Performance Report #2 - Side Show: The Musical

Side Show: The Musical
Performance Report 2

Introduction
On the opening night of Side Show: The Musical, the first musical ever performed by the University of Texas at Dallas’s very own students, the house was packed. Held on Thursday evening, April 8, 2010, in the University Theater, utilizing the combined forces of the music, dance students, and theater students, this musical was this biggest production UTD ever had.

Music
As a Broadway musical, the music reflects homophonic textures with a live orchestra accompanying. With the live orchestra, the music felt more resonant than it would have been if it was just a recording. There were mainly aerophones, such as clarinets and oboes, a chordophone, and there were also brass instruments visible along with percussion instruments. Besides the drums, there was also an instrument that produced a sort of rattle used in Tunnel of Love. The leading twins, Daisy had a mezzo-soprano vocal timbre that was reminiscent of a country singer while Violet was a soprano. Terry’s vocal range was of a baritone with a rich vibrato, and Buddy was a tenor. Such as of novel musicals, the dance and songs are incorporated into the storyline to play important roles. There are a variety of song types in this musical. In The Devil you Know, there was surprisingly sort of blues-y or swing rhythm. Private Conversation, for example, was a melancholy, slow ballad, with certain strikes and emphasis punctuating the lyrics where Terry proclaimed, “I want, I want, I want to tell you.” In Tunnel of Love, the passion and lust is mirrored in the surge in emotion and volume of the singers’ voices. There is often repetition as some lines are echoed back at different pitches. Most of the music consisted of the chorus and the splitting of the melody into four parts for the four leads.

Performers
With their costumes and makeup, the performers really bring their characters to life on the stage. In matching dresses and wigs, the twins show that although they are twins, they are different, evident in their different vocal ranges. They were not physically bounded, but always convincingly joined at the hip. The Snake Lady had her big, fake snake wrapped around her for most of the numbers, and in other parts of the show where it is impractical for her to wear the heavy prop, she had smaller rubber snakes wrapped around her arms. Jake also sported a loincloth when he is in character as the Cannibal King.
In parts of the musical where the whole company of the freak show is present, it is obvious to see the effort that is put in the performance. The characters are always “in character.” Such as in the scene where the “freaks” of the freak show are being introduced, the “onlookers” can be seen reacting with either fascination or disgust. Terry can be seen making questioning looks at Buddy, as Buddy tries to calm him down, while a lady can be seen getting jealous and reprimanding her husband as he gapes at the belly dancers. Another example is the scene of New Year’s Day, where all the guests can be seen interacting with each other in the background even though the focus is on the main characters that are usually speaking. The freeze frames here are also quite humorous as the characters dance around.
Dance is also an important element of this musical. In The Devil You Know, they were choreography that resembled swing dance. In We Share Everything, the twins have backup dancers that help their show and even form their “ship” that take them across the Nile. Also, in Rare Songbirds On Display, the chorus of birds danced around the birdcage. In One Plus One Equals Three, Buddy performs a humorous dance number with a top hat and cane. Notable in Private Conversation, Daisy does a ballet dance around Terry until Terry grabs her and spins her around in his arm symbolizing their union in his mind.

Audience & Time and Space
Besides being the opening night, the musical was also free to the public, meaning generally everyone on Thursdays. Thus, the show was facing a full house that night.
The audience was relatively diverse. Many different people attended, including students, parents, friends and even younger children. The performance was open to outsiders, if in this case, an insider meant a loyal follower of UTD’s arts program or a member of the UTD community. Amidst the chatter, it can also be distinguished that there was a large group of “outsiders” or visiting students from the University of North Texas.
The musical even began with audience interaction as the “freaks” emerged from behind where the audience was sitting and approached the stage. The Cannibal King at this time even leapt and jumped out at the audience, seemingly ready to pounce or attack as part of the performance. The musical also had many parts where within the performance was a performance, such as the opening number Come Look at the Freaks where they are inviting the audience, or when the twins performed We Share Everything on Vaudeville, Rare Songbirds On Display in The Follies, or when Buddy performed One Plus One Equals Three where the audience’s role was the audience. As the Finale ended the show, the audience’s reaction to the performance was really positive. When the Cannibal King, or Jake, was the last performer to step out for recognition, the applause got noticeably even louder. Even Jake was taken aback by the support of the audience! At the end of the musical, the performers received a standing ovation.

