This song is a good jumping off point for a discussion about asking questions to get information using the words "who, what, where, when and why."
Who says learning can't be fun?
BaileyKidsMusicals.com |
|
One of the ELA (English Language Arts) objectives for 1st-3rd grades is to retell a story or fable with a moral. What better way to meet this objective than to present a class play? In the Mini-Musical "The Tale of the Musicians of Bremen," the moral has to do with Age and Change. Children may not recognize how difficult it is for people to grow old and feel useless. Older people often stubbornly resist change. The old farmer and his wife in the story have to face Age and Change in themselves and for their animals. This story shows the animals taking a proactive step to avoid their certain fate (death). The animals are likable and do silly things, but also allow for a discussion about important life lessons, particularly Age and Change. In the story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse they each discover that both of their homes have pros and cons. The Country Mouse visits the city with her cousin and is terrified at the noise and hustle-bustle, and all of the hidden dangers there. She decides that the "cons" far outweigh the "pros" to life in the city. She races home to the Country where she already knows what to expect. For the class, "The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse" musical begins a discussion about Comparisons such as Likes and Dislikes. Through explorations in acting and singing, the students can draw examples from the story and their own experiences to become better at determining their own preferences. And if the songs reinforce the concepts of the moral plus other Language Arts ideas, that is all for the better. For example, the opening song in "The Tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff," contains an idiom that is introduced along with many other puzzlements, "Why is Grass Always Greener on the Other Side?" This song is a good jumping off point for a discussion about asking questions to get information using the words "who, what, where, when and why." Retelling a story or fable with a moral is what these Mini-Musicals are all about. According to the advice of my teacher friends, I have included ideas and worksheets to help meet some of the Common Core Objectives for ELA. The best accolade I ever got from mounting one of these shows came from two little boys. The confided to their dad that they did not know why I kept telling them how proud I was of their hard work. They did not feel like it was work at all. They were having so much fun! Who says learning can't be fun?
0 Comments
No Musical set in Ancient Greece could be complete without some authentic Greek instruments -- authentic looking at least. In my enthusiasm to help the cast immerse themselves into the ancient Grecian world, I spent a good month creating some Pipes of Pan, a Cheyl's Lyre, a Pandouris, and some Tympanum. These were fascinating to learn about and wonder how they would actually sound. From what I can imagine, they would not sound musical to our modern ears. However, I have great respect for the idea of using these unusual instruments as unique features for my upcoming production of "Never Cry Wolf." In Scene 5, the artisan character Altair the Magnificent, brings his Muses and Musicians to help him get in the mood for painting a set of Commemoration Amphora (the Greek vases famous for capturing scenes of Greek life from the ancient times.) The production number "Set It for Posterity" allows the Muses adjust the poses of the Politicians to help them look heroic for their portraits on the vases. The Musicians, of course, play their "authentic" replica instruments during this wild and wonderful romp complete with demonstrations of 1960's dance crazes and a rock 'n roll guitar solo. Yes, the instruments are key to this number! The Pan Pipes are a blowing instrument. The Pan Pipes were tubes of varying lengths blown somewhat like we would blow a harmonica today. In fact, they are considered the first mouth-organ. The Tympanun are simply variations of hand drums. I decided that Quaker Oats containers were the perfect size and shape. I painted them and added "skins" out of fake leather held on with glue and rubber bands. Seems to work out well. Sturdy enough for four performances, anyway. The Pandouris is a type of lute with just 3 strings. I had my husband cut the shape of the sounding box and the neck out of an old length of a light-weight wooden shelf. I added sculpted insulation foam glued onto the board to create the shape of the sounding box. We added nylon fishing line strings using small dowels mounted to the board. We wanted her to be able to move around and pretend to play like a Rock Star, so we gave the pandouris a shoulder strap made from a macrame purse strap. She really got into the groove and rocked it, baby! The Cheyl's Lyre is more interesting because it needed to look like it was made from a turtle shell and ibex horns. We took apart an old wooden crutch to imitate the shape of the ibex horns. The long screws and predrilled holes simplified the work to just cutting down the boards to the lengths we needed. We added sculpted insulation foam to create the "turtle body" sounding box and added strings. After painting, it looks amazingly good as an ancient lyre. Being a musician, I wanted this Musical to incorporate the musical flavor of Ancient Greece as much as possible. It was fun researching before writing the music and as well the script, and it has been fun now creating the musical props.
