London, Laryngitis and Lovely Lasses

Well, hello!

Since my last post quite a lot has happened! For a start, I've been unwell for the past 3 weeks but am finally feeling much better. The good part is that my medicine looks exactly like green elixir, and I'm also using Entertainer's Secret so I can pretend I'm a musical theatre performer... although unfortunately it doesn't appear to have done anything for my singing abilities!! Ages ago I had already planned 2 London trips for that period of time when I was unwell... but did I cancel? Of course not!!

So! Two weeks ago, I went to see Rachel Tucker's album release concert. I was gutted to have to missed the first one, especially since Rachel is my very favourite performer, so I wouldn't let anything stop me this time! I went with my best buddy Becca (ooh, unintentional illiteration!) In London, we finally met our Venezuelan friend Faby in person and it was so lovely to have both beautiful girls with me to share the experience with. The dramatic run-and-hug when Fabs and I spotted eachother was epic, she practically knocked me over! :D

My funny Welshy Becca, the very talented Fabs... and snotty, red-nosed me! :)

 

Rachel's concert was so incredible, I can't quite find the words to describe it!! Rachel looked so glamorous, her voice was just exceptional and she was SO funny! Her entrance went completely wrong, but she just laughed it off with a "wow, what a way to ruin an entrance!!" and she made me laugh throughout the show with her little stories. Like a true Elphaba, Rachel ended Act I with Defying Gravity! It was simply phenomenal! I quickly turned to Becca to see her reaction and she was wiping tears from her eyes "There's this power in her voice that just makes my tear ducts explode every time she sings!" I was thrilled that Becca liked Rachel, she barely knew who she was before the concert, and I was anxious for her to love her as much as I do! She told me she couldn't wait to see Wicked now, and I informed her that she'd never hear Defying Gravity performed that well ever again! (Ok, perhaps a little biased in saying so, but much as I adore many other Elphies, Rachel is my personal ultimate!)

(Source www.wickedthemusical.co.uk)

We entered the theatre behind the wonderful Miss Louise Dearman. We didn't actually notice her until she was walking down the steps on the other side of the theatre. We were in a good seat where we could not only see Rachel well and hear Guy chatting right behind us, we could see Louise really well. It was so nice to glimpse over now and then to see her grinning - the pride on her face when she watched Rachel perform was just adorable, and she was singing along at times too. She looked so different to the girl I met at stage door just a few weeks before. Then she was casually-dressed with no make-up besides a slight green tinged hairline. This time she was equally beautiful but oh my gosh, she was dressed up so elegantly and she looked absolutely stunning! Considering why she was so dressed up further confirmed some suspicions I was having... We knew Lou was going to be at the concert, but she had earlier told a fan that she wasn't performing. The others were convinced by this but I wasn't so sure I believed her and was insistent that she was going to perform. I didn't really believe myself to be honest, I was just saying she would perform because I SO wanted it to be true... But when I saw Louise get up from her seat whilst Rachel was performing a Chicago medley I whacked Becca multiple times and shouted (as much as a person who's lost their voice can shout) "I TOLD YOU SO!!! I KNEW SHE WOULD PERFORM!!" It goes without saying that the duet was brilliant, I honestly can't imagine a better duo than those girls. Not only were the vocals perfect but they were accompanied by a very elaborate and well-rehearsed dance routine! Their performance warranted a standing ovation from the audience! Rachel then thanked Lou, joked about how talented she is to play both roles, and did a funny miniature Popular/Defying Gravity medley!

I took a few photos during the show, but the camera on my phone is terrible! Look on Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr for much better photos from other audience members!

Another highlight for me was watching the pride on Rachel's face when she spoke about her baby boy and sang for him, it melted my heart! I also loved watching her perform with her dad, the very funny Mr Tommy Tucker (to whom Rachel owes her stage name of 'Tucker'... well, and her real maiden name Kelly too of course!!) It was so beautiful to see their relationship, and I love that it was symbolic of how Rachel's career first began, performing with her daddy. One final highlight that I will identify (I can't mention them all, we'll be here forever!!) was when Rachel sang Cabaret. I have watched the video of her singing it on I'd Do Anything repeatedly since it was first broadcast all those years ago, and it's become a bit of an in-joke between myself and my sweet friend, and honorary little sister Heather. Rachel owns that song, I've never heard it sang better!

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen that I stayed up the night before the concert to draw Rachel's baby boy, Ben. You can see some in-progress pics if you search #DrawingBabyBen. Below is the very final edit, which hasn't yet been uploaded even to Twitter (I made a few alterations in the morning before I left for London!)

 

Besides the happy memories, the most precious thing I have taken away from that day was this video which Faby recorded for me. Like I said before, Rachel is my very favourite performer, but I hadn't ever met her face to face before. I was so nervous and excited to finally meet her after almost 6 years, and to show her my drawing. I won't say any more, just watch. The sound is terrible, and all of Rachel's relatives were behind us making lots of noise (they'd come down from Belfast especially to see her, n'aww!) so it's pretty hard to hear what's going on! I have typed out the entire conversation below the video.

E - Hi!

R - Hi girls, how're yous?

E - I've lost my voice...

R - Oh no, have you?

E - ...so I had to clap extra loud to compensate! And I got Becca to scream on my behalf! [Video begins]

B - *Giggles*

R - Thankyou!

E - *Hands Rachel photo to sign whilst craftily snatching away and hiding the drawing underneath it*

R - So did yous enjoy it?

