Any Melodrama Directors?
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Directing
Forum Discription: For questions about handling shows, actors, crew, board members, children ...or do we repeat ourselves?
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2532
Printed Date: 11/23/24 at 11:14am
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Topic: Any Melodrama Directors?
Posted By: bbpchick
Subject: Any Melodrama Directors?
Date Posted: 7/18/07 at 8:55pm
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Hello all! I just joined yesterday. I'm directing my second show and melodrama. I was wondering how many others have done melodrama and what you have done with them since they are a definantly a bit different from a straight drama or a comedy (i.e. major cheese factor). Do you use olios? How about live music (which has been a major problem for me this year)? Enterance and Exit music? Or any other tips and tricks you might have. I'm just looking for ideas to enhance the experience and make it more fun.
Thanks,
Kendra ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Replies:
Posted By: GoldCanyonLady
Date Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:22am
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Our first play 4 years ago was a melodrama and it was fun. We made two mistakes. We had oleos which made the play toooooo long. And we gave everyone a bag of popcorn which created such a noise coming from the audience that we could hardly hear each other on stage. I can still hear the noise of everyone reaching into their popcorn bags. We did not use live music except for the oleos. I didn't direct this play or do anything other than have a small part, but everyone's contentions was what I wrote above. Barb ------------- Barb Hofmeister, MountainBrook Village Players, Gold Canyon, Arizona. |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:50am
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So I gather your doing a 'music hall' style production, with musical interludes, hence the use of Olios (Tumblers), rather than tabs.
The biggest thing is audience participation & activly including them in the production with musical numbers by jioning in songs. This where tumbler slide sheets [oloios] come in handy & don't forget to prompt the punters to boo & hiss the villian & chearing the hero. Scene card signs help changed by the usual young lady dressed apropriatly with the assistance of the 3 T's.
You could always add the Chairman who exspounds the virnacular & MC's the proceedings. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 7/19/07 at 12:38pm
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Cool. I pretty much wanted to see what other people have done and what has worked well for them and what hasn't. We are doing olios, but the play is just under an hour without them and we are limiting it to 5 (2 + MC introduction before the show and 3 just before the curtian rises for act 2. I'll definately do a sing a long (joining song?) Gaafa thats a really good idea. Get people warmed up. We had a similar experience with peanuts GoldCanyonLady. Except it wasn't the noise that got to us, but it was how VICIOUS people got with them. I didn't direct that one, I was just in it but yeah projectiles in live theater is bad juju in the hands of the audience.
Thank you guys for your tips and I hope to hear more tips and tricks  ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 7/19/07 at 2:20pm
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Why noy interdisperse songs within the body of the acts, much the same as a musical? ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 7/27/07 at 1:39am
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In the current play I'm doing, it wouldn't work so well cuz it's taking place in a News Paper office. Next year I'm going to be doing "Face on the Barroom Floor. Or...Looking through the Sawdust" at least I'm planning on it (lol a lot can happen in a year) and if I can work it, that would be great for that show since it takes place in a bar.
Do you need to get permission to do that? One thing I definately don't want to do is violate rules when I get royalties. ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 7/27/07 at 2:45am
Ah! yes I remember it well? Being a 10 year old at a theatre in Glasgow, breing pelted with rotten fruit. that was sold in brown paper bags for ruppence at the front door & chucked from the gods, becausere was a texhnical hitch. With music being added, it is much the same as songs in a concerts or pantomimes, royalies are paid fior eaxh piece or thru a copyright association. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 7/27/07 at 4:22pm
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Many years ago we did the melodrama The Drunkard arranged by Barry Manilow. This was a huge hit. Probably the most enjoyable part from the audience point of view was the singalongs we did during scene changes. I can still remember the audiences (mostly college students) (mostly drunk) calling out to sing "number five!" which was the "Ragtime Gal" song made famous by the Michigan J Frog cartoon. Drunks realy enjoy actively participating in a show. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 7/28/07 at 5:52am
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'Jack the ripper' a musical play set in the 'Steam
Packet Music Hall' about the Whitechapel murders in London 1888;-
http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsP/pember-ron.html#27429 - http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsP/pember-ron.html#27429
A fantastic show writen around the murders in a
send up music hall style.
