acting

• Getting the Hang of Things

  Posted by gmadmin   |   June 26, 2012

  I started Go Musicals a few years ago with just Final Vinyl. I put most of my savings into that show and made many expensive mistakes. It’s been a rough few years of learning and adapting. With The Branson Bandit Babes, I totally missed the mark and have basically had to shelve that show (which is a bummer because I think it’s pretty cool). With The Atomic Brain, I think I finally figured out what I want to do with this company. In the past year I have ramped up production drastically, and I think the quality of the work has improved across the board. The music for It’s a Wonderful Life is my best yet, and Night of the Living Dead might top it. By the end of this year, I will have tripled the size of my catalog.

  I plan to keep up this rate of production next year and the year after that. As the catalog expands and improves, I’ll get bolder about investing more into advertising. I’ll start looking to form more partnerships, and I’ll start submitting my stuff to contests, colleges, and community theatres in addition to high schools. In five years I want to have 15-20 musicals, 10+ one-acts, and a few straight plays. By that time I would like to hire someone to help me with sales and advertising so I can focus more exclusively on writing new stuff. Maybe I’ll form some partnerships in foreign markets to translate my shows into other languages.

  I’d also like to start making movies. I think I could adapt most of my shows for around $250k. Film versions of these musicals would make great sales tools, and I think the actors who perform in the stage versions would like to have a copy of the movie.

  I’m feeling so fired up right now! I’ve been staying with a friend in Denver (sleeping on the floor!) and I’m stoked to get home and get back to work! 🙂

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
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• Auditions and the Rashomon Effect

  Posted by gmadmin   |   August 31, 2010

  In Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon, four witnesses give four radically different accounts of an event. The film is about the subjectivity of perception and memory. In other words, we all see things differently.

  The Rashomon Effect is huge in theatre auditions. The producer, the director, the music director, and the choreographer can see the same audition and reach completely different conclusions.

  “Wow, what a great voice!”

  “Are you kidding? I thought she sounded awful. But her acting chops were solid.”

  “No, she couldn’t act for beans.”

  Etc.

  So how do you reach an agreement? First of all, someone has to be the boss. Whether it is the director or the producer, someone must have the final say, and the rest of the team needs to respect that decision. Good leaders listen to their team and weigh all arguments before making a decision.

  On the other side of the audition, actors can take heart knowing that just because you didn’t make the cut, that doesn’t mean you weren’t good enough. When you realize how subjective the casting process truly is, it helps you understand that there is rarely one “best choice.” It’s quite possible someone on the production team was lobbying passionately for you.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
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