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Undoubtedly, a good time was had by all back then, but these things are so old and delicate their time has come and gone. Now that they've been digitized and catalogued, into the trash they go.
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![]() When I was still very young (age 8), I was often responsible for tending my younger siblings. My mom was rarely not in rehearsals. So we went along and I tended the kids. My mother encouraged me to create a babysitting bag filled with things to entertain my charges. I collected special books and little toys that I would save just for babysitting time. One thing we liked to do was act out stories. So, apparently, I drew out these paper puppets to enact the story of "The Three Little Pigs." ![]() I don't know why my mother even saved this box all these years. I had been going through tubs of old stuff yesterday de-cluttering, when I found this curious little box just 4"x6." I opened it and couldn't even remember what my 8-year-old self had made. Drawing and making "visual aids" like paper stick puppets were such a daily occurrence for me that, though I didn't doubt that I had made these, I just couldn't believe that my mom thought they were worth saving. To young me, they were just quickly made, disposable playthings. However, I do remember watching "The Wonderful World of Disney" in the early 1960s. That's probably where we got to watch "The Three Little Pigs" cartoon. It had a very catchy song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" we liked to sing. I'm sure I made these puppets so we could sing and tell the story and present it like a puppet show.
Undoubtedly, a good time was had by all back then, but these things are so old and delicate their time has come and gone. Now that they've been digitized and catalogued, into the trash they go.
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![]() My sister was telling me about her first memories from when she was very little. She remembered when she was 20 months old, sick in the hospital for days and days stuck inside a crib with jail-like bars. She could also describe in detail the bedspread fabric on my parent's bed in Texas, as well as playing with dolls in a sea of pillows inside our bedroom closet. Being 12 years older, I could validate those memories for her. It is funny though how memories can be so clear from childhood, when as we age, it can be hard to remember what happened yesterday. Bonnie also told me her memories of watching a favorite movie when she was little, "Lost Horizon." She loved to dance around the house to the music which was written by a pop composer of the time, Burt Bacharach. That got me thinking. Suddenly I was remembering tunes and lyrics from the score. I could remember entire songs that I hadn't sung or even thought about in decades. Then I thought about how when I watched "Brigadoon" recently, I remembered not only the songs, but most of the dialogue. I had been in that show in High School, but that was ages ago. Nowadays I have trouble remembering the most recent show I not only wrote but also directed. So why was I getting words and scenes mixed up when I had been thinking about all of the aspects of that show for months! You'd think that the most recent memories would be the freshest and clearest. But I guess not... There was one cute girl in the cast of my summer camp this year that was always first to remember the next line or who should deliver it. She was sharp as a tack, but not a know-it-all or obnoxious about it. She reminded me of me at that age. Whenever I was doing a show back then, the lines and lyrics came easily to me. I simply could remember them. Oh, to be nine years old again. This is actually a testament to me about how important it is to put lots of good things into the memory banks of our children when they are young. That's the best hope for them having those good things popping up again and again, intact, at various times throughout their lives! "On a Once Upon a Time" from "The Frog Prince" - guide vocals sung by three of my granddaughters.
After our successful premiere performance of "The Frog Prince," I am now ready to offer it in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD format. These materials are now published at SheetMusicPlus.com and SheetMusicDirect.com. Just search for "The Frog Prince" by Betsy Lee Bailey. ![]() "The Frog Prince Children's Musical" - Director's Script The Director's Script includes stage directions, dialogue, and vocal lines for the seven songs all embedded within the script. Perfect for the Artistic Director and the Music Director especially. Some songs are written in two-part harmony. "The Frog Prince Children's Musical" - Piano/Vocal Score The Score includes all of the songs, plus the dances and incidentals. Some pieces have orchestrated parts (displayed in concert pitch) besides the Piano/Vocal parts. Individual Instrumental Parts for live performances may be requested through the Contact Info tab. "The Frog Prince Children's Musical" - Production Kit The Production Kit includes the Performance License (good for one run of shows), and reproducibles: a streamlined handheld script for the cast members, an "invitation to our show" coloring activity, and a prop "scroll invitation to Princess Caroline's Party" needed in Scene 2. "The Frog Prince Children's Musical "- Show Order MP3 Tracks Accompaniment mp3 tracks are available individually from both Sheet Music Plus and Sheet Music Direct. See Show Order Tracks List to order 21 separate mp3s. Guide Performance recordings can be heard on the Songs from Musicals tab Songs from The Frog Prince. Video of the first ever production can be seen on YouTube. The Frog Prince Video If you like these efforts, please leave a Review or a Like, especially on SMP, SMD or YouTube. Thank you! "Playing second fiddle" is an expression that means to have a subordinate or less prominent role. In an orchestra, the person or section that plays the second violin part is usually not as celebrated as the concert master or first violins. He or they literally play a supporting role so that those first violins can soar on the highest or most prominent parts that most everyone can hear and follow. The second violins are not second rate. They are very important. They usually