I was invited to photograph Greasepaint Academy’s dress rehearsal of Aladdin. I arrived at the Walter Roy Theatre at 10am to capture behind the scenes photographs of the children getting ready for the dress rehearsal. The dressing room was full of excitement and nerves as the children gathered around to have their hair and make-up done. The costumes were fantastic! A rainbow of bright and vivid colours filled the room, each child wearing a different coloured Arabian style outfit with multicoloured feathers in their hair. The girls had the choice of pink, purple, white or brown eyeshadow to choose from, with the majority opting for the girly option of pink or purple! The older actors had a dressing room to themselves where they assisted each other with their hair and make-up. During the madness of getting all the children ready, there were moments of stillness and looking forward to the performance ahead of them. The parents really assisted with the smooth running of the morning leading up to the dress rehearsal. 

Once everyone was ready, all the children congregated into the theatre awaiting instruction. After introductions and notes about how the dress rehearsal will run, the children all ran off excitedly to get into their starting positions. The lights came up and the dress rehearsal commenced. The dress rehearsal was fantastic! The children put in so much energy and passion into their performance, even when having to stop and restart a section to ensure music cues and lighting were perfect. They were all very professional and eager to perform to their absolute best ability, which really shone through in the photos. 

Greasepaint Performance Academy is a performance arts academy run by the very talented and creative Rachel Miller. She teaches Drama classes, musical theatre classes, LAMDA tutoring and exam entry, pre school ‘tots’ sessions, west end workshops and Arts Awards tutoring for children between the ages of 4-16 year olds. If you would like your children to join Greasepaint, please follow the below links to find out more:

Website

Facebook 

CDs are available from Rachel Miller for full coverage of the Aladdin performance. 

I am available for event and performance photography. Please get in touch to find out pricing details. 

I love watching movies. The excitement I feel when walking in to the cinema, smelling the sweet popcorn and the anticipation of exploring a new world, characters and stories is exhilarating. I get a lot of my inspiration from classic cinema and iconic or cult films. 

My friend Sydney Clark, who is a designer and stylist that I’ve worked with on several different projects, creates really fantastic clothing. She prides her work “in fabric application and craftsmanship, the collection encapsulates unconventional fabrics and processes to create something totally unique, quirky and wearable.” This really resinated with me. I was looking through (stalking!) her Instagram, admiring her wonderful creations, and it reminded me of The Matrix films. The futuristic gothic look, with a lot of black clothing, long jackets and sleek shapes. I instantly messaged Sydney about working together to create a Matrix inspired shoot, to which she was very excited to do this. 

We set a date, and got in touch with make-up artist Mariana Gonzalez and model Megan Rudling who were both equally eager to create such a cool look. We met at the UEA and Mariana transformed Megan into a bad ass heroine. Mariana’s make-up and Sydney’s clothing were perfectly matched with the industrial look of the location. 

I wanted to capture the moments of motion and stillness which are frequent themes and sequences within The Matrix films. Megan focused on the concept of being a bad ass, and was excited about running around and kept asking whether she could jump off things. It was so much fun taking photographs of Megan as she really put her all into every shot. She had so much energy and passion throughout the shoot. 

I used my prism for some of the photographs. I used it in homage to the green text and numbers that reflect the opening scene of The Matrix. The prism gave the photos a cinematic effect. I used it to add contrast with the lines of the buildings, shadows and light. When editing the photos, I used Lightroom to create the bluey-green tint that is so iconic to the movies. I wanted to do this in my own way rather than replicating it, as to not copy the aesthetic entirely and give it a Katie Jade twist! ;) 

Creative Team Links:

Sydney Jane Clark 

Megan Rudling

Mariana Gonzalez 

Rebecca Morello is a Make-up Artist who is available throughout my photographic packages, from bridal make-up to fashion and commercial work. Rebecca and I have worked on many exciting projects together, and now we are joining forces to give our clients exciting, high quality packages unlike no other!

I’ve known Rebecca for three years and from the moment I first met her I knew she was a genuinely friendly, hardworking, ambitious and creative soul. Ever since then we have got on like a house on fire! It is great working with Rebecca on projects as her passion and creativity really shines through.

When she is not down the beauty aisles in shopping centres or creating make-up magic, Rebecca’s great passion is “saving” plants. She will buy plants that seem to be on their way out and nurse them back to health. So what better place to photograph this beauty but amongst nature in a beautiful Norwich park. Have a look at the photos below!

Rebecca and I have come up with combined packages to help you with your photographic and beauty needs. We offer wedding packages with bridal make-up and photographic coverage of the day, portrait packages for Best Friend Make-over photo shoots, and fashion and product make-up and photography, and so much more. 

Please get in touch to find out what we can offer you.

katie@katiejade.co.uk

Here are a selection of projects that Rebecca and I have worked on together… Enjoy!