Lauren Ho in Blood Brothers

Next up in our Blood Brothers series we have Lauren Ho!

Tell us about yourself / Tell us about your role!
Hi! My name is Lauren and I'm 15. In this production, I was a dancer. Dancers didn't have a character role, but we were there to enhance the emotions and set the atmosphere.

What was the process of moving into the theatre from the rehearsal studio like?
Coming from the studio to the theatre is always exciting, but this time it was especially so because I've never worked in the Jockey Club amphitheater before. We've also saw the set sketches before going to the theatre, and it looked amazing. So it was exciting to see how the sketches turned into the actual set. Being in the actual theatre also helped the cast realise that we needed to play out to all sides of the theatre, since audience was sitting all around us.

I enjoyed…
Absolutely everything, even the 9AM rehearsals and long days. Everybody is so passionate that I always look forward to going to rehearse.

The most challenging thing was…
Because there were no curtains in the theatre, some of the dancers had to go onstage and improvise very slowly as the audience members were entering, to set the mood and the atmosphere of the rest of the musical. Since the lights were still up, the most challenging thing was staying focused. Especially when I knew I had friends in the audience, it took a lot of control to not scan the audience for them, or laugh out loud when they spot me and point.

I'm going to miss...
spending time with the cast, both onstage and off! Of course I enjoy being on stage and performing, but it's what happens backstage with all your friends that really makes the experience for me.

What is your favourite song/dance number/scene?
My favourite dance is Kid's Game. It's so much fun and I get to act like a 7 year old again without being judged :)

Tell us something we don’t know…
When the dancers are offstage, we're almost always mouthing and acting the lines and actions along with the cast. Especially the funny parts, like Eddie's romantic monologue, and the narrator's mad women 'rap'!

What do you do 10 mins before the show?
One thing that I've learnt from this production was focus. Because you're onstage for really long periods of time, it's really important that your eyes don't wander and that you're always engaged... So before the performance, a lot of the dancers huddle in a circle together, close our eyes, and just breathe. We found that this exercise was really helpful not only for thinking about our focus, but also to be more in sync with everybody else. So when we start performing, we perform as a group.

Three tips for a successful performance?
1) Rehearse rehearse rehearse!!! Even if you're not at rehearsal, you should always put aside a time every day to go through every one of your dances. Really knowing your dance (or your lines) inside out and committing it to muscle memory will give you more leeway on stage, so you can enjoy performing rather than thinking of what you have to do next.
2) ENERGY. This one's so important because even if one person is feeling a little tired or negative, the rest of the cast (and the audience) starts feeling that way too. Whereas if everybody's feeling energised, the show will go great!
3) Focus. I've already mentioned this before, but it's what makes the difference between an amateur and professional performer!!

What's next now that Blood Brothers is over?
​Although it seems like life itself is over, there are always other opportunities. Right now, I'm in the middle of rehearsing for other performances at the beginning of 2016. Of course, I'm also just waiting around for another YAF show to pop up!