SO FAR GONE – The Making of The Musical is a showcase exploring the behind-the-scenes creation of a Musical called SO FAR GONE which is based on Drake’s 2009 album under the same title. The Musical draws from the songs, as well as the mood and style of that era.

The story centers on a 6-member choir called Drake from Houston as they record their album SO FAR GONE across a range of recording studios. The narrative traces their creative journey, their desired success to be the first 6 member R&B/Rap/Pop choir in the world, the developing relationships between the characters, all inspired by the atmosphere of Drake’s original album.


SHOWCASE PROTOTYPE  1:
SO FAR GONE – The The Making of The Musical could potentially exist across multiple mediums, whether that be within an exhibition space designed to feel subtly reminiscent of a recording studio; built-in soundproof walls, wooden oak ceilings, and matching flooring, without the actual studio equipment inside so as not to feel too gimmicky. We will see the developmental process of making the musical through; architectural plans detailing how engineers would construct the recording studio sets, the casting phase, including Polaroids and cast interviews playing on one wall-mounted screen in a booth, wardrobe mood boards and styling references, prop samples, an installation piece featuring all the microphones used throughout the musical and storyboard mock-ups. Behind-the-scenes photographs would be hung throughout the space, the environment would feel immersive yet stripped back, echoing the atmosphere of a studio while focusing purely on the making of the musical.
There would be a section in the space where we highlight how certain ‘fan-favourite’ scenes were made, for example in Scene 20: Rain In The Studio – rain begins to fall from the ceiling of one of the recording booths – we go behind the scenes to reveal how the effect was reached, the practical effects involved, the trials and errors, rehearsals, making waterproof props, the visual tricks and illusions used to convincingly make the moment come to life.


SHOWCASE PROTOTYPE 2:
SO FAR GONE: The Making of the Musical could also exist in an online space, designed algorithmically showing variations of specialised perspectives that allows for multiple storytelling permutations to unravel. In this format, the viewer would have no control over what they see; instead, they would be guided through the experience of the making of the Musical. The digital environment would architecturally resemble the proposed exhibition space, echoing its soundproof walls and studio-like atmosphere. Within it, viewers would encounter BTS photographs and clips, location hunting, set-building, making props, wardrobe sketches, all revealed in a sequence determined by the system rather than by choice with accompanying texts to inform the viewer on what they are seeing.
At the end of the experience, a recorded copy will be saved for the viewer to keep forever.


SHOWCASE PROTOTYPE 3
Another proposed medium is a documentary titled SO FAR GONE: The Making of the Musical.
It would be filmed handheld, with little consideration for polished lighting or perfected sound, instead it would be raw and observational. The focus would be on capturing a real step-by-step process of the making of the Musical. No refinement. Much like the original album itself. The footage would include unfiltered pre- production, production, and post production process of making the Musical; table readings, vocal and movement training sessions, and the developing relationships within the cast and with the wider crew. 

Overall, So Far Gone: The Making of the Musical explores the idea of how many versions a single work can take. It asks: how many times can you reinterpret or reshape something before it loses its meaning and becomes nonsense?

The project is a reverse, an inverse, an obverse [turned towards the observer]. It is a kind of mirroring, but it’s not an exact reflection. It’s just a counterpart.

There is a real album. There is a non-existent musical. There is a non-existent showcase.