Songs for a New World Submission Form

8/10/2019 Songs for a New World Submission Form

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/songs-for-a-new-world-submission-form 1/5

Songs for a New World Submission Form

Personal Details:

From: Kate O’Neill

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile No: 0871178634

Production Details:

Name of Musical: Songs for a New World

Writer and Composer: Jason Robert Brown

Rights Information: Waiting for a response from Music Theatre International (via

Sam)

Staging: Co-op or Anti-alcove, it can work in either

Other: Please Specify:

Estimated Running Time: Full running time 75mins – but aiming to cut at least 2songs so ideally 1 hour

Cast Size: 8

Ideal Run Week : Week 11

Ideal Time Slot : 7pm (or 5pm)

Production Team

Director(s): Kate O’NeillMusical Director (s): Seamus Ryan

Producer(s): Maeve Walsh, Lydia Todd

Production Manager: Shona McGarryStage Manager: Claudia Kinehan

Set Designer: Anna Macnamara Taylor

Lighting Designer: Nora Fisher

Sound Designer: Brian Fallon

Lighting and Sound Operator(s): TBC

Costume and Props Manager(s): Katy Nichols

General Crew Members: TBC

Accompanist : Conor Davis (drummer)

Anyone Else Involved in the Production:

Production Concepts

Brief Synopsis of Show:

This show is unsusal in that it does not have a script but is made up entirely of

individual songs. The muscial is divided up into two acts with eight songs in each half.

The musical revolves around the theme of a devisive moment, each song examining a

different example of this, ranging from the lamenting of passengers on a ship, a wife

taking extreme measures to reach her husband, to a soldier returning from war. Jason

Robert Brown described the show himself as "one moment. It's about hitting the wall

and having to make a choice or take a stand, or turn around and go back" , as such the

songs range in emotion and intensity, some are comedic, some are powerful and some



are tragic, but this gives great variety and means an audience is constantly anticipating

who they will meet on stage next. As well as the story of the songs differing, the musical

styles also differ offering pop, jazz and gospel style songs, providing yet more variety to

the show.

Outline your main directorial ideas for the show:

My main directorial concern is getting the vocal talent required for this show, and this isthe main reason I would ideally like to double the traditional 4 vocal lines to 8 cast

members, as many of the songs are solo performances and challenging in terms of range

and intensity, so spreading the load is a good idea. However, I do believe Players is the

place to attract this talent and once the cast is gathered, the show becomes very

interesting to direct due to the fact that each song presents a new story.

I would like to be able to show a clear differentiation between each character as the

song changes (something I feel other versions of this show were let down by), and I

intend to do this by having a costume rail on stage, where the characters will literally

change into character in front of the audience before beginning their performance. This

would only be a top layer change e.g. jackets.Due to the lack of an overarching plot I am intending to link 4 songs (all about different

elements in a relationship between a couple), to show how this relationship progresses,

and so the audience has at least two characters to follow through the show, when the

other characters are changing so frequently.

Another element I would like to add would be a screen, backlit to provide a silhouette

that could be used when a song is being performed referencing a character who is not

present. This person could be a silhoutte behind the screen as a visual cue. This could

also provide a great tool for lighting on songs such as “King of the World” where theman is in prison, potentially bars could be lit onto this screen.

Having different levels (e.g. a platform) on stage if possible would allow for a greater

range of movement and more options when it comes to staging the ensemble numbers.However there will also be interation between performers even in solo pieces, as many

songs such as “She Cries” offer great comedic potential, as this is a man complaining of amanipulative girlfriend, to have her on stage offers greater interpretation of the lyrics

then having him on stage alone. The level of interaction obviously depends on the song,

as with certain songs the impact would be stronger with a totally solo performance.

I would like to cut several songs that I feel are weaker than others, I already have at

least 2 in mind (with 2 others that I will probably end up cutting as well) resulting in a

12 song show and a running time of 1 hour.

Movement is also an aspect that could be brought very easily and effectively into songs

such as “The World Was Dancing”.

Discuss your/your set designer’s main ideas for set. How are you planning to use

the space? What will your set consist of?:

Many of the set design ideas link closely with directorial ideas so many of them are

listed above. Anna (set designer) also mentioned to me the idea of placing a set of

shelves sideways on the stage, firstly to provide another element for characters to sit on

and interact with, but also with the possibility of placing coloured gels and lighting them

to indicate different mood changes in the pieces. She had several ideas about what to do

with the frame, how to make it portable and potentially even having two frames. She

also thought having something resembling a balcony on the platform would be



necessary for setting the scene in several of the songs, and again she mentioned several

different ways in which this could be executed.

