Anacrusis

Upbeat without accent

Friday, February 16, 2007

The Evolution of Auditions - or - the Auditions of Evolutions

So, it's been a week or so since Auditions for Evolutions.

Once again, I was impressed by the calibre of auditionees. Coming from NZ, where the concept of a Revue / Concert production generally invites the calibre of auditionees that makes the 'outtakes' section of Idol auditions look attractive, this was a pleasant change.

If I have one observation, it's that the diversity of talent wasn't present.

When writing the vocal arrangements for Evolutions, I have been specific in my vocal requirements -- 8 guys, 8 girls, needing 2 strong sops, and 2 strong tenors, and 2 strong basses, with the rest made up of alto / mezzo / bari combinations.

I kinda expected that we would struggle with the guys. It's not so much that there's a lack of manpower, but we announced auditions late, and had a somewhat blande offering (against CLOC and Whitehorse). (Not that I think much of either Shout or Chorus Line...and don't get me started on the responsibility of big players to bring diversity to the cultural scene...it's just that people love the shows with $$$$'s)

What took me most by surprise was the lack of diversity in the women. If I wanted a cast of pure mezzo / alto's, I would've been sweet. But I needed someone who could hit a soulful bottom F, and someone who could hit a top A without sounding like aunt Marge from the local church choir.

Anyway -- as it stands, we're still hunting for a couple of killer guys (1 shit hot tenor, and 1 rock solid baritone). We've got an amazing array of talent in our women, and the guys that we have cast are great.

Also, the makeup orchestra has FINALLY been agreed on.

We'll be going with 10 players:
Keys I
Keys II
Guitar
Bass
Drums
Cello
Violin
Trumpet
Trombone.

Which means that I get to conduct, rather than play (thank christ).

On another note, arrangements have taken a slightly unexpected turn for the better.

There's been a few accidental, unplanned gems just pop into the score -- like the Gun Song from Assassains, but done in a really really bin-laden scares the shit out me dark manor.

And Merano from Chess done like you're at the cuban jazz festival. (Fuck opera.)

Anyway -- I've decided that after Evolutions I'm hanging up my baton for a while, so if you're reading this, and in Melbourne, and undecided if this is your cup of tea -- trust me -- the show is gonna rock, and it's my last jaunt with the boards for a while, so come and check it out!

Marty

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Evolutions auditions...

So, it's arrived!

Evolutions starts auditioning tonight...which seems a little surreal. Our little project which has sat on my PC and existed only through the tinny speakers in my studio for a few short months starts its genesis tonight!

With still only a little over half of the score completed, it's really gonna be a race to the finish, as orchestrations will have start soon.

Still, auditions are always exciting, and I'm told we have some great talent registered.

Fun times ahead.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

The heat is definitely on

So I'm in Sydney, having just finished hanging out at Miss Saigon rehearsals for two days.

All I can say is....WOW!

I think I'm most impressed by the scale of the whole thing more than anything else. The music department consists of four for this production -- the Musical Supervisor (head honcho -- also doubling as the MD for the bulk of the tour), Associate Musical Director, Associate Conductor, and repetiteur. (I can't spell that word).

This is the 7th time that Guy (MD) has done Miss Saigon, and the 3rd or 4th time for Adrian (associate), so these guys know the score pretty much inside out.

I was really impressed by the team feeling amongst the music department. My previous experiences that have been on the cusp of professional theatre (Les Mis, JC Superstar), have left me with a definite foul taste in my mouth from the other key members of the production team, and I had formed the distinct impression that professionals are assholes.

I am so happy to say that it turns out it was just the assholes that I had worked with. These guys were great. And know thier shit inside out.

These guys are rehearsing 6 days a week, 10am - 6pm, for five weeks. Because they have the luxury of time (relative to a non-professional proudction, rehearsing 3 times a week, 3 hours a call), they get to work at a more relaxed and thorough pace.

It was evident that they were taking things at a slightly more relaxed pace, given that it was the first couple of days of rehearsals, and that Guy was really only working in broad strokes (setting numbers and people in vocal groups for ensemble numbers, and roughly teaching harmonies), leaving Adrian to go back and do a tidy up later. However, having said all that, I felt that at a standard rehearsal that I work on, we'd probably cover twice as much in the same period of time. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Unfortuantely I won't be there for the later calls, so I won't get to see how much time Guy and Adrian spends polishing vocals from calls earlier this week.

It's encouraging to see that in terms of the vocal rehearsals, nothing is really hugely different between the way that I work, and the way these uber MD's do it.

The calibre of the ensemble was really high. They sounded great on the big choral numbers -- Morning of the Dragon & This is the Hour. However, having said that, these guys weren't infallible, and not the dissimilar from the kinds of cast I've been working with here in Melbourne. Standard kinda issues -- Sops were sharp, tenors were flat, harmonies with close intervals took ages for people to learn.

I also sat in on scene rehearsals for the characters of Kim & Chris doing their love scene (Why God -> This Money's Yours -> Sun & Moon). This has got to be one of the absolute highlights for me.

