spiders are cool

this used to be a theatre blog but i abandoned it because theatre kids are the devil

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hey guys im gonna ruin your night. fuck you.

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What production will your school put on next?

Being a high school student, I know full well the struggle of trying to guess the next production my school is doing. Hope this helps.

Top 10 musicals done by high schools in 2018:

1. Beauty and the Beast

2. The Addams Family

3. The Little Mermaid

4. Into the Woods

5. Cinderella

6. Shrek

7. Seussical

8. Little Shop of Horrors

9. The Wizard of Oz

10. Annie

Top 10 straight plays done by high schools in 2018:

1. Almost, Maine

2. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

3. Peter and the Starcatcher

4. Alice in Wonderland

5. Our Town

6. 12 Angry Jurors

7. The Crucible

8. Arsenic and Old Lace

9. A Christmas Carol

10. Radium Girls

Keep in mind that all drama teachers are so, so different, and with a large variety of shows to choose from, none of the shows on this list might ever chosen by your teacher. It’s a good idea to do some research into your teacher’s personal tastes and previous performances your school has done in order to get a better, more estimated guess on what you might be doing next.

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Getting Over Crazy Hands While Tapping

While watching beginning tappers, I commonly see what I call “crazy hands”. Basically, “crazy hands” are when a dancer’s hand and wrist muscles twitch and spasm while they focus on their feet. Usually, I see them when the tapper is trying hard to understand a new concept and/or perform a new move, but I also see it when beginning tappers perform choreography as well. Learning new moves and choreography can be difficult (believe me, I had “crazy hands” when I was first starting), but they don’t particularly look too good on stage. Here’s how to get rid of them:

Focus on your whole body while dancing- yes, your feet are what’s making the noise, but dancing is an activity that takes your whole body. Focusing on your arms can be hard when you’re trying to balance so many things in your head, so I suggest putting your arms on your hips or at your sides to help. If at your sides, let your arms move along with the rest of your body naturally. Most of the time, choreography has you doing something with your arms while tapping anyways, so having the ability to control your arms and hands helps to paint the whole picture while performing, and using your whole body in your dance helps for a more well rounded performance.

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Audition Guide: Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast script:

http://brydwysg13.tripod.com/id18.html

Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle, a beautiful and intelligent young woman who feels out of place in her provincial French village. When her father is imprisoned in a mysterious castle, Belle’s attempt to rescue him leads to her capture by the Beast, a grisly and fearsome monster, who was long ago trapped in his gruesome form by an enchantress. The only way for the Beast to become human once again is if he learns to love and be loved in return. There is a time limit, too: once a magical rose loses all of its petals, all hope will be lost and he will stay a Beast forever. The Beast’s enchanted household, populated by enchanted items, watch anxiously as Belle and the Beast grow to understand, befriend, and eventually love one another, right in time before the rose loses its petals. They live happily ever after.

Style of the show: Broadway

Good audition songs:

Women:

“Disneyland” from “Smile”

“Live Out Loud” from “A Little Princess­­”

“Once More I Can See” from “Wonderland”

“Astonishing” from “Little Women”

“Unexpected Song” from “Song and Dance”

“Feed the Birds” from “Mary Poppins”

“There’s Music in You” from “Cinderella”

Men:

“Testimony” from “Amazing Grace”

“I Am Aldolpho” from “The Drowsy Chaperone”

“Dames” from 42nd Street

“Wilkommen” from “Cabaret”

“I’m Calm” from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”

Character Breakdowns (from ovationtheatre.org):

Belle: Belle is a young woman who feels trapped in her provincial small-minded town. She is a strong, intelligent, spirited and independent young woman. Belle is the moral compass of the story, elevated by her thoughts and deeds. The maturity and depth of her character allow her to see the true beauty and spirit within The Beast, and to love him for it. This role requires a strong singer who portrays innocence with her singing and speaking voice.

Songs: Belle, No Matter What, Me, Belle Reprise, Is This Home?, Something There, A Change in Me, Is This Home Reprise, Transformation/Finale

Soprano: A-High F

Beast: The Beast’s tortured soul is evident for all to see. He is paying the ultimate price for a moment of mean-spiritedness, and wishes that he could rectify his mistake.  There is anger and menace in The Beast’s appearance and behavior, but increasingly we see his soft and enduring side as he interacts with Belle and recaptures his humanity.  It becomes clear that he is a loving, feeling, human being trapped within a hideous creature’s body.  They told requires a very strong singer, and the actor must have a strong speaking voice and stage presence.

