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  • 1.  Starting a Musical Theatre Program

    Posted 04-18-2017 09:56
    I'm starting a musical theatre program at my school next year. I am SO EXCITED, you don't even know. I have an idea of what I want to do with them, but I was wondering if anyone who has an established program would be willing to share curriculum maps or schedules, lesson plans, good group songs, etc. I will have 18 girls (about 1/2 soprano and 1/2 alto, maybe 1 or 2 who can sing lower or belt) and 10 boys (5 tenors, 3 bases and 2 who are transgender and will probably sing a lower alto range).

    I'm starting the year with a "black list" song. Meaning they can sing ANYTHING from a musical and I cannot say no (I have a blacklist of shows that they have to avoid). I know I want to have them do projects on a specific actor and a specific composer. And they've begged me to do a cross gender unit, so I've obliged (I do it with my theatre 2-4 and they LOVE it.) They have to audition for our district competition as well.

    Many of these kids are beginners when it comes to musical theatre. And song/show suggestions to work with? Or what to avoid? I'm hoping to do a variety of things and incorporate actual choreography into some of the numbers.

    Any help is appreciated!

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    Heather Cribbs
    Theatre Director
    New Smyrna Beach High School
    New Smyrna Beach, FL
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  • 2.  RE: Starting a Musical Theatre Program

    Posted 04-18-2017 14:03
    I believe there's a History of Broadway musicals narrated by Julie Andrews, which I've seen recommended on here before.

    Couple of books that might be worth looking at include 'The Vocal Athlete', and 'One Voice: Integrating Singing and Theatre Voice Technique' and maybe 'Broadway Musicals: 101 of the Greatest Broadway Musicals of All Time' (doesn't appear to include the last 5-10 years?)

    Have fun and congratulations!

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    Phillip Goodchild
    Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
    Ruskin FL
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Starting a Musical Theatre Program

    Posted 04-19-2017 11:00
    I picked up a book a few years ago called "Acting the Song: Performance Skills for the Musical Theatre" that looks like a great resource for a class such as yours. I've not been able to use it yet, but I am impressed with the material and how it is designed for classroom use with access to downloadable worksheets that correspond to the exercises in the book. Another advantage -- the book is reasonably priced on Amazon. I also noticed that the 2nd edition came out last year. I hope this is of some help. Good luck!

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    David Sturdevant
    Drama Teacher
    Middleburg Academy
    Middleburg VA
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    Original Message


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