From Concept to Reality
By Lisa Mills, Producer and Musical Director for Jesus Christ Superstar, April 2006
When I was asked to MD Superstar I was very keen to direct also. As a rock opera, it needs a musician to pick out all the nuances in the music which, in turn, depict the direction so the MD/Artistic Director package came as one and I embarked on the concept of taking Superstar from my head onto the stage.
It is a musical I have longed to do for many years and was really honoured and excited to be involved in the BMTG production. The concept of the show is in a directors mind - we know what we want to do, and there are many things on the amateur stage that you can't do, so you adapt and refine. I was determined to do a traditional rendition of the greatest story ever told and based all my ideas on research directly from the bible and from the art work of Leonardo da Vinci - very topical at the moment with the new da Vinci Code Film. There were some fascinating insights into his beliefs and depictions of various parts of Christ's life through his art work and paintings and I tried to incorporate all these into the production, right down to the final crucifixion scene, which was set as a copy of da Vinci's painting 'The Crucifixion of Christ'.
Directing is not just getting people to recite words with feeling and conviction - it's the preparation, the rehearsing, the stagecraft work and getting the actors to BE the character, to feel what they felt and live how they lived. To be good, you act, to be brilliant, you are! Everyone at BMTG was incredibly supportive and as a team we pulled off a phenomenal show. Musically, Superstar was easy; the cast were so fired up they knew it all after only half the rehearsals which allowed us to add the fine detail that makes a memorable and truly outstanding show.
The key to success is preparation and accommodating everyone's abilities. It takes a lot of fine tuning and adapting but with perseverance and vision, you can produce stunning results. JCS will be remember for a long time to come, just like the bible story!