Lesson video

Hi there, everyone.

Welcome to today's lesson on How Songs Tell Stories in Theater.

This is from our Singing Together unit, where we're exploring how stories are shared through song.

My name's Mr. Croughan, and together today, we will delve into the world of musical theater and operetta.

Are we ready? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to say that you can understand how different songs are used to tell us about stories and characters.

Let's look at today's keywords.

We'll start there with musical theater.

This is a type of theater with songs, acting, and dance.

Then a solo song, a piece performed by one person, solo an Italian word meaning alone.

Ensemble.

Now, ensemble in a musical theater sense is a chorus, a chorus of people on stage, and a chorus's job is often to share the plot or the mood of the story.

And soliloquy.

A soliloquy is a character speaking their thoughts out loud, sharing their feelings with an audience directly.

They're often alone on stage.

Musical theater involves using all of our bodies.

We are acting, singing, dancing, so we want to stretch and make sure our body is ready, we want to warm up our voice gently, and also we want to be able to sing those words clearly so that any story comes across really well to our audience, and we want to be focused to deliver that story.

So please follow these warmups now.

Here they come.

We'll begin with a stretch.

Arms high into the air, onto our tiptoes, hold onto a monkey bar, and we are going to not let go of that monkey bar, but we are going to lower our heels to the ground, so we're going to get taller.

Lowering to the count of four.

Here we go.

One, two, three, four.

Gosh, you're all super tall.

Drop your fingers and your wrists and your elbows and your shoulders.

Relax your knees and go.

(Mr. Croughan blubbering) (students blubbering) Very good.

Let's do that one more time.

Stretch up onto your tiptoes, hold onto the monkey bar, lowering our heels to a count of four, going one, two, three, four, Gosh, you're so tall now.

Drop your fingers and your wrists and your elbows and your shoulders.

Relax your knees, and.

(Mr. Croughan blubbering) (students blubbering) Very good.

Now let's take up as much space as we can, make a really, really big space, huge shapes.

And we are going to shrink down into a itty tiny shape.

Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, like a little seed.

And we are now going to grow back to a big shape.

When you're ready, one, two three, go.

Grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow.

And relax.

Feet slightly apart.

Arms by our side.

<v ->Now let's warm up our face.

</v> We're gonna start by tapping all over our face, from our neck, all the way to the top of our head, to wake ourselves up.

Ready? We're starting on our neck.

And just lightly tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, moving up, tap, tap, tap onto your chin, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, past your cheeks, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, past your eyes to your forehead, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap to the very top of your head, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, bing.

Lovely.

Very good.

Now, we're gonna pretend to brush our teeth, but with our tongue.

So our tongue is gonna move all the way across our top and bottom teeth all the way into the corners of your mouth, like this.

There we go, right through the back.

Coming down to the other side, all the way to the back.

Back round, and there we go.

Hopefully that tongue's feeling nice and exercised.

Now, we're gonna make our faces really small.

We're gonna close our eyes, close our mouth, scrunch up our nose, small, small, small, small, small, and then I'm gonna say three, two, one, and then on three, two, one, go, you're gonna make your face as big as you can.

So big wide open eyes, open mouth, tongue outs there.

Ready? Here we go.

So small, small, small, small, small.

Three, two, one, blah! Lovely.

Let's try that one more time.

Ready? Small, small, small, small, small, small.

And three, two, one, blah! Very good.

<v ->Breathing, we'll breathe in for four, hold for one,</v> and out for five.

Watch first.

You'll notice we breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth.

Let's now join in altogether.

Well done.

We're going to do that two more times.

Here we go.

Make sure we're feeling nice and relaxed, and.

That's great, we should be feeling quite relaxed and the air should be flowing quite calmly.

This time we're going to breathe in for four, hold for one, and we're going to breathe out for six, imagining we're blowing out through a straw.

Watch first.

Okay, let's all do that together.

Feeling relaxed, shoulders relaxed, off we go.

Let's do that two more times.

And one more.

Well done.

<v ->This warmup is called bubble gum.

</v> How many times do you hear the word "bubblegum" in the song? ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ <v ->If you counted seven times, you're right.

</v> This time, add these actions on the word "bubblegum." (instructor tapping) ♪ Bubblegum ♪ <v ->Are you ready?</v> ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ <v ->Let's try it a tiny bit faster.

Are you ready?</v> ♪ Off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ <v ->Last time, really fast.

</v> ♪ Ready, steady, off we go ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Chew and blow ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Scrape your toe ♪ ♪ Bubblegum, bubblegum ♪ ♪ Tastes so sweet ♪ ♪ Get that bubblegum off my feet ♪ <v ->Really well done.