Conclusion
It is evident that a lot of time and effort was put into this show. At Friday’s Talk-Balk session, the cast divulged some behind-the-scene stories such as late-night rehearsals, character development reports where the Reptile Man courts Snake Lady, cast bonding moments and the free food provided by director Kathryn Evans. Showcasing their hard work as evident in their music, singing, dancing, sets, costumes and more, these UT Dallas students finished their first show, boasting the same musical score as the original Broadway production, to an enthusiastic crowd.

Works Cited
Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Side Show. 08 Apr 2010. Richardson: UT Dallas University Theater
Side Show. By Bill Russell. Dir. Kathryn Evans. UT Dallas University Theater, Richardson. 8 Apr 2010.

Post #12 - Rock

You cannot talk about rock and roll without mentioning its "king," Elvis Presley. Rock and roll originated as a blend of African-American blues sounds and "prominent bass patterns" in a Tennessee recording studio in 1954. Since then, this rock music has continually evolved and eventually branched off into many different subgenres. One of which is punk rock. Some consider the first and leading band of punk rock to be the English group The Sex Pistols.
Visually, punk rock came to be recognized for its unique style. The "punk" look came to include assorted accessories, tattoos, piercings and shocking hair styles. Regarding its music, unarguably, most elements of punk rock stays true to the elements of the encompassing genre of general rock. The electric guitar is an important instrument to the music. The groups are generally small ensembles, with up to six players. The Sex Pistols for example had at the maximum four members. There is also an emphasis on singing, usually in a strong, raw style. However, in most cases, lyrics seem to often be shouted more than sung. Punk lyrics are also characteristically belligerent and comment on current world issues. In this time of a cultural revolution, punk rock sought to challenge and shock the public.

Listening Guide to The Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen"

0:00 The song starts with the drums and electric guitar (?).
0:22 Singing starts and would alternate with a repeating guitar riff.
0:46 The song goes into a new verse.
1:13 Chorus(?) begins again.
2:05 Guitar solo starts.
2:20 Singing resumes.
3:13 The song ends with electronic distortion/feedback
Note: This song is rather repetitive in the music.

Extra Credit - University Idol

Advertising free pizza to draw in an audience, the University Idol: Cometstock edition was held on Monday April 5, 2010 at 7pm in the Conference Center. When the competition started, the modest audience took up barely half of the seats. Several people were even dressed up as hippies for the costume contest. The first performer sang "Help Yourself" to a prerecorded track and humorously flaunted his fake chest hair while dancing around stage. The music was very upbeat and jazzy. The second contestant sang "Leaving on a Jet Plane" a capella. In a clear voice, she sang the sad song and also hit the high note near the end. The third contestant was not fully prepared and forgot some of her lyrics. Luckily the song, also sung to a prerecorded track, was mostly repetitive. It was also rather high pitched- she must have been a soprano. After intermission, the next contestant actually danced and didn't sing. He claimed to be influenced by Michael Jackson. Showcasing several moves, he even did the moonwalk. The fifth contestant also sang a capella. He utilized a lot of sound ranges, making the song dynamic. The sixth contestant played guitar while singing, a homophony. The final contestant also played guitar, but he also encouraged the audience to sing along and clap their hands.

Post #11 - The Gullah People

The Gullah people have astonishingly been able to preserve their culture and way of life for as long as they have. Their music culture has obvious roots in African traditions. The time and space of their music can vary from inside their church to open spaces inside or out.Percussion instruments especially the drums are very prevalent, creating very rhythmic and pulsatile beats. "Rhythm- everything's about rhythm," says Queen Quet. Dancing among other activities is a significant part of this culture. Often seen with many performers dancing in sync to the tempo and beat. Regarding the material culture, performers seem to often wear traditional dress while dancing. Sometimes both the dancing and the instrument playing are incorporated into the actual performance as seen when the young people are hitting and striking the sticks in their dance (first video). The Gullah people also us stilts in their performances. There are also some hints of shimmers among the cries and trills of the women. Also, there seems to be a bit of the call and response quality in the music. Music is incorporated into their religious life, taking form in the gospels that they sing in church. The music often blends English with African languages, notable Mende, resulting in this unique Gullah music culture. With a rich culture such as of the Gullah people, music is also prevalent in ceremonies as seen with the example of the Mende funeral song.

