Betsy's Blog on Children's Theater | BaileyKidsMusicals.com - BaileyKidsMusicals.com

Because They Were Already There

3/13/2020

While watching a podcast the other day by Shoo Rayner, a popular British children's author and illustrator, I heard him answer an audience question. "How do you decide what to draw in an illustration? What goes on in your mind?"

In order to address that question, he told about his journey to how he got to becoming an illustrator and later, an author. He said that first off, he always loved to draw. From the time he was a child, he also used his drawing to tell stories. He said that he created his first book when he was just 5 years old. But as he was growing up and planning his life, he tried lots of jobs -- print design and set up being one of the formative ones. However, in college, he thought that he should be a scientist. But, he found out that he just wasn't good enough in math. His professor suggested that since he was always drawing, he should transfer to the art department. After trying so many jobs and failing at most of them, being in the art program was liberating. (He could get a job doing what he was good at and actually interested in? What a concept!) What caught my attention, though, was how he admitted that having those early experiences gave him a broader knowledge of life and a better base for understanding people and telling stories. An illustrator is ultimately a storyteller.

He also told about how he goes about planning the pictures for a story book. Because he grew up with television and movies, he said he thinks cinematically. As the story goes along in his head, he "sees" what is happening in pictures in his mind. (Where an author uses words to paint the picture for the reader, an author/illustrator uses pictures to paint the scene without needing to use words. In fact, using so many words on the page that say what the picture portrays is redundant and boringly unnecessary.) So, as he is planning the story, he is already visualizing the action in his head, and then, when it comes time to draw the illustrations, they are already there.

I have been thinking about how I have gone about writing scripts and songs for Children's Theater. After thinking about the STORY, SETTING and CHARACTERS for some time, and contemplating the children who might be in the cast, the limitations of my "stage," costumes, sets, props, choreography, and so on, the SCRIPT and SONGS almost came by dictation --- because they were already there.

One show in particular came about this way, "Parizade's Quest." I saw in my mind (mostly in visions through the night) the scenes, actors, costumes, and dances, then worked madly by day to put what I had already visualized onto paper. And just like an illustrator uses pictures to economize words, I could use songs instead of dialogue to move the plot along. Inspiration is miraculous!

Love Songs and Show Tunes

2/11/2020

Last night I went with members of my family to entertain the residents at a group home for the elderly. Our aunt works there and asks us to come several times a year as a favor to her. Since this week is Valentine's Day, we decided to sing a program of Love Songs and Show Tunes.

Choosing the songs was a group effort. We decided that collectively, we as a family of singers, know many, many songs. Because of that fact, we realized that we were not the best judge of which songs would be considered "common knowledge" and would work well in a sing-along. We needed songs that the residents would remember and have a connection to.

We decided to choose songs that would have been popular or at least written in the 1950's and early 1960's when these elderly people would have been young adults. We started looking through collections of popular songs during those years. The love songs we gravitated towards turned out to be mostly show tunes from Broadway Musicals that had been made into movies like Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma," and "State Fair." We also opted for pop songs made famous by entertainers such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And, we included a few perennial favorites that were just plain fun to sing like "A" You're Adorable," "You Are My Sunshine," and "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."

As the piano player, my job was to figure out SINGABLE KEYS so that most people could join in comfortably. As a singing family, we don't really care what key the melody range falls into because we can all sing harmony. But, most people just sing the MELODY. (What a strange concept!)

I am always astonished that so many songs published in these Song Collections are written in UN-SINGABLE KEYS and have really uninspiring piano accompaniments! The pianists out there must appreciate playing in the keys of C, D, G, B flat or F with few sharps or flats, but really? What may be easier for the pianist can be so uncomfortable for the singers. The TESSITURA of these songs lays just too high or too low for a normal singer. Since I was in no mood to have to transpose the entire program of songs, I made the final cuts. I culled 10 songs from our longer list, using those that had the most moderate ranges, then transposed a few of the simpler ones into better keys.

Another astonishing aspect of the evening was comparing the melody as written in the "published" version to the melody sung according to the group's collective memory. Sometimes a melody polished "by committee" is much better. It was a revelation!

Our evening of Love Songs and Show Tunes went very well. The residents seemed to enjoy singing with us some of the love songs they remembered from their youth.

