Q&A with Flavia Cacace - Mistry

Hi all :-)

Following on from my 'Behind the Scenes at Dance 'Til Dawn' visit, Flavia has very kindly answered some questions which are mainly based on her day to day ritual while on tour with the show.


Q : How long does it take you to style your hair and apply your make up for each show? Are the basics done while at the hotel and just added to before the show for a more dramatic look, or do you prefer to create your whole look at the theatre?

A : I tend to get to the theatre at around 5pm and start the process of make up. That way at 6pm I am pretty much  ready and can join the rest of the cast for our pre-show warm up on stage. 
Sometimes other commitments set in which means I only do some of my make up and hair before warm up and then it's a mad scramble to get myself together after the warm up.
Luckily my hair as long as it is washed and has had a quick passing of the straighteners, doesn't take long.


Q : Do you follow a set make up ritual for every show to keep the same look or do you vary producst/eyeshadow/lip colours depending on mood?

A : Mostly I stick to the same as it's quicker to keep to a routine and also I like to take a minimal amount of products with me so there's less to move from theatre to theatre. Occasionally I will try a different lippy but I think once you find what works for you, it's good to stick to it. 


Q : Do you have a favourite dress, and if you could keep one after the tour finished, which would it be?

A : I don't really see the dresses like that. I have some at home that I don't really wear, I think I'm always thinking of the next option or creation.


Q : Are your preferences taken into consideration when deciding on costumes for the show? Do you sit in on the design process or are you happy enough to go with whatever style(s) have been created for you?

A : There's so much choreographing at the beginning of a new show that I like to leave the costume designers to it as I trust they know me well enough. I get to see the designs on paper and that's when I can make changes to things I'm not happy with, but I'm pretty easy going as they always tell me :)


Q : In a scenario where either of the understudies had to replace you or Vincent, would the routines be exactly the same as yours and Vincent's or is there a back up version that has been rehearsed?... e.g would they dance the same AT that you both do or would it be a shortened/simplified version given it isn't their speciality?

A : Pretty much all would be the same with the exception of the final Argentine Tango which would be different. Wouldn't want to kill anyone! 


Q : In the moments in the show where we see the characters 'acting' in the background, are they really having proper scripted chats with each other or is it all just nonsense talk without proper dialogue?

A : There's a lot of chit chat that goes on and most keep in character, and even if they talk about what they had for lunch, it is done in the style of an American gangster. It does make me laugh. 


Q : Any moments where the cast play little tricks/jokes onstage which are too subtle for the audience to notice, but which make you all want to laugh?

A : So many times is all I can say and I'm just glad the audience can't tell.


Q : Do you have to rehearse the show on the first day at every new venue or can you get a 'feel' for the stage just from your warm up?

A : We go in early on the first day at 4.30pm so you can get familiar with the back stage area, and where all the costume changes will happen etc. As you saw it is quite dark back there and you have to be careful where you are stepping.


Q : How do you prepare yourself mentally before a show and how do you unwind afterwards?

A : Getting ready is really my preparation. Listening to calming music is also good. I still get nervous each time so it's about staying calm and assertive. 
After is easy.... food, bath, bed.


Q : How do you pass your time when on tour in the hours when you're not needed at the theatre? Is a lot of it spent in your hotel watching TV/messing around until it's time to go to work like in a normal home/working environment? There's only so much shopping a girl can do I guess(?)

A : I like to sleep as much as I can. I have late nights and I feel I heal during sleep and wake up with a few less aches. To be honest there's always things to do as we do a lot of press interviews every week...emails...phone calls. 
Things like fitting in a massage, physio, nails, hair... they all take time. I also like to walk a lot too and get as much fresh air as possible beforehand. Sometimes we'll have clean up call and cover rehearsals too... Not much time left!!


Q : Finally, what are the best aspects of touring and what are the worst?

A : You get to see lots of beautiful places and sometimes not so beautiful places, most are lovely though. Travelling is good fun but it's hard to be away from home and living out of a suitcase, there's always something you wish you had brought with you..... or sometimes you have way too much of the wrong thing. Tricky to get it right. 


Thanks to Flavia for being so generous with her time and for answering all of my questions. Hopefully I didn't do too badly for a 'rookie interviewer' haha...! :-) 

Behind the scenes at Dance 'Til Dawn

Photo Credit : Manuel Harlan

Hi all

Haven't written anything here in ages so thought I would do a blog post on my recent backstage visit to Dance 'Til Dawn at Glasgow Kings theatre.

Anyone likely to read this blog is also likely to know how much of a superfan I am of the show (and of Vincent & Flavia) and so will also know how delighted I was to have the chance to go 'Behind the scenes' when the show came here to Glasgow.

Many of you will have seen Dance 'Til Dawn by now given that there are only a couple of weeks left, but for those who haven't I'll give a brief rundown of what it's all about.

