Performance Report 2

This performance report is about the “Side Show: The Musical” performance held in the UT Dallas University Theatre and directed by Kathryn Evans, with Winston Stone directing an all-student orchestra. The performance entitles a variety of scenes about two conjoined twins named Daisy and Violet Hilton, who make a change from being a circus act to becoming famous stage performers in the 1930s. This performance was made from Bill Russell’s book, lyrics and Henry Krieger music; the composer of Dreamgirls. As stated in the program notes the, “Side Show opened on Broadway in fall 1997 and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1998 due to featuring popular numbers, "I Will Never Leave You" and "Who Will Love Me As I Am".”(Program Notes)

Throughout the entire performance all the singers/actors were very involved and key to the performance. On the day that I attend the, “Side Show: The Musical” performance was a free public event in which I saw mostly UTD students but a small amount of faulty and parents as well. The performance itself was open to outsiders of the music-culture and the people in attendance to gain knowledge from the event are the outsiders. The observers with music backgrounds and knowledge about the skit are the insiders. As a result of such a popular performance there was a full house and lots of people who don’t usually attend events. Even before a scene was finished the audience would start clapping and cheering. For the first time I could really feel the energy from the crowd. After intermission there were still people coming in to see the side show. My daughter and boyfriend actually came doing intermission to see the show. When the “Side Show: The Musical” was over there were long and loud cheers from the crowd as each performer came back out to bow. In the music performance there was a mixture of races and a range of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass singers. As far as rhythm goes most of the songs were fairly brief in clock time and held constant harmony. There was a live orchestra playing throughout the entire side show performance. The director of the orchestra, Winston Stone signaled the loudness of the music and helped to maintain the melody. The texture of the overall performance would be polyphony because there is more than one independent melody that is occurring at the same time with a musical composition that uses simultaneous, largely independent, melodic parts, lines, or voices. Some of the musical instruments played was a piano in which is consider the resonator, drums, saxophone, tambourine, flute, and many other instruments. The two twins in the show sung most of the high pitches and lead most of the songs. There were a total of about twenty-five singers/actors and an all-student orchestra. The orchestra was set at the back of the stage so that it wouldn’t interfere with the actors moving and changing the set. All of the musicians had books with lyrics of there music to keep track while performing. The actors/singers wore a variety of costumes depending on the setting of the skit. All of the actors/singers costumes were colorful, neat, and easily changeable. The performance consisted of both male and female actors and musicians. All of the musicians were dressed in black and white business attire. I noticed that a lot of the young lady wore loud color lipstick. In this performance the actors/ singers used props such as crates, signs, glass cups, and other objects to bring additional expression to there performance. Sense the performance was held in the University Theater the performance was able to be more interesting because of the special effects with the light, the selection of different props, and how well the space of the stage was used. On Thursday, April 8, 2010 around eight o’clock I attended the “Side Show: The Musical” performance which was held in the University Theatre. I attend the above event on that day because I wanted to see the event when it first premiered and it was convenient for me as a student because I was already on campus getting off of work. The performance experience of UT-Dallas’ production was enormously energetic with cheers and giggles from the audience because it was opening night. The setting of the “Side Show: The Musical” was set based in the “depression-era of the 1930s and culminating at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at the Cotton Bowl.” “The Side Show examines what it means to be different and find your place in the world.” (Program notes)

In conclusion, if you were unable to make it to such a wonderful event you really missed out on a fantastic performance but I imagine that you can now acquire a sense of the “Side Show: The Musical” performance from reading my performance report.

Works Cited: Evans, Kathryn. Stone, Winston. Program notes. Side Show: The Musical. April 8, 2010. Richardson: University Theatre. (Evans) (Stone)

Last Blog -Rock

The type of sub-genre of rock that I choose for my last journal entry is power metal. For my views that are unfamiliar with this type of power metal form of music, it’s a style of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, and often within symphonic context. The sub-genre of power metal cultural origins originated in Germany during the time period of the early to mid 1980’s. Power metal it’s self is more upbeat than most metal genres in which taking heavy influence from heavy metal and speed metal. When listening to power metal you can hear that it is melodic and takes lots of energy to perform. Though the music is fast in tempo it is still understandable and has meaning.

Some instruments played in power metal are electric guitar, drums, and piano. All of the instruments have a strong and important sound when it comes to power mental music. Electric guitar is the front instrument of power metal. Some sources say, “Power metal is highly focused on the vocalist, with "clean" vocals being much more prevalent than the growling vocals often associated with death metal and black metal.” The drums in power metal give lots of volume and provide all elements of metal with the status of being music. A huge majority of power metal often expresses high-pitched vocals, melodic lead guitar, and a fast pace tempo.

Music is wonder and helps in life sometimes because it’s relatable for people living in today society. I hope you enjoyed my blog and can to be more diverse when it comes to music also. To conclude my last blog entry I would like to say thanks for taking the time to read my entries.

