period for a production just moving from another city (Chicago). I'm sure they had at least one dress rehearsal before Feb. 1.

New Billys get a "put-in rehearsal", which is a full run of the show, before they go on in front of an audience.

[BEtourfan]

I may be mis-remembering but I thought the first performance in Durham was a dress rehearsal in front of a live audience.

[ERinVA]

The first performance to a paying audience in Durham was the matinee on Saturday, October 30, 2010 with Giuseppe as Billy and Griffin as Michael. There may well have been an invitational dress rehearsal before that, but the first performance to the paying public (of which I was a member) was that matinee. A discount on tickets was offered to audience members who brought canned goods to that performance, so my friend and I, who were already holding tickets for the evening show, stopped at the grocery store for canned goods before setting out for Durham to arrive in time to check in to our hotel and make it to the theatre box office to buy our tickets for seats in the mezzanine before the afternoon show. That evening, we got to see Lex and Jacob from seats in the orchestra.

[Eltonjohn]

New Billys get a "put-in rehearsal", which is a full run of the show, before they go on in front of an audience.

If a put-in rehearsal is not before a full audience, it must be pretty daunting to go out that first time.

[porschesrule]

The creative team at BETM is well known for their thoroughness in preparing new Billys and never lets them debut until they are ready to perform in front of an audience. In fact, if you go back and read reviews of Billy debut shows, I don't believe you'll find one instance of a Billy stumbling or messing up cues, in any major way, due to nervousness or not being thoroughly rehearsed. Quite the contrary; you'll find comments in those reviews to the effect that "you'd never know it was his first show".

There have been instances where a Billy's debut has been delayed because the creative team didn't feel he was ready, in some cases despite short-handedness in the rotation due to injury or illness. They build up a confidence in these young performers because they are totally prepared.

The other point is that most of these young people are not new to performing in front of audiences or to the pressures of competition. Despite their young age, in most cases they have been dancing for several years and competing (and winning) in dance contests in front of judges and audiences; perhaps not the size of an audience in a theatre, but they've been exposed to that experience nonetheless.

And finally there is the fact that these kids are not just any kid. I mean that in the sense that part of the criteria for being chosen for the role of Billy is the psychological make-up of the boy. The BETM children's casting director for North America, Nora Brennan, has often said that one of the key criteria she looks for in a prospective Billy is a certain drive to excel and commit oneself to the long haul of training and rehearsals necessary to Be Billy. I'm sure there have been some good technical dancers who ultimately have not been chosen for the role because of a lack of this vital criteria in their makeup.

Will there be first show jitters? Of course. As is the case with anything new, there will be nerves involved. But they've been given the wherewithal to deal with it.

[ERinVA]

I mentioned above about an invitational dress rehearsal. On Broadway, there was one held for families on the evening before the first preview. But after that, any new Billy brought into the show simply got a "put-in," as do all performers who join any show that is already up and running.