VARIETY REPORT FINAL

Variety Report-

Holly Hoskison year 12 Musical Theatre

 

 

 

Variety performance is a set of entertaining acts put into a show for the pleasure of an audience. These acts can be anything from dance, singing, acting to a specific skill such as juggling, beat boxing or an animal act. In this report, I will research, explore and analyse variety as a genre from its origins and traditions to its present day existence.

 

 

History and Venues

Variety performance dates way back to the 18th century and prior when the public used variety events as a social gathering at the end of a long week. In the present day, 21st century variety performance is best known for its annual show called The Royal Variety Performance, which is shown in London’s Palace Theatre.  This show is one of the world’s most famous and highly respected variety events, hosted by the Royal Family which you must receive a special invite to appear in.

There were different venues where variety performances would take place, these varied from rooms in drinking houses and pubs to purpose built music halls.

Variety performances began in music halls and drinking houses, dating back to 18th century London. Victorian Musical Halls of the 1830s to 1900s would consist of acts performing whilst audiences would eat, drink and interact with the singing and comedy acts. Acts such as male and female impersonators and characters songs were a popular appearance at shows. These events would be lively and for the working class who attended, the highlight of their social calendar; a weekly event in which they would very much look forward to as it was a retreat from their working lives. Workers of this century were paid a few shillings a week,  (a few pounds a week) and would spend their remaining week’s wages on seeing these variety shows. This implies how appealing the shows were to the paying public who had minimal money to spend. The fact music halls were an opportunity for the working class to relax after a long weeks work, suggests as to why they were so crowded and popular. The Victorian Musical Halls later became so popular they would hold shows three times a week to house their growing audience base.

The same would apply to saloon bars and drinking houses, working class audiences would spend their wages on one night out however these would appeal prehpas more to the males as these shoes were more sexualised compared to those of music halls.

American vaudeville is another genre of variety performance, which developed from the idea of freak shows and American burlesque, which peaked between the late 1880s and the 1930s. American vaudeville also developed as a branch of American life after the civil war. The shows consisted of unrelated entertaining acts and similarly to music halls, would attract audiences of the working and middle class who would spend some time relaxing here as a retreat from their working lives.

The London Palladium is one music hall, which has definite links to variety performance, past and present. This venue has held 40 of the annual British Royal Variety Shows, which are world famously known to be rich with talent and entertainment. The Palladium was first built in 1910 however was re built in to a year an ice rink, The National Skating Palace a year later. This however failed and was later redesigned by Frank Matcham, a famous theatrical architect who turned the Palladium in to the successful theatre, as we know it today.

At the beginning of the 1920s, the theatre was a premium venue for variety performances. On a lower scale, rooms in drinking houses and pubs were also used as venues for variety performances. These venues would be for those of the working class and were only able to spend a small amount of money on food and drink whilst watching the variety show. The most popular songs sung in music halls were funny and humours, comedy acts which audiences seemed to enjoy.

 

Types of acts

The Lion Comique was a type of performance, found in variety shows which started in Victorian music halls. The act, Lions comique was a parody of upper-class toffs, making fun of well-educated classes to audiences of working and middle class. Audiences found this appealing as they enjoyed watching other social classes being scrutinised at their pleasure. Alfred Vance and G. H. McDermott made Lions Comique popular and as how we know it as today.

In the days early days of musical hall, character acts and speciality acts were very popular among audiences and there were many different types of these.

Adagio acts were a mixture of dance and acrobatics. This act saw women being thrown, spun and swung around by the men. The most well-known Adagio act was titled Romance in Porcelain and was by the Ganjou Brothers and Juanita. They performed from the 1930s until the group decided to end their act in the mid-1950s. They were among the highest paid performing variety acts of the 1940s as audiences clearly very much enjoyed witnessing women with high skill and flexibility being moved by men. In a way, male members of the audience were exploiting the women of the Adagio act as they would never have had the opportunity to see women in this way before. The women who took part in the Adagio act would have been extremely flexible and would have maintained a nice figure, which men would have admired, therefore paid money to witness in musical halls during the mid-20th century.

Character songs are songs usually within musical performances that show large amounts of character and include relevance to the narrative. A recent example of a character song performed in variety is A Perfect Day sung by Susan Boyle at the 2010 Royal Variety show after winning her place when she won Britain’s Got Talent earlier that year. Here is a YouTube link to her outstanding performance in the variety show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgO5P0HoAgk

Her performance is memorable as her characterisation is stunning and developed. The emotion she carries with her throughout the song is consistent and accurate to the lyrical needs of the song. Her ability to produce vocals of such a high standard at the same time as delivery such an emotive performance is an amazing talent and is why audiences pay money to se her live today.

