"Spamalot" pit orchestra gig

[Jeff Elkins]

BassCliff -

Thank you for sharing! My two experiences playing for musical theater -- Footloose and Smokey Joe's Cafe (last month, where I was a sub for two shows only) -- are on my top 10 list of best gigs, ever (in 25+ years). I have decided to seek out more of those opportunities, and your post is a reminder that I've let a few weeks go by without working my plan!
Thanks again. I look forward to more photos and stories.
Here's a shot of the pit for Smokey Joe's during the final dress rehearsal. Solid players, all, with the inimitable Howard Bloom holding down the bass chair and directing endings and transitions.


Jeff

 

[RDUB]

Great story, Cliff. I've been doing local theatre productions for the past ten years. I've done Spamalot - really fun show. Last year I did Once On This Island with a local high school. What a supremely talented cast! Really inspiring.

As much as I love the professional shows, it's a lot of fun working with kids. I do several shows a year with a local kids' theatre group. Next up is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starting in two weeks.

In the next couple of months I have Changing Minds and Edges, neither of which I'm very familiar with, but that's part of the fun!

As far as pay goes, for the pro stuff we get the appropriate wage. For the kids' theatre, there's pay, but it's definitely part of giving back to the community.

 

[BassCliff]

Hello fellow pit musicians!

It's so great to hear about all your pit experiences. It certainly is a blast, very different from the usual club, concert, private party scene, and very rewarding when working with students.

I took a few more shots at last night's rehearsal. Most of the actors have their costumes.

This is the "Finland" opening number, complete with fish ready for "The Fish Schlapping Song".

And here is Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

This is the flying fairy, "Tim", who warns Arthur and his men about the "beast" in the cave.

Another actor uses the flying system to "fall" off of the tall tower. It's all great fun.

As the show progresses I'm sure I'll be able to take some other pictures, rather than behind the scrim. Thanks for looking.

I'm looking forward to tonight's rehearsal. I need to play this music a few more times to really get it under my fingers. This ain't like the country music I usually play.

Break a leg!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[MaHei]

Bring me ... a shrubbery!

 

[BassCliff]

'Ello,

Bring me ... a shrubbery!

"“We are no longer the knights who say "Ni"! We are now the knights who say "ekki-ekki-ekki-pitang-zoom-boing!”"

Now you must put on a Broadway musical!

But I digress.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[kcole4001]

Bring me ... a shrubbery!

A nice one, but not too expensive...

Looks like a lot of fun.

 

[rust_preacher]

Finland, Finland, Finland - yeah, it's the country I want to be in. Now, wait - I do live here.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. rust_preacher,

Finland, Finland, Finland - yeah, it's the country I want to be in. Now, wait - I do live here.

Ha!

I took a few more pictures at last night's rehearsal. It's getting better every night.

My little Carvin PA is being put to good use. We've got six monitor wedges spread around so that one side of the band can hear the other side.

Two keyboards, kick, snare, bass, and a mic for the horns are being reinforced. There are two wedges facing front so the actors can hear and four wedges facing back so we can hear. The band is kind of spread out in a line so it's hard for the horn section to stay in sync with the rhythm section. The horn players were very grateful for the monitor system.

Now the horn section can hear the bass, drums, and piano and life is much better.

This is our "fairy god shredder", Byron Fry, and his Carvin rig. He's a real Carvin fan too.

This is David Anderson on drums and Ian Francisco, the conductor, on piano behind the scrim.

This is just some goofy guy posing in front of the scenery that the students built.

It really is a nice theater. It was remodeled a couple of years ago and given a facelift and new sound system, which sounds like a home theater system and not a PA.

Here's the main board. I'll get a shot of the speakers later. They are spread out with delay and sound great.

Yes, the students run the sound and lights too. Sometimes you can tell they are students but other times they are brilliant. But it always gets better the closer we get to opening night.

Here we have the "Very Expensive Forest" made from rolled foam sheets. I think they look great.

This is Arthur and the Knights that say "Ni". I tried to get a shot of the really tall knight on the stilts. I'll get a better one. The girl on the stilts is really tall. A lot of the male parts are being played by females because of the gender makeup of the troupe. But it works well.

I just thought this note in my book was kind of comical. So, just how slow is a PBS documentary?

We are having a blast. I'll have more pictures as the show progresses. Please feel free to continue sharing your pit experiences. I really enjoy reading about them.

Break a leg!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[elgecko]

Lot's of money in San Marino, huh?

...

...

EDIT: BTW, a drummer buddy was wearing a SMHS Joseph shirt from 2011 yesterday. Apparently, he played that show with you (his name is Brian).

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. elgecko,

Lot's of money in San Marino, huh?

It's a nice part of town, probably a lot of property tax revenue for the school district. Plus they have some generous benefactors who help with the expenses. It's for The Arts.

EDIT: BTW, a drummer buddy was wearing a SMHS Joseph shirt from 2011 yesterday. Apparently, he played that show with you (his name is Brian).

Yes! Brian played drums with us that year, and a couple of years prior, if I remember correctly. David Anderson has done the gig for the last couple of years.

For those of you in the area who may want to attend, here is the link to [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I encourage you to come on out and support the arts.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[BassCliff]

Hello fellow bassists and pit orchestra musicians!

Last night was an intense rehearsal. We have one more dress rehearsal before opening night on Friday.

Right before we got started last night I took this picture of the cast with the director, Blake, giving them encouragement and instructions. She yells, screams, and curses at these kids to get them going. They reeeally love her. If you met her you'd know why.

