Unit 27: Musical Theatre Techniques

A musical theatre production is being staged by the performing company in which myself is a member. As a member of the company, I will work with a director, choreographer, and technician to build the necessary performance skills, physical abilities, voice abilities, and communication abilities in order to perform well in the Musical. As part of the rehearsal process, I will be asked to attend all rehearsals, give creative ideas, and actively engage in the staging/filming. I will also need to conduct my own research into musical theatre forms and important characteristics to help the development of my musical theatre performance talents and approaches. Throughout the process, do regular reviews and self-evaluations.

This will also be a crucial component of honing my acting, dancing, and singing skills so that I may 

become a 'Triple Threat.'

Key Colour:

PURPLE: links,videos

BLUE: Myself

Thursday 4th/5th November 2021:

The Greatest Showman Musical:

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 American musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Keala Settle, and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Keala Settle. The film was inspired by the narrative of P. T. Barnum's establishment of Barnum's American Museum and the lives of its main attractions, and has nine original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

The American entertainer Phineas Taylor Barnum will always be remembered as the man with the gift of blurring the line between reality and fiction. Orphaned, penniless, but ambitious, with a mind crammed with imagination and fresh ideas, Phineas Taylor Barnum will always be remembered as the man with the gift of blurring the line between reality and fiction. The son of a tailor, thirsty for success and invention, succeeds to create a wax museum; nevertheless, he quickly switches his focus to the unusual and unusual, bringing amazing, never-seen-before live acts on the circus stage. Barnum's wealthy collection of curiosities is now referred to as a freak show; nevertheless, when Phineas, concerned with acclaim and respectability, bets everything on the opera singer Jenny Lind to appeal to a high-brow audience, he will lose sight of the most important component of his life: his family.

Since I enjoy watching musicals, I was already familiar with the chosen group theme performance, which this film/musical presented beautifully through the use of different tempo, dynamics, and pitch of the vocalist, as this is what draws me in as an audience to the vocal ability and challenges that each singer faces throughout the film. And the staging and attention to detail for each individual character, as the focus is often drawn to the outfits, which helps to build the plot from beginning to end. As a viewer, my learning style is one in which information is linked to graphics. Learners must first see what they are expected to know in order to use this learning approach. Visual-spatial learners are sometimes referred to as those who learn visually. And this is why I find musicals so useful and entertaining because they are able to portray a clear storyline through the performance, which the musical/film we are performing for the variety show does a fantastic job of presenting, and it gives me confidence as a performer that I have the skills and confidence to deliver it to my best ability.

8th-12th November 2021:

Unit 27: Musical Theatre Technique by Shanice Birchall (prezi.com)

During our class we ran through a Prezi presentation during the first week of rehearsals for this performance, going over key points such as what is musical theatre, which in a nutshell uses song, dance, and dialogue to tell a story. Musicals are usually staged in large auditoriums with thousands of people in attendance. Musical theatre performers will be taught in all three disciplines and classified as triple threat performers. As well as examining the differences between dramatic and musical theatre, which engages the audience through songs, spoken dialogue, and dancing. A musical differs from a play with music in that it emphasizes the songs and music as much as the other aspects of the production. As one of the learning goals is to gain an understanding of the key aspects of musical theatre, this led to noticing the various genres that are involved. We did this by completing a short work assigned by our teacher, and our group chose jukebox musical because the majority of the group had no idea what it was. So after we had completed research about the chosen genre we managed to summarize it which is:

• A jukebox musical is a stage production or film in which the majority of the songs are well-known pop tunes rather than original compositions. Some jukebox musicals feature a wide range of songs, while others focus on songs performed by a single performer or band, or composed by a single songwriter. The plot is frequently a biography of the artist in question in such circumstances. The plot of other jukebox musicals is entirely made up.

Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia!