Program Music

8/26/2019

During the Romantic Period of Music (late 1800's through early 1900's), a form of composition became popular called the Tone Poem or Program Music. The music played by the orchestra told a story. Usually, the poem or story was also published in the program notes so that concert goers could have it to refer to while listening to the piece. One very famous example of Program Music is "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1897) by Paul Dukas (1865-1935) which breathes life into a poem by German poet Goethe (1797). The music tells the story of the old Sorcerer who leaves his young apprentice alone to do some chores. The apprentice remembers just enough magic to get himself into trouble. He repeats the conjuration he heard and causes the broom to carry pails of water to fill a large container. He just can't remember how to make it stop. You know the rest, undoubtedly because this once modestly successful piece for orchestra was later included in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" (1940). From that springboard, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" motives and themes have been used to underscore hundreds of theatrical shows, cartoons, commercials, and even a live action film by the same name. It is now considered wildly successful.

I admire composers who have such a command of the colors and sounds of the orchestral instruments that they can arrange and use them in their musical compositions to conjure up images for us in our minds. I also admire artists and animators who are especially equipped to use their imaginations and skill to give the listening and viewing public unique visual interpretations of classical Program Music. In fact, those artists can take almost any music and use it to tell some kind of visually appealing story. Musical underscoring helps move the plot along in a story or theatrical production. Directors of plays have long used the music of the classical Masters (Program Music or not) to "up" the theatrical appeal of their shows.

It's all Show Biz. We like to be entertained. And we like best what we know. We like to have the music used to underscore movies and theater be what will carry us away into the world of the story. It may be heroic and action packed. It might be spooky and suspenseful. It may transport us to exotic locations. It may reflect the popular music of the day. It may also educate us about music of a certain historic period. Modern composers may want to find their unique voices when composing scores today, but they also want to build upon the fantastic examples from the past. Even the legendary film score composer John Williams (b. 1932) used themes for "Star Wars" (1977) that sound like they are heavily influenced by Paul Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." It's all right. Composers "borrow" ideas from each other all the time.

In my own small way, I wanted to give a salute to the famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) when I wrote the mini-musical "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." He wrote incidental music for a play by Henrik Ibsen in 1876. These short musical pieces vary in style and help illustrate the moods and activities of the protagonist "Peer Gynt." I used little snippets of some of these pieces to add flavor to the songs from my little mini-musical. Perhaps you will recognize them. Enjoy.

Which Comes First --- the Words or the Music?

8/17/2019

Often I am asked which comes first when writing a new song -- the lyrics or the melody? I usually say that the INSPIRATION comes first. Inspiration can come from an idea, a feeling, a title, a scripture, a picture, a famous quote, a poem, an intriguing rhythm, a melodic "worm," a nugget from other music, ---almost anything can become an inspiration for a song.

When I was young, I liked to take long walks around my neighborhood. There were many interesting streets of houses and green spaces as well as a trail along a canal bank. I loved watching the trees as they changed through the seasons. I loved to hear the water rushing by. I enjoyed the views looking up to the mountains as well as looking down towards the valley. As I walked, I sang to myself. I sang lots of songs that I knew, but I also made up all sorts of songs. I guess I didn't need much to entertain myself.

(Curiously, even now, I find that going on a walk helps me think. Sometimes, I go out walking and if I am trying to come up with an idea for a song, much of the song can literally write itself by the time I get home.)

During college, I got discouraged by all of the talent I saw around me. The many teachers and students seemed so much more talented than I was. The more I learned about musical elements and poetic devices, the more I guessed that my gift was just being able to sing. Then, after graduation, I ventured out into the real world. There I learned that with the right inspiration, I could produce interesting and worthwhile music, too.

For me, which comes first? Well, I have to say that the music and the words pretty much come at the same time. If I get an idea of something that needs to be said in the lyric, then the words dictate the melodic line and rhythms. If an interesting melody starts forming in my mind, then I play catch up to try to find the words that should fit the music. Some songwriters say that they start with the title. But giving my song a title is usually the crowning detail of my songwriting efforts. I have a hard time naming my songs. The default title often comes from the song's "hook."