In the late 19th century, riding a bike became the latest fashionable craze and with this, the cycling act was developed in variety performance. These acts saw groups of cyclists perform tricks on both one and two wheel push vehicles and bicycles.

In the 1880s, The Elliotts and the Seven Musical Savonas were popular because they were the only cycling band currently performing in variety shows. Later on in their successful career, they split into two contrasting acts. One was a cycling act which performed tricks and the other was the World’s Only Saxophone Band who played over 50 instruments between the seven of them. Hatsley, one of the seven performers rode a unicycle on the high wire while playing the trombone. This was something audiences had never witnessed before, making the prospect of danger and skill involved in the act, a new and exciting element to add to variety shows.

Another cycling act who became famous in early variety was Kaufmann’s Cycling Beauties. They were an all-female formation cycling team who wore full Edwardian fashionable dress or tight-fitting short-legged sporting gear which, as pictured below, looked surprisingly similar to modern sportswear one would wear to participate in cycling, water sports of running.

 

 

 

 

 

With the new discovery of electricity in 1879 by Thomas Edison, the 'Electric' acts were born in variety, and made an appearance in music halls. The act exploited the new invention of electricity in a positive way. Volta would electrify himself before lighting gas jets with the tips of his fingers or set fire to handkerchiefs by touch. This was one of the most dangerous acts that variety shows had ever witnessed and suddenly transformed music halls in to more thrilling places when these acts were showcased. The danger and possibility of something going wrong with the act, live, seemed to excite audiences because this was a totally new prospect to them. The idea that the new discovery of electricity could be made in to an act so quickly, would have made audiences wonder what could be next in technology advances and therefore what this would bring to variety performance.

The Victorina Troupe developed the sword swallowing act, which saw them swallowing a bayonet fitted to a loaded gun. Miss Victorina, the lead performer, swallowed a lit electric light bulb which shone through her flesh.

 

Camp Variety Speciality Acts of the 1940s

Renee Dymott, known as ‘the unusual girl’, was a young lady variety performer who wore pointe ballet shoes on stage centre, performed pointe movements such as releves and plies at the same time as playing a banjo. The idea of such an act sounds preposterous however watching her perform her speciality act, is in fact capturing and fascinating, explaining why audiences would watch her and others with unique and individual acts to offer.

Anna Howe’s act saw her dancing around the stage in a long gown and high heeled ballroom shoes. At the same time, she was playing the violin and bending backwards, gently landing on the floor and reversing this move, recovering to her original upright position, dancing around the room. When watching a video of Howe’s, you can clearly hear the audience’s reactions in the back ground. You hear laughs and a positive response, this shows audiences enjoyed viewing something with a unique edge to it and speciality acts clearly were the answer to their wishes.

Similarly to Howe’s performance, Vesta Tilley, a woman playing the xylophone and tap dancing whilst doing the splits, gets audience response when performing her act, as it is so unique and has never been attempted before. All three of these examples of speciality acts sum up the genre well, these acts are unique to the performer; require high levels of skill however don’t have any purpose besides entertaining their paying audiences, which they fulfilled fantastically!

Below, is a YouTube clip of Reene Dymott, Anna Howe and Vesta’s; Camp Variety Speciality Acts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMzQVe-ytA0

Male and Female impersonators

A male impersonator is a female performer who dresses as a male and acts as him whereas a female impersonator, is male performer who dresses as a female and acts as her.

Vesta Tilley, known as the tap dancing xylophonist, was also a male impersonator in the 1940s. Her real name, Matilda Alice Powles, was born in 1864 and passed away at the age of 88 in 1952. She was an English music hall performer who also stared in the United States variety for over three decades. At the age of 11, she gained her stage name Vesta Tilley and went on to become one of the most famous male impersonators of her era.

 

 

 

 

Julian Eltinge, born in 1881 was an American stage, screen actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of 10 in feminine garb, he was noticed by big shot producers and made it on to Broadway in 1904. As he began to rise to stardom, he appeared in vaudeville, touring Europe and the United States. Eltinge then took part in a musical comedy series, later returning to vaudeville in 1918.