I am glad they will not sound, though. We don't want them interfering with the soundtrack now, do we! Old English Nursery Rhymes were a way to teach language skills to the very young in an age when the vast majority of people were illiterate. These little rhyming songs toyed with alliteration, modulation and rhythm, and educated by putting daily life situations into easy to remember verse. Most of the rhymes were light-hearted and comical and some even made some serious or even gruesome situations comical. (Think of "Ring-a-ring a Rosie" that was actually about the realities of dealing with the Black Death.) As an Opener for "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I wanted to include the entire cast in singing authentic English Nursery Rhymes of the Elizabethan period (circa 1605). The children are drawn out onto the stage by the Narrators who introduce them. They come on in four small groups each singing a separate Nursery rhyme. Group 1 dances on singing "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush." They sing and do the actions twice through. Group 2 enters a few bars later singing and dancing to "Do You Know the Muffin Man." Then a few bars later, Group 3 enters singing and dancing to "London Bridge is Falling Down." Finally, the last group of boys comes on singing "Adam Had Seven Sons." Each group sings their song through twice, and then sits down, leaving Group 4 singing alone to finish. Singing four unrelated songs at the same time is called a Quodlibet. This is an ancient form of what we would label Partner Songs today. The songs work together because they are sung in the same key, have similar length and follow a similar chordal structure. They may or may not have the same meter however. For example, "Mulberry Bush" is 6/8 where the other rhymes are 2/4, but because the heavy beats in each rhyme are duple, the patterns work well together. Each time I have done this show, "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," the "Nursery Rhyme Quodlibet" was everybody's favorite number. I have also heard of Elementary school choir directors using it as a fun warm-up song. I think knowing some of the backstory of singing nursery rhymes makes singing this number historically relevant even today. As an exercise for chorus rehearsals, these songs sung at the same time are a helpful way to encourage learning part singing in a fun way!
Nine years ago, already!!!! Time really does fly! The 5th and 6th graders I wrote "Parizade's Quest" for in 2015 are now probably in college. I had a particular goal back then to find a show where I could feature many female "leads." With the retelling of "The Speaking Bird" story from "The Tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights" I found a vehicle that had FIVE major roles for girls! It also had a different kind of LOVE STORY -- not romantic love but the kind of love that can reunite a family that had been torn apart. In hindsight, this show is probably more suited to a Junior High School cast. But somehow these Elementary School kids rose to the occasion and really pulled off a great show "Parizade's Quest Video." The following is a reprint of a blog from 2015 when I was just writing this show and starting into rehearsals.
These are the words to the chorus of the Finale song of my latest Children's Musical "Parizade's Quest, a Tale from the Arabian Nights." The special message of this story is about the importance of FAMILY. As always, writing the show is a mind game, but putting it into production is an adventure!
