Theater Musicians

[Sixpack324]

I don't know if this in the right forum, so please move it if need be....


I find myself interested in playing for local musical/play theaters. How does one go about this?

I've been to their websites and while there are plenty of auditions listed for the actors, I can't seem to find any for musicians.

If you play for a local theater, how did you go about setting up your audition?

[Phil Smith]

Check craigslist ads, network with other musicians, locate and talk to community theater groups.

[Sixpack324]

Originally Posted by Phil Smith

Check craigslist ads, network with other musicians, locate and talk to community theater groups.

CraigsList is a no go for the past few months....Been looking..

My 'social group' of musicians has come up blank...

Before I talk to any of the music directors at my local theaters, I wanted to try here. Just in case there's something in particular I should or should not bring up during initial contact with the music directors.


Thanks

[Febs]

Originally Posted by Sixpack324

I don't know if this in the right forum, so please move it if need be....


I find myself interested in playing for local musical/play theaters. How does one go about this?

I've been to their websites and while there are plenty of auditions listed for the actors, I can't seem to find any for musicians.

If you play for a local theater, how did you go about setting up your audition?

Where in New Jersey are you located? How well can you sight-read? How much theater experience if any do you have?

[Sixpack324]

Originally Posted by Febs

Where in New Jersey are you located? How well can you sight-read? How much theater experience if any do you have?

Central New Jersey....

I've been sight-reading for the better part of 30 years...

Absolutely no theater experience whatsoever

[ForSix]

Volunteer to be a rehearsal pianist first. If you know any of the performers, get them to introduce you to the directors of the various upcoming shows.

Your best bet is to start with community theater.

I've been doing this for 40 years, and it's the best playing you will ever do. You also will get to meet performers, all of whom have dire needs for accompanists.

Also, go the auditions for actors. Make yourself known to all you meet there.

[fenderhutz]

There is TB'er from MD that plays musical theater. I just remember him mentioning it when I sold a neck to him a while back. He might check this out but his name on here is Din Of Win. He might be able to enlighten you on the subject.

[BassChuck]

Most theater groups have a webpage (heck, most everything has a webpage). Get in touch with the General Manger and get the name of the Musical Director for the show you are interested in. (most theaters have different Directors (stage) and Musical Directors (pit) for each show. Get in touch with the MD and tell them you are interested. You will need to read music... some of the shows are fairly involved musically. Pay is all over the map. I play some for free, some for 'stipend' and others pay really well. This is definately a 'who you know' kind of gig, there are no auditions for pit orchestra. At least that's the way it is around here.

[RDUB]

All good suggestions. I got my start with a local kids' theatre group. Then it's a matter of being on the spot, working with different musicians who do theatre, and letting it be known you're interested. Going to see local shows and talking to people there helps as well.

[ACB0015]

Become a fluent reader. Be on time and flexible. Be fun to work with. Double on upright and bass guitar. Get to know who the local MD's are, check out the better liturgical musicians in your area -- they are often the same people. When you get your first engagement, play great and be fun -- you will be asked back.

[One Bad Monkey]

Sadly, if you contact a theatre about a show that you'd like to contact the MD about playing in, chances are it's already booked. MDs can line up quickly and they will normally book their musicians well in advance (especially in this town, where we have four theatres) to ensure they get "the best." It's not uncommon in this area to get booked almost a year in advance.

Being a great sight reader is good, as well as showing up on time, being prepared, etc.. Two pieces that I've found people tend to forget in theatre gigs:

KNOW YOUR ROLE: The bass book in "Oklahoma!" is boring, but my job is not to noodle all over the score because I'm bored. My job is to sound like that country bass 1-5 player. Conversely, I'm starting up a run of "The Last Five Years" and there are many instances where the bass is expected to noodle and solo (it says so in the score).

PLAY THE SHOW, NOT THE SCORE: It's very easy to fall into that trap of relying too heavily on the score in front of you when playing. Problem is, the bulk of the scores that go out are riddled with mistakes in the book, and are just flat in terms of rhythm. They also don't take into account if a singer jumps a cue and you have to find your spot seven measures ahead.

Know the show. Know what others are playing so you can play together better. You'll sound like an actual group over a bunch of folk reading music in front of them. Best to leave that to classical musicians.



Above all else, be patient. The MDs I work with work with the same group of people regularly, and rely on those musicians for recommendations if/when they have a hole that needs to be filled in their lineup. So, while you can meet and greet everyone (and I would thoroughly encourage you to do so), it may take a while before you get a call for a full run. It was almost two years from my first step into the theatres in town as a sub to me getting the call from an MD for an entire run. From there, I've been booked easily six months out.

I've written a couple of articles about my experiences playing in theatre pits that are found over at Bass Musician Magazine.

[fdeck]

Definitely get in touch with the MD's. They are the ones who bring the music together.

I think it's just like any other freelance "reader" work. You start at the bottom of the MD's list and get a call because nobody else could do it. If you don't already have a reputation, they will want to check you out somehow, such as an informal audition.

Cast a wide net: Schools, colleges, community groups. If you survive one of these things unscathed, then you've proven that you can do it.

My first paid gigs were in the pits, on cello, before I could drive.

[carl h.]

Originally Posted by One Bad Monkey

PLAY THE SHOW, NOT THE SCORE: It's very easy to fall into that trap of relying too heavily on the score in front of you when playing. Problem is, the bulk of the scores that go out are riddled with mistakes in the book, and are just flat in terms of rhythm. They also don't take into account if a singer jumps a cue and you have to find your spot seven measures ahead.

