One of the great things about theatre is what a collaborative art it is, and how connected we all become by being involved. A great benefit to that is that we all want to help pass on our knowledge, passion and experiences to others! Today we had a wonderful guest panel of former TAS Musical Theatre students come in to talk with this year's class about the jobs they had last year, advice they wish they'd known, and tell some great stories too. I think Emma's nosebleed on stage while wearing a white costume as Scuttle was a favourite story :) A huge thanks goes to our panel: Emma, Tesla, Jade, Keely, Melissa, Kait, Robert, Trevor (and bonus panel members Will and Simon), who spent some time with us today teaching us about their experiences and paying it forward.
0 Comments
Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School has a rather unique way of running the musical theatre program - it's actually a two credit course offered to senior students, rather than an extra-curricular activity. Of course, there are pros and cons to running the program this way, but one of the major pros is that the students really do run the whole show, both onstage and behind the scenes! Semester two is gearing up to begin in February 6th, and both staff and students are looking forward to getting started with the Musical Theatre courses (one is focused on Music, and the other on Drama - taught by Mr. Jackson and Ms. Tye respectively). And are we ever jumping in quickly! We will be spending a couple of days getting to know each other and go over how the semester will be working, then the first set of auditions will be happening that first week! Ms. Tye and Mr. Jackson want to see what each of the students can do, and learn what their strengths and interests are before finalizing the choice of musical for this year.
After that first set of auditions, students will be working with their teachers to learn all kinds of skills - vocals, acting, and dancing - and improve upon the skills that they already have in each area. A guest panel of last years musical theatre students will talk to this years class about their production roles, advice and more, to help this years students decide what they want to do during the courses. Once the show has been announced, students will be able to start preparing for the show-specific auditions, where they will learn a song from our show and work on scenes and characters from the show that's been chosen. They will also look into the production roles that they are most interested in and decide which department(s) they would like to work in (such as stage management, props, tech, box office, make-up or marketing - just to name a few options!) The first section of the course will finish up with those show-specific auditions and callbacks, the cast announcement and our first read through of the script! Exciting times are coming up ahead! Keep an eye on this website and on social media so that you are always up to date with the latest news! Meet our Choreographer, Mr. Simon Mazziotti!
1. What is it about dance/choreography/musicals that you love? Having dance be such a big part of my life I think it is amazing to find new ways to bring that creative element to a bigger picture such as a musical. Being able to tell a story with my love for dance and theatre through a production like a musical is one of the most exciting things a performer can do! 2. What is your dance/musical education and background? From the age of 8 I have been a competitive dancer at studios in the Peterborough area, I am currently training at Premiere Studio of Dance where I will graduate from this year and move onto post secondary. Over the past few years I have had the privilege to work at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre as a Youth Arts Counsellor for their summer theatrical and dance intensive camps where I got to choreograph and work with the young talent in Peterborough. This has really inspired me to work with other musical productions such as the ones as TAS! 3. What's your favourite musical? I will never be able to pick just one! However some of my all time favourites are Chicago, Hairspray, Rent, Kinky Boots, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Bare. 4. What is your favourite production you've been involved in and why? There are way too many to choose from but I think being apart of any of the TAS and other local shows are my favourite, being able to showcase what you have been creating for your peers and the public has brought a new sense of pride and love for performing for me personally. Also seeing what others have been working on is so amazing, seeing your classmates and friends finished work is such a cool experience! 5. What are you looking forward to most this year? What I'm looking forward to most this year is seeing the progress of all of the students and watching them grow as performers and cast members. I think that the rehearsal process is just as exciting as the show itself, I cannot wait to start putting together yet another amazing show that everyone involved can be proud of and showcase the awesome talent that the TAS students have to offer! One of my favourite parts of creating a musical is the audition process. I love seeing the potential in each actor who auditions and it's the first "public" step of putting together the show, which is very exciting. I say that because although there are often months of work leading up to auditions for the producer, director and rest of the production team, the auditions are really the first time that you start seeing what the face of the production will look like - what the audience will see. It's thrilling, to say the least! There are so many lists and blog posts out there with tips and tricks on how to ace your audition, so if the following post doesn't quite give you enough, simply Google "Audition Tips" and you'll find a wealth of information. I'll be attempting to be concise :) 1. Prepare! If you are nervous, the best way to combat that is to be as prepared as possible. Practice your song, practice your monologue or scenes and don't stop practicing. 2. Be confident, but not arrogant. It can be a tough balance - you want to be sure of yourself and proud of the work you've done to get where you are, but no-one wants to work with a Diva. Smile, keep your head up high, and be kind to everyone. 3. Do the work to get to know the character that you are portraying, either in your song or monologue/scenes. If you haven't acted much before, take some time to research how to develop three-dimensional characters and apply that to your rehearsal process prior to your audition. The people who excel at auditions are the ones who put the character development work into their audition pieces, the same way that they would during a rehearsal process for a show. Know your objective (what are you trying to get/achieve), know your relationships (with the other characters and with yourself), and know what the stakes are (why does this moment matter? What will happen if I don't get what I want right now?).
s 5. After the audition, thank the director/audition panel, and be gracious. Be kind to yourself and the others who have just put themselves on the line and auditioned as well.