By the way, I know where the Holy Grail can be found.

Break a leg!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[jmlee]

High school musicals are such fun. I just finished a run of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" at my daughter's school. The pit band was nearly all students, save for three parents on trumpet, flute, and upright bass (me) and the music director on piano. The kids played great! Here we are. You'll have to take my word that I'm lurking in the shadows.

A bit later, six of the leads joined the MD and me to play "Friendship" from the show at the school's annual fundraising benefit. They were wonderful, real little pros.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

This is very cool! I wish we were able to set up in a tight semi-circle. It would help us hear each other. Instead we are spread out in a line along the back of the stage behind a scrim. I'm using my PA and a bunch of monitors so we can hear each other.

High school musicals are such fun. I just finished a run of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" at my daughter's school. The pit band was nearly all students, save for three parents on trumpet, flute, and upright bass (me) and the music director on piano. The kids played great! Here we are. You'll have to take my word that I'm lurking in the shadows.

A bit later, six of the leads joined the MD and me to play "Friendship" from the show at the school's annual fundraising benefit. They were wonderful, real little pros.

What a great looking set! It looks like everyone but the bass player ( ) is having fun.

Thanks for sharing!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[jmlee]

What a great looking set! It looks like everyone but the bass player ( ) is having fun.

Hehehe...just trying to figure out what those little black marks on the lines mean!

Here's a great little video that show how much fun this was. I'm in there briefly.

http://youtu.be/F7ccjQAK5PQ

 

[jmlee]

Actually, we weren't all in a semi-circle. That's just the rhythm section and the tuned percussionist in the background. Behind me were about 10 horns and winds, but we were in front and to one side of the stage and could hear well. The school hires both a professional production team to direct the show and a professional sound support team so that all the leads had body packs and hidden mics and the area mic use was spot on. We could really hear everything well. The young fellow playing drums is the drummer for the all-city jazz ensemble and the MD's son. He could play big band charts, really swinging, *quietly*. Very impressive. There was also a gentle giant of a kid playing baritone sax who had the sweetest sound on that horn. I was a musical idiot when I was their age.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Actually, we weren't all in a semi-circle. That's just the rhythm section and the tuned percussionist in the background. Behind me were about 10 horns and winds, but we were in front and to one side of the stage and could hear well...

Our MD is also the 1st piano player so he does a lot of conducting with head nods.

SMHS has a really good sound system with nice wireless gear. Unfortunately there's not a lot for us on stage. It's all run by students so there are moments that are "less than professional" but it's all fun.

Here are a few more pictures from our last dress rehearsal last night. Tonight is opening. Hopefully we've made all of our mistakes and tonight will go swimmingly.

This is a better shot of the horn section, a couple of students and some "seasoned" players. The young lady in front is playing the 2nd piano.

This is backstage, actually another little theater, where the props are stored, costumes are changed and repaired, etc.

And as typical with every high school, there are always mementos of previous attendees. This is behind stage right.

Tonight is opening night! If you're in the So. Cal. area I hope you have a chance to catch the show. Performances are this weekend, Fri. and Sat. nights, and a Sunday matinee. Then next week on Thu, Fri, and Sat. nights.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[biobass]

Spamalot is a fun show. Not too demanding except for that one number towards the end of the first act that has all those chromatic runs (Runaway, possibly?). I subbed one night for a local community theater production. I was very glad that the contracted bass player had written in his fingerings for that number. Although the pit band was fairly large, 12 or 13, I think, there weren't any other string players so I played a lot of the arco parts as pizz, as did the regular bass player.

 

[theduke1]

I've done RENT twice and a few other local productions. Musicals are fun and a nice change from bar gigs.
Break a leg!

 

[Feral Feline]

That looks like way too much fun. Are you sure it's legal?

...
So, I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They only come up to my knees,
Yet they're wise and they're witty, and they're ready to please.

All together.

Wo ai zhongguo ren.
Wo ai zhongguo ren.
Wo ai zhongguo ren.
Ni hao ma; ni hao ma; ni hao ma; zaijien!
...

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Opening night went very well. No major snafus or train wrecks. Now that we're live they usually get better each night. I took a few pictures of opening night. I'll try to snag a program tonight. They really go all-out on the programs.

Anyway, here's the stage crew getting ready for the second act.

Wow, I guess I'd better clean my lens.

Arthur and the brave Sir Robin meet in the forest.

Another shot of the orchestra "pit" behind the scrim. We are pretty spread out but our monitors help us hear everything and stay (mostly) together.

Just a selfie behind my music stand. I have to wear reading glasses to help me see all those marks on the page.

I've got some friends from work coming out tonight. It should be a fun performance now that we've all had one "live".

Spamalot is a fun show. Not too demanding except for that one number towards the end of the first act that has all those chromatic runs (Runaway, possibly?)...Although the pit band was fairly large, 12 or 13, I think, there weren't any other string players so I played a lot of the arco parts as pizz, as did the regular bass player.

There are some tricky bits in "Knights Of The Round Table" too. Playing in five and six sharps and flats (F#, Db, etc.) with lots of accidentals is a little maddening. All the tempo and feel changes keep us on our toes. When we're all together it sounds great. It still gets a little loose at times but no biggie.

We have ten in our pit, including three students. I'm playing it all on electric bass. I vary my right hand to get some different sounds. The strings are usually covered by the student on second piano. We have to make it work with what we have. It's great fun.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff