How to direct and design musicals?

How was this musical created? How can a stage play be realized from an idea? And who is the person who creates, operates and produces musicals? In this chapter, we will discuss this topic further.

The elements of a musical include: music, books, creative staff and so on. The process of creating a musical generally includes: planning, conception, seminar, fund raising, audition, rehearsal, audition, rehearsal, opening and formal performance. Here's one for you.

Music ── One of the Elements of Musical Drama

Almost all American music is written in AABA format. It was gradually formed from the beginning of the 20th century. A is the main theme, which needs to be repeated three times, so it is easy to remember. B is a kind of release or bridge, which contrasts with A as much as possible. This technique was the only format of musicals and pop music at that time. Although it has many limitations, it is still very beneficial for composers and lyricists to create effectively. Many songs also have variations, but AABA is still a major song creation mode.

Of course, there is also a small amount of music that does not use AABA. However, from "American Playboy" Cohen to "Rent" Jonathan Larsen, the creative core of all modern Broadway composers is still AABA.

You can hum some famous Broadway music songs, and you will find this pattern used repeatedly. In fact, until the emergence of heavy metal rock in the 1960 s, this was also the creative technique of pop music.

First, the song style

Songs written in AABA mode can express the most dramatic emotions. There are usually the following types, which can be illustrated by My Fair Lady written by René and Roy.

Folk songs are usually love songs, such as "On the street where you live", or they can express strong feelings, such as "I am used to her face".

Charming songs are usually the types of songs that communicate with the audience, which can form the emotional communication between the characters and the audience, such as Isn't that Love?

The purpose of comedy songs (comedy number) is for pure comedy effect, in order to arouse the audience's laughter, such as "A Little Luck".

The music scene is a song mixed with dialogue, such as "You did it".

Traditional American musicals have different types of songs, but contemporary musicals focus more on folk songs.

Second, the song configuration

Songs are not inserted into a musical at random, but must be placed in a small fluctuation of mood, when dialogue is not enough to express the feelings of the characters. For example, in the musical "Hello Dolly", when Mrs. Dolly Reeve walked down the stairs of the Mogna Garden Hotel, the song "Hello Dolly" that she and the hotel waiter sang was the strongest emotional expression. If the hotel manager only says "I'm glad you can come again" to her old friend Dolly, it may be closer to reality, but it's too dull.

Composers and lyricists must discuss the configuration of songs with screenwriters, which has become the law of music creation. In most musicals, three other points are very important:

The opening music is usually designed at the end. For example, the opening music of "Interesting Things Happened on the Road of Rome Square" was originally a love song "Love in the Air". Considering that the audience infected by romantic sentiment can only adapt to the comedy style in the later period in the first half, Sandham later replaced the opening music with an inflammatory song "Tonight's Comedy", and the structure of the whole musical became natural after the replacement. In My Fair Lady, the title song "Why doesn't English teach children to speak?" He was released after arranging a long conversation. Why can't the British teach their children how to speak? )。

Third, the lyrics: Do you want to rhyme?

Do the lyrics rhyme? The answer is yes. Rhythm is very important for songs in musicals. Since1880s, Master william Gilbert has written a glorious page for the history of musicals.

One of the most effective weapons for poets is rhythm, especially in comedies. A good musical comedy should have creative rhyme, ending rhyme, middle rhyme or waist rhyme and alliteration.

Tail rhyme is the most common rhyme, and all kinds of complicated rhymes should be formed on this basis. Because most drama poems have a clear drama mission, the length is quite long, and their rhyming methods can't rhyme to the end, so they often use rhyme variation and cross-rhyme.

Waist rhyme means that some long sentences in drama poems are usually composed of short sentences and phrases with the same format, so that these short sentences or phrases rhyme and form a changing unity. Sometimes in the chorus of 36 bars, you can mix all kinds of rhymes; As the name implies, alliteration is the rhyme of the first sentence. Of course, alliteration can also be in the form of a cross. When the phonetic colors of various rhyming forms are similar, they can also be mixed, which is the flexibility of rhyming. Of course, the dominant rhyme and mixed auxiliary rhyme are also different.

There is a song "Chrysanthemum Tea" in the Pacific Overture written by Sandham, and there is also a lyric "An herb that is superb for the disturbance of the sea" (meaning: it is a confusing herb).

In cole potter's musical Kiss Me, Kate, there is a song "Review Your Shakespeare", and there are clever rhymes, such as "heinous-Coliola Nas" (meaning: hateful-Karolanas) and "fussing-Nuxins" (meaning: fussing-unreasonable).

Rhyme is an important tool for music creation. Cole potter's ballad "I Get a Pleasure from You" has a famous "five rhymes": "Goofy guy-shy me". This song left a deep impression on the audience when it was first sung by Ethel Menman in Everything is Fine from 65438 to 0934.

Mr. Ju elaborated on "Drama Poetry" in "Introduction to Drama Art". Drama poetry is a marriage of literature, drama and music, which is both literary and musical, and is a unique drama that ordinary lyrics and lyrics do not have. At the same time, music should endow drama poetry with the characteristics of visualization and concretization, so as to realize the harmonious integration of the two. Compared with serious grand opera, the poetic creation of musical is inferior to grand opera in dramatic intensity and close combination with plot, but it has incomparable characteristics and advantages in lyricism and popularity, and in describing and vividly revealing the natural flow of characters' inner feelings. As a playwright who writes in words, he should show profound literary accomplishment and creative skills when excavating the inner rhythm, rhythm and formal beauty of a certain kind of words. Oscar Hammerstein is an expert in this field. His plays and poems, like poems and songs, all follow the traditional rhyme and have catchy rhythmic beauty.