As a writer, you think and think and plan and plan and try to envision all the parts and pieces of the finished production. You design everything from the sets, to the dances, to the costumes, to how the characters talk and move. But then reality sets in. The biggest culprits are limitations of budget and time and of course the actual abilities of your very young actors. How wonderful to have some validation in getting a lot "right" about what you can actually manage to accomplish. But it is sobering to realize what simply will not fly. So, you pare down, regroup, re-imagine, and go on! The happy thing is that the kids seem to like the songs, the story, and the idea of the costumes (that they haven't actually seen yet). Now to get them to memorize their lines, learn their choreography, master the singing of the songs, and accomplish some real acting to tell the story. The first few weeks are so rough. Nobody really has a handle on what to expect. They don't know each other. They don't know their characters. They have so much work to do. And as the creator and director of a brand new theatrical piece, I just don't have enough words or time to explain what is inside my head. The good thing is that they have no pre-conceived notions about the story or their characters. The bad things is that they have no pre-conceived notions about the story or any reference points for understanding the characters, setting, or interpretation of the story. How come they can't just do what I see them do during my dreams at night? These are kids, after all. Ten, eleven and twelve year olds. There are just a handful who have had any experience doing a play or dancing or singing in shows. Fortunately, those kids can be the lead characters and demonstrate to the others how to conduct themselves. Now if I could just split myself into three or four extra people, we would have time enough to work with all the children on a more individual level. Don't have that kind of luxury, though. We will just go on the best we can. Perhaps, I will think of creative ways to "steal" extra time in some other ways. After all, what is the first law of the theater? The Show Must Go On! Last night I went to see the new movie "Wonka." I loved the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie musical since it came out in 1971. I must have gone to the theater to see it 10 or more times that summer. (This was way before video or streaming.) I LOVED the songs and music by Leslie Bricusse. Hearing bits and pieces of the music from the first film reused in "Wonka" made my heart happy. I was especially pleased to hear them use almost all of the original song "Pure Imagination." That song was undoubtedly the most popular "stand alone" song from the first movie. It is often used in concerts and quoted in other situations. So, what would be classified as a "stand alone" song from a musical show? Well, first thing, songs are written for shows to fit a particular mood, to develop a character, or to move the plot along. They may work very well in the context of the show, but most would not be considered as concert material. After a time, though, some songs get a life of their own because the words and music can fit in other situations away from their places in the show. The songs in this new movie "Wonka" were clever, and were staged in engaging ways. However, it remains to be seen which, if any, songs will gain a life force of their own and become "stand alone" songs. Who can say what the fickle public will latch onto. One of the funniest points in the new "Wonka" movie was when the actor Hugh Grant sang and danced the "Oompa Loompa" song from the first movie (different lyrics) calling it the most catchy and annoying song and that he can't stop singing it. It is probably every composer's goal to write a score with at least one "stand alone" song in the mix. I know that has been a goal for me. Some people say that creating a "stand alone" song is just a matter of luck. It's probably much more than that, but I admit that luck must play a part. The composer's (and other collaborators') genius in recognizing and arranging the right elements of a song to fit just the right place in the storyline probably plays the biggest part. One of my scores I am particularly pleased with because it has a few "stand alone" songs. The children's musical "The Adventures of Dick Whittington" includes "Off to Seek My Fortune," "Over the Briny Sea," and "Let Kindness Begin with Me" that have been used in concerts and auditions and sung just for fun.
Marvin Hamlisch, famed composer and conductor, told of the importance of happy collaborations in a documentary of his life that I watched on American Masters the other day. This was an exceptionally gifted musician who could seemingly do it all. He could make up and perform songs on the spot. As a pianist/performer he could change his piano playing styles instantly from pop to Broadway to Bach to Beethoven. He could write beautiful lyrical ballads as well as complex, sophisticated film scores. He heard music all around him, in everything and underscoring the workings of the day. And yet, he understood that his best work could only come about through happy collaborations with other gifted artists. He knew that the sum of each of their contributions made a much greater product when added together. He regretted that his early success with "A Chorus Line" when he was just 29 years old was not repeated