</v> Those warmups will serve you well in today's lesson.

Now, there's two learning cycles.

The first one, we explore the differences in solos and ensemble songs and how they tell stories in theater, and the second one is when we're going to be conveying a story through a song.

Let's begin by looking at solo and ensemble songs telling stories.

Musical theater itself is huge in the UK.

There's so many different musicals to go and see, and if you have been so incredibly lucky to have seen one at a theater, then you'll know how exciting they can be.

There's two main types of musical.

There's what we call book musicals, and they'll be musicals with an original story and songs.

Examples of those might be "Matilda," "Wicked," "Oliver," "Joseph," and many more.

A jukebox musical is a musical that's based on existing songs, songs that were already written, and that might be "We Will Rock You," that uses Queen's music, and "Mamma Mia!," which uses Abba's music.

Now, "Billy Elliot," this is a book musical and it's based on a play called "Dancer." Dancer then became a film, and now it is a musical.

It follows the story of a boy with a passion for ballet and his teacher thinks he's good enough to go and train at the Royal Ballet School, so his dad takes him a bit reluctantly to the audition for ballet school, and when he's there, he's done his audition and he's asked what he feels like when he's dancing.

So what you are gonna do is you're gonna pause here and either listen to, or watch if you can, a clip of "Electricity," the song which he sings to give his answer, okay? So pause here and enjoy that.

That has to be one of my most favorite pieces of musical theater, especially to share with young people.

I think it's super inspiring and I really hope you enjoyed it.

Now, in musical theater, solos, singing by oneself, can often be a soliloquy.

So a soliloquy, used right across theater, is when there's an actor on stage, very often alone, and they share that characters innermost thoughts and feelings with the audience.

So it's like hearing those thoughts out loud.

This song, he's prompted, the character Billy Elliot is prompted by the audition panel when he is asked the question, "What is it that you feel when you dance?" So we know he's not alone on stage, but he does share his thoughts and feelings, possibly for the first time, when he opens up and tries to express what dancing means to him.

I'd like you to have another listen, and I'd like to jot down some lyrics that you notice convey how the character is feeling.

There'll just be a couple, there'll be a few lyrics, you think, "Oh yes, that that explains how he's feeling" and maybe tells us more about the character in the story.

All right, so I'd like you to pause here and jot down some of those lyrics that explain how that character is feeling at this moment in time.

Off you go.

Did you get some? Good.

Some ideas here were, "Electricity sparks inside of me," and that's kind of showing Billy feeling full of energy and excitement when he dances, that there's something lit up inside him.

It's like something very special is happening.

And then he also says, "I can't really explain it.

I haven't got the words." We might all have felt like that sometimes, that feeling that Billy just, there's something when he dances, but it's really hard to just put into normal words but to dance it, you can show it rather than being able to say it.

Another musical now, "Matilda." Now, the song "Revolting Children" from "Matilda," this is more of an ensemble song because it's sung by the class of children, not sung by one person, not a solo.

It develops the plot of the story and it shows just how much those children have had enough of Miss Trunchbull, and they decide they're gonna stand up for themselves.

I would like you to pause here and listen to or watch a clip of "Revolting Children" and hear those frustrations.

Off you go.

Nice.

Now, ensemble songs have a different job to solo songs.

Ensemble songs are sung by a larger group of performers, these are often called the chorus, and ensemble songs often tend to give us the mood of what's happening, and they can drive the plot forward too, so unlike a solo song, where you get the feelings of that one character.

We're gonna have another listen to "Revolting Children" and discuss as a class how the lyrics help us understand the mood of the children, how are they feeling.

Ready to pause, listen again, jot down some lyrics that give a clear indication of how that class of children are feeling.

Off you go.

It's a great song, isn't it? I hope you jotted some good ideas down and had time to share those with each other.

One suggestion here was defiant phrases, as Alex puts it, like, "Never again," and, "We are revolting" are repeated.

And that shows, that repeat, that use of repetition, showing that the children are feeling stronger as a group.

I've now got some questions for you.

We can put the track on again, playing in the background, and I'd like you to answer these questions using your own opinions, your ideas, and plenty of detail.

So the first question's going to be, what's the first vocal sound that we hear and how does that sound help us understand what that child might be feeling? The first voice is that of Bruce Bogtrotter, and you hear that voice, how is that helping us understand how he's feeling? Be as thorough as you like with your answer.

Question two, describe what happens to the tempo in the first 30 seconds.

Does the tempo change somehow? Describe what that is and then explain why do you think that happens? What does it tell us about the increased feelings of the children joining in? Question three, remember, all of these question will be up on the board for you to work through with the music on in the background.

