Storybookers

National Theatre Wins Court Battle

storybookersblog:

Being a theatre director I will be following, with interest, the recent developments on the National Theatre’s London production of War Horse.

Five musicians have failed to win a High Court order against the National Theatre (NT) after being made redundant from the West End production and replaced by a prerecorded soundtrack.

The NT said the decision to cut live music from the show was made for artistic and financial reasons.  Very interesting!  War Horse is one of the National’s most successful productions in recent years, having been seen by more than 2.5 million people worldwide.  But could it be feeling the pinch at a time when many other West End productions are experiencing a boom in ticket sales?  

On the Artistic front they believe that as War Horse is a play with music rather than a musical production it doesn’t warrant a real orchestra. 

So should musicians be worried about this latest development?  

Until these sackings the London production of War Horse, Currently running at The New London Theatre, was the only version worldwide to make use of real musicians.   This latest move puts War Horse London in line with other ‘play with music’ productions that have opted for backing tracks.  However, This might be one of the first to decide, after a 5 year run, that it’s better off without live music.

Theatre - a tough old business

As a theatre director myself I know tough decisions have to be made.  The Last play I put on, Where’s Norman Beaton Gone?, was also a play with music.  On that occasion I used prerecorded music.  This was the first run of a new play by a new writer.  So finding musicians who would play Ska, Reggae and Soca music on the budget we had was going to be a stretch.  Plus, one of the Off-West End venues it played, the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, wouldn’t have been big enough of house a band and the 10-strong cast.  Strangely it was a potential backer who suggested that taking it forward we should use live music - they’re usually looking to the pennies and keeping the costs down. 

The play I’m currently working on is also a 'with music’ production.  It’s set in the1950s against the backdrop of the New York, Jazz and Blues scene.  The question is; Will producers out there think, as the National do, that retaining artists is an unnecessary expense? Only time will tell.

The War Horse Musicians Fight on

The musicians, in the case of War Horse, took legal action last week following the theatre’s decision to call an end their contribution. 

Neyire Ashworth, Andrew Callard, Jonathan Eddie, David Holt and Colin Rae - who had been with the hit show since it’s opening in 2009 - had their roles cut back in March 2013 to just a few minutes per performance. Their contracts were terminated last month when live orchestrated music was cut from the production. The five had continued to show up for nightly performances but were turned away.

David Reade QC said the theatre was entitled to terminate their contracts as there was no longer an orchestra in the production, saying War Horse was a play that featured music - rather than a musical production.  He added, “The orchestra was not an integral part of the play”. The Theatre is said to be delighted with the High Court’s decision.

The NT felt it necessary to emphasise that War Horse has always been, and will continue to be, a play in which music plays an integral part, with a recorded orchestral under-score and central roles for folk musicians who perform live folk songs and choral numbers.

The musicians’ Union,  which is providing legal support to the five performers said it was “disappointed”  by the outcome.  Horace Trubridge, MU assistant general secretary, said “The fight was far from over” and added, “Had we won the interim injunction, we would have established a new legal precedent and this was possibly our best chance of ensuring our members’ contracts were honoured.“

Is This The End of The West End Feel good Era?

Surprisingly West End Shows have been having a right old time thanks to the economic downturn.  People in search of some relief in this time of woe have been seeking solace in live theatre.  And West End Theatres have seen their coffers swelling.  According to Society of London Theatres figures (SOLT) gross box office returns rose to more than £585 million, up 11% on 2012.  Attendances also increased, by 4%, up to 14.6 million. Could it be that that War Horse is feeling the pinch when other West End production are benefitting from a boom?

Maybe the musicians’ £1,200 - £1,500 a week salary was taking too big a bite out of War Horse’s £1 million budget.  Well, they seem to think so and I couldn’t possibly comment.  However, less understandable are the artistic reason’s.  An NT spokesperson, states that the producers and directors of War Horse did not believe that the musicians could contribute positively to the play and that it was "better off without them”.  They’ve obviously had a big change of heart since they first mounted the production, which originally sported a full orchestra 

They added: “The National Theatre’s artistic judgement, made by those with the expertise to assess such matters, is that a live band does not provide the same quality and impact of performance as can be produced through the use of recorded music and professional actors.”

What’s The Future For Live Music In Theatre?

The question is, will the NT and others continue to use live music or take to the current trend of using backing tracks?

I’ve seen a few productions recently that have featured live music.  A couple were at the National.  One being Elmina’s Kitchen, directed by artistic director Nicholas Hytner and, more recently, the James Baldwin Classic The Amen Corner directed by his soon to be successor Rufus Norriss.  In the case of The Amen Corner, which has often been mistakenly categorised as a musical,  the live music was a key element of the piece.  But as I sit and think about it now, I’m sure that had the production transferred the same financial and artistic dilemmas would have reared their heads.

