Theatre Show Maybe?

[Myke]

Hey all,

I have been given an email address for a MD who may be able to give me the bass part, in the pit, for a Grease show they are putting on in my local theatre. I have been instructed to to write a covering letter but I don't really know what to put it in?

I have almost done a theatre show before, I was given the music and learnt it but it was cancelled a week before the show as it was people on my degree course playing for the musical theatre group also at my uni and some of the other musicians dropped out so they had to cancel it. This is the only experience I have had in this area.

If someone could help me with what to say it would be most appreciated!

Thank you!

Myke

EDIT: I Moved this to General Area to hopefully get more responses

Edited January 19, 2013 by Myke

[Bilbo]

It's an easy read. The charts are meat and potatoes for a bass player.

[Lord Sausage]

Yeah, I've done it a couple of times. Easy and much fun.

I've never had to do a covering letter though, when doing theatre gigs.

[Myke]

It's because I was given the email address from one of mates who techs for it. I'm just going to try and big me up

[JakeBrownBass]

Why would the MD listen to a tech bigging up his mate that plays bass?

1. Can you read music?
2. Are you confident you can do it?
3. Don't be bigged up by the tech, contact the md yourself.

[Myke]

He's not. He's given the email address to me so I can do it. I can to a certain extend yes but as this is in late summer/autumn I think I will have improved even more and don't you get given the bass part like a week before? That was what happened last time.

[lowdown]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1358673917' post='1942976']
I can to a certain extend yes but as this is in late summer/autumn I think I will have improved even more and don't you get given the bass part like a week before?
[/quote]

The idea of sight reading is to turn up at the rehearsals and be ready to go. On [b]some[/b] Am Dram shows it might be possible to get the pad early,
but i would not rely on that. Quite often they hire the score for a period, unless the MD has written/sketched it out.
Being booked as a sight reader for shows means...turn up at the rehearsals [even for most Am Dram] and be ready to go, are you confident of that ?
If so email the MD, but remember to the MD you are just some stranger chancing it, so be honest and he might put you on his list,
he will more than likely contact the Bassist's he knows first.
It might be worth getting a copy of the cast CD for Grease, and learn or get very familiar with the show,
and use that approach in your Email along with a [b]CV of gigs and shows[/b] you have done before. [If you want to be taken seriously]
I have done the show a few times, It's not a hard show for Bass, and good fun if the band are happening and on it.



Good luck.

Edited January 20, 2013 by lowdown

[Doddy]

What Lowdown said is bang on.
I've done a load of shows (not Grease though),and I've never been given the pad before the
first band call.In fact,my first show was depping for my then-teacher so I didn't even have the
luxury of a rehearsal..it was straight in at the deep end. Getting and learning the CD may help,but
remember that there is every likely hood that things will change (cut from bar 112 to 124 etc.) so
you can't rely too much on that approach.
With regards to emailing the MD,I can only say that every show that I've done has been through
recommendation. The MD will probably have a list of players that they regularly use and an unsolicited
email (I'd prefer a phone call) [i]may [/i]get you on the bottom of that list,but don't count on it-especially as
the only experience you have is nearly doing a show at uni.
If you want to get into this line of work,I think that you'd be better off finding the players who are doing
this work and taking some lessons.You'll improve your reading and they may put you forward for deps
where you will (hopefully) be able to prove yourself. A recommendation is a million times better than an
unsolicited email.

[Myke]

I did not know that, with regards to the score, so I don't think I'm at that standard yet, so may just leave it for now then. I am getting lessons and trying to make contacts in my local area.

Thank you for all of your help guys, it's really opened my eyes.

Hopefully this is something I will get a chance to do in the future.

Cheers

[lewiswhitebass]

You're the one that I want is very fun to play good luck mate!

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1358698569' post='1943545']
What Lowdown said is bang on.
I've done a load of shows (not Grease though),and I've never been given the pad before the
first band call.In fact,my first show was depping for my then-teacher so I didn't even have the
luxury of a rehearsal..it was straight in at the deep end. Getting and learning the CD may help,but
remember that there is every likely hood that things will change (cut from bar 112 to 124 etc.) so
you can't rely too much on that approach.
With regards to emailing the MD,I can only say that every show that I've done has been through
recommendation. The MD will probably have a list of players that they regularly use and an unsolicited
email (I'd prefer a phone call) [i]may [/i]get you on the bottom of that list,but don't count on it-especially as
the only experience you have is nearly doing a show at uni.
If you want to get into this line of work,I think that you'd be better off finding the players who are doing
this work and taking some lessons.You'll improve your reading and they may put you forward for deps
where you will (hopefully) be able to prove yourself. A recommendation is a million times better than an
unsolicited email.
[/quote]
To be fair, the opposite can be true. I've done lots of shows where i've had the pad weeks in advance. Pro and Am Dram. I'm going on Tour in April with a pro show and i'm getting the pad next week!

[Myke]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1358787237' post='1944985']
To be fair, the opposite can be true. I've done lots of shows where i've had the pad weeks in advance. Pro and Am Dram. I'm going on Tour in April with a pro show and i'm getting the pad next week!
[/quote]

The last one I 'did' I had the pad before the rehearsals but if I have to do it on the day, I wouldn't be able to and I don't want that to be the case and then to let them down.