True - in some cases. It is highly dependent on who the musical director is. Some prefer the musicians to play by ear and go with the action. This can work well for smaller pits.
But if you are doing large scale orchestrations you stick with the conductor. It is important that the orchestra musicians remain at the same spot. If one person jumps ahead to the right spot and 30 musicians are still playing with the conductor - guess who gets canned. What if you jump to the wrong spot and throw the actors off? It's not R&R it is musical theater, The conductor determines what is right.

Originally Posted by One Bad Monkey

Know the show. Know what others are playing so you can play together better. You'll sound like an actual group over a bunch of folk reading music in front of them. Best to leave that to classical musicians.

Please clarify this comment.
I have been doing shows professionally for decades as a performer and as a contractor. It makes me think that you would rather make up your own part instead of playing what was intended to be played by the person who received money for doing the orchestration - which you were hired to reproduce to the best of your abilities.


As far as getting hired - go see the shows. Find out who the musicians are and find out where they play when they aren't doing pit work. I have never hired anybody on their own word, it is always by referral from a musician I trust. Your best bet is to get in good with the guys who are working. If you are known as the guy who has the equipment, chops and attitude, you have a good shot at getting in. A good sub can do quite well on the show circuit. You need to be able to read down a show cold on the first reading to get those calls though, which includes following cuts and rubato which differ from what is in the book.

[Marty Forrer]

I've been in a couple of pit bands for shows. It's a lotta fun. I got mine by knowing the bass players or MDs from the shows, so I suggest you start networking and schmoozing.

[elgecko]

You usually have to know "somebody"...either the musical director or one of the musicians high on his or her call list.

[bassman314]

I'm on the board of directors for a community theater company. Other than accompanists for rehearsals, we don't hire our musicians directly, but rather leave that to the Musical Director to hire who he/she wants to have in the pit.

If the Musical Director for the company is listed, try contacting them directly.

[One Bad Monkey]

Originally Posted by carl h.

True - in some cases. It is highly dependent on who the musical director is. Some prefer the musicians to play by ear and go with the action. This can work well for smaller pits.
But if you are doing large scale orchestrations you stick with the conductor. It is important that the orchestra musicians remain at the same spot. If one person jumps ahead to the right spot and 30 musicians are still playing with the conductor - guess who gets canned. What if you jump to the wrong spot and throw the actors off? It's not R&R it is musical theater, The conductor determines what is right.

The comment that you bolded was in reference to the scores that come don't take into account when a singer jumps a cue, and as such you need to NOT have your head buried in a theatre score, but be present and with the conductor/MD to navigate it. You're proving my point, and I agree with you.

Originally Posted by carl h.

Please clarify this comment.

It was just a tongue-in-cheek comment, nothing more. I should've put it between some <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags.

Originally Posted by carl h.

I have been doing shows professionally for decades as a performer and as a contractor. It makes me think that you would rather make up your own part instead of playing what was intended to be played by the person who received money for doing the orchestration - which you were hired to reproduce to the best of your abilities.

As for preferring to make up my own part, I'll refer to my previous post under KNOW YOUR ROLE, as that explains my stance.

I do however take umbrage with your last comment. In your career in the musical theatre realm, you know that my comment of how many errors are found in the copies of scores that are given to theatres is true and unacceptable.

Case in point: I just finished up a run of "A New Brain," which is published by Samuel French. The first half of the song "You Boys Are Gonna Get Me in Trouble" has the bass, drums and first keyboard in one key, and the reeds, horn, cello and second keyboard in a completely different key.

Were we hired to reproduce this atonal piece to the best of our abilities, because that's what the person receiving money for the orchestration wrote? A quick listen to the soundtrack shows us that no, it's not. It makes me think that the person writing the orchestration either missed it because they were rushed, lazy, or something else entirely.

I use my score as a roadmap and general guide, but if I need to change a note here and there because obviously someone that orchestrated it missed it, I'm going to do it. I'm also going to leave it in the score with a note, as that's the approved way to return scores with corrections in the hopes that someone will fix it. More often than not, that doesn't happen.

[bassman314]

Originally Posted by One Bad Monkey

KNOW YOUR ROLE:
PLAY THE SHOW, NOT THE SCORE:

Above all else, be patient. The MDs I work with work with the same group of people regularly, and rely on those musicians for recommendations if/when they have a hole that needs to be filled in their lineup. So, while you can meet and greet everyone (and I would thoroughly encourage you to do so), it may take a while before you get a call for a full run. It was almost two years from my first step into the theatres in town as a sub to me getting the call from an MD for an entire run. From there, I've been booked easily six months out.

This.

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by One Bad Monkey

Case in point: I just finished up a run of "A New Brain," which is published by Samuel French. The first half of the song "You Boys Are Gonna Get Me in Trouble" has the bass, drums and first keyboard in one key, and the reeds, horn, cello and second keyboard in a completely different key.

Were we hired to reproduce this atonal piece to the best of our abilities, because that's what the person receiving money for the orchestration wrote? A quick listen to the soundtrack shows us that no, it's not. It makes me think that the person writing the orchestration either missed it because they were rushed, lazy, or something else entirely.

I use my score as a roadmap and general guide, but if I need to change a note here and there because obviously someone that orchestrated it missed it, I'm going to do it. I'm also going to leave it in the score with a note, as that's the approved way to return scores with corrections in the hopes that someone will fix it. More often than not, that doesn't happen.

I think this is something that is worked out way before the first rehearsal or during it. In my experience a MD would catch that before you got the book in your hands.

If you play with a small group i.e. a trio in a show like "The Wild Party" you have more latitude but my experience has been is that you need to play what's written because of the way it's orchestrated.

[Buxtehude]

If you have no experience with theatre music, don't forget you have to watch the conductor while reading. This is tricky at first. Also a conducted beat should occur at the bottom of the baton stroke not at the beginning.