Staging Musicals

An Essential Guide

Matthew White

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781474247726
• eBook ISBN:
  9781474247733
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Performing Arts

Ever dreamt of putting on a musical from scratch? Or perhaps you already have, but some extra guidance would be welcome. Look no further: this book will give you all the information you need to successfully stage a musical.

Placing a firm emphasis on good organisation and careful planning, Matthew White guides the reader through the various stages and processes involved in putting on a musical theatre production: from choosing the right show and creating budgets and schedules, through holding auditions and taking rehearsals, culminating in the final run of performances and the after-show party. The book also explains how to deal successfully with everything from set, costume, and lighting design to ticket sales and publicity.

Drawing on his own extensive experience working as a director, actor, and writer in professional musical theatre, the author also talks to other key industry figures to explore how they contribute to the overall process of putting on a show.

Staging Musicals is the ultimate step-by-step guide for anyone planning a production, whether working with amateurs, students, or young professionals.

1

SELECTING THE SHOW

Producer

At the heart of every theatrical enterprise there’s an individual known as the producer^* who oversees the entire project from start to finish, and who has overall responsibility for putting the show together. This job requires someone with real passion and huge amounts of energy and enthusiasm. Under normal circumstances it’s the producer who takes responsibility for the financial and organisational aspects of the production and is therefore both the business head and the administrator. In my experience, though, the producer is much more than that and will have a fairly significant creative input too, often overseeing the overall design concept, the casting and the marketing. Other responsibilities of the producer include:

•Organising the production finances. In the professional sphere this will involve raising investment, allocating funds to the various different departments, managing any income generated by the sale of tickets, and working with the production accountants to generate the production accounts. With college or amateur productions the producer will often have to work with a pre-existing budget, and may also need to organise bank loans based on the projected box office income.

•Securing the performing rights and paying the appropriate fees to the licensing company. In the case of new work this will involve acquiring the rights or signing an exclusive contract with the writers.

•Selecting the other members of the creative team (see Chapter 2). These will usually include a director, musical director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer and sound designer. Most professional producers will also employ a casting director.

•Organising appropriate support for the creative team. This will include securing a production manager, a stage manager, the other members of stage management and all other technical personnel. There may also be assistants for the various members of the creative team.

•Overseeing all aspects of publicity. This will often involve delegation. Many producers will outsource the advertising, marketing and PR to other companies, or employ individuals within their own company to deal with them. The producer will keep a close eye on all areas of publicity and will usually have a strong opinion concerning the way in which the show is marketed to the public.

•Paying wages. This usually applies to professional productions only. Amateur theatre companies will generally rely on people offering their services for free, although there is sometimes some payment where musicians are concerned.

•Securing and hiring a suitable performance space. This may not necessarily be a recognised theatre but it will usually incur some sort of cost.

•Scheduling an overall timetable for the production (see Chapter 3). This is often done in conjunction with the director and the production manager.

•Organising auditions. With professional productions this will often be done in association with a casting director. An audition venue will need to be hired and it is usually necessary to enlist the services of a pianist with good sight-reading skills.

•Selecting a company manager who will liaise with the producer and with all the different departments in the theatre including stage management, front-of-house, the wardrobe department, the actors and the band. In a professional theatre the company manager will usually liaise with the producer to organise the payment of company wages and will also offer pastoral care to the company. It’s a job of many parts and requires someone with excellent communication skills and bags of diplomacy (see Chapter 6).

•Organising a guest list for the opening night. This will usually include invitations for the investors, the press, reviewers, the creative team and for anyone else connected with the production.

•Providing some sort of celebration after the official opening night performance. This can be as simple as a glass of wine in the bar or as extravagant as a champagne reception at the Savoy.

•Managing the production during the run. This will involve liaising with the other members of the production team on a regular basis and keeping a close eye on the production. It’s also important to ensure that standards are maintained, box office receipts are checked regularly, wages and royalties are paid (if applicable) and that publicity is ongoing and effective.

In the theatre it’s usually the producer who initiates a project, although it’s not unknown for a director or writer to approach the producer with a specific piece in mind. There are, of course, thousands of existing musicals just waiting to be re-discovered, re-invented and re-staged. There’s a rich pool of subjects to explore, from the sublime to the ridiculous, the bizarre to the mind-numbingly banal. There are musicals about cartoon dogs, man-eating plants and serial killers; there are epic accounts of revolution and revolt, nuclear wars and presidential assassinations. There’s even one about a certain little whore-house in Texas! The range is bewildering. What’s more, there’s a huge and exciting array of new musicals just waiting to be selected, developed and produced.

