The Spongebob Musical So how do you tackle it?

When BATS Next Gen decided to put on The Spongbob Musical we were facing a massive challenge. It had not been done before in the area and it’s a huge underwater spectacle. Breaking down what needed to be done was decided the best way to tackle it.

Costume requirements were big and a set didn’t exist for the show in the UK. The cost of special effects and lighting could be astronomical; a financial risk since the show has not been performed before locally. There was also the complicated choreography and singing requirements.

Director, Owen White, assembled a team of experts. Lighting designer, Myles Waugh-Bacchus, used the Broadway show as his inspiration and created a custom lighting rig. Neon flowers were a challenge, being too heavy for the existing theatre rig.  Myles created them using lightweight hula hoops. This show had the most lights we’ve ever used. It paid off as it lit the stage perfectly. Owen found an American set as his inspiration. Working with Scenery Solutions, a set was created with one specific requirement – it must have a slide! On different levels it was built using steel decking and dressed with flats, designed by Tori, who painted them with iconic SpongeBob images. Finishing touches came via recycled and repurposed items from a local charity and our own homes to ‘clean up the ocean’ helping us to create Bikini Bottom.

The costumes budget is always small. We usually source from our own supplies, from our adult sister company BATS, from charity shops and by making them.  But this time we should look at hiring professional ones and D Smith Design came up with the perfect solution- a full set of costumes which would be tailored to our young cast. This raised our usual budget. With fundraising and two donations from local charities – Four Lanes Trust and The Belgae Trust – we did the show justice.  Wigs and make up were provided from people with the necessary skills to so this.

Sound was another area which needed some creative thinking. With an enormous number of sound effects in the show, our sound engineer created a separate sound effect rig, controlled with a gaming controller. This was a show of massive proportions and a huge team pulled together to make it look seamless. Due to the complicated musical and dance numbers, there were two choreographers and two dance captains as well as Tori the MD to manage it all and there were constant revisions to keep the cast step perfect! To support the cast vocally during some of the huge dance numbers, we created an alumni.

The risk assessment was huge; dancers on roller skates, a slide, ladder on the set and two huge moving staircases. Fortunately, Owen had experience working on an underwater theme along with movement on wheels and the result was slick, bright, funny and feelgood throughout. We learnt a huge amount and for our cast it was an unforgettable experience.  And was it worth it… 100% yes!”

Fiona Morgans

BATS Next Gen Chair