And may I be cheeky and ask which show it is? If you don't want to say, it's no problem! Good luck with it!

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1358789625' post='1945049']
The last one I 'did' I had the pad before the rehearsals but if I have to do it on the day, I wouldn't be able to and I don't want that to be the case and then to let them down.

And may I be cheeky and ask which show it is? If you don't want to say, it's no problem! Good luck with it!
[/quote]RENT

[Doddy]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1358787237' post='1944985']

To be fair, the opposite can be true. I've done lots of shows where i've had the pad weeks in advance. Pro and Am Dram. I'm going on Tour in April with a pro show and i'm getting the pad next week!
[/quote]

You've been very lucky then if you get them weeks in advance. Literally every show I've done, I've not seen the pad until the first band call.

[lowdown]

Only once have i had the pad [and CD] before a show [Bat Boy - and to be honest i was glad]
But it can be a waste of time - Things change, Keys/length of arrangement/underscores etc, even during the rehearsals,
and quite often during the previews and after press nights,
thus making the fluent sight reading thing, even more important.

But as said above - If you do get it early, count it as lucky.



Garry

[Grangur]

I used to be in AmDram and the cast were always saying the band had a different line up every night of the run! So sometimes there's no consistancy.

[Chrismanbass]

just echoing whats been said already really irregardless of if you have the pad before hand or not if they decide to make changes you going to be sight reading them anyway

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1358839237' post='1945741']
Only once have i had the pad [and CD] before a show [Bat Boy - and to be honest i was glad]
B
[/quote]

i played that show a couple of years ago for an am dram company its a beast isn't it

[lowdown]

[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1358855257' post='1945967']
i played that show a couple of years ago for an am dram company its a beast isn't it
[/quote]

Yep, but it was great play.
Before we went into the West End, we had a two week rehearsal period,
And a Four week run in Leeds.
The fun part of it was.....the roast up for the deps..


Garry

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1358812810' post='1945657']
You've been very lucky then if you get them weeks in advance. Literally every show I've done, I've not seen the pad until the first band call.
[/quote]
Luck or i've just worked with more organised MD's. Don't get me wrong, I've had a couple where you get it just before or when you get there. A lot of the time it's friggin piano score has well so your reading 12 lines below. Which frankly pisses me off!

[scalpy]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1358880515' post='1946522']
. A lot of the time it's friggin piano score has well so your reading 12 lines below. Which frankly pisses me off!
[/quote]

Kills me that to. I do 6 or 7 am dram shows a year, always get the part 5 to 6 weeks in advance. And you won't get to do You're the One That I Want in Grease. The publishers are very, very hot on changing the stage script to the movie version, and when you sign the contract to do the show there's whole pages on what you're not allowed to do!

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1358888620' post='1946722']
Kills me that to. I do 6 or 7 am dram shows a year, always get the part 5 to 6 weeks in advance. And you won't get to do You're the One That I Want in Grease. The publishers are very, very hot on changing the stage script to the movie version, and when you sign the contract to do the show there's whole pages on what you're not allowed to do!
[/quote]
Yeah when i did it we couldn't do that!

[lowdown]

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1358888620' post='1946722']
Kills me that to. I do 6 or 7 am dram shows a year, always get the part 5 to 6 weeks in advance. And you won't get to do You're the One That I Want in Grease. The publishers are very, very hot on changing the stage script to the movie version, and when you sign the contract to do the show there's whole pages on what you're not allowed to do!
[/quote]

Strange - I have done the show four times and it's always been in.....


Garry

[Doddy]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1358880515' post='1946522']

Luck or i've just worked with more organised MD's. Don't get me wrong, I've had a couple where you get it just before or when you get there. A lot of the time it's friggin piano score has well so your reading 12 lines below. Which frankly pisses me off!
[/quote]
I don't know if it's a matter organisation. A lot of people don't want the hassle and expense of posting the scores out to the various musicians,especially when it's generally expected that they can read well enough o do the gig anyway.

I've rarely had to read piano scores as well....the only time I have is when an Am Dram company is doing a compilation show and they just photocopy a piano reduction to give to everyone. It is annoying when you get them though.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Doddy

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1358897209' post='1946936']
I don't know if it's a matter organisation. A lot of people don't want the hassle and expense of posting the scores out to the various musicians,especially when it's generally expected that they can read well enough o do the gig anyway.

I've rarely had to read piano scores as well....the only time I have is when an Am Dram company is doing a compilation show and they just photocopy a piano reduction to give to everyone. It is annoying when you get them though.
[/quote]
I know an incredible guitarist who demands pads a couple of weeks before the show. When i last did a show with him which featured Kerry Ellis who works with Brian May he blew her away with his playing. Anyway he says you can have it good with a first time read or incredible because i know it inside out and can apply all the nuances. He always gets the pad!

[scalpy]

The companies I play for normally get the parts in fairly early as the reed and keyboard 2 people early to work out what to double. Last show I did with one company reed 1 had nearly 20 instruments! Next one with them is Chess! and I'm doubling guitar. Pretty pleased they get the parts in early as I'm having a pampers moment just thinking about it.