Blog 11

Today’s blog will be blog eleven which is about the Gullah people’s history, traditions, and culture. For my viewers who may not know about the Gullah people here is some history. The Gullah people are a distinctive group of black African Americans from South Carolina and Georgia who live in the southeastern area of the United States. The Gullah people live in little farming and fishing communities along the Atlantic coastal plain and on the chain of Sea Islands which runs corresponding to the coast. When watching the video clip about the Gullah people it was said that there ancestors came to the Island on slave ships as slaves to work in the plantations. “Between about 1750 and 1800, Bance Island was one of the major slave trading operations on the Rice Coast of West Africa.” Many Gullah people who come back to visit the Island today see how it’s being taken over with golf, tennis, and other courts for entertainment. The South Carolina and Georgia colonists in due course adopted a structure of rice cultivation that drew deeply on the labor patterns and technical knowledge of their black African slaves. As heard in the YouTube clip Gullah people are being forced to one part of the Island because of the amusement like park it being turned into. One person on the clip stated that she can hear the crying of her ancestors because that can’t rest in peace due to grave cites being dug up to make golf courts. As far as there music culture goes it’s a very abnormal in a way. The actual sing is not of good pitch or harmony but the music has rhythm. There are many membranophones such as different drums, tambourines, and ball like drum that shakes. The Gullah people enjoy lots of dance in the music culture and hand movements to represent there ancestors. They also use poem like lyrics in there music.

Performance Report 1

This performance report is about the “Shakespeare in Song” performance by the UT Dallas chamber singers and directed by Kathryn Evans. The performance entitles different plays with specific acts such as Othello, The Tempest, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and The Merchant of Venice. This performance was made from three sources which are the authentic songs, the solo songs of Roger Quilter a British composer, and the choral arrangements of the songs of Shakespeare by Juilliard graduate Matthew Harris. (Program notes)

Throughout the music performance there was a mixer of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass singers. Some of the songs sung were art songs which are poems set to music. As far as rhythm goes the songs were brief in clock time and held steady tempos. The piano player produced the beat of the songs as the choir sung along. The director and the piano player, Michael McVay signaled the loudness of the music. In the song “For the rain it rainth everyday” there was a fast pace and sung in different pitches by male and female singers. The texture of the overall performance would be homophony because there was a single piano melody accompanied by harmony of different pitches of voice. The musical instruments played was a piano in which is consider the resonator. The leader of the song in Hamlet looked as if it was hard to produce his notes so he used hand and body movements to produce quality sound. The women in the show sung most of the high pitches. I perceived that in the song entitled, “A winter tale” repetition occurred in the lyrics. Twelfth Night, Act II and scene two was harmonized without the piano player. There were a total of about twenty-five performers and one piano player. The piano player sat up straight on his stool throughout the entire performance and watched the director to see when to come in doing the performance. All of the performers had books with lyrics of there music to keep track while performing. I noticed that one of the singing female performers was blind because her music book was different then everyone else. She followed along using her fingers on this small type writer shaped object. The performers consisted of both male and female performers. All of the performers were dressed in Shakespeare like costumes, even the director and piano player. About six of the male characters had on hats and the females whore there hair down with flower head bands. The ladies also whore dresses or shirts while the males had on long black socks with black shoes and capri pants that stopped at the knee. In this performance the actors/ singers used props such as a beer bottle to bring more expression in to there performance. The performance as a whole an appreciative play with both talking and singing. Throughout the performance all the singers/actors didn’t perform in each scene. When the performance went from act to act the leaders of that song would step down from the staircase set and come to the front of the stage to direct attention to themselves from the audience. In Merchant of Venice: Act III, Scene 2; the girl actor looked down at her lyrics and never looked up at the boy who she was talking to but glanced at the audience a few times. The “Shakespeare in Song” performance was a public event in which I saw mostly UTD students but a few faulty and parents also. The performance was open to outsiders of the music-culture. The people with Shakespeare’ music backgrounds and knowledge are the insiders. People there to just observe for any reason are the outsiders. As a reaction of the performance there was a young lady who I detected slept through the whole performance, but everyone else in the audience looked content as a whole. When a scene was finished the audience would start clapping and the director would bow. After intermission there were a few people to walk out early which were noticeable because there wasn’t a full house. There were giggles and smiles from the audience to the performers. On Friday, March 26, 2010 around eight o’clock I attended the “Shakespeare in Song” performance which was held in the Jonsson Performance Hall. I attend the above event on that day because it was convenient for me as a student. The performance experience of UT-Dallas’ production was fairly energetic with cheers from the audience because it was opening night.

In conclusion, if you were not able to make it to this event I expect that you can now get a sense of the “Shakespeare in Song” performance.

Works Cited: Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Shakespeare in Song. March 26, 2010. Richardson: Jonsson Performance Hall. (Evans)