What does "revolting" mean in the song and is there more than one meaning? You might think, "Why did Tim Minchin choose to use the word revolting here, and what are its meanings?" Question four, how are the children singing? How would you describe that, what words can you use to describe the way they're singing and their emotions and their mood? How does that come across? And then question five, if you were directing the actors, how would you ask them to perform the chanted section? So the bit from, "We will become a screaming hoard." How would you direct them? And I'm thinking vocally particularly, as well as their positions on the stage.

Okay, so there's five questions for you.

Pop the track on and work through all of those, and I'll come back and we can share some answers in a bit.

Welcome back, everyone.

I'm sure you've got some great answers and perhaps you've even had chance to share a couple of those ideas in the class.

What I'm going to do is run through some suggested ideas.

So question one, the first vocal sound we hear is the whoa, that.

♪ Whoa ♪ <v ->And that's sung by Bruce Bogtrotter,</v> and it kind of works.

It calls the other children to attention.

He's now standing on a desk with this kind of war cry in the classroom, it's a call to attention, and it's a big emotional release as well.

He's had enough, and that helps us understand, as are the children joining, that they've probably all had enough of the Trunchbull.

Now, the tempo is what the second question's about, the tempo for the solo singing begins slower, it's freer, more free flowing, and once the other children join in, that tempo picks up, it becomes a bit more of a march in some ways, and it tells they're beginning to feel stronger together and that there's urgency in their protest.

There's a more definite beat that they're hitting together collectively.

On question three, the word revolting, yes, it has a double meaning.

So Trunchbull has already said that the children are revolting, meaning disgusting, but to revolt is also to protest, to stand up in protest and rebel, which is exactly what the children are doing, possibly also a nods to Roald Dahl's other book, "Revolting Rhymes," maybe that's in there too.

Question four, the children, when they're singing altogether, they're singing loudly and clearly.

This is the style of singing by this ensemble.

They sound defiant, they sound confident, they're empowered, they're united together, and we can hear in their voices a kind of sense of release, that ah yes, these emotions are allowed out.

It really is like they've had enough.

Their voices, they're strong, they're a bit more carefree, and their singing style shows that they're unafraid to stand up for themselves and for what they believe in.

Great.

And lastly, question five, if you were the director, some suggested answers might be those actors portraying the school children in the chant might need to use their body and their face to show that they're feeling confident.

"How might they do that?" You might ask as a director.

How can you show that you're cross with your face, with your body, with your posture? The chanting should be tight to the beat.

That will help show how united the children are, gives a very definite, clear message in the song.

And that the chanting should be loud and rebellious, not shouted unsafely.

The voices should be projected and the words chanted very clearly.

Quite a lot of words to fit into a short space, pronouncing each sound fully.

They'd be great directing techniques.

I hope you've got some great answers where you are, and I hope you might wanna magpie a couple of those too.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is conveying a story through song.

Now, two places where musical theater is massive, Broadway in New York and London's West End.

It's huge.

The popularity grew since 1920, when large-scale productions helped form what musical theater is and feels like today.

An influence of musical theater, or a major influence, was a 19th century-style of performance called operetta.

Now, operetta was often a short, sometimes funny, light opera.

Famous writers of operettas were Gilbert and Sullivan, and in 1978, they wrote an operetta called "HMS Pinafore," and it's a story set on a Royal Navy ship.

Now, in charge of the ship, heading it up, is Sir Joseph Porter.

Oddly, he's a man with no experience at all of running ships.

And he sings a song all about how he came to lead the Navy, and the song runs right through his career lists, how he went from being an office boy to a clerk, then a partner in a law firm, finally to a member of Parliament, and then lastly to leading the Queen's Navy.

I'd like you to listen to the song and discuss what sort of character you think Sir Joseph is.

So pause here, have a listen, and then have a chat about what sort of character might he be.

Off you go.

I hope you had some opportunity to share some of your ideas and thoughts on what Sir Joseph's like.

Izzy says, "Sir Joseph sounds full of himself and like he's out to impress.

He enjoys showing off, but this might be because he is not very good at his job." Sir Joseph is trying to impress some of the lower-ranked sailors and staff by singing about his career, and they echo some of the parts, some of his parts back to him.

We're going to play the track in a moment and I'd like you to join in with the echoes.

So you have, when he sings, "And I polished up the handle of the big front door," you repeat that, "he polished up the handle of the big front door." And then he says that, "He polished it so carefully, he's now the ruler of the Queen's Navy," and you repeat the echo.

"He polished up the handle so carefully that now he is the ruler of the Queen's Navy." Okay, we're gonna pop the track on, and I'd like you to join in with the echoes.

Here it comes.

