MUSICAL THEATRE INTRO.

MUSICAL’S PURPOSE: “Provide a rare opportunity to combine best aspects of drama and comedy with the emotional force of music to create a potent means of theatrical expression.” Agree/ disagree?

WHY DON’T LIKE IT? Don’t like writing or form Acting isn’t good Can’t understand what the actor is singing.

Only when the singer/ dancer begins to act through their craft does the work truly come to life. Musical theatre can only remain vibrant if performers train rigorously in acting as they do in singing and dance.

JOURNAL: When you perform in front of others, what is the one fear you have onstage? 5 sentences. If it was a mysterious creature, what would it look like? Describe it/ draw it.

THE WHISPERER You are not going to be able to hit that top note. You don’t know what to do with your arms. You can’t remember the new lyric. You are going to run our of breath. You don’t know what you are doing. You are not good enough.

SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS Road block for all progress in acting. The reason why most people don’t perform! Stifles great character development!

MOST COMMON MISTAKES TO ESCAPE SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS Hiding behind a Good Voice Becoming the Character Playing Emotion

HIDING BEHIND A GOOD VOICE Myth: Having a good singing voice will rid the actor from self-consciousness because the pleasing sound makes them feel better about the performance. Reality: focusing on vocals during performance makes self-consciousness worse. Results: all attention on you and not on others! Don’t dwell! Keep going!

BECOMING THE CHARACTER Myth: Becoming the character will free personal worries onstage. Reality: The audience transforms the actor into the character onstage. Results: if the actor is skillful enough, the audience will suspend their disbelief and accept that actor as the character for the duration of the performance. Work hard to portray the character and the audience will do the rest!

PLAYING EMOTION Myth: Deciding how the character feels in the moment and replicating it successfully, will suppress the self consciousness. Reality: It is impossible to control your emotions onstage because you can’t control them. Results: Become emotional by committing to the actions of the character then maybe it will trigger the emotion. You emotions will react by what your body is doing.

THE ESCAPE All self consciousness fits into two categories: 1)Worries about what the audience thinks of you. 2)Self criticisms about your own performance. You must escape these two categories in order to be successful!

AUDIENCE “The audience is not on your side; they think you are boring and if you don’t please them constantly they will abandon you.” Reality: The majority of the audience have actually chosen to come and see you perform. You must pay attention to the stage rather than the auditorium. You will stop worrying about them, if you focus only on stage.

SELF CRITICISMS ABOUT YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE Remember to separate yourself from the audience temporarily! Paying attention to something outside yourself will free up your self confidence. Just go for it! If you feel like a fool, then you are doing it right!