The Musical Director's Handbook is a comprehensive guide for musicians who want to learn more about Musical Direction in Theatre. Chapter by chapter, this handbook explores the different skills required of the Musical Director, from the early stages of score learning and pre-production, through auditions and rehearsals, right up to opening night and beyond. As well as offering help and advice, based on the writer's own experience working in amateur, youth and professional theatre, each chapter contains exercises and suggestions for further study. Whether you are approaching this as a keen amateur, a school or college music teacher, or a professional musician, the Musical Director's handbook with help to ensure that your journey to opening night is a happy and fulfilling one.

The theatre director is one of the most critical roles in a successful drama company, yet there are no formal qualifications required for entry into this profession. This practical guide for emerging theatre directors answers all the key questions from the very beginning of your career to key stages as you establish your credentials and get professionally recognized. It analyzes the director's role through relationships with the actors, author, designer, production manager and creative teams and provides vital advice for "on-the-job" situations where professional experience is invaluable. The book also provides an overview of the many approaches to acting methodology without focusing on any in particular to allow the director to develop their own unique methods of working with any actor's style. Each chapter includes these key features: * Introduces important theories, identifies practitioners and provides key reading to provide an overview of historic and current practice. * Interviews with leading practitioners and emerging directors. * Suggested exercises to develop the director's own approach and practical skills.

This comprehensive guide, from the author of Acting in Musical Theatre, will equip aspiring directors with all of the skills that they will need in order to guide a production from beginning to end. From the very first conception and collaborations with crew and cast, through rehearsals and technical production all the way to the final performance, Joe Deer covers the full range. Deer’s accessible and compellingly practical approach uses proven, repeatable methods for addressing all aspects of a production. The focus at every stage is on working with others, using insights from experienced, successful directors to tackle common problems and devise solutions. Each section uses the same structure, to stimulate creative thinking: Timetables: detailed instructions on what to do and when, to provide a flexible organization template Prompts and Investigations: addressing conceptual questions about style, characterization and design Skills Workshops: Exercises and ‘how-to’ guides to essential skills Essential Forms and Formats: Including staging notation, script annotation and rehearsal checklists Case Studies: Well-known productions show how to apply each chapter’s ideas Directing in Musical Theatre not only provides all of the essential skills, but explains when and how to put them to use; how to think like a director.

Marshall's book is a greatly beneficial resource for music education students and teachers alike, giving an insightful glimpse into the range of possibilities within a music educator's career. Musicians and actors with varying levels of skill and experience will be able to grow simultaneously through Marshall's innovative teaching plans. Through collaborative techniques, steps in the book serve to educate both director and student. Thoroughly illustrated with charts, diagrams, and scores, Strategies for Success in Musical Theatre is an ideal companion for all who work with school and community based musical theater productions. - Herbert Marshall is Associate Professor in Music Education at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and serves on the editorial board of Research and Issues in Music Education. He maintains an active schedule as a clinician, consultant, adjudicator, and conductor, and teaches workshops for the Gordon Institute of Music Learning.

The Oxford Handbook of The American Musical offers new and cutting-edge essays on the most important and compelling issues and topics in the growing, interdisciplinary field of musical-theater and film-musical studies. Taking the form of a "keywords" book, it introduces readers to the concepts and terms that define the history of the musical as a genre and that offer ways to reflect on the specific creative choices that shape musicals and their performance on stage and screen. The handbook offers a cross-section of essays written by leading experts in the field, organized within broad conceptual groups, which together capture the breadth, direction, and tone of musicals studies today. Each essay traces the genealogy of the term or issue it addresses, including related issues and controversies, positions and problematizes those issues within larger bodies of scholarship, and provides specific examples drawn from shows and films. Essays both re-examine traditional topics and introduce underexplored areas. Reflecting the concerns of scholars and students alike, the authors emphasize critical and accessible perspectives, and supplement theory with concrete examples that may be accessed through links to the handbook's website. Taking into account issues of composition, performance, and reception, the book's contributors bring a wide range of practical and theoretical perspectives to bear on their considerations of one of America's most lively, enduring artistic traditions. The Oxford Handbook of The American Musical will engage all readers interested in the form, from students to scholars to fans and aficionados, as it analyses the complex relationships among the creators, performers, and audiences who sustain the genre.

The musical voice of Texas presents itself as vast and diverse as the Lone Star State’s landscape. According to Casey Monahan, “To travel Texas with music as your guide is a year-round opportunity to experience first-hand this amazing cultural force….Texas music offers a vibrant and enjoyable experience through which to understand and enjoy Texas culture.” Building on the work of The Handbook of Texas Music that was published in 2003 and in partnership with the Texas Music Office and the Center for Texas Music History (Texas State University-San Marcos), The Handbook of Texas Music, Second Edition, offers completely updated entries and features new and expanded coverage of the musicians, ensembles, dance halls, festivals, businesses, orchestras, organizations, and genres that have helped define the state’s musical legacy. · More than 850 articles, including almost 400 new entries· 255 images, including more than 170 new photos, sheet music art, and posters that lavishly illustrate the text· Appendix with a stage name listing for musicians Supported by an outstanding team of music advisors from across the state, The Handbook of Texas Music, Second Edition, furnishes new articles on the music festivals, museums, and halls of fame in Texas, as well as the many honky-tonks, concert halls, and clubs big and small, that invite readers to explore their own musical journeys. Scholarship on many of the state’s pioneering groups and the recording industry and professionals who helped produce and promote their music provides fresh insight into the history of Texas music and its influence far beyond the state’s borders. Celebrate the musical tapestry of Texas from A to Z!

In-text URLs can be accessed via the “Features” tab of the publisher’s website. Conductors face a multitude of hurdles as they strive to obtain a foothold in the professional world. Once they have attained a position, there are obstacles both on and off the podium to keeping that position as well as advancing in the profession. Founding conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, pedagogue, and frequent guest conductor for both pops and classical concerts, Carl Topilow is in a unique position to help conductors navigate their careers. The Orchestral Conductor’s Career Handbook takes readers through the step-by-step process of establishing a career in orchestral conducting. Through his experiences with professional, pops, conservatory, community, youth, summer festival, opera and ballet orchestras, Topilow provides practical tips for conductors of any orchestra type and at any level of their development. Filled with personal stories from Topilow’s career, the handbook provides insights on an array of topics, including applying for conducting programs and conducting positions, connecting with audiences, developing interpersonal relations within the orchestra family, starting your own orchestra, interacting with donors, and beyond. It also presents fresh ideas for programming, rehearsing, and approaches to standard repertoire pieces.