R & H Org. to offer automated musicians to "enhance" live performances- Page 2

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 1:28pm

Is anyone aware of whether R&H has this for Show Boat yet? Or are any of you aware of a fantastic minus track? The production I'm working with is still 10 months away, but the demands on a 25 piece orchestra at a high school are bit scary. Anyone?

[cello_dude]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 2:34pm

For the people that complain that the musicians avaliable to these community theaters are sub-par or not avaliable, how would we feel if these community theater actors just lipsync because they arent the best singers?

[don logan]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 3:42pm

Thank you cello dude. Amen

As for student productions, they should learn to play with live musicians. That is part of the learning process. Most Broadway singers today have terrible time because they came up performing with just a piano player, and when they sing with an orchestra for the first time, they are all out of tempo and all over the place.

The fact is that the music is the LEAST appreciated part of musical theater, and the fans will only get upset when we get to the point of the actors being replaced by robots.

[don logan]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 3:45pm

Ourtime: get a reduced score for a smaller orchestra, and do it with the smaller orchestra. You don't need 25 peaces for a high school production, and you also don't need to deprive the actors of the chance to learn to sing with a live band, or deprive the young musicians a chance to learn to play in the pit.

[cello_dude]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 3:57pm

In addition to a performer, I work as a composer/arranger and you would be AMAZED at the sound, color and expressiveness you can get out of a 3 piece ensemble

[broadwayrob]

Posted: 5/8/08 at 3:58pm

ok.. two things talked about in this thread bugged me.

1) All high schools don't always have musicians who can play instruments needed, say for a R & H show. We had no violin players, no cellists, no stringed instruments of any kind, save for a guitar player here and there and out of almost 2000 students we had probably less than 15 guitar players and maybe one string player. Where i went to high school.. yeah we had a drama class.. and we TRIED to put on productions. but there was nothing in the budget of the school/county to do this.
You have to think about what's going on in this country with all of the arts programs being slashed left and right.

2)Community theatre also is just that, community theatre. All members are volunteers.. not hired hands. If you bring in people from out of town it kinda takes away from the sense of community I think. Don't we do this stuff to have a good time and to be part of something to get away from our normal mundane lives? Why not sing along with an, albeit fake, orchestra.

So to sum all of this up. I love this idea. It makes everything better for the audience. Which in my opinion is the most important thing to theater, the connection. And in today's world most people *i.e. non-theatre folk* have a hard time making that connection if it sounds like a middle school talent show.

Sorry. But unfortunately we know it's true.