Audition Scripts Posted!

Hi everyone. Actors, the scripts for all characters are posted now at the auditions page. Some of the minor characters will be auditioned in groups, so I have "student" scripts. I hope this will help you to be well prepared for the auditions on September 29th! That was earlier than I had expected!
I'm finishing up drafts of "I Need to Talk to You" and "Gypsies Are..." Will attach to the Celtx project when they reach full draft stage.
Chris


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Now playing: The Beatles - Oh! Darling
via FoxyTunes

Chorus: Your vocal audition material is ready!

I've posted the material for two songs that the potential members of the chorus will sing on Sept. 29th for their auditions. I have parts for sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses: both the music and the printed score. The songs are "Thinking of Learning" and "In a United State." Please get the music and start to learn it if you want to join the chorus. I think it would be good to get an idea of who can dance and who can't, too. If you want to be the dance captain, pick a song from the Celtx file and get one ready to do at auditions.
I'll work soon on other songs for other characters. The biggest singing parts are Crystal, Nikki, and Lucinda. The most important supporting singers are the students Louise, Shirley, Bethany, Denny, Oliver, and Andrea. There are a bunch of smaller solos, too.
I'll also prepare scripts for the speaking characters to learn. They may need to learn lines in dialogue. You can hold your script during auditions if you need to, but I'd be impressed if you don't need to. . . :-)
More as it becomes available. . . !
I've finished the words for "Traditions" and you can see them in the Celtx file. Please send any comments or suggestions you might have, cast!
Best wishes
Chris

Overture. . .House lights down. . .

Hello cast and crew, this is Chris O'Brien. This blog will document our experiences as we produce a new musical: Crystal.
Today I got most of the material for the lyrics to one of the key songs: "Traditions." It's a song that is sung by Lucinda, Crystal's mother. It introduces key points in Romani ("Gypsy") history and culture. I'm really looking for a strong alto singer for this character!
I'm working on cuts for the script now; I know it's too long as it is in its draft form, so I'm identifying what can safely be cut without disfiguring the story.
I calculated the song lengths and I estimate that there'll be about 58 minutes of songs in the show. I hope to keep the entire show down to 90-110 minutes, so there may be some cuts necessary in the songs as well. I'll see what I can do.
Otherwise, most of the script is done and most of the songs are in a full draft form--with the vocals more or less finished, though the instrumentation is still in development.
I'm preparing for auditions these days, too. I've got MIDI files for all the different parts--with and without accompaniment--for the two choral song fragments that we'll be using, and I'll finish posting that material real soon.
Best to you all!!
Chris

Where is everything kept?

Hi, everyone. Not that anyone's been reading this yet, but maybe soon . . . !

I am keeping the files for everyone to access as the play develops. This will tell you where to find different stuff.

AT PROJECT CENTRAL (CELTX): (see my "Favorite Links" on the Studeous class page for lots of information on how to use this!)

• the latest musical MIDI files (instrumental versions of the songs)

Please also note that the MIDI files provided at the moment are mostly full-length versions, but they are only finished in their vocal aspects; the accompaniment still needs to be filled in for most of the songs. I wanted to get a clear idea of how long in duration each song will be, so I completed the vocals first. The accompaniment will make the songs sound a lot better, I believe.

• The script--the very freshest version is always kept as part of the current Celtx download.
• Lists of characters, crew members, songs, scenes, props, etc. (as "catalogs")
• Progress Reports (through pdf files created at TODOIST.com)
• These show checkboxes next to each task I've set for myself. The ones that are completed are shown with an X in the box, while the ones that are not yet done are still blank inside. The colors are not really important to you, but they are meaningful to me. . .

• NOTE: the Celtx file is being updated very often these days as I make new progress. You may have to update ("download"') the new version from the server every time you use Celtx, as the latest version will be different in some ways. Sorry if that's inconvenient, but I am just loving the creation of this project and I'm always thinking about it!

AT http://www.soundclick.com/crystalheirloom

• MP3 files of the songs, for downloading or streaming. There are a few demo songs there already.
• The vocal version of the beginning of "I Need to Talk to You" (it's on page 16 of the script PDF below) only has the words for verse one and part of the coda; after that point, the vocals sound awful and you will probably wish to press "stop" at that point. I'm trying to get a better mix. . .soon..
• I will provide mp3 files of the audition pieces there too. My daughter Coral and I will sing the vocal parts as demonstrations; for the auditions, the accompaniment will be played and you will sing the vocal parts yourself.

AT STUDEOUS.COM's f08-DRAMA page

• Miscellaneous other items will be kept at Studeous too.
• Other things that are located elsewhere online will be listed with the other "favorite links" at the f08-DRAMA Studeous page, such as the list of what characters appear in what scenes--already available there in the list.

ALL THE MATERIAL FOR AUDITIONS...

...will be kept at the specific auditions page...no matter where the files are stored, the links will be all together there. It appears that I cannot store MIDI files at Studeous, for some reason.


I have already provided the chorus's material for one song, "Thinking of Learning." There are MIDI files for every combination I thought you might wish for there, as well as the printable music in notation form.

I'm working on the "Traditions" song (Act I scene 2, written as I-2) now and the lyrics are maybe halfway done.

Thanks for participating. I'm excited about the show. I just hope I can get quality musicians to work on the show!! We're in big trouble without enough singers and instrumentalists....

Chris