Welcome
John William Tuohy lives in Washington DC
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
June Bingham New Playwright Commission ~ This commission opportunity provides
resources and support toward the creation and development of a new play by
early-career women/femme and/or non-binary storytellers. The opportunity will
culminate in a 60-minute 2-person play that will be workshopped and presented
as a reading for an audience at L&IC’s Fall Retreat in September of 2023.
***
FRESH WORDS 5 MINUTE PLAYS ANTHOLOGY ~ We are open for submissions for our Special
5 Minute Play Anthology 'CONTEMPORARY NEW YORK PLAYS-2022' .
1. The 5 Minute Play can be about:
a) Social,/cultural/ economic life in New York.
b) Literary trends in New york.
c) New York theatre life.
d) Migrants in New York.
e) New York and American Dream
f) Individual and New York city.
g) New York & human values
h) New York and broken dreams
i) New York and writers/artists
j) Any other topic of interest that is not covered above but deals with New
York.
***
Musical Theatre: Live & In Color is looking for playwrights, composers, and
lyricists of color and/or other underrepresented communities interested in
developing their new musical.
The selected musical submission will have a two-week workshop in the fall at
The Bingham Camp in Salem, Connecticut culminating in a staged presentation to
an invited audience.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site
at https://www.nycplaywrights.org
***
*** IN THE PIT ***
The number of musicians in a Broadway pit orchestra has always been a point of
contention between the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802 and the League
of American Theatres and Producers. These two organizations have had many
collective bargaining agreements that have helped dictate and alter the size of
orchestras on Broadway. On one side you have the musicians, who are concerned
with preserving jobs and the musical integrity of a show, and on the other you
have the producers who are trying to ensure the overall and financial success
of the show. This thesis examines these orchestral changes through a
technological, economic, and societal lens to help understand the basis for
these change
More...
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_dist/87/
***
A PEEK AT THE ORCHESTRA PIT: Not only does The Producers have the largest
orchestra (21 members including the conductor!) since our very first Broadway
show, My Fair Lady, it's also the largest orchestra currently performing in the
Chicagoland area. No small feat. Get a peek inside the orchestra pit in this
video hosted by Producers Music Director and Conductor Tom Vendafreddo. It's a
rare look into a small space that's home to some huge sounds!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O9Ao9NuhdE
***
Audiences rarely see one of the most memorable parts of a live production.
Most theater and dance performances feature live musicians tucked in a
sub-stage orchestra pit, blasting and crooning melodies that enhance the show
without audiences often realizing it.
But this wasn’t always so.
As part of The Smith Center’s ongoing blog series exploring the history of
theater magic, discover below how the orchestra pit originated.
A CROWDED STAGE
When the advent of opera in the late 1500s transformed live performances, it
led to an unexpected dilemma: a crowded stage.
Orchestras accompanying the performances were often placed on stage alongside
the actors, with as many as 50 musicians sharing the spotlight.
“Monteverdi's ‘L'Orfeo’ probably had 40 or so musicians sitting on the stage in
a hall that had an audience of about 200,” says theater writer Brad Hathaway.
By the late 1700s, some theaters seated orchestras in front of the stage —
which led to referring to a theater’s main level as the Orchestra Level.
But this only proved dangerous for musicians.
“Patrons could be quite demanding and threatening,” Hathaway says. “Musicians
in Boston printed a notice asking the ‘thoughtless or ill-disposed not to throw
apples, stones and other missiles into the orchestra.’"
More...
https://thesmithcenter.com/explore/smith-center-blog/the-invention-of-the-orchestra-pit/
***
Getting work as a musician on Broadway (1996), either as a regular or as a
substitute, is not easy. As is the case with many job searches, it is often
knowing someone that counts. "The whole business is set up on a referral
and networking basis," Mr. Russo said. "But often musicians go on the
road first to break in."
That's exactly what Mary Stephenson of Greenwich is doing. In July she joined
the Raoul Company for a one-year national tour with "Phantom of the
Opera." She moves every six to nine weeks, recently having left California
for Arizona.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/14/nyregion/it-s-a-long-trip-to-the-orchestra-pit.html
***
Broadway, looking to regain its prepandemic audiences, is relying on boldface
names such as Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig, Sarah Jessica Parker…and Mike
Boschen.
Mr. Boschen is in the current revival of “The Music Man.” He is a trombonist,
and they are having a moment.
In “Hadestown,” trombonist Brian Drye appears on stage and interacts with the
cast. (As one theater observer noted on Twitter: “Phenomenal cast and all, but
the trombone is the real star.”) In “Chicago,” trombonists Bruce Bonvissuto and
James Burton III have coveted places on stage with the rest of the orchestra.
“We can feel very viscerally the energy coming from the audience,” says Mr.
Bonvissuto.
Then, there’s Mr. Boschen in “The Music Man.” “This is probably the coolest
trombone part I’ve ever gotten to play” on Broadway, says the 48-year-old
journeyman, who has performed with about 40 productions in a career that
includes shows both familiar (“Cats”) and forgotten (a musical adaptation of
Aristophanes’ “The Frogs”).
More...
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/whos-sliding-into-a-big-role-on-broadway-trombonists-11647802145
***
Seymour Red Press remembers the days when Broadway shows were bankrolled by
mobsters, when marijuana was a staple of the pit, and when brilliant maniacs
like Jerome Robbins, Jule Styne, and Charles Strouse were creating the world’s
greatest musicals. Theater may be ephemeral, but Red’s woodwind lines will live
forever on the original cast albums of shows like Gypsy, Mame, Chicago, and
Dreamgirls. In Mack & Mabel, he played the melancholy saxophone solo in
“Time Heals Everything”; in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, he played the
sublime, bluesy riff at the beginning of “My Time of Day.” Now 93, Red shows no
signs of slowing down. He has hired the musicians for every Encores! show since
the series’ inception and is an unparalleled source of musical theater lore.
“He’s like Yoda,” says Encores! artistic director Jack Viertel. “When Yoda
talks, you listen.” On a recent afternoon, we did just that.
CITY CENTER: How did you get your first Broadway gig?
SEYMOUR RED PRESS: I grew up in the era of the big bands. When I was 13, Benny
Goodman was like Elvis Presley; it was the best music I’d ever heard in my
life. As soon as I put a saxophone in my mouth, I knew that it was what I
wanted to do. My dream was to play with Benny Goodman—and I did, in 1957 at the
Waldorf Astoria. That same year, I got married and got my first Broadway show,
The Body Beautiful. It was a flop, but it was the beginning of a career I
couldn’t have imagined.
More...
https://www.nycitycenter.org/About/Blog/2017/Yoda-of-the-Orchestra-Pit/
***
TIPS FOR THE PIT
Have all of your equipment with you in an easily accessible place. This
includes instrument stands, pad blotting paper or cigarette paper (very
important – I cannot tell you how many times I’ve used my music to wipe off
condensation from my pads in a pit-related emergency), a set of tiny
screwdrivers (you can pick these up from the dollar store), ear plugs, pencils,
and small bottles of water. You likely will not have a lot of space to store
these things so try to bring a small bag that can be draped over the back of
your chair for essentials. I really like to use a simple drawstring backpack
for this purpose.
More...
https://racheltaylorgeier.org/2018/08/03/tips-for-the-pit/
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