Baritone: A-High F

Songs:  How Long Must This Go On?, If I Can’t Love Her, Something There, If I Can’t Love Her Reprise, Transformation/Finale

Gaston: Gaston is the absolute antithesis of The Beast. Although he is physically handsome, he is shallow, completely self-centered, not very bright, and thrives on attention. However, when his ego is bruised he becomes a very dangerous foe for The Beast, Belle and Maurice. This role requires a strong singer and character actor who moves well.

Baritone: A–High F

Songs:  Me, Gaston, Gaston Reprise, Maison des Lunes, The Mob Song

Lefou: Lefou is Gaston’s dim-witted, servile sidekick. He goes to extraordinary lengths and suffers repeated humiliation in his efforts to please his master. The actor must be comfortable with physical comedy, and the role requires strong character acting.

Baritone: B–High F Sharp

Songs:  Gaston, Gaston Reprise, Maison des Lunes

Maurice: Despite being a bit scatter-brained, there is no mistaking Maurice’s steadfast love for his daughter Belle. Kindly, gentle, enthusiastic and inventive, he becomes single-minded and determined when Belle faces danger. Maurice and Belle sing the lovely duet, No Matter What.

Baritone: B flat–High D flat

Songs: No Matter What, No Matter What Reprise, Wolf Chase #1

Babette: Babette is a saucy, enchanted feather-duster, and the object of Lumiere's affections. This role requires good character acting and she should move well, as she dances a tango with Lumiere during Be Our Guest. This character speaks with a French accent.

Alto: C–C

Lumiere: Lumiere is the French butler who was transformed into a Candelabrum. He is light-hearted, suave, romantic, smooth-talking, and charming. He has a romantic involvement with Babette. This character speaks with a French accent. This role requires strong character acting, and he should move well.

Baritone: A–High F sharp

Songs: Be Our Guest, Something There

Cogsworth: Cogsworth is a tightly-wound, enchanted mantle clock and the head of the Beast’s household. He is a stuffy Englishman who loves perfection. This character speaks with a British accent. This role requires strong character acting.

Baritone: A–High E

Songs: Something There

Mrs. Potts: Mrs. Potts is a warm-hearted, maternal enchanted teapot. She sings the title song Beauty and the Beast. This character speaks with a British accent.

Mezzo-Soprano: Low F sharp–High G

Songs: Is This Home Tag, Be Our Guest, Something There, Beauty and the Beast

Chip: Chip is an inquisitive little teacup who is the son of Mrs. Potts.

Boy Soprano: D–High D

Songs: Be Our Guest

Madame De La Grande Bouche: Madame is a former opera diva turned enchanted wardrobe. 

Soprano: C sharp–High G

Monsieur D’arque: D’arque is the creepy, scheming proprietor of the local insane asylum, The Maison De Lune. He doubles as a townsperson.

Tenor: D–High A

Songs:  Maison des Lunes

Three Silly Girls: The silly girls are three pretty young maids who swoon over Gaston. They are featured dancers who sometimes double as enchanted objects.

Songs: Gaston

Ensemble (townspeople/the enchanted objects): The ensemble is very busy, as many of them are both townspeople and enchanted objects. There are several solo lines in songs like Belle and The Mob Song, and many great dance numbers (Gaston, Be Our Guest,and Human Again). The Enchantress and Young Prince, the Baker, the Baker’s wife and the Bookseller will also double as ensemble members. Several ensemble members will be wolves who fight the Beast.

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Quick hiatus

Hey, since the end of the quarter is here, I’ve been bombarded with schoolwork. Please be patient and allow me to catch up on everything before I start posting again. I will post again soon, though, so don’t worry!

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hi! i was wondering if you could make an audition guide for beauty and the beast because i have an audition for it next month. also your account is very helpful!

Thank you! I will definitely do Beauty and the Beast for you. good luck on your audition!

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Keeping a Healthy Belt

When trying to belt, it is so, so important to do it healthily. Singing with a healthy belt starts as soon as you begin your technique. It takes years to build up your vocal strength to get to a very strong belt. Here are some tips to help you:

Build your vocal strength: vocal strength comes from singing and practicing vocal technique. If you sing wrong, it can be very damaging to your voice and greatly weakens it. By practicing proper vocal techniques, you can ease strain and build up your strength.

Throat and mouth positioning: Keep your tongue down and your soft palate up. When a singer belts a note, their throat opens up to the point of you being able to see their tonsils because their soft palate is raised and their tongue is down. You can practice this technique through frequent vocal exercising.

Have a singer’s posture: Stand with your feet hip distance apart (don’t lock your knees), keep your shoulders back and down, and have good posture. Pretend that there’s a string coming from the very top of your head that’s pulling you up. Never lift your chin up because that restricts your vocal chords, instead, keep your chin down and centered.

