Massachusetts Educational Theater Musical Awards Musical Critique
NAME OF ADJUDICATOR: Michael McGarty
DATE OF PRODUCTION VIEWED: 11/13/15
NAME OF PERFORMING SCHOOL: Archie R. Cole Middle School
TITLE OF PRODUCTION: Getting to Know The Sound of Music
Technical Critique
Technical Design and Execution
Beautiful opening with the candlelight and the nuns and then opening the curtain to a wonderful backdrop and tiered set with painted levels. The stained glass convent setting with the matching gothic arch in the desk pulled things together nicely. The Von Trapp house with a 2 level room with French doors worked well although it forced a smaller amount of people into a VERY large space and entrances were a bit long. The chandelier was a great addition to define the ceiling line. The costumes on the leads were well chosen and fit the actors well. The props in this piece all served the play well. There weren't that many, but those that appeared worked well. Stage Management and Stage Crew; First of all, thank you for not trying to hide all your set changes by plunging the stage into darkness. The audience can appreciate the work of the stage crew better if they watch them at their work (especially if they're efficient as you were). The use of blue light to enhance the movements works very well. The stage changes were very smooth and efficient for the most part. They looked well choreographed with each crew member knowing exactly what to do without rushing. The change of scenery from the garden to the house was really smooth. Bravo for all your good work!
Performance Critique
Acting
There was a lot of talent in this show. Maria had an absolutely beautiful trained voice....surprising for someone so young. The Children as an ensemble were WONDERFUL in the strength of their singing and the honesty of their individual acting. The Captain had amazing singing moments as well like his power in Sound of Music. Now for all of you, the next step is to realize that the songs that you're singing so beautifully are actually conversations that you have to act out. Just singing well is nice but each song is a scene...sometimes with give and take between two or more characters ( "How do You Solve a Problem...) and sometimes a sort of interior monologue. Find ways of making the songs a bit more natural physically and you'll have nailed the role. Frau Schmidt...Perfect moments for you! Rolf...nice handling of a song that wasobviously at the bottom of your range. Leisel...nice excitement at the end of your number.
The Nun chorus had beautiful harmonies as a chorus. The other ensembles worked well to frame the stage and add to the music volume. Some of the harmonies were really good there but there were missed opportunities for other places like the opening "Sound of Music"
Choral Ensemble
Musically this cast was well prepared. They sang with confidence and skill. The use of the nun chorus at the start was great to bring us into their world. The Von Trapp children were always strong and committed to their musical scenes.
Dance Ensemble
The choreography in this piece relies heavily on the Children and Maria. Those scenes were well rehearsed and very well executed. It was obvious that the kids were having a lot of fun with the dances. The house party had a very nice dance sequence to it that was very successful.
Stage Direction
Overall, a very well directed piece that your students (and the audience) really enjoyed. There was a lot of talent down on that stage and especially the leads were used well. Musically and technically you have a well polished piece. My suggestions would all be acting based. The students need to spend more time with the text and really focus on making the conversation scenes more natural so that there is a more realistic connection between them. Believeability is the key. We need to see more "reacting" and listening in the scenes. The Von Trapp kids had the most success with that and even worked on creating individual personalities. The ending tableau with Climb every Mountain was VERY well staged and put a nice ending image in the minds of the audience. Good job on pulling this all together…it was definitely a rousing success.
Specialty Ensembles
The von Trapp Children; You guys as a group were fantastic together. Nice individual characters. Wonderful musical work. NICE dance execution. Individual moments that
rocked.....Kurts long high note in "Goodbye"...Liesel's emotional ending to "...16...17" Your best numbers were "Do, Re, Mi", "So Long, Farewell", To all of you acting wise. I could see you reacting from time to time when you had lines to give but then you dropped your physical movements to zero when you weren't speaking. Always keep physically in the moment. Stay forward...keep your energy engaged throughout a scene and you'll have an incredible performance. Bravo to you all.
Noteworthy Actors
Noelle Salisbury
Wow! What a beautiful voice you have. Your training obviously shows because you soared over all those notes with ease especially in Goatherd. You created a nice loveable, innocent Maria from your first entrance which allowed us to enter the world of the play effortlessly. Your work with the children was great because you put yourself right into the middle of them as if you were a kid yourself (which of course, you are).