If I am writing a song for Musical Theater, I have to immerse myself in the story, the setting, the costumes and set ideas, but mostly I need to get into the "heads" of the characters. The words and the style of the song need to organically develop from the characters and situations they are in. One song that I remember very clearly that wrote itself on one of my walks is "I Love the City Life" from The Country Mouse and the City Mouse. As I recall, it was a rather cold blustery day. I was walking briskly through the neighborhood. Because it was a cold day, I started thinking of snow. That started me thinking of an Irving Berlin song from the movie "White Christmas." A very rhythmic melodic snippet from that song would not leave me alone. I decided that if it was harmonically dressed up differently, given a Latin beat, and different words, people would never know where I borrowed the inspiration. So, by the time I got home, I just needed to write down what had come to me on my walk. Enjoy!

In the Time Before Remembering

8/5/2019

Kazhira, the Weeping Queen from "Parizade's Quest"

Recently, I heard this line from my daughter as she was attempting to explain to her children some important events that happened previous to when they joined the family. She began, "In the time before remembering..." Now that line is every bit as good as "Once upon a time..." or "Long ago and far away..." don't you think? It sets the tone for a timeless tale. Don't know if it has been borrowed from some fantasy novel or not, but I intend to use it sometime, somewhere for some title. It is THAT good!

Don't we all feel as we go through life, that we have forgotten key elements of our history. My teachers always told me that I should keep a journal of the important events in my day to day life. My problem was that as I was living those events, I couldn't tell if what I was going through was an important event or not. And then, after time went by, I didn't really remember the details of the events as I became aware that they were actually very important. Seems that only with hindsight do we discover the meaning we should attach to events in our day to day lives. And then those days truly become "the times before remembering."

Fortunately, for me at least, I have family and friends who share enough of my life to help fill in the gaps when I forget details of the past. My sister has a good memory for people, places, and events and somehow remembers random facts from my life, too. And then, I tend to leave "breadcrumbs" strewn behind me. You know, the scribbles in notebooks or margins of papers that provide dates of past appointments, rehearsal times and locations, performances, etc. to help me remember what I was doing back then and when I did them. Eventually, when I get around to emptying out my purse, the excavations reveal a lot of archaeological evidences and clues to historical dates. If I was wise, I could make a record from those sources. I also do enough work on the computer to document many of the things I do and the computer furnishes a date for most of those activities.

But, no matter the mixed-up details of my own life, the line "In the time before remembering..." seems to open up a timeless tale. At this time, however, I just don't remember what that tale might be.

A song from "Parizade's Quest" comes to mind, though. It is sung by the weeping Queen Kazhira as she remembers the loss of her three beautiful babies. "By Morning's Light" is probably the saddest song I ever wrote for a Children's Musical. But it sets up the story of how a Family is reunited and all ends well. The Queen wishes she had something happy to remember. It is a time before her current reality, "in the time before remembering..."

The Tale of Chicken Licken

8/31/2018

Just spent the morning locating lost files from the show "The Tale of Chicken Licken." I really do try to keep things organized, but my worst problem is that I don't remember the exact names of the files or the names of the folders I put them in. Somehow I get many extra copies of files that I do not intend to save and cannot find the one file that somehow is missing. Clearly, keeping files organized and accounted for is not my super power!

Elementary School stage and set

While hunting through the audio files, I had to listen to many over and over to find the best recordings. This brought back so many fun memories. I had to think long and hard to remember why I even wrote this show. Turns out that this story was one of five that I was asked to write a couple of companion songs for. My Taiwanese friend's business is to provide easy reader stories to help teach English as a foreign language to children in Asia. I wrote the 10 songs and did simple recordings for him to go with the Reader's Theater scripts at the end of each picture book. The songs were for "Chicken Licken," "Dick Whittington and His Cat," "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," "The Musicians of Bremen," and "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse." He gave me permission to retain the copyrights to the songs and use them however.

At the time, I was directing the school musicals for a local Elementary School. Then, at the end of the Spring Show for the 4th-6th graders, the principal asked me to direct a Fall Musical for the younger grades. I had already written two songs for "Chicken Licken," so why not use that story to create a show for the 1st-3rd graders?

I quickly wrote a script and several more songs and decided to try it out as a Summer Theater Camp show. One of the parents made a video of this little production. So, the show needed a little more polish, but the kids had a lot of fun putting all together. It was a good run-through before I directed it again for the Elementary School. We had a lot more time to practice and solidify the lines and songs. The Fall Show was very well received. The entire school came to see it and really enjoyed themselves. Too bad we did not get any pictures or video.