(upbeat piano music) ♪ When I was a lad, I served a term ♪ ♪ As office boy to an attorney's firm ♪ ♪ I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor ♪ ♪ And I polished up the handle of the big front door ♪ ♪ He polished up the handle of the big front door ♪ ♪ I polished up the handle so carefully ♪ ♪ That now I am the ruler of the Queen's Navy ♪ ♪ He polished up the handle so carefully ♪ ♪ That now he is the ruler of the Queen's Navy ♪ <v ->Now, we know Sir Joseph really likes showing off,</v> but in this verse, there's also a confession.

He says, "Well, I grew so rich that I was sent by a pocket borough into parliament." So he's now there in the Houses of Parliament, and he said, "I always voted at my party's call." so if my party says do this, I'll do it, not because he's scared, but he actually says, "And I never thought of thinking for myself at all," didn't even think about thinking for myself.

And that is then echoed.

"He never thought of thinking for himself at all." And he says, "Well, I thought so little, they rewarded me by making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy," and that's echoed as well.

So this is someone who's got their position, not through lots of experience, but through wealth and their political placing.

I would like to have a go at singing this verse and showing off and being as boisterous and showoffy as you can, without a care for not really thinking for yourself at all.

Okay, I'm gonna pop the track on and you're gonna sing along.

Are you ready? Here it comes.

(upbeat piano music) ♪ I grew so rich that I was sent ♪ ♪ By a pocket borough into Parliament ♪ ♪ I always voted at my party's call ♪ ♪ And I never thought of thinking for myself at all ♪ ♪ He never thought of thinking for himself at all ♪ ♪ I thought so little, they rewarded me ♪ ♪ By making me the ruler of the Queen's Navy ♪ ♪ He thought so little, they rewarded he ♪ ♪ By making him the ruler of the Queen's Navy ♪ (upbeat piano music continues) <v ->I think you would all make excellent Sir Josephs,</v> really well done.

A quick check, what we're going to do in this check is just rehearse singing each voice and show off as much as you possibly can.

Try and bring out that character of, "Oh yes, I'm marvelous and I must justify my position here because I don't what I'm doing." I'd like you to think about how you might stand when you're trying to look confident, how boastful can you sound when you sing, and how clearly you can sing those lyrics so that the story can be understood.

Okay, so we're just gonna sing those two verses.

It's the first one and it's actually the second-to-last, but for us, just those two, they give opportunity to see that character of Sir Joseph as we work our way through.

Pause here, sing all of them, so even though there's the repeats, just sing it all for now and then we'll split up in the next bit, okay? So sing those both through, off you go.

I can see this performance developing already now with these boastful characters.

There's two sets of characters if we like in our practice task now, so there'll be two groups.

We'll swap over, the group who will be the verses first of all, that overtly confident character, no experience in the Navy, have to prove themselves by showing off, and then there's the echoes.

So if you're singing the echoes, you're a lower-ranked sailor or member of staff and you're convinced, ah, you're convinced by every word that Sir Joseph says, "Gosh, you must be amazing, look where he is.

He's the ruler of the Queen's Navy." And then you get to swap over.

So you get to sing those verses if you were an echo, and you get to sing the echoes if you were the verses.

Okay, so you do each one twice through.

Good luck, enjoy, and this is about performance.

This is about when we're conveying our story, Sir Joseph is telling the story of his career that we're also getting that story of people being convinced by him and his showing off.

We get understanding of more about his character as the song goes on.

So pause here and sing that through where you are.

Off you go.

Well done, well done.

How was that? Hope it was great.

Jun says that, "We sang their lyrics very clearly because we want the audience to understand what Sir Joseph is saying." So that's why warming up and warming up our mouths and our faces to be able to speak and enunciate clearly is really important, helps us get the story across.

Andeep says, "We sang boisterously and with a charming smile on our faces so that we looked and sounded like the overconfident Sir Joseph." Great, so that story of his character coming through in the way the voice sounds.

And Izzy says, "In the echoes, we changed our sound to make it sound that like we thought Sir Joseph was amazing." So we've got the lovely contrast in the way the character of Sir Joseph sounding and then these people looking up to him going, "Wow, wow, that's amazing," and how they sounded too, which is brilliant.

I hope you enjoyed your little mini performance of that extract from "When I Was a Lad" from an operetta, which was before musical theater and a major influence.

Let's have a summary then of what we've learned today.

Actors, just like you, can tell a story or share a character's emotional journey through a song.

Solo songs, they often give us more information about how a character is feeling, and ensemble songs often tell us the story or give us clues about the mood of the story.

And we can share stories with an audience by understanding the meaning in the lyrics that we're singing.

Fantastic work today, everyone, and I will look forward to seeing you next time.

All the best.

Bye for now.