Have a read!
http://www.whatsonsydney.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/cosi.html 

Check out Stage Whisper's review of Epicentre's COSI here:http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/cosi-1 

We are nearly there! It’s hard to think that within two weeks we would have
already had two performances, but needless to say I am looking forward to
it. We are currently polishing our scenes getting ready for our move into the
Zenith. Everyone is eager to get onto the Zenith as soon as possible, although
our rehearsals at Warner’s Park at Northbridge have been great, nothing will
compare with rehearsing and performing on a real stage. The entire experience
of working with this cast and with Epicentre has been a lot of fun and has been
an incredibly quick one. It has been so great to perform with such enthusiastic
people and I think reflects in our production of ‘Cosi’. These next few weeks will
be frantic, fast and fantastic.

The characters are starting to take over! I found myself talking like Cherry off
stage at today's rehearsal. It's amazing how much a play can resonate with you.
So much of the journeys our characters take are echoed in our own lives. I think
for those of us who love acting it is the chance to be a kid, to use our imagination
and to play in this fantasy world that attracts us and in most cases allow us to
explore ourselves too. A character like Cherry lets me really play with the mind
of someone who has no societal barriers. And it's fun.

Our Director has been encouraging this sense of fun by reminding us of our craft.
We have been enjoying an in depth exploration of our dialogue and played with
the rhythms of the text in new ways including a romp in each other's shoes. I
had not considered the intensity required to maintain Henry's focus in his silent
world and enjoyed my short time experiencing his desire to leave. Luckily for us,
his desire to stay rules out!

Cherry has recently acquired a new handbag that you might like to keep an eye
out for... it's red... you can't miss it. And don't forget to bring fairy cakes!

To describe our 'Cosi' rehearsals as therapeutic would be an understatement. I
look forward to an audience coming along for the ride... we're going to fix you up
a real treat!

It's Cherry not Cheery!! :o)

Today the cast started with a warm up activity, Act 1 Scene 1 in different
characters. It was a funny scene to watch, seeing everyone exaggerate the roles
of others.
Everyone has been working hard to create meaningful characters and they have
come alive on stage. As an onlooker, I really feel for the inmates in the asylum
and both sympathise and empathise with their stories. There are so many funny
moments in the script and the cast has finally stopped laughing at each other.
The bonus for me is that I can still laugh and will continue to laugh as the script
is so clever and the cast so good in delivering the lines. I am looking forward to
seeing it on the Zenith Stage. Not long now.(from March 1) 

With opening night looming, the time has come to tighten our bootstraps.
Everyone has been trying really hard to get all their lines down - special mention
to Daryl and Aston who are on stage for pretty much the whole play! With each
rehearsal now, everyone is becoming more and more comfortable and natural
with their character. Also, having been together for a while now, there’s a lovely
ensemble feel between the cast, which makes for some really fun rehearsals, and
should lead to a great production. Can’t wait.

Blog by Shaelee Rooke (Lucy)

Check out the articles below!

" Music is what love between human beings should be"
                   
This cry of anguish from my character Roy signals the frustrations he feels as he attempts
to still his emotional turmoil in the production of his beloved opera "Cosi fan Tutte". They
are the frustrations a large portion of the population probably feels as they deal with broken
marriages and difficulties in relationships. (Boy, I'm getting a bit deep, aren't I?)
But this play, while it does deal with "issues", is also very funny, as this group of mental
patients, with virtually no theatrical experience, struggle to put on an opera, and deal with
their relationships with one another.
Even though some people may call them "nutters", they are no different to many other
people. My character Roy's annoying and aggressive behaviour is no "worse " than that of
other annoying and aggressive people I have met (particularly in the workplace), and it is my
challenge, as well as that of the other actors, to bring out the humanity of these characters.
Tonight we began to learn to sing the opera, and, as a non-singer, I think I identify with the
mental patients to do something out of my comfort zone. Watching me, trying to sing, might
be funny in itself!
So, come along, to see this show, to be amused, and perhaps challenged too.

Here we see the photographer photographing of the performing of Cosi; which
saw poor Ruth thrown into a quandary as she tried to work out which (if any)
was real and which (if any) was an illusion. Not to mention pure Doug who was
thrown onto the floor and ‘mounted’ by Cherry on the assumption that he had
lit yet another fire!! But, a fun day was had by all, as the cast acted out various
scenes for the Cosi publicity shots.
By Jeannie Gee (Ruth)

So…. another night of rehearsals as we inch closer to March’s performance!
Tonight we spent time on several scenes from Act 1 of Cosi, and also started to
dabble with some of the costumes for the play’s final scenes.

All of us are trying very hard to move off of script so that we can have our hands free to wave about as we see fit. What many people don’t realise is that as an ensemble cast, we each have to learn virtually all lines of the play, not just our own, so we know exactly when to speak and when to move. Lewis is one of the main characters in Cosi, and though he has very few long passages of text to deliver at a time, he speaks very frequently throughout the play and is on stage for almost every moment of Cosi. This means I have to really concentrate on what the other actors are saying and be sure to keep in the moment with them.

It’s tricky but I enjoy the challenge.