Coming soon... Abracadabra
/Starling Arts' next show Abracadabra hits the stage at the John McIntosh Theatre in less than four weeks! This post is an excuse to tell you all about it and to use as many magic puns as possible...
I'm willing to bet that everyone reading this is familiar with the word 'Abracadabra'. A magical incantation used in magic tricks, conjuring images of rabbits pulled from hats and magic wands, the word is so closely associated with wonder that it seemed an obvious choice to provide the title to our evening of musical performance artistry on stage!
The etymology of the word 'Abracadabra' suggests it comes from the Hebrew meaning "I create (A'bra) what (ca) I speak (dab'ra)." This struck a chord with us: through song we create different worlds on stage.
It's been a year since our last show, having recorded our debut album Taking Flight at the end of last year, and we've lots to show! Plenty of new voices have since joined us, bringing some incredible talent to the already spell-binding Starling line up. We've more variety than ever, with rock, pop and show tunes from a range of acts like Rihanna to The Lumineers, plus songs from the musical Matilda and show-tune classics like 'One' from A Chorus Line, featuring some of our most ambitious dancing yet. This show is a bit like a tin of Roses - there is something for everyone!
All of our adult singers have been rehearsing with us for just 2 hours a week over the last few months, but with plenty of extra work going on outside of sessions, the singers have poured their hearts into making this show something they can be proud of, practicing dance moves in their kitchens, harmonies in the shower and even sewing costumes on their Sunday afternoons!
Singing in a choir, particularly one with such an emphasis on performance, is hard work. Just when you think you've nailed a vocal harmony, a tricky dance step jumps in to confuse you, plus you sometimes have up to 60 other voices to blend with - but when it comes together, magic happens and we’re very proud of all our singers’ hard work!
Of course, the whole show will be spell-binging, but here are our top tips:
Our Abracadabra Highlights:
An epic medley of Meatloaf's hits arranged specially for the Starling Singers
A Mary Poppins trilogy, with one number performed by each choir, with some of the catchiest tunes and trickiest dance routines yet!
Songs made famous by Elvis and the 'Rock 'n' Roll' era mashed up in a toe-tapping performance from Forte
A punk-rock departure for our close-harmony Corvida ladies and a song made famous by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers...
We hope our singers will put a spell on you - just come on down and visit us on July 6 & 7th at the John McIntosh Theatre and see...
- Emily