B - We absolutely did! I'm new to all this, Emma introduced me!

E - I introduced her to musical theatre, we just met at uni last year!

R - *Giving me a cheeky look* ahhh, so it's your fault?!

E & B - *Laugh*

B - Can you sign my ticket please?

R - There you are!

E - *Hands Rachel drawing* I've got something for you

R - *Puts pen forward ready to sign it* Oh my G... (It looks like she's about to say "oh my God, that's such a cute baby" or something, until she looks properly and realises it's not just any baby!)

E - (Meanwhile) Oh no, no! Don't sign it! That's for you, to keep!

R - (Only a split second after I've begun to speak) *realises what it is, eyebrows raise and jaw drops* Oh my God, it's Ben!! Did you do this on your computer?

E - Yeah, I stayed up last night to draw it for you!

R - It's brilliant! I recognise him! *Shows picture to Guy and mouths "Ben!"* Thankyou so much!

 

On that happy note, I will end this post before it gets any longer! Well... after telling you to go and see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (and read the book!) and Once the musical, both of which I saw during my second London trip, and which were both incredibly unique and absorbing, hugely enjoyable and instant favourites!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Emma Kate
xx

Virtual Art Gallery

Hello again, it's been a long time, hasn't it?

What you may not know is that one of my main reasons for starting up this blog was so that I could share my artwork with you all. The main project that I wanted to share is still in progress... it's been a whole year since I started it!! It is a present for all of the sprouts (fans of Samantha Barks, if you didn't know!) and the good news is that I haven't given up, and I WILL finish it eventually!! I can't wait for you all to see it... but alas I will have to, because there is much waiting ahead yet!

My problem is that I am a HUGE perfectionist, so it takes me a while to get things just right. On top of that, I have been extremely busy since starting university, so I haven't had very much time to 'draw', which makes me sad. (The reason I put 'draw' in inverted commas is because I do practically all of my artwork on my computer. I'm not really sure what you're supposed to call that, is it still 'drawing'? Can anyone enlighten me?!)

Until I can get this mystery sprout project finished, I thought I would share some of my favourite pieces of artwork with you. I have done lots of graphic design for charities (especially Post Pals, which you can read my blogpost about here), churches, hospitals, businesses, friends and other causes. Today though, I am going to share with you a small selection of my favourite musical theatre related images! I have watermarked everything I am uploading because I do not want anything to be taken and used without my permission. If you would like a non-watermarked copy of anything for PERSONAL USE, you are welcome to send me a message and I will email you the file. I would also like to add that I am no professional, and I am entirely self-taught, so please don't judge my work too harshly!! That said, and without further ado, please do step through my metaphorical door to my virtual art gallery!

I'll start with one piece which I 'drew' a long time ago, but which is still one of my very favourites. It is of the beautiful Sarah Lark, who I have been fortunate enough to have seen perform live 6 times, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Next up is another slightly older image - this time of the lovely Nikki Davis-Jones. I have already shared it in a previous blogpost, but I will show you again regardless! I 'drew' this after I saw her in the Little Women concert, in which she stole the show! I feel she was born to play the role of Jo - she was just perfect, and as always, hilarious! I can't wait to see her Elphaba again now that she is in the tour.

 

 

Last year I was absolutely thrilled to find out that Louise Dearman, former Glinda, was returning to Wicked as Elphaba! I got straight onto my computer to create some images for her. When I say some, I mean a LOT! I couldn't decide which to share with you... so here's the vast majority! I firstly did my usual and 'drew' Louise normally, but then I thought it would be fun to transform the same image by Galindafying and... Elphabafying (?) it!

 

 

That got my mind whirring, and I decided to create the following images of her in costume as Glinda (which I named Glou) and Elphaba (which I named Louphaba). Word of advice - don't attempt to draw Elphaba's dress!! It's incredibly and beautifully intricate and detailed, and so difficult to replicate!

 

 

I combined the two like so, creating an image I like to call Glouphaba (I do amuse myself!) ;)

 

I then took the original two images, printed them out, ripped Elphaba into strips, and glued every other strip on top of Glinda. This took a lot of time and experimentation, and I was so proud of the final product... but I have been kicking myself ever since as I forgot to take a photo before I sent it over to the Apollo Victoria!! Oops! Instead, I will show you this image of Lou's dogs, because they are adorable!

For my fellow Wicked fans out there, here's a little bit of typography using lyrics from what was my very favourite Wicked song at the time (it changes often, I think my current favourite is Wicked Witch of the East... or perhaps No Good Deed, which Miss Dearman performs absolutely incredibly... what's your favourite?!)

Now, my lovely reader, you are about to see something exclusive! I wasn't going to show anyone this until the subject of the 'drawing' had seen it... but it's been so long and I still haven't gotten round to posting it! Plus, I figured it would be a nice way to end this blogpost. About two or three months before Carrie Hope Fletcher was announced as the new Eponine in Les Miserables, I started to 'draw' this. I got so busy with university that it took me longer to finish than I had hoped. I was going to send it before she was announced, then before rehearsals ended, then before I went to see her perform... it never really happened! So, to conclude my miniature virtual art gallery exhibition, I would like to present an *almost* never-before-seen 'drawing' of the incredibly talented Miss Fletcher as Eponine...







(*drum roll*.....)

 

 

 

Thankyou very much for visiting, please do sign the guestbook on your way out (comments below would also suffice ;) I love to read them!) and invite your friends along (please share/tweet, it would make me very happy!)

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Emma Kate

xx