Eltinge’s work as a female impersonator, sourced from YouTube;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4e-n_BI8os

This YouTube clip shows Etinge’s work as a female impersonator. Here, we see she had an entourage of backing dancers filling the stage, performing Can-can stylised movements.  The act revolved around Eltinge prancing and dancing around the stage in a humongous flamboyant dress piece, complete with a feathered head set. In the interview after, she mentions many people have asked who made the outfit. This shows that another reason for people attending music hall variety shows is because of the beautiful outfits. These especially appeal to those of lower and middle classes as they wouldn’t have been able to afford outfits of anywhere near the beauty and quality of those seen in variety shows. This just another one of the many reasons the paying public love variety shows, past and present.  

War recruitment within variety

As we have seen in my research in to variety, the audiences very much enjoy and pay attention to the shows therefore, by collaborating war recruitment in to a variety show was a fantastic way of getting naïve young men to sign up to the army, at the same time as their parents and lovers allowing this to take place. The best example of war recruitment in variety is ‘Oh What a Lovely War’. The use of young women dancing around the stage in raunchy outfits, tempted the young men to sign up as sexual pleasures were suggests as a reward. Also, the performers of the variety show would sing songs with lyrics encouraging the young men in the audience that if they came to the army, they were doing a good deed for their family and country.

Phrases were spoken by the female performers such as “I’ll turn you in to a man” and “I’ll give you the time of your life”. This was suggesting to the audience that by men signing up for the army, they would be highly respected and their sexual urges would also be fulfilled.

Blackmail was another technique used by the performers, “A kiss a kiss from this lovely lady, for the first man to volunteer.” This gave the young nervous and fragile men a final push in to joining to army. This suggests how powerful variety acts could be, as war recruitment really did work for encouraging men to join the army when combined with variety.

 

In depth study of two chosen acts

For this section, I have gone in the detail of two acts I have chosen and would like to perform in the end of term variety show. For the show, I will chose one of these acts to stage and perform for real. My two chosen acts are a dance solo and a musical theatre song.

1)    Ballet and contemporary dance solo

This is my first choice in act I would like to perform at the summer variety showcase. Ballet dance is something I have been doing for years and I am currently working on the grade 7 and intermediate exam syllabuses with the Royal Academy of Dance.

My first chosen piece relates to the work of late variety performer, Renee Dymott, who performed pointe movements such as releves and plié at the same time as playing a banjo. My chosen act relates to Renee Dymott’s act as they both express passion and sense of meaning through movement of the same elegant form, ballet. I have learnt both from watching Dymott’s act and taking regular lessons, that ballet is a passionate type of dance and takes a lot of strength to perform and perfect.

 

 

I would dance this to either a classical ballet piece of music or put my own twist on it and venture for something more contemporary. Here are a few pieces of music I have in mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ea90L91eZk Swan Lake original Dance of the Signets piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcFI8c5f6yo Nicole Cross’s cover of Sia’s Elastic Heart which I think would be a good piece of music to choreograph my solo to as the lyrics are very emotive and I think the audience would be able to connect with these easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8dSiyWIfEo This is a cover of Wrecking Ball, originally by Miley Cyrus covered by Boyce Avenue and Diamond White. This was a very popular song and the lyrics are relatable therefore I think dancing to this would be an effective way of using lyrics with emotional ties.

The venue I would be performing my ballet solo in is our very own Sealight Theatre in Worthing College. The size of the stage is a fairly large, plenty large enough for me to use the space well when dancing. I think this space is fully suited to a ballet solo; you can easily play around with the lighting on stage to create different atmospheric feelings which help set the scene of the performance for the audience. I am planning on using a dime blue shade of lighting when performing, as I think this will add a certain feel of fluidity and confidence to my solo.

I am aiming to base my choreography around a Swan Lake theme, including moves I performed when dancing Swan Lake, dance of the Signets last year however, putting a unique contemporary twist to the dance. I will include some of the signature moves from the original dance however include slightly more contemporary style moves in to the dance. I am planning on doing this to increase the individuality of the piece, and I am hoping to find a common medium between classical ballet and contemporary dance. I am also doing this as the show is based on variety performances and I believe my piece will be unique to everyone else's as it will involve two different styles of dance.