For me, it’s sad that, in the performing arts, performing artist are always the ones who suffer in these matters.  Jobs in the industry are hard to come by so anything that cuts down on the possibility of a creative individual earning a crush will always hit hard. 

Before I go - I thoroughly enjoyed War Horse when I saw it a few months ago.  If you haven’t seen it yet I’d encourage you to get along to see it before they decide they don’t need puppets or actors.

Posted 523 weeks ago

About Me


How To Sing With Greater Confidence

Posted by Norman Bailey on Friday, April 18, 2014 Under: Voice Works


So you've set your mind on doing more singing.    But how's it going?
 
Have you set to it with full force and are you now singing the songs you want to sing where and when you want to sing them.  Or are you finding that your first few steps have been a little hesitant and faltering.  Well you'll be comforted by the fact that this is normal.

There are many reasons why you are not, as yet, totally in tune with your voice.  Some reasons are universal and others are more personal to you.   Let's take a look at what might be standing in your way.

1 Getting Started
The Root of the problem
 
We humans are creatures of habit, so change, even for the good, may cause some degree of anxiety or self-doubt. If not halted in your tracks your anxieties may in some way slow your progress. 
 
There are a host of reasons for your overcautious behaviour: 

• Preoccupation with negative past experiences 
 
• Fear of failure or success
 
• The inability to find time in your busy schedule 
 
• Misplaced feelings of self-preservation
 
• Negative feelings about your ability 
 
You may relate to one or more of these inhibiting patterns or perhaps there are other reasons for your lack of motivation. If all your reasons are not listed then stop for a moment, get a pen and paper and write them down. Now ask yourself; should these or any other reason get in the way of you enjoying the joys of singing for the rest of your life?

 First Refusal - Understanding why you hesitate 

There’s a story plotting technique that you may or maybe not be familiar with. It’s called The Hero’s Journey. It outliness the arc a character follows from the story’s opening through to its resolution. It’s been used all mannner of tale, from the legends of antiquity right up to the latest Bond movie.

 
This technique has also been used in the field of personal development.  The part I’d like to draw your attention to is in the early section. It’s called ‘Refusal to answer the call’. This is where, like you, the hero has received a call to adventure – in your case it’s the chance to improve  your life/career through using your voice with greater confidence. But instead of moving forward on to new horizons you find yourself in a kind of holding pattern unable to take the next step. 
 
You may not even realise that this is the case. You have answered the call, haven’t you?  You’ve made the decision but you’re too busy right now so can’t find the time to fully engage with it. Or, maybe you feel you’re fooling yourself and perhaps the best decision is not to do it after all. Who are you to think you’re a singer anyway?  And so the indecision drags on and before you know it days become weeks and weeks become months. 
 
The problem is that the longer you wait the greater the chances are that you will refuse to answer the call altogether. Thereby missing out on developing a highly beneficial skill that could change your life.

So what's the answer?

How do you make a positive start?

Maybe this will help

Try a change of perception

Take a look at how do you think about singing and ask yourself if it's helping you move forward?

The problem is that Western society's view of where singing belongs has become very narrow.  Singing has been put in the box marked 'Entertainment'.  Which then puts you one of two boxes.  
  1. Passive - Other sing - You listen
  2. Active: You sing - Others listen

However before the time when non-musical record excecs were able to exploit the other peoples talents we would gather together and sing for pleasure.But gone are the days when people gathered together for a spot of communal singing.   Now singer are special chosen people.  They perform on stages, sell millions of singles and get through to the live finals on TV talent shows.

A singing pupil of mine told me of a recent incident that shook his confidence.   It was about an encounter he had with a young lady he was obviously bring to impress.  On telling her that he was a singer she told him he couldn't be because she'd never heard of him.  And so it is, for her and many others like her, that singers are people in the charts.  They are not normal people who sing for pleasure and the sake of their are.  

I was having coffee with a songwriting friend of mine last week and he started talking, quite apologetically, about his singing.  He opened with, "I'm not a singer, Ella Fitzgerald is a singer".  Yes she is.  Can't argue with that.  But she is a legend and if that's the yardstick that you use to measure who is a singer and who isn't then you'd have to rule out most of the known singers in the world.

If this is your frame of reference and and you're always comparing yourself to others you will always comes up short.  Pretty much everyone can find someone they think is a better singer than they are.  Apparently even the great Ella Fitzgerald didn't have any confidence in her own singing.  Her last words were "it was the songs that they loved.

This isn't that surprising.  You'll often hear well respected actors saying that they can't stand watching themselves on screen.  And I'm sure that the first time you heard your speaking voice played back to you you were a bit taken aback by the sound of it.  It's natural.  But as people can often be their worst critics I'd warn against being too harsh, especially at the beginning.

I advise that when starting out on improving your voice and building a great love and understanding of your voice that you listen with an open heart.  This way you will hear what you are doing right as well as things that you can improve.

So A simple change in attitude, in which you see yourself as someone who has the full rights to sing out loud and proud will do wonders for you.


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