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Opening Night

1167 Words5 Pages

There’s an unexplainable joy in hearing an applause go from polite clapping, to a full throttled roar of appreciation; especially when the roar is directed towards you. The specific tidal wave of clapping that I’m talking about is from the time I starred in my school's production of Oklahoma, I was Curly McClain, chap wearing, cattle wrangling, hero of the west. The applause isn’t what made the show for me though, the standing ovation at the end was just the cherry on the top of the star studded cake. What really made the show a life changing experience was the culmination of a month's worth of more than 100 people working toward a common goal in the form of opening night. A show makes people but that can’t happen if people don’t make the show. …show more content…

Unfortunately most musicals don’t call for the lead to wave his arms center stage while everyone else does jazz squares. This part of production, like all others requires intense patience, being in good shape helps but that might be asking a bit too much. Choreography rehearsals generally involve trying to talk over all the other actors, spending two hours running over the same 3 minute song, wondering why you even volunteered to be in this thing in the first place, and considering bringing deodorant for everyone to the next practice. It happens on your third run through of wide open spaces, you’ve just done your third toe touch of the day, you’re grumpy and tired, then it hits you, you know your stuff. When you’ve only learned your music everything just feels like a weird choir rehearsal but towards the end of your few weeks of constant dancing you see the sets getting painted over, replacing the remnants from the previous years play. Your read throughs have turned from awkward sentences always followed by question marks, to confident exclamation marks, spiced up with your new (manly) oklahoma accent. You are starting to feel good about this whole ordeal, you still have a few weeks left and you’re confident that it’ll all turn out pretty. That confidence is about to get severely shaken by step four: Tech

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I know I have been pulled up on stage to sing Okeechobee Whisky a time or two. The performers are all in tune and in step as a typical rock band would be. The other band members feed off of Greg’s energy that he extracts from the crowd. The more the crowd participates the more fun Greg and the band have performing. The band seems to get in sync with the crowd and the performance is driven by the band and the crowd together.

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It was much different than anything I have been too. The two main narrators made this circus Olay act, even more entertaining by being humorous. A great deal of times these two narrators made almost the whole crows grin and chuckle. For my family and me, we could not stop smirking or laughing the entire time. What else brought uniqueness to this performance is that they got people from the crowd involved in a couple instances.

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3019 Words | 13 Pages

In 1943, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s first collaborative musical production, Oklahoma! grabbed the audience’s attention from its first premiere, making the front page of PM Newspaper: “New Musical Plays Up Homespun U.S.A.” In lieu of World War I and the Depression, the theater-writing team of Rodgers and Hammerstein believed it was the perfect time to revitalize American morale through song, dance, and an entertaining plot. How did Rodgers and Hammerstein’s collaboration on their first musical, Oklahoma!, influence musical theater and entertainment in America? While reviving the American spirit, Rodgers and Hammerstien broke from the traditions of past musical creations and created a new musical comedy communicating American ideals

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885 Words | 4 Pages

Oklahoma! has some enjoyable music, energetic dancing, and overall happy flow that provided audiences with an escape from the harsh realities of war going on all around the world, “I’ve got a beautiful feeling, Everything’s going my way” (Hammerstein,“Oh What A Beautiful Mornin”). Rodgers and Hammerstein do a great job of sugar coating over the realities about rural

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781 Words | 4 Pages

GENERAL QUESTIONS 1. In 250 words or less describe why QCPA is integral to the Commerce Society, and why you want to be a part of it. QCPA is a unique organization that is integral to the Commerce Society, as it enables students to practice more of their “softer” skills. While many other Commerce provide valuable information to students about different fields of business, such as finance and marketing, QCPA is different in that its events are applicable to every student regardless of what disciplines they are interested in.

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1225 Words | 5 Pages

There are a couple of choice words I would use to describe the production I had had the “pleasure” to witness: confused, uncomfortable, yet humorous and enjoyable. On the night of the twenty-fourth of February on the campus of Lone Star Montgomery college, my mother and I viewed The Irene Ryan Scenes and Student Directed Plays with the full intent to observe and enjoy since I paid 12 bucks to get in. However, I was not prepared for what was presented in the show. First impressions are always the most important part of introductions.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

I have a new respect for the time and effort these students put into the production. When the entire cast came together to sing the final song from the movie “I’m a Believer”, I realized that the entire cast and crew had done just that, they had made me a believer of their amazing

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231 Words | 1 Pages

On Friday October 23rd, 2015, I saw the Theatre and Choir show called “Love, Loss, and Lyrics”. The production was very entertaining and consisted of many technical elements such as lighting and musical underscoring. The first act was a bunch of monologues and one act plays performed by the Theatre students. Every single act was perfected. The one monologue that caught my attention was called “Before You Punch Me”.

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When the roll is called up yonder is being chanted by thousands of mouths all packed into a stadium like building. Some people raise their hands in the air swaying back and forth. One man in the audience is playing a saxophone and he bumps into several people as he honks out a sweet simple tune. But few people take notice of the saxophonist because they are fixed on the man leading the ceremony.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

Integration dominates musicals, with Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II credited as the most consistent writers of integrated shows. One of the first musicals they wrote together was an example cited most regularly as highlighting integration and that was Oklahoma! It was to be considered in the early 1960’s that within this period it was mostly associated with integration. Within Oklahoma! music, song, instrumental underscore, orchestra and ballet accompaniment magnifies the dramatic narrative and also advances it in the musical; the texture of it clearly defines the characters and fleshes them out.

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The time is now. The roaring crowd settled, the stadium lights shined above us, the field was set. It was time to show the audience how much dedication, sweat, and tears were put in the show right before the eyes. The masterpiece, I like to call it. The hardest part however, is making it seem so effortlessly.

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130 Words | 1 Pages

Call them free-spirited or spontaneous, one thing that I’ve learned about dancers, is that in general they are not particularly partial to organization and sticking to schedules. Don’t get me wrong, my peers in the pre-professional dance company I travel with exude talent and are generally professional, but when they are together they are together that passion undergoes a synergistic reaction resulting into chaos. Every time we attempt to form a conscious on a decision, I’m swiftly reminded why direct democracy is not a thing in America. Consequently, I was a bit apprehensive last year when I was one of the dancers put in charge of choreographing our goodbye dance to that year’s graduating seniors; a job that entitled wrangling all fifty-sixty

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2227 Words | 9 Pages

The deafening roar from the crowd filled my ears, as it had done so many times before. I reached down, picked up my ear pieces lying across my shoulders, and placed one in each ear. As the stagehand passed me the mic, my pulse quickened. Standing on the platform beneath the stage, waiting for it to rise, my shoulders tightened. Fourteen years, performing on stages around the world hadn't banished my pre-show jitters.

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535 Words | 3 Pages

Assistant Stage Manager The position of Assistant Stage Manager, or ASM, is one of the most difficult yet rewarding jobs in theatre tech. This is an authoritative position just under Stage Manager and Director, and it will require a great deal of time and patience from you. You are the right hand man to the Stage Manager throughout the production and are expected to follow due instructions in a timely manner. This expectation of you also applies to the Director.

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Major elements of the minstrel groups of the late 19th century, such as tap dancing, large group numbers, singing, and singing while dancing, led to the development of the grandiose world of Broadway acting. Brooks McNamara mentions in his article “A Theatre Historian’s Perspective” that Broadway served the general public as a source of entertainment only. He

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