We loved Aida! I have done and will continue to do my fair share of shows that are easily identifiable with students and the community, but one of the best things about Aida was being able to take a show that only a handful of students had heard of and getting them to fall in love with it. Students, parents, community members, etc. already have feelings about Grease, Guys & Dolls, Hairspray, but the only students who new anything about Aida were students who had taken my musical theatre class-- and at that they knew very little. By the time the opening of the show arrived, they were in love with the music, they respected the storytelling, and felt the power of being "artists." They knew they had
created something, not copied something.
That love of the show, was my marketing strategy. Get the students to love the story and have them get people to the show-- not to see them on stage, but to have others experience the story. We had students from other schools that came to see every showing, even though they only planned on coming opening night. We had a fair number of community members who were familiar with the opera and thought that is what we were doing. When they would call me to confirm and ask how a high school was going to do the opera, I would explain a bit about this version of Aida as a musical. All of those calls resulted in ticket sales-- some loved the opera so much they had to see the retelling, some were just curious, and when I said Elton John some were sold. I found a way to talk all of those opera lovers into audience members.
I agree with Lisa that show's costumes and set didn't present a problem and you could go lots of different ways with the design elements of the show. Our pit band loved playing the music and the variety of music styles made sure they were learning just as much as the ensemble members and soloists.
If you decide to select Aida, I'd recommend figuring out exactly what the beginning and end mean to you and how important those moments are to your concept. I had cast members engaged in the museum from the time the house opened. Our museum extended throughout the house and we had the cast of museum goers interact with the audiences about the pieces we had on display.
When we announced we were doing the show, a colleague from another program in the area said, "Oh, you must already have an Aida." We did not. There were certainly a handful of students who we thought might be possible Aida's but we just trusted that it would happen, and it did. Over and over again, this show proved itself to be that kind of experience, one where we could learn to trust our preparation and belief in what we were doing.
ENJOY!!
Harvey
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J. Harvey Stone
Teacher/Director
Williamsburg VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-14-2018 10:16
From: Max Dashner
Subject: Aida
Greetings all, I am considering performing Aida for our spring musical. Has anyone performed this cool show lately? How was it received by the audience? How did the kids like it? How did you market it?
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Max Dashner
Director/Drama Teacher
Decatur AL
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