over and over again. His collaborators on that project died soon afterwards and were not around to collaborate on any future projects. Hamlisch never found quite the same team to work with ever again. Still, he went on to garner three Oscars, four Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Tony Award as well as a Pulitzer Prize. He was one of just eleven other artists to earn awards in all four categories (EGOT). His great love was Broadway music. In the early 1970's, Broadway was dying. With the success of "A Chorus Line" (1975-1990), Hamlisch was part of the resurgence of the Broadway Musical. That show led the way. The public wanted to see more shows with quality music and appealing stories. Broadway shows became popular again and the area was cleaned up. In fact many theaters even started catering to families with children. Producers learned that they had better "grow their audience" by making shows accessible to the future generations. Marvin Hamlisch spent his later years devoting himself to making sure that the great music of the Broadway stage was not forgotten. As the Pops conductor of eight different concert orchestras around the country, he promoted the works of greats such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Frank Loesser and others. He made great contributions to our collective memory of our American Songbook comprised of the best of the great Broadway and Pop composers, old and new. I went to see some Broadway shows in the early 1970's and remember how run-down and seedy the show district was then. The shows we saw were nothing great either. They were not the calibre I had expected to see from all the stories I had heard from people who had been to see Broadway shows in the glory days. What a difference when I went back to see some Broadway shows in the late 1990's and early 2000's. The marquee's were bright with titles of new shows and revivals of wonderful old shows. Many of these shows were family friendly, as well. How refreshing to see that the producers were taking thought for the rising generation. I saw busloads of school children being dropped off to see matinee performances of "The Lion King" and "Wicked." In the early 1970's, I would never have allowed my children anywhere near 42nd Street. Thank you, Marvin Hamlisch for helping the Broadway Musical make a comeback. So many creative people are needed to make a successful Musical Theater Show, no matter the level, all the way from Broadway down to local Children's Theater. Writers, composers, producers, directors, actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, scenic designers, builders, costumers, tech crews, musicians, marketing teams, publishers, even those who run the theater -- it takes so many people to make the magic happen! I have also been grateful to have wonderful collaborators to help make my visions a reality. There really is nothing better than to have happy collaborations! Children's Theater can be misleading. Will the show be a play or musical presented by adult actors for a young audience? Or will it be performed by children for parents and friends? This situation can be so difficult. Many plays and musicals called Children's Theater are actually for teen-aged actors or older. In my experience, there is a shortage of vehicles written expressly for young actors (ages 5-12). I discovered this situation when working with a children's theater company in Maryland. They usually did a main stage production for young actors aged 10-14. Yet in the Summer they had 3-week Camps where the students who signed up were usually children aged 5-8 years old and nearly all little girls who expected a starring role! The artistic director of this company regularly asked me to take care of the younger students. So what exactly do you do with 10 little girls under the age of 8 and two 6-year-old boys? I looked and looked for a vehicle that would suit this group to no avail. First off, most of the musicals I found were written for a few narrators and a chorus. The individual young actors did not get lines to say or any real acting interplay with other actors. The staging was pretty static with the children just standing to sing the few simple songs. The company director wanted me to find vehicles where the children actually got to sing, dance, and act, and everyone needed a featured role with lines and a backstory. (This was no small feat when most of the stories had male protagonists and nothing for a corps de ballet of little starlets!) I just never found suitable material for our groups. So in desperation, I began to write my own musicals. "Stone Soup" was written over one weekend just before Camp started. Other shows written for those 3-week summer camps were "The Empty Pot," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and "Momotaro." Then we moved. After we came to Utah, I was hired to direct the school musicals for several elementary schools. Before COVID threw a wrench in everything, I wrote and directed many shows for 4-5th grades and drama clubs. "The Ants and the Grasshopper," "The Tale of the Musicians of Bremen," "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse," "A Successor to the Throne," "The Tale of Chicken Licken," "Never Cry Wolf," "Parizade's Quest," and "The Adventures of Dick Whittington." Nearly every summer I also directed Theater Camps, some in my own backyard. For these shows I literally had to create parts for a large