Spotlights: Expressing Yourself

spotlights: expressing yourself

Role: Producer / Company Manager

Project dates: August - November 2019

Performance dates: 18th - 20th November 2019

Company: Exeter Spotlights

Exeter University Spotlights is a musical theatre show choir which, through its shows, aims to construct new narratives around musical theatre numbers, celebrating diversity and acceptance. Each year we perform a set of popular hits from musicals with flawless harmonies and energetic choreography, all alongside a live 10-piece band!

rethinking spotlights

Spotlights is a musical theatre show choir and live 10-piece band. In our shows we bring together songs from a variety of musicals into one setlist.

When I was in the choir in 2018, it struck me that, just by putting the songs in a more or less random order, emotional and thematic peaks and falls emerged. I was keen to experiment with this more when I took on the role of producer, seeing how we could push the show dramaturgically and perhaps even create a loose storyline through our choices.

Luckily, this was an ambition shared by the rest of the team. We selected a bold, diverse setlist of musical theatre numbers which all related to the central theme of 'Expressing Yourself' (after the song in Billy Elliot).

We placed the most moving songs in pivotal locations just before the end of the first and second acts, and found that our order in someways reflected in theme and content the development of somebody's life.

In doing this, I feel like Spotlights found a renewed sense of purpose. We made it our mission to create shows that celebrate ideas of inclusivity and acceptance, and drew their audiences in through emotional climaxes.

rebranding spotlights

Spotlights has a great history at Exeter of putting on shows that leave its audiences beaming. Taking over as producer after being in the choir itself, I was incredibly passionate about making sure the group's image was as strong as its performances.

I began by asking for a rebrand of the logo, keeping the immediately recognisable colour scheme, but simplifying the text and aiming for a clean, bright feel.

This logo was then extrapolated into Instagram stories, stash, and everything else. We also aimed for uniformity across all social media platforms - to create a cohesive image. Similarly, 'Spotlights Show Choir' became 'Spotlights Company' to include band and prod team.