 

Also, the ballet solo I am planning to perform will include lots of movements, which requires me to make effective use of the stage space. Luckily, the Sealight theatre space is well suited to performances which need a large space as the stage is a fair size however the seating is very close to the stage space, making it an intimate performing space, with the capacity to hold over 100 people. This results in the ability to seat large numbers of people to share our performances with. This will increase the amount of feedback we receive which is a positive factor as a performer, allowing praise and constructive criticism to be taken. We will be performing to each other, therefore the audience will be our fellow class members, teachers, friends and possibly family. This could include children of a young age therefore the content must be age appropriate, which my dance definitely will be. I believe I can make my dance emotive, capturing the audiences’ attention, making them concentrate on working out why I have included movements I am planning to and how they relate to the music.

I feel it not to be appropriate to use any props for my dance; I feel the music I choose will be my biggest aid when performing. However for costume I would like to keep it simple by wearing black footless tights under a black skin-tight leotard with crossing straps over the back. I may wear my ballet shoes to dance my solo in because they aid me when doing pirouettes and turning on stage flooring. I want to keep the costume relatively simple as I feel what I have in mind for the dance will express my passion and message in a suitable fashion whereas a spectacular costume choice wouldn’t do this.

I believe this solo dance will suit my skill set to a higher level compared to the singing performance of a character song from a musical, as I wish to express myself through dance and movement. This is due to the fact that in the past, I have done a large amount of singing work. This variety show is a chance for me to express my love for both ballet and contemporary dance in one piece. This also allows my fellow class members and teachers to witness a different range of my skill set from a different perspective.

 

 

 

2)    Duet from a musical

My second chosen piece relates to the work of recent one off variety performer, Susan Boyle who appeared on the 2010 Royal Variety show after winning Britain’s Got Talent. This relates to my chosen character song as Boyle also sings a challenging character song and uses lighting to set the mood of the piece. I have learnt through watching Boyle’s Royal Variety performance that lighting can change the whole feel of a song and therefore will use this knowledge to greater my performance of I Dreamed a Dream in the variety showcase.

I have a strong passion for singing, numbers that originate from musicals and I also enjoy performing duets with fellow class members. My second chosen piece I would like to perform in the variety show also relates back to the work of all character song performers of variety, both past, Marie Lloyd’s hit ‘My Old Man Said Follow the Van and Don’t Dilly-Dally on the Way’, performed in music halls in 20th century Britain, and present, Susan Boyle with I dreamed a dream form the musical, Les Miserable. She performed this as her signature piece on television variety show, Britain’s Got Talent.

Singing is a skill I have learnt and acquired over many years of singing in choirs, with my past schools and taking weekly lessons at college. I have a strong love for singing of all styles, including songs under the genres’ alternative, pop and classic musical.

The venue I would be performing my duet in is again the Sealight Theatre. The size of the theatre is large therefore is a considerable amount of room to have to fill with your voice. The space we have available is great to perform songs in as the acoustics are good, making your voice project around the theatre, filling every corner. For my duet of I Dreamed a Dream which I would perform with Jess, the lighting I would use would alternate throughout the song. I would begin the performance with dime neutral lighting however as the song progressed, the lighting would increase in brightness to a full beam. I would like this to happen gradually to reflect the meaning and mood of the song. As the notes become longer and higher and the lyrics become deeper and more meaningful, the I would like the lighting to reflects this as I believe this adds to the visuals of the performance, allowing the audience to follow the happenings of the song.

For the performance, I would use a radio microphone which allows performers to have more freedom to act without having to worry about their voice being heard. Despite the fact this is a song Jess and I would be performing, we would use the space effectively to tell the story of the song. I have some movements in mind which Jess and I would be working as a pair to tell the story of the lyrics in I Dreamed a Dream. This includes walking around the stage area however not acknowledge one another’s presents until the end chorus, when at this point the lighting would be full beam and our voices would merge together to create a powerful piece of vocal work.

Our costume choices would be a plain white dress, hair up neatly in a bun and put together with a pair of simple black shoes. We would wear this as the song is a very emotive and powerful piece. If sung in the correct tone, I believe that by wearing an attractive simple outfit won’t take away from its true origin.

 

Variety shows and performances have been a large part of our society since the 19^th century. Throughout my report, we have discovered where variety shows started and how much they have meant to our growing society over the last couple of centuries. In conclusion, variety shows have been one of the most influential parts of our performing arts history and have entertained audiences for hundreds of years and will go on to do so again for years to come.

 

Link to Variety Report Bibliography- Click here

Variety Report, Holly Hoskison

Year 12 Musical Theatre, 2015.