"I would not hesitate to work with Emily again or recommend her for any creative project." |
Diane Connors Vice President, Thames Music and Drama
I worked with Emily Bisset as co-director on Thames Music And Drama's 2017 production of Disney's Beauty and The Beast. As this was the largest production project that Emily had worked on to date, I initally took on a mentoring role - guiding her through the directing process. Having already worked on multi media projects, she easily understood the vast areas of production that the director must oversee - everything from lighting and sound to props and make-up.
Emily had a clear vision in her head of the main themes of the show and ensured that that integrity was carried through in all aspects of the production. No detail was too small. And while others may not have noticed every little nuance that she added, the attention to detail and focus on carrying the theme through, certainly reflected in the overall effect, one that took people into another world - a magical world. And the illusion wasn't contained to the stage. The minute the audience stepped into the theatre building they were in another place and time, with the foyer and auditorium, even the front of house crew, dressed in the theme.
Emily is extremely creative. She had brilliant ideas and her choreography was not only practical (I mean, how much dancing can a teapot or clock really do), but also true to the characters and emotions in the scene. Being a community theatre she was working with mostly untrained dancers and a chorus that included some as young as ten right through a couple of retirees. This is quite challenging in itself as the abilities ranged considerably. Emily cleverly created a base step that everyone could handle, then build on this for those with more skill. The dance sequences were visually stunning and made the most of the set layout while profiling the great costumes. She not only set all the moves but then broke them down to teach the cast. She even went to the trouble of creating an online video tutorial so they could practice at home.
Emily is a great singer herself. She was extremely generous to leads spending hours outside of rehearsals going over their solos to ensure they got the best out of their vocals. Our cast included many teens, many who had lead roles for the first time. She was great at building up their confidence and bringing up their performance. Characterisation was a key component. She ensured that every cast member understood who their character was and what they were experiencing, emotionally, in every scene. We had many compliments about the expressions/reactions from chorus roles who were always 'engaged' with the scene, helping to sell the story.
Emily's experience and capabilities in creative technologies were invaluable to this production. We decided to create the opening scene (the background story told by a narrator) all digitally and project this onto an 'oversized' book that was opened up on the stage; purely based on the knowledge that Emily had the ability to make this happen. It was incredibly professional with a lot of editing to get the right blend of visuals, audio track and music. It even meant that Emily herself could make a cameo appearance as the Enchantress.
Emily was an absolute delight to work with. Having directed for more than twenty year myself (and against professional advice) this was my first experience at co-directing. I am positive that this could not have worked with anyone else.
Our production of Beauty and The Beast was the company's first attempt at a Disney classic. It was a mammoth task with huge expectations from the audience. Mainly due to the collaboration with Miss Emily Bisset, it was hugely successful in all aspects - sold out shows, audience approval, financially, and the wonderful teamwork of both cast and crew.
Emily's constant energy and enthusiasm was infectious and made for a fantastic working environment. People even came to reheasals they didn't need to be at just to 'hang with the gang' . And there was not a dry eye at the end of the final show as we all knew that something special was now over. I would not hesitate to work with Emily again or recommend her for any creative project.
More on Thames MAD's production of Beauty and the Beast
Hauraki Herald 1
Hauraki Herald 2
Emily had a clear vision in her head of the main themes of the show and ensured that that integrity was carried through in all aspects of the production. No detail was too small. And while others may not have noticed every little nuance that she added, the attention to detail and focus on carrying the theme through, certainly reflected in the overall effect, one that took people into another world - a magical world. And the illusion wasn't contained to the stage. The minute the audience stepped into the theatre building they were in another place and time, with the foyer and auditorium, even the front of house crew, dressed in the theme.
Emily is extremely creative. She had brilliant ideas and her choreography was not only practical (I mean, how much dancing can a teapot or clock really do), but also true to the characters and emotions in the scene. Being a community theatre she was working with mostly untrained dancers and a chorus that included some as young as ten right through a couple of retirees. This is quite challenging in itself as the abilities ranged considerably. Emily cleverly created a base step that everyone could handle, then build on this for those with more skill. The dance sequences were visually stunning and made the most of the set layout while profiling the great costumes. She not only set all the moves but then broke them down to teach the cast. She even went to the trouble of creating an online video tutorial so they could practice at home.
Emily is a great singer herself. She was extremely generous to leads spending hours outside of rehearsals going over their solos to ensure they got the best out of their vocals. Our cast included many teens, many who had lead roles for the first time. She was great at building up their confidence and bringing up their performance. Characterisation was a key component. She ensured that every cast member understood who their character was and what they were experiencing, emotionally, in every scene. We had many compliments about the expressions/reactions from chorus roles who were always 'engaged' with the scene, helping to sell the story.
Emily's experience and capabilities in creative technologies were invaluable to this production. We decided to create the opening scene (the background story told by a narrator) all digitally and project this onto an 'oversized' book that was opened up on the stage; purely based on the knowledge that Emily had the ability to make this happen. It was incredibly professional with a lot of editing to get the right blend of visuals, audio track and music. It even meant that Emily herself could make a cameo appearance as the Enchantress.
Emily was an absolute delight to work with. Having directed for more than twenty year myself (and against professional advice) this was my first experience at co-directing. I am positive that this could not have worked with anyone else.
Our production of Beauty and The Beast was the company's first attempt at a Disney classic. It was a mammoth task with huge expectations from the audience. Mainly due to the collaboration with Miss Emily Bisset, it was hugely successful in all aspects - sold out shows, audience approval, financially, and the wonderful teamwork of both cast and crew.
Emily's constant energy and enthusiasm was infectious and made for a fantastic working environment. People even came to reheasals they didn't need to be at just to 'hang with the gang' . And there was not a dry eye at the end of the final show as we all knew that something special was now over. I would not hesitate to work with Emily again or recommend her for any creative project.
More on Thames MAD's production of Beauty and the Beast
Hauraki Herald 1
Hauraki Herald 2
Emily Bisset
[email protected]
BA(Screen and Media Studies) ATCL(Musical Theatre) ATCL(Speech and Drama) TEFL
[email protected]
BA(Screen and Media Studies) ATCL(Musical Theatre) ATCL(Speech and Drama) TEFL