MUSICALS VERSUS PLAYS – WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE!

BY Jim DeBlasi

 

In theatre, actors oftentimes make conscious choices whether to pursue roles in a play or in a musical. Other times, preconceived ideas of an actor’s capabilities cause the industry to typecast a performer into one category or the other—being either a “musical theatre” performer or an “actor” (although, this line of demarcation is slowly fading away). Straight plays and musicals do introduce different worlds to an audience. However, performing in either style requires the same creative approach and technical skill set.

The techniques used to sing a song – breath, diaphragm control, and voice placement – are the same techniques utilized to produce a strong speaking voice on stage. Vocal techniques, coupled with connection of and comprehension to the text are just some basic tools of a successfully delivered performance.

When tackling a song, the performer should concentrate on presenting the piece from an overall performance perspective.

Focus should be put just as equally on emoting the feeling of the song, not just singing it well.  There certainly are individuals whose vocal techniques can handle music more adeptly than others; however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can emote their feeling in song or transport the audience into the heightened world being created.        Quite often we witness performers who are so consumed about their vocal technique that the communication of the lyrics gets muddy or lost altogether.  The first approach in a musical should be to learn the lyrics so securely that they are part of you and of the character in that scene.  Explore the piece in its profundity.  Learning the value in the dialogue’s simplicity and trusting the words to express what they are supposed to say are so equally important.  If you can convey the lyrics with intelligence and insight, you will certainly succeed.

Active listening also plays another key role in a successful performance.  We’ve all heard the adage “acting is reacting” before. The need to listen to the others on stage during a non-musical piece is obvious enough. Performing a musical piece requires listening for various reasons.  In addition to listening for the purpose of being “in the moment,” you must be active in listening musically as well.

For example, when performing a solo, you need to listen to your accompaniment, for the sake of your pitch and rhythm.  When performing a duet, you need sing in tandem to the person with whom you are singing.

Not only is “musical” listening important, but shifting from dialogue to song and back to dialogue can be complex. When a musical character breaks out into song, it is because emotions become so heightened in a scene, the characters express their feelings in song.

Once music enters the scene, you’re introducing another world that requires greater imagination. However, the singing should be a stone’s throw away from the shift from dialogue.  The leap that takes you from dialogue to a lyrical conversation could be nothing shy of embarrassing if it is not seamless.

There are a few differences in performance of the two art forms, most notably where time and pacing are concerned.  In a play, the pacing of the dialogue is based on the interpretation of the material by the actors.  Musicals are a much more confining art expression.  When singing a song, most likely there is a conductor with whom you need to stay in tempo with or else fall apart.

When preparing for a musical, the energy that rises is contagious to the musicians, dancers, singers, all preparing for the performance.   Preparing for a five character play creates a much more intimate and self-created environment.  However, the rewards and sense of accomplishment from working in both genres are unequalled.

So acting is all about using your well-honed speaking voice to produce written text.  Singing is not just about vocalizing your lyrics, but rather playing a scene in the song.  Even though these abilities are exchangeable between the types of performance material you may work on, there still remains an unofficial prejudice that musical actors can’t act as compared to “legitimate” actors, and “legitimate” actors may have difficulty with musical material because of vocal technique. These misconceptions can stifle a performer’s growth and opportunity to pursue other roles.