That Conductor's Crazy

Studio One – enter via Refinery ArtSpace, 114 Hardy Street, Nelson

25/03/2023 - 26/03/2023

Nelson Fringe Festival 2023

Production Details


Created by Erica Sim


A new play about Adelaide, who has discovered a new musical passion – leading others in song! She’s been to every masterclass, read all the books and uses all the tips and tricks to train her choir with mixed results. Come join choir rehearsal and experience the chaos. Audience participation encouraged.

Meet Adelaide a “trained” singer who conducts her local community choir.
What Adelaide lacks in training she makes up in jargon.
Lip trills, strawing, breath support, sirening and myrening? You’ll experience them all when you come to the first choir workshop/ rehearsal for the term.

With the choir’s long suffering accompanist Beryl at the keyboard providing musical expertise and long term choir members expressing their opinions, Adelaide has her hands full!
Come join in with the exercises, singing and chaos.

Studio One, 114 Hardy Street, Nelson
Sat 25, Sun 26 March 2023
7.30pm
$15
https://www.nelsonfringe.co.nz/events/that-conductors-crazy


Cast Erica Sim, Jessica D’Ath and guest appearance by Allison Cormack


Theatre , Music ,


1hr

Grandeur, attitude, jargon, chaos and musical humour plus an enjoyable sing-song

Review by Judene Edgar 27th Mar 2023

Erica Sim has created a fully immersive musical experience for those with a love of singing.

The concept is simple: Adelaide (Erica Sim) is a prim and proper choral mistress with a sense of grandeur and over-inflated view of her own talent. Beryl (Jess D’Ath) is the pianist with an attitude – with a capital A! And the audience is the literal choir, there for our first lesson. 

But chaos ensues with repeated phone calls and numerous interruptions and the slow unravelling of Adelaide. And a scene-stealer moment from star pupil Aria (Allison Cormack).

We start with stretches and sirens (voice exercises). Adelaide drops in a lot of musical jargon that unfortunately goes over my head. This is definitely a show for those who know and understand music. As a non-singer, I am perhaps not the target audience for the show, and admittedly I am in the minority; those around me are enjoying the experience and sing song.

A little more set-up at the start would be helpful in both understanding Adelaide’s motivations and some of the underlying humour. Re-reading the promotional material afterward, gives me some valuable context that, having booked my tickets a week earlier, had escaped me.

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