------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 8/11/07 at 6:34pm
| I've acted in two melodramas. The first we had live music (a badly tuned piano). We encouraged the audience to throw popcorn at and boo and hiss the villain(not so fun at strike, though it didn't hurt the actors). It may have had olios, not sure. It was actually a musical melodrama, Tim Kelly (?) has a bunch of them as either musical or straight. The second one, we did the show with the local chapter of Sweet Adelines. They did all the musical numbers and we acted in between. No popcorn! We did the "card" thing with "Boo, Hiss" and "10 months later", etc. |
Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 8/11/07 at 7:56pm
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That card thing is a good idea! One definately to try next time. We opened last night and I think it went really well. At least we got a lot of laughter! Thank you for your input guys. I would love to hear more since now that I'm done with this one, I'm already starting to think about next year (sometimes I think i'm absolutely insane). Thanks again! ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 8/12/07 at 4:33am
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I'm glad it went well. With the title of production, it reminded me of one of the old 'Musc Hall' songs. 'She was only the printers daughter' - "but knew when she when her shift was up!" I love the variety, melodramers & songs of the Old Halls. Especialy the 'fillers' that were always on standby, "to fill up a wait in the programme". {But that was all in a previous life, before my 5th stroke. {Actualy now when I mess up something on the computer & get really frustrated, my son always calms me down, by saying "on the next stroke;- The time will be 12 O'clock exactly."} We always had a few 'fillers' up our sleeve, in fact we sometimes inserted them in the melodrama or a sketch, at the drop of a hat. Like the old bloke in a dinner suit, who would enter while the meloddrama was going on. Possition himself at the DSL Apron. Take out his pocket watch & hold it out in front of him, standing perfectly still starung out to the audiance, like a statue . It never used to take long for the first punter to snigger, which built to laughter, as the other performers carried on regsrdless. [this is when we needed to stretch, because of problems with scene changes or whatever - sometimes just to gee up a flat house.] When he was satisfied he looked at the time on his watch, then put it back in his pocket & did the exit stage left. Always to applause, while the melodrama carried on to the punch line & blackout. Simple easy to do, if the thinking is out side the box, but done ever matter of fact & so seriously? Of course there is also the Chairman & the Page Boys [girls] ito add to a seamless production. So 'Chookas' for your next season. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: avcastner
Date Posted: 10/07/07 at 1:31pm
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I've directed about 10 melodramas in 15 years. I love them! They're great for getting young actors to act bigger than their "understated" TV styles.
Pioneer Drama has a tape (possibly a CD now) to go with their Between Hisses book that has the standard entrance and exit music as well as some songs for olios and audience sing-a-longs. Definitely do something to warm your audience up, and don't forget to have an MC introduce your hero, heroine, and villain before the play. If possible, make some sign boards for "Boo," "Hiss," "Hurrah!," and "Ahhhhh"--assigning some kids on the front row to hold them up at appropriate moments.
I believe Tobin Lakes Studio has an Olio curtain or two for rent.
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Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 10/11/07 at 1:19pm
Thank you  !. I have the Between the Hisses book and CD, and I've been thinking of getting the video supplement as well, and now I think I will.
By the way, the melodrama went really well. We did popcorn, I ran out of time for the sign boards, but they are a definate for next summer. I really like the idea of having kids sit in the front row and hold the up. I think the audience would love it.
Well now we are looking at setting our plays for next year, any suggestions for melodramas that you guys really like? ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: avcastner
Date Posted: 10/14/07 at 1:07pm
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Egad, What a Cad! (Samuel French)
Tied to the Tracks (musical melodrama from Pioneer)
(Pioneer has an excellent selection of straight and musical melodrama, by the way.)
Pure as the Driven Snow (Samuel French)--but it's quite long! ------------- |