Imagine you’re walking into a theatre and you see a really cool set of props on stage and wonder: “How did they set this up?” You take a seat and the lights start to dim. You hear the first notes of the overture of the musical and you wonder: “Where is this music coming from?” Actors walk on to stage bringing so much energy and amazing vocals and you wonder: “How are they not breaking character?” As they take their final bows and leave the stage you wonder: “How does a musical come together?” For those who can relate to this experience and are interested in learning about or even joining a musical production, I will take you through the process of how it comes together.
Musical productions can be built through multiple processes. But not everyone does it the same way, for example, a high school production will have a different process than a theatre company like Running to Places. Professional productions seen on Broadway are also done differently, of course, but these youth groups do try to go through a similar process. Depending on the production things may vary, but here is the full step by step process and tips based on my own experience and as well as some research.
Choosing the musical: Every year or “season,” the directors of a production make a hard decision between the musicals they want to do. In most cases, they decide based on the kids they have on their roster. The musical selection can be based on the singing, dancing and/or acting skills of the actors. Based on the total number of participants, they would have to choose a larger cast musical or a smaller cast musical. There are also options to a musical: a full show, a junior show, a high school show, and more. A full show is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s what you might typically see in a professional production, same length and mostly same words as the script. A junior show is cut down from a full length show to be roughly one hour long and is usually meant for younger kids. And a high school show is mostly the same as a full show but it is adapted to be appropriate for a high school audience.
But a production can’t just put on a show, they have to get the rights to the show. There are many companies they can rent from, but it takes a lot of money, more than two thousand dollars on average! That doesn’t include the money needed for costume, props, and set, so it is very expensive to produce a musical. Once they make the tough decision of choosing a musical, they move on to the next stage of production.
Auditions: One of the most exciting moments is when you get that email from the directors that auditions are finally open! Auditions are probably one of the most stressful moments for actors because they have to sing, act, and dance in front of directors while knowing you’re being judged. But honestly, it’s not as bad as you think it is. In an audition, you have to sing a song that is usually thirty to sixty seconds long (theatre songs are mostly recommended, but you can sing what feels comfortable!), have a thirty to sixty second monologue, and on a separate day, there is a dance audition with a bigger group! During the audition, the directors will take notes which helps them decide for the next step: callbacks.
Callbacks: Callbacks are technically just a second round of auditions, but they’re specific to a role. The directors will make a list of people that they want to hear more of. It’s okay if you don’t get a callback because that just means that they don’t need to hear more from you. When these people are “called back,” they are called back for a specific role, and they have to sing or act in certain parts from the roles. Callbacks usually happen in rounds. With each round, people are judged, and people who aren’t a good fit are cut. At the end, there are only a few people left in the group of callbacks, and now the directors can decide the cast. The main roles are chosen out of the last ones standing from callbacks.
Casting: Casting is another part that could be stressful for actors because they have to wait days to find out if they got an amazing role or not! I personally try not to think about it too much and try to enjoy my life while the directors make a tough decision. If the cast list is put out and you don’t get the role you wanted, you might be disappointed, you might be mad, you might cry, but just know you were put in the other role for a reason. When directors cast people, it’s like they’re painting a canvas. That canvas is the production, and every detail matters. So, don’t ever think you’re not good enough. Once the full list is announced, we move on to the next step of the process: rehearsals.
Rehearsal: This is where all the fun begins! During rehearsal we go through the show little by little and do a bunch of work. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. The rehearsal process usually takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. We mostly get called in groups depending on what the directors want to work on. This is when the cast will learn parts of the show, like the songs, dances, and the scenes. This process does take a lot of commitment because you have to learn so much in a short period of time. Rehearsals are also so much fun because you get to meet some very amazing people and make so many friends! It’s very cool to watch the show come along little by little and see all of your hard work paying off. Rehearsal is also the time where you have to give everything that you’ve got because you’re there for a reason. Towards the end of the rehearsal time, we stumble through the show and begin to connect the dots of all we’ve worked on through the weeks of rehearsal! Once the process of rehearsal is done we move on to tech week!
Tech week: Tech week is definitely the most stressful week of someone’s life. Especially if you’re in school, this week will be a lot because you don’t get home until late, and you won’t get a lot of sleep. Tech week is the week where you put everything you’ve done during rehearsal onto the stage. This is where we figure out costumes, props, mics, music, and how everything should be spaced on the stage, also known as blocking. Blocking is when you map out a performer’s movements like spacing, timing, and positioning. The day before this process starts, there is the load in: when we build the set, organize the costumes, and set everything up to be ready for tech. Tech week happens the week before the shows, and is a week of grueling, long days. So if you have a friend who’s in tech week, don’t plan to hang out with them for a while. It is also very important not to miss this week because there’s a big chance that you will get cut from the show if you miss a day of tech. Everyday, we go through the show with everything that will be in the final performance like costumes, mics, and props. During this process the directors may change some parts because it doesn’t work with the stage, the scene change is weird, or it just simply is not ready. This is where we also add the background music, and if it’s a high school or full length show there will usually be a real live band playing from somewhere in the theatre. If it’s a junior show it is most likely that they will use a prerecorded audio. We try to go through the complete show more than once so that it is ready for the audience to see! Once opening night comes, there’s no going back, we have to move on, and we can’t do anything about hiccups and malfunctions.
The performance: This is when all of the hard work pays off: going on stage with your family, friends, and strangers watching you put on an amazing show. Sure, there could be a few errors, but that is the point of live theatre—there will be mistakes because no one is perfect. Many productions have pre-performance rituals, like singing, to hype each other up and make the experience all more fun and exciting! These shows are just a rollercoaster of emotions—stress, elation, disappointment, burnout, nerve—but it’s all a part of the highly-rewarding and imperfect human process. And of course, in the end the bows sum it all up. After all of the energy you put on stage, it’s now all come to a close and all you can do is hope you inspired someone in the crowd to join theatre so that they can go through this process as well.
Then it starts all over again: from choosing the show to auditions to callbacks to casting to rehearsals to tech week to the performances. Many people underestimate the work put in, but it’s not much different than the commitment of a sport. The community built throughout this process is unmatched, you will end up forging deep bonds with someone you never ever thought you would talk to. I really hope this made you appreciate the actors who perform on stage or even inspired you to maybe try joining theatre.
Be First to Comment