And then be patient. Even with all the hard work that goes into preparing for an audition, the waiting period after auditions to find out what role you got (and what roles everyone else got!) can be the most difficult part. You are anxious, excited and nervous, and those emotions can lead to making insensitive comments or actions, both in real life and online. Be aware that everyone who auditioned is feeling similar things to you and be careful about what you say in relation to the auditions and the show. Be thoughtful and sensitive to other peoples emotions and how they might be feeling about the process. Depending on how the cast list is announced, you need to be careful not to post online or talk too openly about casting until you are sure that everyone who auditioned has had the opportunity to see the list. And from there, you need to be aware of the different emotions being felt by the cast - some people will be elated that they got exactly the role they wanted, some will be very disappointed that they didn't get cast in their dream role, and some will be somewhere in between. You are allowed to feel whatever emotions you feel after the cast list has been announced. You've worked hard, and your excitement, fear, disappointment, etc. are justified emotions. Just be sensitive that others will be feeling quite differently. A couple things to keep in mind during the audition process: 1. Don't forget that the director and creative team are really on your side. They want you to succeed and do well during your audition. 2. The casting team takes a lot into consideration when finalizing the cast list. Just because you didn't get the role you were hoping for doesn't mean you are a terrible actor, singer or dancer; it simply means that someone else was more well-suited, for any number of reasons. You are allowed to ask what you should be continuing to work on in order to give you a better shot at the role(s) you want in the future. Take what you've been given as an opportunity to learn and grow. Want more audition tips and info? Check out some of the following resources (click on the red link):
What are your best tips and tricks for auditioning? Comment below or on social media! ~Ms. Sarah Tye As semester two draws nearer, we are getting ready to kick into high gear to prepare for this year's musical theatre production! What do you want to see more of from us as we plan for the semester? Let us know using the poll below, or contact us here or on social media! Meet our Director/Producer, Ms. Sarah Tye!
4. What's been your favourite musical production you've been involved in and why? Again, a pretty difficult choice because I've been lucky enough to work with some incredible people on some incredible shows over the past few years. I've sincerely loved working on both The Little Mermaid and Aida at TAS because it is so rewarding and getting to work with the enthusiastic young talent in this town is awesome. Other highlights have been directing Rent, designing the lighting and projections for Next to Normal and directing Cabaret, all because of the fantastic people and challenging material that we got to work with. 5. What are you most looking forward to this year? I'm looking forward to the new challenges that we'll face and overcome. Every production is different, and I enjoy the problem solving that comes along with each new script. I look foward to working with our awesome team of staff and students and collaborating with them. And honestly, I'm looking forward to my third year working in the program because I get to take what I've learned over the last two years and make this year even better! Meet this year's Music Director, Mr. Ben Jackson!
3.What is your favourite musical?
Cabaret. 4. What's been your favourite musical production you've been involved with and why? Sweeney Todd was really fun, with a reduced orchestration. Cats was surprisingly awesome, with a solid, melodic flute part! 5. What are you most looking forward to this year? To work on a musical with the best "teacher" team and a talented class.ar? Directed by Mr. Steve Russell, now retired, Legally Blonde was a super fun, and super pink production put on in 2014! Check out some of our favourite memories - OMG you guys! One of the trickiest final touches to producing a musical is getting the sound just right. Former PCVS student, musician, teacher and incredible sound technician Andrew Shedden, offers some tips for successful sound engineering for a musical! SOUND REINFORCEMENT TIPS FOR MUSICAL THEATRE By: Andrew Shedden Here are some ideas to help improve the quality of your sound reinforcement for your next musical theatre production. These tips can be applied to live bands or other AV situations as well. 1.) Sound Reinforcement vs. Sound ENFORCEMENT- Make sure when you’re mixing audio that you’re taking into account the acoustics of the room in which you’re working. Listen to the sound of the actors unamplified to get an idea of how resonant or dead the space you are working in will be. Good sound reinforcement for musical theatre shouldn’t be readily apparent to the audience. They aren’t coming to your show to hear your great speakers. They want to hear the sound of the actors. Running your show at too high of a volume can also result in unwanted reflections which will make things sound muddy. Remember that your job is sound reinforcement; work with the natural acoustics of the room and build on them where necessary. 2.) Over-Prepare- Always have extra cables, batteries, etc. Multiple redundancy means that when something goes wrong, you have the solution readily available. 3.) Subtractive Versus Additive EQ- This is a general tip for sound reinforcement. Say for example one of your vocalists sounds too trebly (high) through your mains. Before you turn your bass frequencies up to compensate, try rolling off some of the high end instead. Turning an EQ up can add unwanted coloration to your singer’s tone (particularly on older boards). There will be situations when additive EQ will be useful as well, but try subtractive first. The Little Mermaid sound crew follows Andrew's tips #3 AND #4, during a performance. 4.) Headroom- Ideally your program should NEVER hit 0 on your meter. I like to run my program at an absolute maximum of -3. Going over 0 on your meter can result in damage to your speakers, amps and other components in your system. 5.) Organization and Safety- Cables can be a big trip hazard, particularly when working with dancers and dark stages. Gaffers tape is your friend. Keeping your cables organized can also help to make trouble shooting quicker. These are just a few general tips! I hope they prove helpful in your next production. If you have any specific questions about AV, you can reach me here: [email protected] |
AuthorOur blog and website is managed by T.A.S. Musical Theatre staff and students. Guest writers are also welcome - contact us if you'd like to contribute. Archives
January 2018
Follow us on Social Media:
|