23

Mar

Musical Theatre Nerd Alert!

“Hey, nerds!”  You might want to get accustomed to hearing that, because it is the standard greeting for the MFAs.  Also, we are ramping up a huge project that will put that moniker all over the internet, which, as you know, makes a thing permanent–and true.  When I say “huge project,” I should explain.  Our professor Rob wrote a component into this semester’s History of Musical Theatre class that involves creating and posting some of our findings on the internet.  Basically, we want to share the riches of the SDSU Musical Theatre Archive with “all y’all.”  (N.B.-50% of the MFA class and 33% of my roommates are from the South, and it is apparently rubbing off on me.)

So, the MFA’s, being A+ students…went a little A+ on this project.  Not satisfied with some chintzy iPhone video, we created a new series called “MUSICAL THEATRE NERD ALERT.”  We are all pretty excited.  Not only do we get to share a little of our passion for musical theatre, but also we are able to show our old friends just how crazy our new friends are.  We crammed this series full of MFA-isms, jokes, and–oh, yes–facts, too.  It also demonstrates something I love about our class:  we do everything full out.

Start the series here.

LIGHT LEVELS–Randall waits to film his “Fun Fact from the Back” segment while the crew adjusts light levels. Part of the fun of ‘Broadway school’ turned ‘Hollywood school’ was all the gear.
SCRIPT CHANGES–Kikau guides Randall through a few changes to his script. The MFAs squeezed in a webisode rehearsal before the Saturday performance of BD Wong’s Mr. Doctor.
J’S CREW–Producer Julia directs while Kikau is on camera. The day could not have functioned without fellow SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film students.
CRAFT SERVICES–Pizza is a fine dinner for talent. Shooting day was also Randall’s birthday, and so Brad’s cake pops were also on the menu. The Diet Coke: all Rob’s.
SET DRESSING–Producers Julia and (husband) Adam spruce up the Archive for shooting. The intention was to invite the new internet audience into the world of the MFA Archive.
CUE CARDS–Before shooting, Randall transfers his script to cue cards. With so many MFAs cramming lines, the Archive had an energy like we were waiting for a callback.
DIRECTING & SLATING–A slap of the slate board is no joke as it helps align audio and video in the editing room. Kikau served as director for the day of shooting while Jessica and Brad took turns as production assistant.
LIV LIVE–As director, Kikau observes Liv’s shot with a keen ear on natural speech. The MFAs aimed to deliver the Nerd Alerts with a casual, conversational tone–with just a touch of cheese.
OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN–While the MFAs kid Courtney about her enthusiasm for OH, she is not alone. All of the information contained in the scripts come from the hours and hours researching and lecturing on these heritage composers.
MAKEUP! –Though each webisode “stars” one of the MFAs, audiences can expect to see a number of visitors popping in to other’s video. The whole venture needed a group effort, and so they webisodes reflect that.
HEY, NERDS!–“Welcome to the web series for anyone who has ever ____,” starts all of the webisodes. The MFAs used the same principle for an internet fanbase that one uses for a real show: just pick an audience.
MIDNIGHT WRAP–Once finished, MFAs convert ‘Hollywood school’ back to ‘Broadway school.’ The new web series MUSICAL THEATRE NERD ALERT will be posted to YouTube in late spring.
WRITERS BOX–Liv and Brad stand by at rehearsal for any needed edits. They developed scripts based on MFA research.
NERD ALERT–Jacob collaborates with Julia on his storyboard for the intro. Jessica wrote the “Musical Theatre Nerd Alert” theme song.

11 years ago Short URL 3 Comments

MFA Life: Many Fine Anecdotes

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03

Oct

Can the Music of Broadway Reclaim the Top 40?

This week, the MFAs launch their research projects.  Care to weigh in on my proposal?  Know any resources? Comment below.  

The music of Broadway has always been a genre in dialogue with the popular music of the time.  In the early part of the twentieth century, theatre-goers could expect to hear the music they found in theatres broadcast on that new device—radio—and conversely, they thrilled to hear their favorite radio and parlor hits sung live onstage.  In a not-so-distant era of American popular music, the music of Broadway was popular music.

At some point, however, the dialogue that existed between popular music and Broadway music either fizzled or turned one-sided.  Perhaps both genres amiably departed in their natural evolution or perhaps they split sharply.  At various junctures in musical theatre history, Broadway looked to popular music, but popular music seemed to give little regard to Broadway.  Looking to examples such as Hair, A Chorus Line, Rent, and In the Heights, Broadway certainly responded to popular music, as these shows all evoked the musical style particular to the period in which they were created, namely elements of rock ‘n’ roll, disco, pop rock, and hip-hop.  Whether popular music responded to any of the Broadway shows that so clearly sit rooted in popular music becomes harder to identify.

One data-driven indicator of the relationship between Broadway and popular music lies in a Broadway song’s inclusion in the “Top Forty” charts.  The Top Forty serves as the standard measure for song popularity in the United States, and it stands to reason that any Broadway song that made the charts successfully “crossed over” the genre divide.  Though the Top Forty only goes back to 1951, this research will also seek a measureable record of song popularity prior to that date.  This data can then be used to examine the following questions:

  • Did Broadway music slip gradually from the top forty charts or was it a swift fall?
  • Does the data point to any corresponding social or societal shifts such as new technology or world events?
  • Does the data point to any corresponding events in musical theatre history?
  • Can any correlation be drawn to a shift in song form or other musical factors?
  • Do individual performers have more or less success in bringing Broadway music to the pop charts (e.g.-Barbra Streisand)?

In conclusion, this research will aim to describe the relationship between Broadway music and popular music over the past one hundred years and identify certain conditions that might make a Broadway song more or less likely to cross over to the pop charts.  From there, it might be possible to make suppositions about the future relationship of these two genres.  Put another way, can the fluid dialogue that once existed between Broadway and popular music ever be restored?

 

It's hard not to think of "Let It Go". What does the Frozen hit have that modern show tunes lack? Photo courtesy of: Jacob Brent

It’s hard not to think of “Let It Go”. What does the Frozen hit have that modern show tunes lack?
Photo courtesy of: Jacob Brent

11 years ago Short URL Comments

MFA Life: Many Fine Anecdotes

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