• Mamma Mia! is an example of a jukebox musical. Mamma Mia! The reason it is associated with the genre jukebox is that it includes many hit songs from the music group ABBA, and the definition of jukebox is a stage production that primarily includes well-known pop tunes, and mamma mia includes numerous well-known singles, as its known for its songs written by British writer Catherine Johnson, which are based on ABBA songs produced by former members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. An example is Mamma Mia Song - ABBA

What went well with this task was that I was able to broaden and expand my knowledge of different musical genres, which will be useful for future assignments because I feel prepared to compare and contrast the differences between the genres, which will be useful and allow me to apply this to my knowledge of musical theatre skills and techniques as a performer. But it would be even better if we had more time to discuss and research more genres as a group because it was fascinating to hear the various interpretations of each individual performer in my group about how we could perform or come up with ideas that would suit the specific genre and how we could include other genres as well. Another area of improvement is considering or investigating how I could integrate the genre's stylistic delivery to our own performance, as well as earning the grades and demonstrating growth and recognition in my performance. This might be accomplished by developing a character based on the best showman movie or musical. My goal for next week is to be able to create a character and begin preparing to exercise my vocals because, based on what I learned in class, I'll need to work on my stamina because we'll be singing and dancing at the same time, which will necessitate extra focus on breath control and not feeling out of breath before I have to sing a part.

I want to reach this goal by devoting my time to researching vocal exercises that can improve stamina. By looking into Cheryl Porter, a professional vocalist trainer who focuses on certain vocal talents that are required for successful singing.

 

W2 Unit 27: Musical Theatre Technique by Shanice Birchall (prezi.com)

We continued to hone our talents as musical theatre performers by attending technique lessons, rehearsals, and the final performance. You will acquire an understanding of the skills and strategies required to make a successful musical theatre performance by learning about the key aspects of musical theatre performance. So I may reflect on my development as I learn new abilities and techniques in acting, singing, and dancing, as well as create goals and evaluate my progress. Musical theatre is a large part of the performing arts industry, with chorus and ensemble work as well as solo and leading roles available. The abilities I learn in this unit will enable me to work as a performer in a variety of settings and will also serve as a springboard for additional study in acting, dance, and/or music.

To improve my understanding of the various genres and structures that musical theatre might portray, so that I can easily analyze and dissect the musical and meet the learning requirements of comprehending the various genres and structures our teacher set a task which is:

The sound of Music:

Task: In groups you are going to research the following for 15 mins and we will share our findings.

What genre is the Musical?

The Sound of Music is a romantic, family, biographical, drama film that depicts a rhapsodic family through a musical and beautiful plot. The film is based on the same-named Broadway musical from 1959. The film's opening sequence is one of the most beautiful in cinematic history. It belongs to the concept musical genre because it is based on a previous film/book and has some of the original composers and set designers.

When and where was it set? 

The musical follows Maria as she works as a governess for a large family while deciding whether or not to become a nun. She falls in love with the children and Captain von Trapp, their widower father. He is forced to join the German navy, despite his opposition to the Nazis. He and Maria make the decision to leave Austria with their children. The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film directed and produced by Robert Wise, features Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, as well as Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is based on Richard Rodgers' 1959 theatrical musical of the same name, which he composed with Oscar Hammerstein II's lyrics.

What themes are explored? 

The singing group founded by the von Trapp children and their father is one of the film's key themes. Their music also served as a trigger for much of the film's plot; their singing brought them closer to their father, who had been acting more like a military drill sergeant than a parent since the death of his wife.

The von Trapps are forced to flee their house in Austria after the Germans conquer the country and demand that all Austrian men who have served in the military return for duty, fighting for Hitler. The film depicts the regime's cruelty as well as how trust amongst neighbor's was quickly eroded. The nuns' loyalty to one another is demonstrated when they assist Maria and her family in hiding in the abbey's crypt. They also sabotage the brown shirts' cars by removing parts of the engines because they are self-sufficient and have mechanics among their skills. The nuns' commitment is also demonstrated in the film, when they assist Maria and her family in hiding in the abbey's crypt. They believe the von Trapps are fleeing evil and that their faith requires them to assist them. Because in order for me to execute the character or achieve the grade mark.

I must demonstrate through my logbook and physically that I have knowledge of what is expected to be part of mannerism and body language to help portray the greatest showman aesthetic or theme, completing this task set by our teacher gives me a more rough idea of how I should construct my research about the chosen musical we will be performing on the 9th of December.