just play a harmonic role that audience members don't or can't follow. The same thing happens in the theater world. There are the lead characters whose plights the plot is built around. Then there are secondary characters who may or may not play a crucial role in moving the plot along, but do many other important things. For a stage production, a scene or song for one of these secondary characters might provide time for a needed costume change for other characters, or a set change, or most often the comic relief. Some stories that have lead characters who get themselves into terrible trouble or bad things just happen to, well it's good to have comic relief to cut the tension. ![]() While I was in High School, our choral teacher loved Lerner and Lowe musicals. We did "My Fair Lady" and "Brigadoon" in the early 1970s. Both shows have gorgeous music and clever scripts. "My Fair Lady" was more difficult to pull off because the few lead characters had so much to do, and everyone else got to spend most of their time playing cards backstage while waiting between their very few scenes. "Brigadoon" was a little different. It had more for the ensemble and secondary characters to do. I was cast as Meg Brockie, definitely a second fiddle character, and a sort of floozy charmer that had no redeeming features. However, she gets to sing two very funny songs. She was indeed the comic relief. "Brigadoon" is a fantasy fairy tale that if played too seriously can be very hard to swallow indeed. Meg's character helps keep the show lighthearted and funny. The 1954 movie "Brigadoon" starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, and Van Johnson in some respects is quite depressing. Van Johnson's character is rather jaded and cynical and Gene Kelly's character is trying to run away from his intense New York City life. Cyd Charisse' character is bemoaning the fact that her younger sister is getting married, but she is not. And there are other characters that are dangerously angry. Pretty grim when you think about it. As one would expect, the dancing plays a supremely important role in this version of the storytelling. And being a movie, there was no need for certain songs and scenes to cover for set changes or costume changes. But they really could have used Meg's songs for comic relief. Because the story-line of the movie is quite sad, I really missed "The Real Love of My Life" and "My Mother's Weddin' Day" (Meg's songs that were not included in the movie). This is an example of how a "second fiddle" character was nearly completely removed so that the lead characters would get more time to expand their dancing roles. However, in my opinion, the storytelling in the movie "Brigadoon" suffered for it. Let's hear it for the second fiddles who really play a first rate part and should be celebrated NOT CUT! Oh, how I wished that my ladies could have had hats like these for our show of "The Frog Prince." I was going for anything comedic and wrote some of the scenes envisioning the Ladies wearing extreme hats like these. ![]() This picture is of the cast of the television version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's production of "Cinderella" starring Lesley Anne Warren. It just takes time, money and effort. All of which we ran out of during the prep time for our summer camp. But it would have been so fun!
My daughter Carolyn Cornwall is currently preparing the role of the Stepmother in a community theater production of "Cinderella" for later this summer. I wonder if she'll wear a cool hat similar to these? Just wish I could drop everything and go see her show! Despite doing the show outdoors in my backyard where we were subjected to all sorts of distractions such as airplanes flying low, dogs barking, babies crying, sun, wind, and heat, our premiere performance was a resounding success!
For those of you who couldn't come, here is a video of our show: The Frog Prince 2024 video Remember that these young kids learned their parts in an intense rehearsal period - 3 hours a day for 9 days or just 27 total hours. That is a remarkable feat for anyone, let alone children, some who have never been on stage before. Learning the songs was fairly easy for them, but the dancing was more of a challenge. I have the feeling that they enjoyed doing the COMEDY the most! Having a responsive audience was so great. The kids told me that they loved hearing the audience laugh and clap and root for them in the fight scenes. They even liked how the audience gave encouragement to the Princess to like the gifts she was presented for her birthday party. This show turned out to be a lot like an Old English Pantomime where the audience is an integral part of the show. Way to go, audience! A fun time was had by all! The first ever performance of "The Frog Prince" went very well yesterday. We had a very responsive audience that really got into the show. They laughed and clapped, and "Ooh-ed and Ahh-ed" in all the right places. The singing was heartfelt and the acting was hammed up where it needed to be. And of course, there was plenty of cute factor from our littlest people. My crew started setting up shade canopies and the 30+ chairs I have during the 9:00 am hour. Other audience people kept arriving with their own chairs until 10:00 am and beyond. That's when the show was supposed to start, but people kept coming and coming. So I gave the audience a pep talk to give them a little more time to get settled. I didn't really count, but there must have been close to 200 people trying to get a spot where they could see the stage. My backyard is pretty wide, but it isn't really wide enough for that many people! At 9:30 am, before most of the people were in their seats, we attempted to get a cast photo. The sun was low enough still that the kids wouldn't open their eyes and smile. We took a few shots anyway -- at least for history's sake. ![]() It's gratifying for me to hear the comments from the audience after the show. Older man: "There were so many surprises! The part with the puppets was brilliant. I really enjoyed the show!" A Grandmother: "You had so many good singers in this cast. It's amazing that you can get so much out of these young kids in such a short time." Man: "We loved being able to root for the Knights during their battle scene!" Woman: "The little princesses were adorable!" Older woman: "I was so glad that this show had such a good message. So many kids' shows these days seem pretty dumb and the music isn't very good. I loved how the songs were so singable! I think we'll go home singing them!" Now, I just have to pack everything away. Whew! Today was the Dress Rehearsal for our Summer Camp 2024 Show