NAME OF ADJUDICATOR: Michael McGarty
DATE OF PRODUCTION VIEWED: 11/13/15
NAME OF PERFORMING SCHOOL: Archie R. Cole Middle School
TITLE OF PRODUCTION: Getting to Know The Sound of Music
Technical Critique
Technical Design and Execution
Beautiful opening with the candlelight and the nuns and then opening the curtain to a wonderful backdrop and tiered set with painted levels. The stained glass convent setting with the matching gothic arch in the desk pulled things together nicely. The Von Trapp house with a 2 level room with French doors worked well although it forced a smaller amount of people into a VERY large space and entrances were a bit long. The chandelier was a great addition to define the ceiling line. The costumes on the leads were well chosen and fit the actors well. The props in this piece all served the play well. There weren't that many, but those that appeared worked well. Stage Management and Stage Crew; First of all, thank you for not trying to hide all your set changes by plunging the stage into darkness. The audience can appreciate the work of the stage crew better if they watch them at their work (especially if they're efficient as you were). The use of blue light to enhance the movements works very well. The stage changes were very smooth and efficient for the most part. They looked well choreographed with each crew member knowing exactly what to do without rushing. The change of scenery from the garden to the house was really smooth. Bravo for all your good work!
Performance Critique
Acting
There was a lot of talent in this show. Maria had an absolutely beautiful trained voice....surprising for someone so young. The Children as an ensemble were WONDERFUL in the strength of their singing and the honesty of their individual acting. The Captain had amazing singing moments as well like his power in Sound of Music. Now for all of you, the next step is to realize that the songs that you're singing so beautifully are actually conversations that you have to act out. Just singing well is nice but each song is a scene...sometimes with give and take between two or more characters ( "How do You Solve a Problem...) and sometimes a sort of interior monologue. Find ways of making the songs a bit more natural physically and you'll have nailed the role. Frau Schmidt...Perfect moments for you! Rolf...nice handling of a song that wasobviously at the bottom of your range. Leisel...nice excitement at the end of your number.
The Nun chorus had beautiful harmonies as a chorus. The other ensembles worked well to frame the stage and add to the music volume. Some of the harmonies were really good there but there were missed opportunities for other places like the opening "Sound of Music"
Choral Ensemble
Musically this cast was well prepared. They sang with confidence and skill. The use of the nun chorus at the start was great to bring us into their world. The Von Trapp children were always strong and committed to their musical scenes.
Dance Ensemble
The choreography in this piece relies heavily on the Children and Maria. Those scenes were well rehearsed and very well executed. It was obvious that the kids were having a lot of fun with the dances. The house party had a very nice dance sequence to it that was very successful.
Stage Direction
Overall, a very well directed piece that your students (and the audience) really enjoyed. There was a lot of talent down on that stage and especially the leads were used well. Musically and technically you have a well polished piece. My suggestions would all be acting based. The students need to spend more time with the text and really focus on making the conversation scenes more natural so that there is a more realistic connection between them. Believeability is the key. We need to see more "reacting" and listening in the scenes. The Von Trapp kids had the most success with that and even worked on creating individual personalities. The ending tableau with Climb every Mountain was VERY well staged and put a nice ending image in the minds of the audience. Good job on pulling this all together…it was definitely a rousing success.
Specialty Ensembles
The von Trapp Children; You guys as a group were fantastic together. Nice individual characters. Wonderful musical work. NICE dance execution. Individual moments that
rocked.....Kurts long high note in "Goodbye"...Liesel's emotional ending to "...16...17" Your best numbers were "Do, Re, Mi", "So Long, Farewell", To all of you acting wise. I could see you reacting from time to time when you had lines to give but then you dropped your physical movements to zero when you weren't speaking. Always keep physically in the moment. Stay forward...keep your energy engaged throughout a scene and you'll have an incredible performance. Bravo to you all.
Noteworthy Actors
Noelle Salisbury
Wow! What a beautiful voice you have. Your training obviously shows because you soared over all those notes with ease especially in Goatherd. You created a nice loveable, innocent Maria from your first entrance which allowed us to enter the world of the play effortlessly. Your work with the children was great because you put yourself right into the middle of them as if you were a kid yourself (which of course, you are).