Basically it is a story set in 1940's Hollywood with beautiful movie starlet Sadie Strauss (Flavia), her cheating actor boyfriend and co-star Bobby Burns (Ben), and wannabe actor Tony DeLuca (Vincent).
There is hilarious narration from private detective Tommy Dubrowski (Teddy Kempner), stunning vocals by The Voice (Oliver Darley) and a beautiful femme fatale, Lana Clemenza (Abbie Osmon) - Throw some bumbling gangsters, some very glamorous women and a fabulous live orchestra in, and you have two hours of world class dancing, amazing singing, and non stop entertainment from beginning to end.

It had been arranged for me to go in on Friday afternoon for a look around at the preparation process for the show, take some photos for our @VFDanceTilDawn Twitter page, and to meet all of the cast and backstage team.
I have met Flavia and Vincent numerous times and also had said hello to one or two of the other cast members, but on a whole I was looking forward to meeting EVERYONE involved with the show, and hearing about the work that they do.

Altogether I think there are around 40 people including cast, crew and wardrobe who TOUR with the show, with each venue having some local staff to help the touring crew/backstage staff  with the show preparations.

I was met at stage door by Martin who is the company manager and who I have to say was the most amazing tour guide. He very patiently showed me around every area of the theatre (both on and off stage)  and answered all of my many questions, making me feel very welcome and at ease for the whole of my visit. He was lovely and never at any time did I feel that he was getting bored showing me things or explaining a particular feature. He was brilliant. :)

One of the things I had been most looking forward to seeing on my visit was the amazing set which was designed by Morgan Large, I had totally loved his Midnight Tango set and it has always been a regret that I didn't ever see it closely enough to examine all of those quirky features it had... I could hardly wait to see all of the DTD set up close and it didn't disappoint. So cleverly constructed with moveable pieces for the cast to wheel off and on stage while telling the story of the show. Great craftmanship, I loved it.

Set Design : Morgan Large

Martin also introduced me to Jonny the stage manager who told me all about the stage construction, Nico who demonstrated the lighting features, and Pat who monitors every show from side of stage, making sure that the whole company are co-ordinated and everything running smoothly and on time. I also got to have a little play around with the sound desk where I had some great fun pressing various sound effect buttons which are used throughout the show... I now know where the *SPLASH, SQUELCH and SCRIBBLE* sound effects come from!! Hurrah!

Pat keeps a close eye on the stage throughout the show

Sound mixing desk 

Christina who helps organise the many props used, showed me all the various items and from having seen the show so many times already, I could easily remember where each item fit into the show, and what it's purpose was.

Selection of  props used

Another thing I had been dying to see was the wardrobe department where all of the costumes are meticulously cared for by Caroline (wardrobe supervisor) and her assistant Katie. You could be forgiven for thinking that with only a couple of weeks left of the show, that there wouldn't be such an urgency to keep the costumes looking the best they could, but you would be very wrong.
My first sighting was of Caroline bent over Flavia's Argentine Tango dress, carefully replacing sequins and stones, and of Katie combing through the fringing on one of the other girls dresses, studying it for any stray threads or piece of fabric that might have worked loose.  The attention to maintaining these costumes is plain to see when the cast are on stage as like I said before, the tour is just about at it's end, but yet to the audience eye, the costumes look as good and are cared for as much as they would have been on the very first week of the show.

Stones and sequins being meticulously replaced on Flavia's Argentine Tango dress

Next up was a peek inside both Vincent and Flavia's dressing rooms where Flav had a huge assortment of make up brushes, make up and all of the usual girly products that go into getting ready for a big night out.... Vincents dressing table was a little more sparse with a hair gel and hair dryer (maybe another one or two bits 'n' bobs) It was good to see inside as this was the first time I had ever been backstage in a theatre, so had often wondered what these things were like. I have to say, I thought they looked pretty alright. Nice and bright :-)

A girl can never have too many shoes...

I also had the great privilege of watching the cast in their warm up on stage. Before EVERY show, dance captain Gemma puts all of the cast through what looked to me like a very rigorous aerobics class! It was very impressive to watch, and oh my goodness but they are ALL super-fit!! I think I would have lasted all of 5 seconds before crumpling in a heap on the floor! I then got to see some of the cast work through some parts of the routines with Vincent and Flavia. Thanks to all of them for being so nice and allowing me to photograph them.

Gemma putting the team through their rigorous daily pre-show warm up

Working through some slight adjusments
with some cast members

Hello Danny :) 

Honestly, they all work so tirelessly and not one single cast member, or behind the scenes worker is ever complacent and all strive to make every single performance the best it can be. No one struck me as having an 'it's only our job' attitude.... they all genuinely seem to love their work, and are a very tight knit team.

Vincent and Flavia are the most down to earth, hard working pair and I guess this is something that helps in making a very happy ensemble/backstage team that enjoy their time together both on and off stage.  They were a delight to be around and nothing was too much trouble to explain. It was an absolute privilege for me and I loved every second of my visit.

HUGE thanks to Flavia and Martin for making it possible for me to be there, and thanks to the entire Dance 'Til Dawn team for being so friendly and kind. I had a fabulous day. Xx