Use support: In incorrect vocal technique, singers feel pressure at their throat and/or back of their neck. In correct vocal technique, singers support their belt from their diaphragm in their chest/stomach area, which takes the pressure off of the throat and neck.

Get a voice teacher: This post might be a little hard to understand because explaining a feeling in your throat is particularly hard, especially if the person explaining it isn’t physically there to demonstrate. This is where a voice teacher comes in. I do NOT recommend attempting to belt on your own. I understand getting a vocal coach can be hard and expensive, but if you’re planning on doing any profession involving singing, it is well worth the money. My vocal coach, who I’ve had for 5 years, has completely transformed my voice. I used to only sing in a weak head voice and now I am a power belter that can sustain a note for a very long time because of her. Vocal coaches is worth it and they know how to train you to have healthy technique.

Vocal exercises:

Balloon: Step 1: Lay on the floor on your back and put your feet up on a bench, couch or chair. Your knees should be bent to 90 degrees. Put a balloon in your mouth, holding it straight with your right hand. Your left arm should be flat on the ground next to you. 

Step 2: Take a big breath in through your nose and blow out through your mouth into the balloon. Keep blowing out until you have absolutely no air left in your lungs. When you have nothing left, pause. Wait 5 seconds before you breathe in.

Step 3: When you breathe in, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Breathe in as much air as you can, then blow it out forcefully into the balloon until you have absolutely no air left in your lungs, then pause.

Step 4: Keep repeating this cycle until the balloon is full. Then let the air out of the balloon and try again. Blow the balloon up five times.

Books: Step 1: Lay down on a flat surface and place books on your stomach area (where your diaphragm is). Make sure you are completely flat. Your arms should either be out or at your side.

Step 2: Breathe in through your nose for 8 beats then breath out through your mouth for 4. As you breathe, you should see your diaphragm rising and falling. If your shoulders are moving at all or there’s movement in your chest, you’re doing it wrong. Try to move the books with your breathing. Repeat this 8 times.

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Audition Guide: Heathers

Heathers script download:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CuOkYgAvLjDusVLnpo45jSJaPiBRe2tZ/view?usp=sharing 

Heathers is a musical that often comments on the unhealthy environment of the average high school in the American school system. Set in the 1980′s, this dark comedy includes themes of suicide, depression, murder, and others. Teens 16 and up are recommended to audition for this show, but many places only take 18 and up because of the sex scene during “Dead Girl Walking” and the constant curse words, dark and dirty humor, and murder throughout the show. Please check the age requirements before auditioning for the show.

Style of the show: Rock

Good audition songs:

Women:

“Didn’t I See This Movie?” from “Next to Normal”

“Superboy and the Invisible Girl” from “Next to Normal”

“Fusion” from “The Woman Upstairs”

“I Didn’t Plan It” from “Waitress”

“Safer” from “First Date”

“Acid Queen” from “Tommy”

Men:

“Who's Crazy” from “Next to Normal”

“Troubled Mind/Promises” from “Murder Ballad”

“Pinball Wizard” from “Tommy”

Character Breakdowns (from our lord and savior, Backstage.com):

Veronica: She burns to be both cool and kind, but doesn’t know yet how to be both at the same time. Fierce sense of right and wrong, keen sense of ironic humor. Thinks she's an old soul, but she's still innocent enough to be blindsided by love/hormones (or shocked by cruelty). Voice: high belting required, up to high G, high Ab preferable. Must have dynamic and stylistic range.

JD: He is darkly charismatic, compelling, attractive, charming on the outside yet very damaged on the inside. Keen smarts and strong inventive comedy. Voice: strong, confident belt to at least an Ab, A preferable; wide emotional range.

Heather Chandler: Richest, hottest, most magnetic, cruelest girl in town. Relishes power and wields it like a scalpel - no fear, no patience, no mercy. Voice: strong belt to D, Eb preferred.

Heather Duke: Whipping-girl of the three Heathers. When she finally becomes Queen Bee she wields power like a bulldozer. Voice: strong belt to C, D preferred.

Heather McNamara: Beautiful, innocent, stupid, can be mean on command if Heather Chandler orders it, but actually quite vulnerable and fearful. Voice: strong belt to D, Eb preferred.

Martha Dunnstock: Nicknamed “Martha Dumptruck,” the opposite of hot, confident, or popular. Huge and beautiful soul, optimistic even in the face of rejection. Voice: strong belt to E or F, wide vocal expression.

Ram: Linebacker. Big, insensitive to the feelings of others, ruled by appetites. Voice: strong baritone, belt to F#, G preferred, some falsetto useful.