The director was incredible. His passion was overwhelming.
His compassion for the story and understanding of the lives of the characters and their journey's was amazing.
His ability to communicate this is a engaging, interactive dialouge with his cast was stunning. he wasn't condescending, or arrogant.

And watching him craft this scene with Kim & Chris, watching it develop into the piece of theatre that it was when I left, was just incredible.

I get to go back and meet up with them all once orchestra rehearsals start in Melbourne, which I am definitely looking forward to.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Simply elegant

I went to see a small little cabaret piece called "Happy Chaps" this weekend.

It's on as a part of the gay & lesbian festival -- but turns out it's also enjoyable by straight people too!

A little cabaret celebrating the gay characters and composers of contemporary musical theatre -- it was 45 minutes long, and had 8 people -- 8 chairs, 4 mics, and a simple stand and deliver approach.

It was produced and directed by my good friend Sunayan Devanesan on a shoestring budget, and thrown together in a week (2 rehearsals). And it was the best thing I've seen in months. Resting solely on the talents of the 8 performers, in a very [Title of Show] moment (who says 8 chairs and a keyboard can't make a musical?), these guys sold it. It reminded me of stuff that I used to see at BATS theatre in Wellington's "Theatre District". Small theatre, small production, small budget, all talent.

Darryn Gatt was the stand out for me, who performed the phone call song from Bare (I don't know it's name...maybe "see me"). He made my heart break, and my girlfriend cry.

Plus, in another eat-my-words moment, the only ensemble number was the baseball song from Falsetto's, which I had, only weeks earlier, told Sunayan that I wasn't keen on having it in Evolutions, because I thought it was a large paper bag of 2 week old dog shit. And, turns out, that the little black bastard is right again, and that the baseball song is GREAT!

"We're sitting, and watching Marty watch Jason
We're watching Marty watch Jason,
We're watching Marty watch
Who did not like baseball, like baseball."
Anyway -- this Happy Chaps thing is on for one more weekend, next weekend at Gasworks theatre. It's only $15, and on next Friday and Saturday night. Book online via this link

And it's really bloody good.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Naming the child...

Okay, so certain people (Kristy, this means you...) have been pestering me AGAIN about not keeping this up to date...despite recent efforts.

Here's the deal: I'm busy! We audition in two weeks for a show that doesn't yet have a score...just a bunch of sketches sitting on my PC.

However, we do now have a name, an audition notice, and an advertisement....

After much discussion (two whole emails), Sunny (my director / producer) agreed not to name it Avenue Who 2. Avenue Who was his last concert, which was a bloody huge success, leaving me, once again, big shoes to fill.

However, I have this concept for the score which distinguishes it from normal stand-and-deliver style concerts, which...while hard to pull of well...are not my cup of tea.

So, may I introduce...Evolutions:

EVOLUTIONS

A look at the past re invented and anticipated Future
Of Musical Theatre

A Concert Featuring Music from
The Colour Purple, Jersey Boys, BARE,

Title of Show, Little Women, Tarzan, Parade, Wicked, Frankenstein and More

We are seeking 16 Singers – 8 Male / 8 Female

Singers are asked to prepare two songs of their own choice. Songs should help to demonstrate your vocal range and strengths, while exhibiting your performance and storytelling ability.

Please note that the use of backing tracks, singing a cappella or asking music to be transposed is not allowed.

All auditionees are asked to provide a head shot, this photo is non returnable. If you do not have one, we will take one for you.

Audition Dates
Tuesday February 6 from 7pm
Thursday February 8 from 7pm

ALL Auditionees must be available for call backs on Sunday February 11th @ 1pm if required.

For more information and AUDITION BOOKINGS Email

sunnytheatre@yahoo.com

Evolutions will rehearse in Hawthorn and be performed at gasworks arts park, Albert Park in April 2007


Now I know that, like any concert, this is a collection of greatest hits from contemporary musical theatre. However, I'm keen to ensure that this also has a musical identity it's own, and has earns it's right to exist amongst the noise of theatre crap on these days.

I'm acutally really excited about the arrangements thus far...especially the Sondheim Octet I finished a couple of days ago...which concludes with eight voices, singing 8 songs, from 8 different shows, simulatenously, and not sounding shit. It's pretty cool.

Last time I did one of these things I had the luxury of spending 6 months on the score. While the much shorter lead time causes stress, the plus is that I don't have to wait TOO long before knowing whether my ideas translate off my pc, and sound okay when performed by actual people.

So, forgive me if I'm slack to update, but time is a little pushed.

Marty.


PS -- 11 sleeps until Miss Saigon rehearsals!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Aside #2: Wellington Weather

A friend forwarded me the below, and it fondly reminds me of the aspects of Wellington I don't miss.

Don't get me wrong -- I love the place -- but no-one should have to live there.

By LINLEY BONIFACE
I was an ardent admirer of Wellington for 13 years. It is perhaps not a coincidence that these were the 13 years when I lived overseas. In the five years since I moved back here, I have waxed and waned on Wellington, but now, I'm afraid, I'm over it. Wellington, Schmellington. Get me out of here.