As I remembered back on writing this show, I reflected on how brave I was at beginning to really orchestrate my scores. I had such fun amazing myself at what I could do with the sounds on my computer and adding layers with my keyboard. The sound was much better at the Elementary School production because we could use body microphones for the main actors. That helped a lot! The audience said that the balance of the sound was pretty good, and they really liked the songs. That made me so happy!

All in all, a nice walk down memory lane!

The Secret to Writing Memorable Songs

3/9/2018

Last night, I went to the "Alan Menken - A Whole New Word" concert at BYU. Alan Menken is the composer of "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and many other great shows. I was going by myself and thought I would be very lonely sitting way up in the back of the hall. But just before the concert started, I saw a friend sitting down front all by herself with many open seats around her. I went down to talk with her, and she coaxed me to come sit by her. Her people couldn't come, so I got to sit up front with a perfect view of the stage. Wow! I got a great seat to watch one of my idols!

    Alan Menken came out on stage to thunderous applause and proceeded to tell the story of his life punctuated with playing and singing songs from all of his hit shows. He told about growing up in a family of dentists. His father was a dentist and so were his uncles and most of his cousins. It was assumed that he would also grow up to become a dentist. He said he was ADHD and did not have the patience for studying or even practicing piano. He loved music, but just didn't want to practice other composer's music. He spent his practice time making up his own songs. He went to New York City as a Pre-Med student, but quickly realized that he needed to do something else. He wondered if he could make a career out of writing songs.

   So he did whatever he could with music to make a living - accompanying for dance classes, singers, nightclub acts, etc. - all while writing songs and trying to figure out how to get them heard. He had some success writing jingles for TV and radio. He got the chance to write some songs for "Sesame Street." Fortunately, he connected with lyricist Howard Ashman and together they wrote a few off-Broadway shows. After "Little Shop of Horrors" got some notice, Ashman contacted Disney about writing the songs for "The Little Mermaid." We all know what happened next - the trajectory of Musical Theater changed!

   During the late 1960's through the 1970's, Broadway was dying. There were very few box office successes on Broadway. Many of the theaters were closing due to lack of business and the businesses were turning into seedy bars and tattoo shops. Once Disney decided to buy a theater on Broadway and start producing shows there, the future for Broadway perked up. Other mighty shows such as "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera" also came in and improved the landscape on 42 Street. Alan Menken has had many shows featuring his music on Broadway. Many of his movies (his "babies"), even the ones that were declared box office flops, got a second life on the Broadway stage. "Beauty and the Beast," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Newsies," and others all started as movies, and are now full-fledged theatrical pieces. They are performed live all over the world by professional companies, community theaters, and even school and children's theater groups.

   He said that he is often asked "What is the secret to writing memorable songs?"

"Well," as he pointed to a youthful picture of himself up on the screen behind him, "It's the aviator glasses."

Where can I get me some of those?

Alan Menken is such an inspiration to me! I love his music and enjoyed immensely getting to know a little more about him at the concert.

La Joie de Vivre!

5/27/2016

So, I have been channeling my energy into writing music for a new Children's Musical instead of moaning over the fact that I am not touring this summer in Europe with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In my research for a song for the character of the French maid, I studied some common French phrases. "La joie de vivre!" and "Bien manger!" were two that were irresistible to build a song around. In the play, the maid manages to convince the guest how wonderful the sights and sounds and flavors of the City really are. She says that the French have a saying that "you do not live unless you live joyously." And then later she follows up with "and it is not enough to live joyously, mais non, it's not just how you live, but how you EAT!"

While in Paris, I hope you sample "La joie de vivre!" and "Bien manger!"

This is an early DEMO recording of "As the French Say" from the new Children's Musical "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse." You'll need to imagine the City Mouse and her French maid trying to convince the Country Mouse that the City has oh so much to offer --- lights, music, excitement and most of all access to the Pantry and CHEESE! Throughout the song, other City Mice join in to create an exuberant production number "a la Can-Can." The costumes are "1950's" inspired in bright colors, flared skirts, fancy hats and a lot of polka dots!

While MoTab is on tour, our Summer Theater Production will show off its own "Joie de vivre!" and "Bien manger!"