So when we rehearsed the first opening song for our act, we simply ran through it as a class to become more familiar with the lyrics, which was great because last week I focused on doing vocal exercises by Cheryl Porter to help support my stamina and switching between head and chest voice, which was great. This aided the rehearsal during this session because it allowed me to sing loudly and confidently while not focusing too much on the vocal aspect of the performance, and I'll have sufficient time to go over the dancing choreography once we get started. We began to warm up collectively after doing enough run throughs with the backing track of the first song to prevent injury to our bodies and allow us to move freely and rapidly. As we started blocking out the beginning positions for the opening song and learning the basic movements of transitioning between each throughout the first song as we needed to be aware of our spatial awareness and get a rough understanding of how it would work out as we needed to remember the que lines or timing to get to our positionings as we needed to be aware of our spatial awareness and getting a rough understanding of how it would work out as we needed to remember the que lines or timing to get to our positionings To help me remember, I wrote it down and spent time outside of class listening to the music and counting the number of beats I needed to arrive to my position in time to sing along with the rest of my classmates during the chorus. We worked on receiving our cue time throughout the lesson because it is critical for me as a performer to get to my position on time in order to avoid any errors and to feel comfortable and confident in what I am doing throughout the performance and to complete a good rehearsal. I'll also need to set aside time in the weeks preceding up to the performance to learn the words to all three songs, since this will help me to sing confidently and towards the audience, allowing the volume to project clearly and the audience to comprehend what I'm singing.

 Because my weakness as a performer is choreography because I haven't had much dancing experience, the goals I want to set for myself for the next rehearsal we have during lesson are to be able to memorise the lyrics for the first song and remember the movements we've been taught so far. I want to improve this by asking my fellow classmates who do have dancing experience to run through the movements with me and to take time during lunch or during lesson to run through the movements with me. As a result of my prior role in the musical 'Fame,' which I performed in my first year of the course, I have been able to define myself as a performer. I am able to learn quickly if I rehearse the movements with someone else because I am able to copy and rehearse it quickly after visually seeing someone rehearse a couple of times, and I want to use this method of learning the movements again because it was helpful and allowed me to perform confidently during the performance.

The benefits of this rehearsal are that I am able to create a plan for learning the lyrics for the opening song and being able to practise and feel comfortable about what I need to do independently so that I am fully prepared for the next rehearsal in class. This will be accomplished by listening to the soundtrack on my way to college or whenever I have free time during the day. What I would have changed to improve that rehearsal is to be more active and start working on what type of character I will be portraying and be able to show this clearly to the audience, as well as to utilise my time effectively on working on the parts where I am not confident or unsure. The strategy I'll employ is to keep reciting the songs, even if we haven't yet blocked them out or worked out any arrangements. Because knowing the words will speed up the process and allow for a more smoother practice because we won't have to worry about any missed cues or errors, and it will boost my confidence and allow me to focus on the dance choreography that we will be given later.

15th-19th November 2021:

We ran through the other song, 'This is Me,' this week, assigning solos and harmonies within the group of girls in our class and figuring out where we would transition between each song. We used the first part of the lesson to work on singing together and practicing the solo parts that were given to each individual girl, as well as being able to give a rough performance of the entire song once we reunited with the rest of our classmates to block out the transition between the songs and see if we are clear and audible because I want to be able to project loudly enough for my audience members in the back to hear. During the rehearsal, I did a quick 5-10 minute vocal warm-up using YouTube clips to help warm up my voice because I know I need to project, transition to head voice, maintain stamina, and concentrate on dictation of the lyrics to improve my vocal talents as a performer. Setting a weekly goal to track my progress will allow me to work on not only my personal management but also myself as a performer, as I want to challenge and develop those skills from the previous musical, 'Fame,' as there were things I learned that I need to take responsibility for and be able to take time to work on, so setting a weekly goal to track my progress will allow me to not only work on my personal management but also myself as a performer. This is when the adjustments are made. It's critical that you keep track of the issues you face as an actor or as a group. Techniques for rehearsing can truly assist my work therefore being able to handle the challenges I may face, so this song practice was extremely beneficial because we were able to collectively recognize and support the portions were we would either lose vocal power or pitch because in the third to last verse, we kept losing volume control and not supporting breath control which caused a few problems individually because I wasn't able to execute the lyric how I envisioned it to sound like. After countless times of practicing the song and solo part, I began to gain confidence in singing the song and solo part, which made everyone, including myself, feel more relaxed and prepared. Plus, singing is known to release endorphins, the feel-good brain chemical that makes you feel uplifted and happy, which made us all feel ready and good about ourselves for when we had to gather as a class and run-through it with the opening song.

Once we arrived at the theatre, we ran through the song 'This is me,' as well as the entrance song 'The Greatest Showman,' to get a sense of how the transitions will work. My goal before our lesson is to be aware of my placements and que timings, as this will help things run more smoothly during rehearsals and allow me to focus on other aspects that will contribute to the final performance. Allowing me as a vocalist to properly warm up my vocal chords or rehearsing the song with the other female singers to obtain the correct timing for when I sing next, for example.

