kemeisleahcim
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A Funny Thing Happened...as our One-ActHey Guys,
So my director has cut "Forum" into our OAP this year, obviously minus all the music and songs. And I was cast as Psudeolus and was wondering if you had any advice since it's clear to me that you guys know what you're doing haha! I've never been a "real" lead before, the biggest parts I've had were the Violin Merchant in Paganini and Reverend Parris in the Crucible so I haven't played a good guy in awhile. So yeah! Any advice would be awesome!
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Celeste_SM
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Forum as a straigh play one act? Hmmm.
Well as Pseudelous, you need to have to be really on the ball with your lines and have excellent diction. The action dictates a rapid exchange between characters but the audience has to understand the words to get the jokes. And there are a lot of jokes. There is also a lot of broad physical comedy, so work on your commedia skills. Pseudelous doesn't do anything small. And you need to make the audience fall in love with you and hope that you'll be able to make things turn out right. You're the heart of the story!
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kemeisleahcim
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That seems to be the new trend is to do a musical as a one-act. I've seen Hello Dolly and Into The Woods done as a OAP.
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Celeste_SM
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Since I'm a fan of musical theater, I kind of don't see the point of castrating a musical when there are so many fine one act plays that are written for that format. Taking the music out of a musical just doesn't seem right to me!
Where is this trendy? Your part of Texas, I'm guessing.
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kemeisleahcim
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Yes. I'm not saying I agree with it, except with Forum where I can appreciate it as a musical and as a one-act, but I've been seeing it happening more here in Texas.
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Not Dead Yet
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Some schools did it to Godspell and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown at our One Act Competition this year at Districts. Godspell was a mess, and YAGMCB was amazing (then again, it's really all just skits).
And someone did Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, but they took out the musical numbers. It wasn't aweful structurally, but the acting was atrocious. Imagine all their actors being trained by Hilary Duff or some equally untalented Disney Kid... that's how they were, only worse.
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rcs
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| Celeste_SM wrote: | Since I'm a fan of musical theater, I kind of don't see the point of castrating a musical when there are so many fine one act plays that are written for that format. Taking the music out of a musical just doesn't seem right to me!
Where is this trendy? Your part of Texas, I'm guessing. |
Isn't that illegal? I know at least some of the licensing companies EXPLICITLY say that you are NOT to remove the music from a show and present it as a straight play.
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kemeisleahcim
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With some musicals I would assume so, but I guess Sondheim doesn't mind. And you can find all that out when you request to cut it down in your letter to the publisher.
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