[Maine Music Teacha]

Greetings everyone!!! This is my first post on this forum (which I stumbled upon while trying to find some internet help for QUIET) and I'm excited to be a part of this community! While searching through this forum, I only found 1 thread about Quiet...so I'm hoping I can get some more info!

SOOO..here's the scoop. The Quiet scene has been the "exquisite agony" for myself and our production staff as we are putting the show together. I would love to hear any suggestions or thoughts from others who have done or seen this production on stage.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

Musically Yours,
MMT

[musikal_geek]

As for bringing the mattresses across the stage...

We had ten really thin foamy mattresses. Each mattress had two different designs on it: one on the front side and one on the back. We made a chain of people and mattresses. Basically, after a person exited the stage, they would flip their mattress so that you would never have one design repeated.


Tell me if that made no sense.

[Hortonhearsawho]

I think it ia important to have a really good rythem with this song whetehr it be with choreographed marching steps, or dance or passing the mattress, it would be effective for whatever the audience is seeing to match the beat of what they are hearing

[Theatrelife101]

Ya, our director cut half the song- enough to get what needs to be done, done- without being wierd.
We just have 3 guys bringing 1 mattress on lol, and then all the mattresses are there later.

We cut from the 1st yelled Bravo! Bravo Bravissimo- to the last clapping sequence at the end.

[Gazelle]

lol well my favorite out of all 5 shows i've done was my most recent in december-

We opened with Fred and Daunt come out holding hands, she gets him to give her a kiss on the cheek and they walk off, then Beatrice and Studley came down stage, he twirls her and they walk off, then Rowena and Lucille come downstage pouting and two nights come out and take there hands bowing- girls scream, and at the same time Jester, Larkin (in daunt's 1st act tunic), Minstrel, and King are tiptoeing out from the other side. Queen is heared screaming the first quiet after ladyR&L scream and the jester+company group runs back off.

Then as the march goes on Nights and Ladys are walking across both ways crossing, the blanket group, sheet group, and mattress group, being led by one of the three Ladies (R,L,and B) because those girls had the 'Right' lines. At one point Jester+company ran across stage behind the ladies and knights at double pace, then came center stage at one point and when the knights say 'right right right' Jester + company some how get seperated and are spread out on the stage- all Ladies and Knights on stage as well lined up. The Jester slowly tiptoes backwards downstage into the wing and off stage yells "Bravo" and then everyone who is onstage joins in. Then jester comes back out as if he/she saw the queen and runs out running into a ladie who screams, making the Minstrel scream, and then in the corner King chases off a wench and she makes the 3rd scream.

Larkin grabs him before he goes off stage and the Jester signals that the queen is coming and Minstrel grabs Larkin and they both lay down under the mattress that the knights had piled slopply on the floor at 'right right right'.
Then the Queen descovers them by seeing then under the mattresses. Scene goes on from there.

This wasn't as complacated as it sounds, and i hope it made some sense. All layed out it looked amazing an stage in the end.

[Maine Music Teacha]

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR INPUT!!! This is very helpful to our staff and cast. If anyone else has suggestions please post at will THANKS!!!


MMT

[LaurelDP]

We ended up cutting a lot... Like a WHOLE lot.

We started Act II with the Minstrel, Larken, King, and Jesters (we had two) sneaking around our set (which was huge and had two levels)... We made the most out of that comedy.

Then as they were heading down the SR stair case, I (Queen) came on stage with an entourage carrying sheets, pillows, blankets, mattresses... My entrance made the mischief crew stop where they were and just try to freeze.

So I walked to about Center stage, and at this point, the Jesters had joined my entourage, because they were planning a distraction.

When I reached center stage, Larken sneezed from the upper level of the set, and I yelled "Quiet!"
Then my entourage started with the "Quiet" round. They basically only did one round of the "Quiet, quiet, the queen insists on quiet, she's ordered twenty mattresses..." etc.
We snaked in a half circle to a more upstage spot, and I stopped UC, where I then did the "check list" (Sheets... right. Pillows... right)

After that, the Jesters did a bunch of the Rhythm written in the music in a show offy type manner (almost like step-team-esque) to "distract" me, the queen, and my entourage. One eventually pulled me DS with a hankerchief trick, turning my back to SR, which was when Larkin, Minstrel, and King disappeared snuck around the other side of the staircase.

At this point we did the "Bravo, Bravo..." in an ovation type thing for the Jesters.
T
he Jesters then started a conga-esque line, getting my entire entourage off stage dancing, and I almost followed, but then got fishy as to what was going on, and chased after the Jesters yelling the line that was something like "this is a fine kettle of fish"...

When I ran off after the Jesters, the Larken gang made it to downstage center, and when I came back on, Minstrel and Larken took the inflatable mattresses we left on stage, and sandwiched themselves between them in an attempt to hide, the King watching their cover.




That probably doesn't make much sense... Reading it again, it's awfully confusing.

It was really hard to put into words, lol!