This goal can be achieved by booking or arranging extra rehearsals outside of class to practise with my classmates, or by simply listening to the three songs while driving to college or at home to build a strong familiar memory and be able to determine the points where I enter on stage or transition between the songs and to prepare myself to get to my placement on time and to execute the correct pitch and to become confident with the lyric. 

Target is to correctly sing the lyrics during this verse:

[Ensemble & Hugh Jackman] 

Where it's covered in all the coloured lights
Where the runaways are running the night
Impossible comes true, intoxicating you
Oh, this is the greatest show
We light it up, we won't come down
And the sun can't stop us now
Watching it come true, it's taking over you
Oh, this is the greatest show

The parts that I highlighted in red are where I realized from previous rehearsals that I accidentally repeat the same lyric twice, i.e. I repeated 'Impossible come true' twice when it should have been 'watching it come true.' This can be easily fixed by taking the time to become familiar with the songs.

22nd-26th November 2021:

I previously noted how I kept swapping the words in the wrong order, and in order to solve this, I spent time listening to the song over and over in my spare time so that I could recall the right sequence of how the lyrics should be. Which allowed I was able to sing it perfectly during our rehearsal of the complete variety performance piece we would be presenting on the 9th of December since I had practiced it in my leisure time. We performed the last song, 'Come Alive,' along with the other two songs we had been practicing for the previous weeks at this lesson. It's critical that I keep track of the issues I face as an actor or as a group, especially as the performance date approaches. Taking notes can be quite beneficial when dealing with certain problems. As I can review and consider whether I can effectively achieve the character I want to display during this musical theatre piece by using my voice, movement, body language, and gestures, as this leads to movement, which is important because it gives the performance pace and energy, and I must be considerate of my spacing on stage with the other performers as well as the distance between the stage and the audience. 

We started with a vocal warm-up, which is vital for strengthening your muscles and preventing vocal cord damage. They can also help you improve as a singer because many singers use their warm-up time to practice or perfect any techniques they're working on.

1,2,3,4,5:

This vocal exercise helps with breathing because as we increase the speed, we must be able to pronounce or sing the numbers equally. It also allows us to work on holding long held notes, which is beneficial to both our diaphragm and lungs.

My mother made me mash m and m on a monday morning ooo ahhh:

This other vocal warm-up primarily focuses on working on word annunciation and pronunciation when singing, especially for me because I sometimes have difficulty saying specific words when singing, and by doing this exercise, I am able to effectively warm up my vocal chords as well as my mouth, allowing the sound and diction to travel smoothly, allowing audience members to hear and understand what I am saying.

We started marking out the finalize positioning from the previous song and where we would exit, I exit front down stage left, I have to be careful and aware when transitioning into this position because I have to be aware of the audience member in the front as well as my fellow classmate who is in a wheelchair, I have to remember to leave enough space and exit off stage quickly but safely. To avoid this, I'll inform my classmates that I'll circle them so they can exit the stage swiftly and on time, allowing myself and the other performers in the vicinity to transition fast and be ready for the next song.

We then moved on to learning the dance in between the verses after rehearsing that:

Come alive, come alive

Go and light your light

Let it burn so bright

Reachin' up to the sky

And it's open wide

You're electrified

And the world becomes a fantasy

And you're more than you could ever be

'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open

And you know you can't go back again

To the world that you were living in

'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open

So, come alive

When I volunteered to be a part of this choreography, my first thought was, "Why am I doing this?" and "Will I be able to do this?" because dancing isn't something I'm comfortable with and I find it stressful. There are many factors to consider when dancing with other performers, such as being on time or you'll stick out like a sore thumb if you're off beat or behind the rest of the dancers, and making sure you're aware of your spatial whereabouts. 

To guarantee that I am able to execute the dance correctly, I will try to coordinate additional rehearsal time with the other dancers so that we can all practise the choreography until we are all comfortable with the spacing and timing. As well as rehearsing at home with the backing music so that I can be on time when doing the choreography and have a clear recall of what moves will be performed next.