NAME OF ADJUDICATOR: Judy Olson
DATE OF PRODUCTION VIEWED: 11/14/15
NAME OF PERFORMING SCHOOL: Archie R. Cole Middle School
TITLE OF PRODUCTION: Getting to Know The Sound of Music
Technical Critique
Technical Design and Execution
The set was fairly simple in appearance. There were several locations to deal with which can be tricky but it was adequate for the show. The mountain at the end was a nice touch. The set at the back was very cleverly constructed in it’s ability to shift, but the transition took too long. The costumes were appropriate in design and fit overall. Maria and the nuns were dressed well and really helped open the show. Max’s jacket was funny and helped the actor appear visually separate from the rest of the family. Hair and makeup was basic and realistic, which was all that was needed for this show. The children’s hair was nicely varied to show their ages.
Props Coordination; The use of the actual whistles for Maria and the Captain were a nice touch.
Stage Management and Stage Crew; The first transition was very impressive, smooth although long. The crew seemed to work well together and knew what they were doing when they came onstage to change the set.
Performance Critique
Acting
The actors seemed comfortable on stage and reacted well to each other in the moment. There was some anticipation of lines, particularly from Mother Abbess, but when speaking I was impressed with some of the maturity from such young actors.
The ensemble was enthusiastically a part of the show, working well together. They didn’t ever upstage the leads and speaking characters, and did a good job of filling the stage to create the crowd scenes. I was happy to see each member of the ensemble looking out at the audience holding their own rather than looking around on stage to see what they should do. I did love the Goatherd number. This was a great chance for the ensemble to break out of their crowd mentality and have a little fun.
Choral Ensemble
The cast sang well together. There was a nice cohesiveness to the overall energy and focus of the group as a whole.
Dance Ensemble
The choreography was appropriate and ably performed by the cast. The goatherd number was delightful and obviously a lot of fun for the ensemble.
Specialty Ensembles
The von Trapp Children
The von Trapp children worked very well as an ensemble. They looked and acted the part of a family, and their “So Long, Farewell” was a lovely moment in the show. Individually I would have liked to have seen some more personality from them, but their work as a group of children acting out and then learning to work together was very strong.
Noteworthy Actors
Noelle Salisbury
Noelle had a nice presence and the vocal strength to carry this role. This is a strong role that demands a variety of emotions and objectives. We saw a lot of this from Noelle, but I would have loved to have seen her open up physically in some moments.
DATE OF PRODUCTION VIEWED: 11/14/15
NAME OF PERFORMING SCHOOL: Archie R. Cole Middle School
TITLE OF PRODUCTION: Getting to Know The Sound of Music
Technical Critique
Technical Design and Execution
The set was fairly simple in appearance. There were several locations to deal with which can be tricky but it was adequate for the show. The mountain at the end was a nice touch. The set at the back was very cleverly constructed in it’s ability to shift, but the transition took too long. The costumes were appropriate in design and fit overall. Maria and the nuns were dressed well and really helped open the show. Max’s jacket was funny and helped the actor appear visually separate from the rest of the family. Hair and makeup was basic and realistic, which was all that was needed for this show. The children’s hair was nicely varied to show their ages.
Props Coordination; The use of the actual whistles for Maria and the Captain were a nice touch.
Stage Management and Stage Crew; The first transition was very impressive, smooth although long. The crew seemed to work well together and knew what they were doing when they came onstage to change the set.
Performance Critique
Acting
The actors seemed comfortable on stage and reacted well to each other in the moment. There was some anticipation of lines, particularly from Mother Abbess, but when speaking I was impressed with some of the maturity from such young actors.
The ensemble was enthusiastically a part of the show, working well together. They didn’t ever upstage the leads and speaking characters, and did a good job of filling the stage to create the crowd scenes. I was happy to see each member of the ensemble looking out at the audience holding their own rather than looking around on stage to see what they should do. I did love the Goatherd number. This was a great chance for the ensemble to break out of their crowd mentality and have a little fun.
Choral Ensemble
The cast sang well together. There was a nice cohesiveness to the overall energy and focus of the group as a whole.
Dance Ensemble
The choreography was appropriate and ably performed by the cast. The goatherd number was delightful and obviously a lot of fun for the ensemble.
Specialty Ensembles
The von Trapp Children
The von Trapp children worked very well as an ensemble. They looked and acted the part of a family, and their “So Long, Farewell” was a lovely moment in the show. Individually I would have liked to have seen some more personality from them, but their work as a group of children acting out and then learning to work together was very strong.
Noteworthy Actors
Noelle Salisbury
Noelle had a nice presence and the vocal strength to carry this role. This is a strong role that demands a variety of emotions and objectives. We saw a lot of this from Noelle, but I would have loved to have seen her open up physically in some moments.
