On a stage, there are many moving parts to be considered. For the magic to come to life, making it believable and immersive, all the parts have to fit together like puzzle pieces. Making the scenes flow from an idea to a storyboard into a full, flowing story. The best part about theatre is that you can become anything you can imagine. Whether it is historical, fantasy, or educational, each a tell a unique story to the audience. Many times when we are watching, we can only see the acting and the voices being done on the stage. But shows have many hidden components made into the very production that can change the whole crowd reaction and more. In musical theatre, we are able to learn about the components to be able to make a theatre production and to be able to test and try them out.
The starting portion of being able to go onto the stage is to be able to create the character and to be able to create the story first. This takes lots of thought and concentration. Looking for any loopholes that can change the whole idea of the story. Then you have to do research. Afterwards, you can start to make characters and the backgrounds of each part of the storyboard. With these components decided, you can start to do more to set the story into motion and to be able to get your point across to the viewers.
This year, we have learned a lot so far. At the very beginning of the year, we were able to design our own costumes for our characters. To be able to create people for a made-up play. After this component of the characters we made, we looked into the making of stage makeup that can work well with actors and actresses.
One of the most commonly thought about and considered parts of a musical or a play is the acting. That is what is mainly focused on when watching a show. It brings the play to life, giving character and bringing out the magic. It is not the 2d magic you can experience in a book; it is the magic that is brought out by the depth of human nature. For each person portraying a persona, they will make a new personality and a new quirk for the character. That is another aspect that is important in musical theatre. No two plays will be the same, nor will no two actors ever be the same. We worked on this as well. We each got to choose a person and a monologue from another play and were able to do research on who the character would interact with, not only others, but with them selves aswell. We got to be able to work together and to be able to present it not only as the character, but as a spin on it that made the character more us.
Musical theatre production is a favorite class of mine. It not only goes to the theatre, but helps us learn to push out of our comfort zone. Challenging us to be able to present and create our own ideas. To be able to present to others and get positive and constructive feedback. It allows us to be able to both allow others to learn stories told not by one person, but by many, and to be able to experience it ourselves.