cast with kids ages 5-14! I couldn't help myself, if I had particularly talented kids I usually had to write in a new character and give them their own song. So some of these scripts and scores have evolved over time. "A Successor to the Throne" is an example of how the script and score evolved over time depending on whether I had particularly talented students. Such fun to reminisce about all of the young talented children that had a hand in creating these shows! Several years ago now, I was approached to write some songs for a collection of stories for an education company that was teaching English to children in Asian countries. These stories were selected from some of the most famous folktales, fables and original tales from all over the world, but more particularly from England and Europe. One of the stories that caught my attention was "Dick Whittington and His Cat." I had never heard of it before and was entranced by its charm. As I did some research into its origin and history, I was amazed by how it came to be. "Dick Whittington and His Cat." is a very old English tale presented first in Pantomime form in England about 1605. It is loosely based on the story of a real person Richard Whittington who was elected Lord Mayor of London three times, in 1397, 1406, and again in 1419. English Pantomime was a much-loved popular entertainment for families from the English Renaissance (roughly 1520-1620). Certain stock players were expected in English Pantomime --- the Every-man (a normal, likeable young man that things happen to), a Love Interest (usually a young, feisty, fair maiden), the Do-good characters (kind persons, fairy godmother, beneficent wealthy person), the Dame (an extremely fat, over–the-top character who has a garish taste in clothing and wears outlandish wigs and make-up — usually played by a man), the Villain (ruffian, bill collector, jealous witch, evil Rat King, etc.), a Comic Duo who provide slapstick comedy, and at least one Funny Animal. Audience participation in the way of cheering, hissing, and booing was encouraged, as well as a sing-along during or at the end of the performance. The great William Shakespeare himself used this framework for many of his comedies! The idea of using this recipe to create a Children's Musical piece was intriguing. I pondered my approach for a couple of years. Then, I took two months writing it. Renamed The Adventures of Dick Whittington it went into production in January of 2016 and premiered in March. This was such a fun show to do! See pictures from it's production at Photos from Productions The Adventures of Dick Whittington 2016. I have done research on some of the many versions of this play that have been produced over the years. Apparently, it has been popular, particularly at Christmas time, in England for over 400 years! It has a pedigree that I had to respect. In my research, I never found it produced as a Children's Theater piece for child actors to perform, though. Mostly, it is presented by adult actors to an audience that may include children. But there are many versions in storybook form for children. Curious. Pantomime in England is traditionally done at Christmas time. It is considered family entertainment and any number of stories are presented -- usually folktales such as "Cinderella," "Robin Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk", and many others. "Dick Whittington and His Cat" just happens to be one of the more popular stories. This song from the show has become quite popular for Elementary School concert programs. "Let Kindness Begin with Me" 2-Part Children's Chorus. Some people have the ability to light up a room just by entering it. That was my mother. She loved people. She collected life-long friends faster than other people collect coins. Carolyn Thompson Lee never met a stranger. She had the unique ability to join a group and within minutes learn everybody's name and life story as well as get invitations to stay at their houses whenever she happened to have the need. (She actually took a lady up on that once, too. But that's another story.) She was great at parties. She could sit at the piano playing mood music while carrying on six different conversations! My mother was a talented singer, accompanist, teacher and director. She could make excitement and magic happen. My mom was always up for creating a show. And because she was able to play the piano by ear, she could make music on the spot without the need for written scores. When we moved to Pasadena, Texas in 1963, we weren't sure what kind of musical adventures we'd have. For my mother, the move at first was a downer. She had to leave her association with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Really, though, my mom only had to open her mouth to sing and heads would turn. She was an instant celebrity when she mentioned that she sang the high notes on the (then) recently released popular recording of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It wasn't long before she was leading the Church Choir, singing solos for funerals and weddings, and organizing shows for school, church, and community events. I was so spoiled growing up with my own dedicated vocal coach and accompanist. If my friends and I wanted to plan something special for school, my mom would jump in and help us make it fabulous. In 5th Grade, we even had the idea to produce our own version of "Peter Pan" as a school musical. We never knew