Discuss your/your costume designer’s ideas for costume. What are your

requirements? Where do you plan to source your costumes? Please give specific

details:

The costumes will all be sourced either from the cast members or the costumedepartment. Due to the frequent changes in character (and occasionally time period)

the idea is to have the cast members dressed in neutral coloured modern clothing

allowing the attention to be drawn to the items they put on in each number. Items such

as jackets and hats will be essential for establishing the identity of each new character,

and illustrating when a character is being repeated. For example in “Just One Step” arich wife is introduced, and so a fur coat, or a hat with a fascinator could illustrate this.

The song “Flying home” is about a returning soldier so an army jacket would be a

sufficient visual clue.

Discuss your/your lighting designer’s ideas for lighting. Will your show requirerentals? Please include details and examples where possible:

From Nora- Songs for a New World may require a few additional lamp rentals because it

encompasses such a broad range of activity and setting as well as a very large cast. The

plan would be a lot of wash and face light, hopefully something that could be easily

operated on sub-masters.

The lamps rented wouldn’t be anything other than supplemental to the ½ house stock

I’d be given; no U.V., extra birdies, faders or anything of the sort- it’s not Songs for a

Space Voyage.

Kate has requested a jail-cell bogo, which can be made from scratch if it cannot be

found in Players’ store. I would suggest €100 for a lighting budget for gels and the

potential rentals all from SLC.I’m more than willing to take on a first year to help me plan, rig, and opp.

Discuss your/your sound designer’s ideas for sound. How do you plan to use

sound as part of your production? Will you require microphones of amplified

music?:

Sound is obviously an integral part of the show and getting this right will be key in

creating a polished performance. Depending on the projection capability of the cast

members, microphones may or may not be necessary, although I suspect that they will

be needed, maximum of 4 headsets. A supplimentary budget may be required for these.

From Brian - The music will be made up of a keyboard player and ideally a full drum

kit, although only a cymbal and a base drum are neccesary. Sound design will be

provided via recordings edited on GarageBand, free sound effects and the music. These

will be played using Qlab through the desk via a mini jack adapter. One monitor will be

used for the keyboard and one DI box for the keyboard. The percussion can be miked.

We are also looking into the idea of bringing an electric drum kit to make turnarounds

easier.

Discuss how you plan to publicise your show. Don’t be afraid to be original. Do

you have any inventive ideas to draw a crowd?:

Well designed posters will be the first step to bringing attention to the show, so

ensuring they are eyecatching and well placed will serve to attract interest.



Filming rehearsals and putting together a trailer of snippits from the show will help to

promote the show and also advertise it to people who may not have heard of the

musical. The songs are fantasic and some are very catchy so it would be good to have

people listening and interested before the run.

Similarly an open mic night would be a great way to showcase perhaps one of the

ensemble numbers, and allow other talented musicians, comedians, poets and singers to

dispay their talents. This would be to the show’s advantage as these are the kind ofpeople who will be particularly interested to see a musical. This also gives another

opportunity to dispay the style of the show without giving away too much.

There is also the idea of putting on a kind of team game night similar to Cranium, so

drawing, acting and singing would be involved, and the fact that questions would be

musical theatre themed. This would be very interactive and allow people to show off

their knowledge and skills in a fun, mildly competitive environment.

Production Details

Please provide a detailed description of your budget breakdown.:

Ideal Income

€150 – From Players - as I am a first time director

€100 – Bakesale

€120 – Open mic night

€120 – Karaoke

Total: €490

Set : €150 (€60 on wood frame, €40 on sheet, €50 for platform)

Lights: €100 (for rentals and gels)

Costume: €20 but ideally free Props: €20 (again ideally free)Publicity: €15

Total: €305

Microphones: Maximum of 4….probably the most expensive item, I am not entirely

sure of the cost to hire these.

Outline your fundraising ideas for this production:

As well as the Open Mic night and interactive game night there would of course be a

bakesale (music themed of course) as I love baking and everyone needs cake, especially

coming up to Christmas. A Karaoke night is also something I’m considering, as it isappropriate to the show, and it is easy to host, and this is just one further way to

publicise the show and earn extra money to make the show as good as it can be.

Are you applying for a supplementary budget from DU players:

I am applying for a supplementary budget from Players in order to be able to rent the

four headset mikes I feel are necessary for the show. Whilst it would be possible to still

have a great show without them, in order to maintain the high production values I know

my team can achieve, microphones are essential. The reason behind this is it allows the

singers not to have to strain their voices trying to sing over the top of the keyboard,

instead they can focus on the quality of the sound and the performance. It also means

that their voices would not be tired out after a six show run, and straining the vocal



chords shouldn’t be a problem. Overall it results in a higher sound quality which isessential to a muscial with no dialogue. These microphones are expensive to rent, but I

hope I have outlined why the supplementary budget would really assist the overall

quality of the show.

Songs for a New World Submission Form

Documents

Transcript of Songs for a New World Submission Form