29th November- 3rd December 2021:

We decided to do a full run-through of all three songs at this practise to determine if there are any spots where we need to focus our efforts or if anything needs to be polished. The first opening song was efficiently rehearsed because everyone knew their lines as well as their positioning, allowing us to have time at the end of the performance to discuss any issues that arose throughout practising the entire performance. The transition into the second song went smoothly; now I just need to find the time to practise where the 60 credit class will be on stage since I need to go onto the platforms safely.  Because it makes transitioning safer and easier, and because practising allows you to try out different methods before delivering the entire performance to an audience, it also gives us plenty of time to figure out where the 60 credit class will go, as well as finalise how it will be in the final performance.

The second song, however, I felt that it was well run through, and that I needed to set aside time to practise singing it because I felt that I was struggling to sing the correct pitch as well as managing to ensure that I wouldn't cause further damage to my vocal chords as my throat had become irritated and dry in recent days, which I found had a significant impact on my rehearsal; however, with proper medication and resting my voice, I would be able to perform well. To help me gain confidence in singing these three songs before show week, I will devote my spare time during the weeks to solely focusing on working on the correct pitching for each one as well as rehearsing the movements at home or wherever I am able to be reassured on performance day that I know what I am doing and can execute the performance to the best of my ability.

I thought the ending song went well, but I think extra rehearsals to rehearse the dance choreography would be beneficial, since I felt I struggled with one of the movements, causing me to fall behind and out of sync with the rest of the group. So, for the next several days, I'll be rehearsing at home and with my other classmates to ensure that the spacing is proper and that we're all on time. It's always good when people get each other's thoughts and listen to them. Drama requires a great deal of teamwork. No plays could be performed and no activities could be completed without it. So, as a class, we decided to schedule extra rehearsals and time to practice any parts of each song that we felt needed extra attention, or just extra practice in general, which was mostly the dance we had within the last song because we were all new to dancing and wanted to keep practicing so we could be confident. This helped me a lot because, as I previously stated, dancing isn't really something I'm good at. So having these extra rehearsals with my classmates benefited me a lot because I was able to watch Maddie complete it because dancing is one of her strong suits, and I was able to better understand how each dance step was supposed to be executed, what follows after each step, and how it was supposed to look once it was all completed.

6th-9th (Performance Day) December 2021:

A full-scale rehearsal or practice of a theatre or musical performance is known as a dress rehearsal. This rehearsal is used to fine-tune the performance before it is presented to the audience, ensuring that every detail of the presentation fulfils expectations. During the dress rehearsal, the cast members don their clothes and accessories. This rehearsal is used to fine-tune the performance before it is presented to the audience, ensuring that every detail of the presentation fulfils expectations.

We decided to double-check everything and run a dress rehearsal few days before our final performance to see how your outfit fits and feels during the actual performance. Whether your outfit is a simple sports bra and pole shorts or a multi-layered extravaganza, a dress rehearsal will help you by allowing you to test your gear alongside your choreography. As assistant stage manager, I wanted to assist all actors in finding something to wear so that myself and the stage manager have a rough sense of who could require wardrobe changes and who could be available to complete them. As with the real performances of the show, I will be backstage as an assistant stage manager, using procedures related to the stage manager. The ASM is the stage manager's backstage eyes and ears. They serve as a link between the booth and backstage, and they can express any concerns that arise in either direction. I also want to be able to assist my fellow stage manager and make sure everything runs smoothly throughout the variety show.

Day of Performance:

WWW: Overall, we were able to complete the entire concert without incident, and we were able to effectively project the lyrics for each song, allowing the audience to comprehend what we were singing about. And, because the greatest showman radiates circus vibes, we were able to get on stage on time for our cues, which meant that our transitions were smooth and the dance movements that were embedded were done correctly and in sync, leaving an impression on our audience members and allowing them to feel the nostalgic atmosphere we were trying to portray within our performance.

EBI: Personally, I could have projected louder and developed my characterization further so that it fit better with the theme of the circus act, which would have allowed me to make it clearer to the audience what environment we were in and help them visualize that since we were performing on stage with two platforms on each side. So, for next time, I'd do more in-depth research to gain a deeper understanding of the period, as well as explore the various types of acts that make up a circus act.

NEXT STEP: I need to discover a strategy to organize and balance the various responsibilities I have inside college and in my personal life for future variety performances, or in general, because this took a toll on me throughout the period of preparation for this variety performance and another thing is to do more research or spend quality time attempting to turn dace into a pastime so that I may improve my talents as a performer and advance efficiently in the performing arts profession.