Two Aesop Fables

5/9/2016

"The City Mouse and the Country Mouse"

As I was pondering what to do for the Summer Theater Camp this year, I wondered if I should recycle one of the previous shows, pick a show from another catalogue, or write a new one. Then I had a thought that perhaps we might do two of my shorter shows under the same umbrella. Last Fall, we did classroom recital performances of "The Ants and the Grasshopper" with 1st and 2nd Graders and "The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse" for 3-6th Graders. The more I thought about this idea, the more convinced I became that this could be a fun approach. We would divide the group into two casts. The younger cast would act out "The Ants and the Grasshopper," and the older kids would act out "The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse."

But, as I was pondering, it occurred to me that the show for the older kids needed to be expanded to showcase some of the excellent singers coming to the Camp. So yet again, here I am writing new songs for the show. The first song I felt needed to be written, was a song uniting the two shows under the same umbrella. An idea quickly came to mind -- the ants, the grasshopper and the mice are all very small creatures and yet Aesop used them to teach valuable lessons. So, in pretty short order, the Opening Number for the entire cast "You Can Learn a Lot" was born. It talks about how Aesop used the animals and things from nature to scold and criticize his listeners in a way that entertained but did not offend. The line that ties both shows together is:
   You can learn a lot from the smallest of the small,
From the mice and ants and other things that crawl.
   You can learn a lot from the creatures you've forgot...
You can learn a lot!

Next, I needed a song to explore the Country Mouse's curiosity about the City and to explain her determination to go there. This song also needed to explore her sibling's utter amazement that she would ever have those types of thoughts and show how incredulous they thought her plans were. So in the ballad "What Is It Like?" sung by the Country Mouse, she wonders:

What is it like---to see tall buildings sweep the sky?
What is it like---to hear new sounds come whizzing by?
I’m sure you think I’m crazy for believing---
That this Country life I might consider leaving!
But wouldn’t you agree
There’s so much more to see
Than just what’s here beneath this old oak tree?  (spoken) Well?
  I want to go and do and taste and see and be------ In the Big City!

And then, I thought that I needed a production number while the Mice were in the big City. In my version of the story, the City Mouse already has a French maid....So why not let that character the impetus for a song about the French saying "La joie de vivre!" or the art of living joyously? And then in my research, I discovered that the French have other sayings that explain what living well really means. They say that it's not just how you live, but how you eat! They say "Bien mangez" or "Good Eating" as an admonition to "Have a good time out on the town!" So in the song, "As the French Say," the City Mouse and her French Maid sing about living joyously and eating well:

   La joie de vivre! You’ll never ever want to leave.
You’ll find your city fling to be a holiday most tres jolie!
          La joie de vivre! Your friends at home will not believe
The stories you will tell them of how joyously you learned to live!

You’ll toss away the old cliché in your new savoire faire!
And heads will turn as you display your city flare so debonaire.
          Pour moi, pour vous, Pour en-tres nous,
Then you’ll say what the French say, too!

Should be a fun adventure!

Over the Briny Sea

2/8/2016

While doing research to begin writing "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I knew I needed to write an authentic sounding sea chanty for the sailors to sing. I came across the most charming description of what a sea chanty really was and knew in an instant that was what I wanted to recreate. The article stated that in the heyday of merchant sailing (1600-1800's), one of the most important skills a sailor had to posses was a ready singing ability. The sailors used songs to help them in their labors aboard ship. The tempo and rhythms of the songs kept the routine hoisting and pulling chores synchronized and safe. The caller would sing out the verses and the crew would answer with the refrains. The verses could literally go on endlessly.

   Now the topics of the authentic sea chanties I researched were definitely not appropriate for use with Elementary School Children. So I endeavored to come up with a topic that was G-rated and understandable to my young actors. I also learned that the sea chanties could be either in triple meter or duple meter. I elected to have the boys sing about sailing over the briny sea in 6/8 time. In the story, the ship is setting sail from England about 1600 to go trading in Morocco. I even tried to use some authentic nautical terminology. (Not easy to enunciate quickly in rhythm.) It is fun to hear the boys continue singing the song going down the hallway after rehearsal. They must enjoy singing it. (They call it their Pirate song.)

   The boys have been learning a little dance combination, too. All variations of walking, hopping, and changing directions. So far, so good. The movements seem simple enough that even the less coordinated look good doing it. Soon we will add the costumes and then we'll be in business.

   Enjoy this Learning Tracks performance of the Sea Chanty "Over the Briny Sea" from the new Bailey Kids Musical "The Adventures of Dick Whittington."