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So, You Wanna Be a Musical Theatre Geek?

5 Easy Tips to Fitting in with the Stage Kids

By Ray PluiePublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Ohio Theatre; 2013 From Wikimedia Commons (www.jrdphotography.com)

Since its discovery, music has been used for performance. Ceremonies, entertainment, you name it — music has played a major role. Fortunately for us, the 20th century decided to step up its game and present music to us in a whole new way: Musical Theatre.

Song and dance were never so beautifully married until the days of musical theatre and I am delighted to take you, the reader, through some of these beautiful masterpieces. I intend to use my future writings to further discuss and educate intrigued minds. Especially those who are just starting to get into the musical theatre scene and don't know where to start.

Musical theatre's history is vast and intimidating, but the best way to begin becoming an expert is to start!

So, here is your cliff notes entry into musical theatre:

Know Your Roots

Learning the history of musical theatre is key to belonging to the community. Why Andrew Lloyd Webber made Phantom less of an opera and more of a rock show speaks a lot to the 80s that saw its development. By knowing a basic timeline of what musicals were popular when, you can begin to understand why certain pieces gained popularity and how thy shaped the community at that time. I reference the 20th Century above when discussing musical theatre's history, but it honestly goes further back! Exploring these origins can make for some really worthwhile discoveries about the formula of theatre and new spins.

Check Out the Greats

Lyndy Franklin Smith,Michael Fatica, Meredith Akins — these are a few of my favourite swings! Swings can be fun to IMDb as they frequent in so many shows, but who I am really referring to here are the big names even "normies" recognize. Think Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, etc. You simply can't be a theatre kid if you don't know these people as they are the top dogs of their craft. By zipping through their bios, you can watch your musical knowledge unfold and be connected to the most extraordinary pieces!

Find a Niche Favourite and Learn Everything About it

Listen, Hamilton is a beautiful, fantastic masterpiece of a production, but you're not convincing anyone of your conviction when you tell everyone your favourite playwright is Lin Manuel Miranda because you don't know any others. A favourite pastime in the theatre community is sharing smaller productions with friends that aren't as widely celebrated and how shows like Heathers and Bat Boy: The Musical became the hits they are. Read everything you can, start a tumblr, and be the master of whatever small time musical speaks to you.

Do Not Rely on Movie Versions

Adaptations do not an experience make. Although some musicals don't do too badly when played out on the big screen, some are god awful and you'd never want to be turned off from a musical because Hollywood failed to project it positively nor would you want to belt out Russell Crowe's version of "Stars."

See Some Shows!

Book a trip or visit your local high school or community theatre. Supporting your community never felt so good as enjoying a classic Sondheim for under $20. Yes, Chicago as performed by 15 year-olds can be a little uncomfortable, but there are some real hidden talents at high school level and little mishaps can be charming and hilarious (although, honestly, some drama teachers should probably reevaluate their choices with asking youths to perform questionable pieces).

These are great starting points to making it big with the theatre kids or for conversation starters at your next cast party. What are you waiting for — there is no day, but today!

entertainment
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About the Creator

Ray Pluie

Biologically human.

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