I feel like I haven’t seen many people from PLA lately, not being in class this semester. I hope that I get to catch up with more of you soon. But really, I feel like I haven’t seen anyone much lately – I really hope that changes. For the first few weeks of the semester, I was juggling directing roles in three different theatre productions – Co-Vocal director for Mamma Mia, Music Director for High School Musical, and Music Director for this production, MAIDS.
You may have recently seen me madly promoting this event in our PLA group chat or via social media. MasquerAIDS is a benefit put on by the Penn State Thespian Society for Centre County AIDS Resource. The cabaret raises funds and awareness in the fight against AIDS; it’s part of an important community discussion. The performance showcases all aspects of theatre, including acting, singing and dancing, all blended together in a medley revolving around a central theme: A Light in the Darkness.
As Music Director, I’ve been working since October to help select the songs for the production’s theme, audition interested individuals, cast the show, and work with the cast members during the audition process. I also had to find and select musicians for a pit orchestra, and arrange all of the music for the production in music notation software. Conducting was a unique challenge, because I had to work with the pit orchestra in separate rehearsals first, then come together with the vocalists and provide cues and signals for both the instrumentalists and the vocalists at once.
For some of the songs in MAIDS, sheet music existed in a different key than our vocalists needed, or perhaps the music existed with different instrumentation (say, just piano/vocal/guitar). For some songs on the setlist, there was no sheet music to reference at all – I just listened to the song on Spotify bit-by-bit or imagined what I wanted it to sound like.
I ended up with a pit orchestra of 15 musicians: piano, guitar, bass, percussion, two violins, viola, cello, clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, and keyboard. I continuously edited music if a piece didn’t sound balanced after an orchestra rehearsal, or if one part sounded off. Shortly before the show, the producers and choreographer asked me to write bows music that encompassed some/all of the choreography numbers in the production. Here’s the view of what the first sheet of music looked like in my notation software (props if you can name that tune):
I wrote the bows music in the two nights before the show, and added repeats and cuts the day of the show. I don’t have a lot of great video footage from the very well-rehearsed and powerful numbers in the show, but here’s what that thrown-together bows music sounded like (the lights come on halfway through the video):
I’m incredibly proud of the outcome of the production. Everyone who performed, worked on production staff, and helped with tech and crew were dedicated to the cause and to their work. We beat last year’s fundraising record before the show even began, and by the end of it, we raised nearly $4,000 dollars for Centre County Aids Resource.
That being said, I’ve spent nearly every night back at school at meetings and rehearsals until late at night, and then coming home to arrange orchestra music until I fell asleep on my laptop between 2:00 and 3:00am. I definitely had some “Fear of Missing Out” on weekends as I continued to plug in individual music notes on my computer. After this show, I’m trying to do a better job of taking care of myself and (hopefully) prioritizing some social time. I’m still balancing two musical rehearsal schedules and all of the other stuff, but moving on from one endeavor feels good.
Please get in touch if you would like to catch up over a meal, or if you’d like to do a puzzle in the PLA office together.
Follow Us!