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Welcome back.

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In this session,
we'll be exploring the foundations

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of theater, which include key terms
and some key people.

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Today, we'll focus on the creative team,
the foundation

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of the production of a musical.
At the core of the creative team

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are the Director, Music Director,
and the Choreographer.

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The Director is in charge
of the big picture.

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He or she develops the artistic vision
or overall concept,

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coordinates all the creative elements
of a production, and chooses the actors.

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A process called casting.

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The director also helps actors
identify their objective,

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or what their character
wants in each moment of the play.

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The director stages the play by giving
actors our blocking.

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Blocking is an actor's movement
around the stage

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during a scene,
including entrances and exits.

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The director crafts
the blocking to focus the audience's

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attention toward
the most important moments of the story.

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Regardless of where on stage actors move,

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we have to remember to cheat out.

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When I position
my body toward the audience,

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the audience can see my

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face, which also helps them hear
what I'm saying.

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It's important to speak clearly
using good diction and to project,

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which means sending your voice
all the way to the back of the audience.

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Actors rely on their director
to help us practice and achieve

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these acting foundations.

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Now, let's look at the common vocabulary

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for parts of the stage.

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The creative team helps us sing and dance,
all while acting on stage.

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So, it's important

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we all speak the same language
when it comes to parts of the stage.

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Stages used to be raked
or shaped like a ramp

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so the audience could see them.

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Thankfully,

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someone realized that the audience
could be raked instead of the stage.

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But because we started with the raked
stage, walking to the front of the stage

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or toward
the audience is moving downstage.

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While walking toward
the back of the stage is moving upstage.

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All stage movement to the left
or right is from the actor's perspective.

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Stage right.

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Stage left.

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Center stage.

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You actually have nine parts of the stage.

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And that is: Downstage right,

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Downstage center, Downstage left,

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Upstage right, Upstage center, Upstage left,

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Center stage, Stage right and stage left.

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Actors come up with some useful standard

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abbreviations to make it easier
to notate blocking in our scripts.

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Check it out.

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The Music Director is in charge

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of teaching the songs to the actors
and the orchestra.

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Just as the director executes
the playwright's intentions

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through directing actors'
interpretation of the dialogue,

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the music director executes the intentions
of the composer and lyricist

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through directing singers'
interpretation of music and lyrics.

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Here's Karl Jurman,

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the Music Director
of The Lion King on Broadway,

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with some thoughts on music direction.

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We really start with the notes
of the composer,

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orchestration concepts that we have to do,

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and we try to teach the actors,

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uh,

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with proper, proper music skills, good pitch,

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good rhythm,

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uhm,

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and good sense of tone
when they're singing.

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That's what we always try to do first.

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We take the music
and we try to learn it

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note perfectly.

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Music directors rely on foundational music
concepts to do their job.

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They use terms to describe dynamics:

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piano (soft)

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and forte (loud).

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You can use these two words
with mezzo- (medium) or

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You can use these two words
with mezzo, medium, or -issimo.

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-issimo (very).

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Mezzo piano means medium soft.

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Fortissimo means very loud.

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Dynamics can change during
a note or a phrase.

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Crescendo, moving from soft to loud,

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and decrescendo, moving from loud to soft

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are like turning the volume up or down.

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Other terms describe articulation.

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Other terms describe articulation:

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staccato (choppy, detached notes)

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and legato (smooth fluid notes)

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add texture to a song.

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Still other terms describe tempo:

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presto (fast)

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allegro (brisk) and adagio (slow)

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Slow. Composers will include
some of these foundations in the music.

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Composers will include some of
these foundations in the music.

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Here are some examples
from Hakuna Matata.

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The Choreographer is in charge

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of creating and teaching the dance numbers
in the musical.

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Here's Garth Fagan, the Choreographer
of The Lion King on Broadway.

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My job is to take the dances

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that tell stories,

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that enliven the stories,

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that the singers told or the actors told.

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So you get a different perspective on it.

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You know, Nala and Simba are in love,

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and then they dance it by embracing
each other,

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Simba lifting up Nala.

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I want a strong, sharp movement.

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I want a soft,
lovely little kind of movement, you know?

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That's my job,
to get that out of the dancers.

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Then we have to deal with
where you put it in space.

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Is it going to be upstage left, where

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it's a very strong place on the stage?

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Is it going to be right down,
front and center, on top of the audience,

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right in the audience's face?

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And then how to move it
from one area to the other.

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So it looks like that's
how lions would move.

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That's how hyenas would move.

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That is the job
of a choreographer: to entertain,

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enlighten,

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educate audiences.

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All of those things.

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Garth mentioned foundations
of choreography, which include

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Levels: High,

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medium,

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low,

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Size: Big,

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small,

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Shape: Angular,

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round.

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And Quality:

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Fluid or sharp.

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Bouncy

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or grounded.

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Heavy

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or light.

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Today, you will all have the chance

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to practice being directors, music
directors, and choreographers.

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But first, you're going
to have to learn a song.

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How about "Hakuna Matata"?

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It's a wonderful phrase.

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Indeed.

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Let's practice using call and response,

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then we'll sing along with the track.

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Okay,

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I go, then you go.

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Syndee will sing along with you.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Hakuna Matata.

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What a wonderful phrase.

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What a wonderful phrase.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Ain't no passing craze.

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Ain't no passing craze.

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It means no worries.

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It means no worries.

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For the rest of your days.

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For the rest of your days.

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It's our problem-free.

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It's our problem-free.

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Philosophy.

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Philosophy.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Okay.
Nailed it.

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Let's try it with music all together.

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Hakuna Matata.

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What a wonderful phrase.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Ain't no passing craze.

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It means no worries

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for the rest of your days.

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It's our problem-free,

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philosophy.

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Hakuna Matata.

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Today, we've looked at the foundational jobs
of the creative team

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and learned some key terms
for blocking, music, and choreography.

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Now you'll put these into practice
as you music direct and choreograph

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"Hakuna Matata" and direct
the scene that leads into the song.

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Break a leg!