Finding the right show

I need a personal connection in everything I do. I have a simple rule, say ‘no’ until the story is so compelling you have no choice but to say ‘yes’.

EMMA RICE

Some producers or directors will have a very clear idea right from the start about the type of musical they are hoping to present. Others will need to do some searching; the internet is an obvious first port of call. There’s a bewildering amount of audio and audio-visual material available, and within seconds it’s easy to access cast recordings, film footage, synopses and other useful bits and pieces of information. Alternatively, some producers prefer to go straight to the publisher or licensing company to find out what’s currently available for hire; this information is easily accessible online.

Licensing companies

The main licensing companies in the UK include the following: Samuel French Ltd, MusicScope, Music Theatre International Europe (MTI Europe), Rodgers and Hammerstein Europe (R&H Europe), Warner/Chappell Music Ltd and Josef Weinberger Ltd. A selection of US licensors include: Dramatists Play Service Inc. (DPS), Music Theatre International (USA), Rodgers and Hammerstein (USA) and Tams-Witmark (Music Library, Inc.).

These online catalogues generally contain author/writer credits, a brief description of the show, an indication of cast size and cast type, a list of available rehearsal material (scripts, vocal books and conductor’s score), and details of the existing orchestrations. Some websites also include extra information in the form of sound recordings and film clips from previous productions. It’s hard to find comprehensive catalogues of all available material, mainly because the shows, whether amateur or professional, are divided up between various different licensing companies. A quick search online, though, will usually provide the required information.

Once a potential show has been identified the next step will be to request a perusal copy from the licensing company. This will usually include a libretto and a vocal book (often just the vocal lines without the piano part). Since this material is sent out electronically there’s usually no fee for this service. The script and score are ‘read only’ for obvious reasons and it’s not, therefore, possible to print out any of this perusal material. With amateur shows the licensor is usually willing to send out hard copies of the script and score, but there’s often a charge for this.

Affordability

Whilst it may be tempting to weed out those shows which appear to require multiple sets, expensive costumes and complex lighting, it’s worth remembering that with a positive attitude and lots of imagination many design challenges can be met successfully without spending a fortune. In fact, I’ve seen (and been involved in) a number of productions which have worked extremely well despite having only a limited budget. Where a skilfully crafted show exists, and where there’s talent and originality in the cast and production team, it’s quite possible to produce an innovative and successful production without breaking the bank. However, with shows on a small budget it’s important that adequate funds are available for the sound department and for the band (assuming that there is one). In my experience compromises made in these departments can often have a profoundly detrimental effect on the overall quality of the show (see Chapter 3).

Suitable casting

It’s important to make sure that the actors auditioning for the prospective production have the necessary skills for the piece. Does the show require performers who can act, sing and dance? If so, what style of dancing is required? How big is the ensemble and what is the age range? Are there rôles in the show requiring specific performance skills? It’s no good trying to produce a production of Candide^* without a stunning, virtuosic soprano to play the taxing part of Cunégonde. Likewise, a production of 42nd Street without a fabulous tap dancer to play the chorus girl-turned-star, Peggy Sawyer, is never really going to raise the roof.

I’ve already suggested that in most cases design challenges can usually be overcome with flair, ingenuity and a dash of optimism. This is not, unfortunately, the case with performers. There is absolutely no point in being unrealistic about the necessary talent required to play certain musical theatre rôles. ‘I’m sure that her vocal range will develop in rehearsals’, and ‘We can easily teach her to tap’, are expectations which will probably land everyone in the soup. Being realistic about your pool of potential performers is essential, and your choice of show should reflect the talent available. This is particularly important with school or community projects.

Age-appropriate shows

It also makes sense to consider whether the piece is going to be suitable for the age group of the actors hoping to audition. If, for example, it’s a school production, and the majority of the performers are teenagers, then it’s not a great idea to select shows such as Follies or Cabaret, which include substantial rôles for older character actors. On the other hand, Grease or Legally Blonde are perfect vehicles for young performers since they focus on the joys and agonies of school and college life. Given the difficulti...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of photographs
• List of diagrams
• Contributors’ biographies
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword Sir Cameron Mackintosh
• Preface
• 1 Selecting the show
• 2 Creative team
• 3 Budgets, schedules and publicity
• 4 Research and design
• 5 Casting
• 6 Stage management and the support team
• 7 First day of rehearsals
• 8 Rehearsals 1: Creating a company
• 9 Rehearsals 2: Songs, scenes and choreography
• 10 Rehearsals 3: Musical staging
• 11 Rehearsals 4: Stage management responsibilities
• 12 Taking to the stage
• 13 Previews, opening night and beyond
• 14 Musicals: Past, present and future
• Appendix: Referenced musicals
• Index
• Copyright