Composing For Theater

Well the thing is I have been contacted by a director/producer .. (which is a friend of a friend) who has heard a few of my pieces ..

and he wan't me to compose(small Ensemble) for his next piece which is due in like 3 months or so ..

told him I had no experience in composing for theater .. but he insisted .. and told me to come and see reversals so I would know where I stand, and what to do...

Can you please help me .. any one has ever composed for live theater pieces ?? advices ?? any lessons I should read ??

any one is up for a little challenge and a little help from overseas :P

I will post the play theme as soon as I know it (It's not a musical .. ) next Friday will be the first reversal so I will get to you with more info then ..

Than'x

edit 9/Oct/10 [20:30] : I have found this link it wasn't that useful .. but it's a start ..

Hey good for you!!

There´s allways a first time for everything! so don´t panic!

The most important thing, is to really KNOW what the director wants. And in order to do that, you should ask him what he wants in each scene.

When does he want music?

How long should each music be?

Does he imagine any known music for that part? It could be a very good reference, not to copy, just to get the mood he wants.

Music should ACCOMPANNY the dramatic line, and so, you need to understand what´s happening.

And in the best case scenario, music should be a character by itself!

This can be achieved by having one or more recognizable THEMES and constructing each part of music derived from those themes.

You could make just a boring mood by placing some chords, but it´s better if your music has personality, and this goes BEYOND just having some cool chords.

Have a good theme, and USE the techinques of counterpoint, harmony, orchestration, etc... to your needs.

A good way to start, is to read a passage of the story and just start improvising.

It REALLY doesn´t matter if what come´s out at first isn´t good. EVERY idea is great for a start.

And lastly, dont MARRY any idea, let them evolve into whatever you are feeling they are evolving to. And if you have to sacrifice a theme ´cause it doesn´t please you, just do it, don´t be pressured by time. Remember what Napoleon said: "'Dress me slowly, I'm in a hurry"

Hope I was of some help.

Please let me know when you have something we can listen to!

Martin (argentina)

Well , I've been to 2 rehearsals .. and it's not that clear yet .. even the director doesn't know yet where this is groining so .. I'll just move with the flow.. any way .. I've given him an Into piece .. with tapping on Spanish guitar .. he loved it .. he said no chords or too charged melodies.. well working on that .. =)

than'x MADstudios =) i'm working by your words =)

hey .. can you suggest me any peaces ... with revolution as a theame !! :phones: thank's

it would be best if it was something acoustic with a lot of percussion ..

mirchada, i also might be starting to write for theater, can you say how this experience with the director different from film scoring?

hey ,

i've never on a film sound track.. but working with "Hatem" the director .. it is like a big improvision .. lots of fun .. lots of luls

the main thing is to socialize with the crew especially the director and the actors .. you have got to understand them...

after that i just wrote a few rubbish stuff on paper .. and asked few instrumentalists to come over and then did our thing ...

our opening is in 6 weeks .. and we are looking good =)