we couldn't, because Mom made us look so professional. The music teacher at school loved her. She was always on call to accompany for any of Mrs. Richardson's choirs. Growing up for me was kind of like living in a movie musical. I could start singing and my mother could get to a piano and instantly jump into the accompaniment. I didn't have to suspend my disbelief when watching a musical where the characters suddenly burst into song (with full accompaniment). That WAS my reality. Mom was such a free spirit. She was completely uninhibited. She would sing with great abandon in public places (like the grocery store). If I was with her, I would try to hide if she decided to sing along with the ambient music playing. She had trouble getting used to the extreme heat and humidity in Houston. Sometimes after dark when temperatures were cooler, she'd convince me and my sister to go out walking and singing with her. It mattered not that we were in our dainty nylon nighties. (Nowadays, we'd probably get arrested for doing that!) Probably her greatest talent was helping other people feel confident in performing. She taught many, many music lessons each week. Parents brought their children from great distances to be taught piano or voice lessons by my mother. She explained to me once when I complained that I didn't get any lessons that, "You're no daughter of mine if you can't pick it up on your own." She was right in a way. I got the benefit of hearing hundreds of lessons just by being in the house. (I did have trouble getting time to practice on our overbooked piano, though. I guess that's why I am a singer first because I always had access to that instrument.) When my mother was very little, she would listen to her older sister Janie practice the piano. When Janie was done, she would sidle up onto the stool and imitate what she heard Janie play. She never had any lessons either. (It helped that she had perfect pitch, though.) Here's a page from my book about aunt Janie Thompson: The Girl from Nowhere Who Went Everywhere. Janie was 8 years older than my mom. This picture depicts Janie playing piano while my mother was trying to play along, too.
For many years, I was responsible for planning, rehearsing and directing the Elementary school's Holiday Concerts. When my older kids were in Elementary School, we lived in southern California. This was in the 1980's just after Proposition 13 had passed taking away funding for Music, Art, and Physical Education in the public schools in California. Our enterprising PTA president approached me with an idea. She said that we could still put on a Holiday Concert with the kids as long as we rehearsed it after school with volunteer help. She thought that there might be 25-30 kids that would show up for rehearsals, and she assured me that it would be no trouble at all. NO TROUBLE AT ALL?!?!?!?!?!?! Well, weren't we surprised when 250 kids came for the first rehearsal? To say the few of us in charge were ill-prepared would be an understatement. For the next rehearsal, I called for more back-up volunteers. We even had to make arrangements with the Middle School across the street to use their Gym for the concert performance. (Unfortunately, I was always playing the piano, so I could never get good pictures of these shows.) Fortunately, the kids and their parents were so grateful to have some kind of music in their school, that we literally had no problems getting lots of support. For the next few years (that I directed the program), the excitement only grew. I think there were 350+ kids in the later shows. We always wrote our own scripts and found or wrote our own music. Some of the themes we used were "Holiday Harmony" (featuring standard holiday songs from around the world), "Be a Santa" (featuring songs about giving), "A Specials Christmas" (featuring songs from the TV specials we loved like "Rudolph" or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"), "Under the Christmas Tree" (featuring songs about toys coming to life under the Christmas Tree) and "The Greatest Christmas Card in the Whole Wide World" (featuring songs from the heartfelt messages in Christmas cards). In those days, we were allowed to use Christmas themes and songs. Through it all, I was lucky to have an ace up my sleeve. My aunt Janie Thompson had been doing Christmas shows forever with her BYU show groups as well as our extended family. All I had to do was ask, and she would send me music, scripts, and themes she had used. "Holiday Harmony" and "Be a Santa" were themes I used that came from a songs Janie wrote or arranged. In those concerts we also used several of her arrangements such as "Jingle Bells" and "Christmas Alphabet." "Under the Christmas Tree" was a theme song I wrote from one of Janie's ideas. In that show we used several of her songs like "I Want a Dolly to Wind Up," "Raggedy Ann and Andy," and "Don't Wait 'Til the Night Before Christmas to Be Good." This year, I wrote a children's picture book about the life of my Aunt Janie. "Janie Thompson: The Girl from Nowhere Who Went Everywhere" is now available for purchase just in time for Christmas! This book focuses on how Janie had high standards and never compromised them. (This book will be useful to help the grandchildren learn about morals and entertaining.) I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful influence in my life! |
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
March 2024
|