Performance Report

Shakespeare in Song
Performance Report

Introduction
On Friday evening, March 26, 2010 the University of Texas at Dallas Chamber Singers performed a concert entitled Shakespeare in Song at the Jonsson Performance Hall. Pulling songs from several Shakespearean plays, the Chamber Singers entertain complete with dialogue and costumes from the historical era.

Music
The performance repertoire consisted of Shakespearean songs that either came from William Shakespeare’s plays themselves, British composer Roger Quilter, or Juilliard graduate Mathew Harris (Evans). Also the performers were split into four different ranges: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone/bass. As such, normally the males sang in a lower octave than the females, establishing a harmony and a quasipulsatile sound. Accompanied by the piano, a chordophone, the music’s tempo varied from song to song.
The first half of the performance seemingly consisted of songs with more morose or melancholy moods, while the second half had merrier or at the least more lively songs. There were several soloists that took the stage. In Cymbeline’s Fear no more the heat of the sun, Guiderius’s vocal timbre is deep, with a rich vibrato, while Hamlet’s Ophelia had a much higher and lighter timbre. The songs included many repetitions and sometimes the repetitions were repeated at different pitches by another section. Unexpectedly, there were even gender-specific songs. Othello’s The Willow Song was sung by only the females, and the Twelfth Night’s Oh mistress mine was song by only the males. The resulting textures were drastically different than if sung with a mixed choir. However in context of the play, it would make sense why the songs were sung exclusively by females or males.
There was a very rich texture as the music was arranged into multiple parts. For example, in the last song from Twelfth Night, When that I was and a little tiny boy, the arrangement “ends in a quadruple-four-part round (16 separate parts)!” (Evans).

Performers
The performers costumed in Shakespearean attire gave a sense of immersing the audience in a different time and place. Even the pianist and director were in costume. There was also some use of props as seen in The Tempest where Stephano, the “drunken butler,” has a flask of alcohol (Evans).
This performance unexpectedly included some dialogue from the actual plays “’surround[ing]’ these compositions... to set them in context” (Evans). At times, the dialogue actually interrupted the singing as with The Tempest. While Ariel is singing, Ferdinand is musing about where the music is coming from. Also in The Willow Song from Othello, Desdemona exclaims “nay” several times as Emilia would respond to her. Character interaction is present a lot almost in between every one or two songs. In Twelfth Night, Feste, the clown, can be seen trying to crack jokes and bring in a jovial attitude.

Audience
This performance was open to outsiders of the music culture; as a free event, anyone may attend. Someone who may be quite familiar with the works of Shakespeare or just someone who actively follows the Chamber Singers could be considered an insider. The audience actually consisted of many college students and older adults who were most likely family members or friends of the performers. Generally there were not any younger children. Also a majority of the college students probably attended as a requirement for their arts class. The audience applauded whenever the director turned around and gave the cue by slightly bowing and gesturing to the singers. There were not any noticeable interactions between the performers and the audience outside of this.

Time and Space
The Friday performance was the first performance of this presentation, and thus probably had the best attendance. Attendance is not the best possibly because it is held on a Friday evening, when many college students have started their weekend plans. The University of Texas at Dallas also has a large commuter student population, and with the venue being on campus, sadly most students do not bother to drive out to see the performance unless they are really interested in the arts, music, Shakespeare, the Chamber Singers, or are required to attend.

Conclusion
Combining music and literature is a great way to generate interest and awareness to both parties. Not only through song, the UT Dallas Chamber Singers brought life to these Shakespearean art songs also through other modes such as dialogue, costumes and props. Hopefully their second performance was just as or even more so successful.

Bibliography

Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Shakespeare in Song. 26 March 2010. Richardson: UTD Jonsson Performance Hall.

Shakespeare in Song. Dir. Kathyrn Evans. UTD Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson. 26 March 2010.