My disenchantment came to a head a couple of weeks ago, when I suffered an accident that could never have happened in any other city.

At the time, I was in my back garden, which, like so many Wellington gardens, is not a relaxing urban oasis but an Outward Bound-style obstacle course.

It consists of a small onionweed plantation, a steep bank leading to a dark and sinister grove of native bush, and a muddy waterway created by a stormwater drain.

We've only succeeded in hacking our way to the boundary fence three times. On the first occasion, my daughter had a low-level panic attack and began bellowing, "Take me home! I don't like it here!" "You ARE home!" we snapped, but she refused to stop crying till we forded the stormwater drain, manhandled her up the bank, dragged her through the onionweed and bundled her into the house, at which point a stray northerly gust made every door in the house slam shut with a monumental bang. It couldn't have got any creepier if I had sat down at my typewriter and begun bashing out the phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" while my son scrawled "REDRUM" on the bathroom mirror in lipstick.

As a result of the garden's peculiar topography, the only way I can reach my washing line is by hovering precariously above it from the safety of a specially constructed deck.

On this occasion, I was leaning over the line with a wet sheet when another stray gust of wind made me lose my balance.

To avoid falling down the bank, I grabbed one of the wires and suddenly found myself suspended from the washing line, swinging out over the void below.

I shouted for help, but to no avail. In a Wellington southerly, no one can hear you scream. I remained like this for several minutes – the metal line cutting a bloody groove in my fingers, each gust swinging me first in one direction then in another, a pair of my husband's boxer shorts lashing me damply in the face – till the wind picked up, whirled me around and smashed me against the edge of the deck.

Losing my grip on the line, I fell down the bank and gashed my forehead on a rusty clothes peg. How, I pondered, could all this be satisfactorily explained to ACC?

This is not my first weather- related injury. I have a permanent dent in my spine from where the wind periodically seizes the door of the car boot with such force that it slams down on me as I attempt to put the children's schoolbags away.

I've lost count of the cuts and bruises I've accumulated from falling down steps and walking into walls when blinded by gales and driving rain.

And, while a haircut can hardly be described as an injury – though I've had a few that come close – it is the wind that eventually forced me to adopt the close- cut, aerodynamic hairstyle popularised by state-sector lesbians a decade ago.

Newcomers to Wellington soon learn that a bob is a near-lethal fashion choice: in gale-force winds, bob-wearers are savagely pistol- whipped by their own hair.

To survive Wellington, you need a good coat, a good handbrake and a good sense of humour.

The city's current polar temperatures, however, are something new. What the hell is happening? Is there someone we can ask for our money back?

A few days ago, my husband, an Englishman whom I lured to Wellington with false promises of a sun-soaked Pacific paradise, finally lost it.

"This summer is an OUTRAGE!" he ranted, as he pulled on a second fleece. "Why have we come to this godforsaken place? We must leave now! We must pack up our things and go!"

He has jungle fever; he has gone troppo. It is too much for him. And it is too much for me.

There is only one solution. If farmers can be offered recompense for flood damage, Wellingtonians should be given compensation for being deprived of the one season that makes it possible for us to tolerate staying here for the rest of the year.

I hereby promise my vote in the next general election to the first party that agrees to fund a fortnight in Fiji for anyone unlucky enough to live in Wellington.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Marty attempts a Richard Marrett

Who?

Richard Marrett is like this killer fuck-off amazing MD in NZ. He generally does all the big shows in the lower north island, and, prior to being allowed to idolise Guy Simpson, was one of the best MD's I'd ever had the pleasure of chillin' wid.

(He was also the composer of the god awful Once were Warriors musical. To this day, I cannot fathom how a man as clever and musically gifted as he is could spend years producing such utter horse shit. I guess OWW to Marrett is like "Passion" or "Bounce" to Sondheim.)

Anyway, Richard did this show in NZ called "Ovation". It was this revue / concert style show of theatre's greatest hits...there's hundreds of these shows done all the time. What made Ovation stand out from the pack was that it was really fucking good (except for when these 5 bastards tried to sing 'No matter what', and butchered the harmonies)

He gave the show a cleverly thought-out score, with refreshing new takes on beaten up old songs. ("I don't know how to love him" done with 5 women in funky jazz voicings. Tres chic.) It was a show in it's own right, rather than a shitty narrative by some tosser in a clowns costume explaining the plot outline of Les Mis, before a 65 year old soprano murders "I dreamed a dream" for the 100th time.


Anyway, I was so blown away by this concert production, that I thought I'd try to lend my hand to one. So, I'm currently furiously writing arrangements and orchestrations for a May 2007 concert production, currently untitled.

Working again with Devanasan Productions, we're using really shiny new stuff (colour purple, jersey boys, tarzan, little women, title of show, etc), and -- just like Dicky Marrett did -- I'm throwing together some funky new arrangements of shitty old tunes. (Don't quite know what yet...but it's on my to-do list).

So that's my first project for '07...and it's gonna be a bigun! Generally these gigs take about 6 months of arranging and orchestrating before you walk into a rehearsal room....we're working with about 8 weeks!

God I hope I don't fuck it up.