"The Frog Prince." Before the run through, I gave a pep talk to the few people who came for the preview. I told them that for kids, having a responsive audience really pulls a performance out of them. We practiced giggling, laughing, and full-out guffaws, clapping, and even giving a few audible responses. I must say that they really came through for us. I could tell that these kids, many who had never been in a show before, performed like old pros because of the audience. It was a joy to see. Even though it was the first time we worked with the microphones, and we didn't have our set completely finished yet, and we even had to go without a few of the costume parts, the show was well received. Some of the comments were: Grandparent: "This was the best children's show I've ever seen." Aunt from out of town: "I sure wish we lived closer, I'd love to have my kids in a show of this quality." Older man: "This was a genuinely funny show!" Woman: "The songs were so delightful and catchy, by the end, I wanted to sing along." Father: "I liked how the kids were learning something good." Mom: "You did it again! My children had such a good time doing this summer camp. Another great show!" One of the moms even brought in treats to share with the cast -- Frog cupcakes. So cute! ![]() No, it's not my Christmas List. It's my list of all the things I need to prepare for the Summer Theater Camp starting in 3 days. Too bad I got the sickness my family shared with me from having our Family Reunion here last week. We had a great time, but the sniffling and sneezing lingers on. I just haven't been very able to get things done. My granddaughters came through for me, though. They recorded the vocals for "The Frog Prince" children's musical. Somehow we figured out Garage Band enough that the vocals turned out. I even figured out the processes well enough that I could tune a single note that they got wrong in one of the harmony parts after they left. (I'm actually pretty proud of myself for that.) Little by little I am learning Garage Band. These recordings are now up on my webpage Songs from The Frog Prince. This show has five original songs: "On a Once Upon a Time" sung by the Lords and Ladies to explain the setting of the story, "A Party for a Princess" sung by the little Princesses once they get their invitations, "To Be a Princess" sung by the Queen and Princess about how she should act at her party, "Knights in Motion" sung by the Knights as they do their swordplay routine, and "A Promise Is a Promise after All" sung by the Frog Prince and Company. There are also other pieces of music for dances and incidentals, 23 individual bits of music in all. I always wonder at this point if I have included enough songs. And then I work on the schedule and wonder if I have included too much music and if we can learn it all in two weeks. Perhaps five songs with their reprises are enough after all. Well, I guess it's on to finishing up the paperwork, organizing a schedule, looking over the costumes and props, gathering items to make the scenery, and getting my house ready for Monday. Some list... Better get to work! ![]() The Dawn Chorus of birds twittering loudly in my backyard woke me up again today --- long before I actually wanted to be awake (5:00 am). Who needs an alarm clock, right? I guess it's my own fault for sleeping with the windows open. I don't really mind waking up that early, but this morning I realized yet again that I am not as young as I used to be. Aches and pains all over, even in a few new places. (Guess I should really invest in that new mattress.) Anyway, I've been thinking about how to get good VOCAL recordings of the songs for my new show, "The Frog Prince." In a few days, my daughter's family will be here for our Family Reunion. They don't know it yet, but I may hit up those granddaughters to sing the songs for me. Even though they are getting older, too, they are still teenagers not grandmothers.
And yet, they will still need recordings to help them learn the songs quickly as they travel cross-country for the next few days. That doesn't let me out of doing the initial recordings. (sigh!) Yesterday, I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to record straight onto Garage Band on my Mac computer. Over the years I have relied on my BR-1180 all-in-one digital recording studio. That worked so well for my needs and still would if it wasn't so old that it doesn't communicate easily with the computer even through a DAW. It would even give the recordings a professional polish using the Mastering Tool Kit. Trouble is that the BR-1180 won't import tracks directly from the computer. So I am left wondering about how to use the already recorded accompaniment tracks... Back to trying to figure out Garage Band. Yesterday I loaded the accompaniment tracks into Garage band and got set-up to do some Vocal recordings, which I did. But figuring out the polishing and editing aspects of working with Garage Band has me stumped. (Old dog trying to learn new tricks) I haven't learned enough yet about all that Garage Band can do. So far, I am stuck at trying to quickly get up to speed with the new lingo. And then after most of the day doing prep work, I found that my upper body and neck were all tied up in knots. And the stress was hurting the quality of my singing. I was not happy with any of my recordings. They just made me think of how past my prime I am. So, I figured I'd start again today to try to get some better recordings. Too bad those birds kept me from getting enough sleep and rest! (I will blame it all on the birds!) Here's one of the Herald Trumpet fanfares for "The Frog Prince." It's kind of like the Dawn Chorus. |
AuthorMy name is Betsy Bailey. I have sung, written and taught music all of my life. I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows. This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater. I would love to hear your comments! Archives
July 2024
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