Kurt: Quarterback and Captain. Big, chiseled, rude, entitled, cocky. Mean, thinks he’s the brains in the friendship with Ram. Voice: tenor, strong belt to Ab or A, some falsetto.

Ms. Fleming: An aging hippie teacher, still yearning for the day the Age of Aquarius reaches Ohio. Hungry for the spotlight, resentful of entitled youth. Actor also plays Veronica’s Mom, who is easygoing, distant, yet capable of laying down the law. Voice: great belt up to C, higher always welcome.

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Scripts

Hey, I’ll be periodically posting scripts for popular shows with audition guides for the show. Please follow the guidelines when downloading them and using them:

1: The scripts are available online for free, please keep it that way. Don’t use this for anything with profit. This includes selling the scripts, performing and selling tickets, etc.

2: I’m posting these scripts online so people can learn from them about the show they are auditioning for and become more prepared. This is for audition prep and for allowing people to be able to practice actual lines from the show. Please don’t use these scripts to direct and perform a show.

3: Keep in mind that the scripts aren’t perfect. I’m making them from watching bootlegs and writing down the lines, so if an actor makes a mistake like skipping a line or two or I hear something the wrong way, that’s going to affect the script.

Have fun prepping for your auditions and I hope your preparation process is painless and easy!

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Audition tips!

Auditioning is an amazing experience that gets you in front of directors and allows for you to get the chance to try out for your dream role. Here are several important things to know when your preparing for your audition. Most of these will have their own post in the future, but here are some general pointers:

1: Always! Read! The! Script! How do you plan to audition for a show without knowing the story? I do understand how hard it is to get scripts though, and I’m trying to work to change that. Periodically, I’ll be posting scripts of popular musicals that are done by high schools, so hopefully that will help.

2: Your audition song/monologue has to fit with the style of the show that you’re auditioning for. You can’t audition for a rock musical with a classical song! Listening to the soundtrack/reading the script can help you determine the style of the play or musical that you’re auditioning for and find a piece that fits.

3: Don’t sing overused audition songs that everyone knows. Though “Burn” from Hamilton may be an amazing song that fits your vocal range and type perfectly, everyone knows it and will probably compare you to Phillipa Soo’s version of the song that they hear in the soundtrack instead of just listening to your version. This goes the same for monologues! I’ll be posting a list of overused songs and monologues that you probably shouldn’t audition with later.

4: When choosing an audition song or monologue, don’t choose something that will test your limits too much. You want to be able to perform comfortably. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choose something difficult if you’re able to perform it well and show off your best attributes. That’s the point of an audition!

5: For musical auditions, always bring dance shoes with you, especially if you don’t know the specific details of the audition. I usually bring a pair of jazz shoes, character shoes, and tap shoes.

6: Have fun! I know I sound like your middle school drama teacher but hear me out! Theatre is supposed to be fun and auditioning is just another part of the experience. Directors love working with people who genuinely want to be there and have a good time.

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Stage directions explained

When I was first starting out in theatre, I had a lot of trouble with stage directions. What perspective are the from? Why? What the heck in general??? Let me explain the directions:

This is a simple diagram of stage directions and what you’ll be hearing most of the time. Downstage is closer to the audience, upstage is further away. Stage left and right are from the actor’s perspective, not the audience’s. For example, if your director tells you to go stage right, go to YOUR right. The abbreviations may also be said. They’re pretty simple and go hand in hand with the names. These stage directions are what you will here the vast majority of the time

Why are the directions like this? A long time ago, theaters were built at a slant and the audience was flat. Going upstage literally meant going up and vice versa because you were acting on an inclined platform. Though the audience is slanted and the stage is flat today, we can still see remnants of how it was 100s of years ago in the stage directions.

There is a very small chance that your director will use anything other than these terms, but here is a more complicated diagram:

As you can see, down stage is always the closer side towards the audience and stage left and right are always from the actor’s perspective.

If you do a whole lot of dance you might hear some other types of stage directions. Used in ballet, directions including corners and walls may be used. The directions go like this:

The directions include corner 1, 2, 3, 4 and wall 5, 6, 7, 8. Wall 5 is always the audience. Unlike stage directions, the corners and walls method is used to tell which way a dancer should face. If you’re told to face wall 6, for example, you’d be facing the left. This has nothing to do with where you are on stage, though. You can be facing wall 6 and be at stage right at the same time.

These are the stage directions explained! if you have any questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll try my best to clarify.

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Hello!

Hey i’m a new account here for theatre kids. I’ll mostly be posting advice but I might be posting memes and other stuff too, you just never know. Feel free to ask me anything!