In addition to increasing the sense of rhythm and formal beauty of drama poems, a large number of rhetorical devices can be used in creation. Of course, in addition to the use of these formal techniques, the most important thing of lyrics is to put lyrics in the context of musicals, reveal the emotions of characters and express dramatic conflicts.

Section 2 Music Script

Musical script (book), also known as "lyrics", is rarely noticed, but it is the most important dramatic element in musical creation. A musical script must arrange the lyrics according to the narrative structure of the story.

For many years, the scripts of most Broadway musicals were composed of a series of scenes, jokes and visual designs between songs. Most musicals are dominated by melodious music and performances by big stars. So in the past, when Al Jolson sang songs unrelated to the story, or when Miss Marilyn Miller danced those dazzling tap dances, the audience would be satisfied.

In the 1940s, with the improvement of the audience's appreciation level, higher requirements were naturally put forward for musicals. From "Friend Joey" to "Puzzled Woman" and "Oklahoma", the cooperation between script and music is very important. Nowadays, in order to reflect the entertainment function of musicals, sometimes actors pause the plot, sing or dance.

Many experts have found that if a musical has full marks, but the script is bad, such a musical will not succeed. If the music is average but the story structure can stand scrutiny, the chances of success are much higher. After all, whether it is a movie, a drama or a musical, the first thing is to tell a good story.

Music scripts must have the following principles:

Make the plot clues develop clearly;

Write the scene when the characters sing;

Try to make the song enter smoothly and naturally;

Write most of the plots and characters that develop into songs and dances;

Let the audience always be full of enthusiasm;

Create innovative people, don't fall into the stereotype;

Of course, the most important thing of all this is to weave it into a story with a core. Since at least 50% of the time in a musical is allocated to singing and dancing, not all screenwriters can easily write musical scripts.

First, how to adapt?

Most musicals are adapted from novels, such as Les Miserables and The King and Me. Some of them come from plays such as Oklahoma and Hello Dolly. Some are from films such as Serenade and Nine Years Old. Some of them are adapted from biographies of historical figures, such as Rex, George M and evita. Some of them are adapted from historical events, such as To My Lady and Fei Aolei Lowe.

Once a book musical is selected for adaptation, the creative team must first decide where the music is suitable for the story. Not all stories are suitable for musical form, and some stories with too strong tragic atmosphere seem to be more suitable for grand opera. The most important thing in choosing music and dance is to find a space where characters can express more emotions, such as finding a chance to sing and dance in the transition from hope to joy, from disappointment to final victory.

Songs can make the audience emotionally integrate into the role. If the dramatic function of some characters is not enough for us to pay attention to, such a story is not suitable for musical adaptation.

When shaping historical figures, songs should be cleverly designed. Because perhaps many viewers came into the theater with their own personal concepts to give to this familiar historical figure, and the creators must be aware of this. The musical "1776" successfully made historical figures john adams and Thomas Jefferson sing, and the American audience did not feel uncomfortable. However, when it was staged in London, the British audience was disgusted with the play and was forced to stop after a few weeks. If there is nothing lovely about the character itself, the musical Rex, which reflects the brutal story of Henry VIII, is a failed example, no matter how big the star is, even if Jake Robinson, Marilyn Monroe, Teddy Luce Wilt and others join in.

Second, the scene structure

Like a drama expressed by non-musical means, an "adapted musical" must have a clear ending in order to extend the story. Because good music and songs should always seize the moment of excessive emotion, a song or a reinterpreted song can usually make the ending of a musical feel not procrastinating.

This is why the lyricist must cooperate with the composer and lyricist as much as possible, and they can decide the more suitable position of the song together, so as to avoid the stiff feeling and cracks when inserting as much as possible. Ideally, the script should be written together with the music score, which is better than the words before the words or the songs before the words.

The script of modern musicals is usually two acts, which are very familiar to the audience. Items related to the performance can be sold during the intermission. But the time should not be too long, otherwise the audience will be impatient with the wonderful entertainment programs. If it is a three-act musical, the rest should be arranged behind two scenes. One-act drama seems simple, but the reality is not that simple. La Mancha's Musician is a one-act play, and what often annoys writers is that the performance will still be interrupted by the intermission.

Therefore, for playwrights who create musicals, it is necessary to find a reasonable excuse for intermission. Generally speaking, the first act doesn't end with a gripping ending. And give the audience an expectation. Here are some successful musicals at the end of the first act:

In Fiddler on the Roof, the terrible massacre forced the wedding to be interrupted. What will happen to Dewey and his family who are still suffering from the disease?

In My Fair Lady, Lisa and the scheming linguist zoltan Karpas started dancing. Will her secret be discovered? Will Professor Higgins's job be ruined?

In Les Miserables, at the end of the first act, the audience will ask such a question: Did the characters in the first act turn the corner in the coming Great Revolution?

If the end of the first act seems ill-conceived, it will be bad for the whole work. The stage version of Meet in St. Louis designed "Song of Trams" as a dream scene, which was of little significance to the development of the second story. The stage version of "State Affairs" ends with the song "This is a grand night of singing". This song is great, but it doesn't help the plot of the second act at all. Both of these works have failed. Although both of them have excellent soundtracks, the primary reason is that the narrative structure of their films is not suitable for adaptation into a two-act musical stage version format.