Musicals have always been a staple of the theater—therefore, it should be no surprise that the genre has again made the leap from stage to the TV screen. At Wondercon 2016, a group of composers, directors, choreographers and others behind the scenes of TV production got together to offer some insight into what it takes to make a successful TV musical in a panel on the Rise of the TV Musical.

Panelists included composer Christopher Lennertz (Galavant), composer and songwriter Gabriel Mann (School of Rock), Fox VP of Event Series Rachel Rusch (Grease Live!), VP of music & soundtracks at Disney Channel Steven Vincent (High School Musical), and director Jeffrey Hornaday (Teen Beach movie).

To get the panel started, the group discussed the timeline that it takes to get a TV musical produced, which varied per production, especially if the show was shot live.

“With Grease, we’re working with an existing property. We started casting two years before the show. We blended the movie and stage production of Grease together, while they added in some new material with some jokes about the show being live and winks to the audience. This was nine months before the show. Then we have a month of rehearsals on stage, two weeks of set blocking, and two weeks of camera blocking,” said Rusch.

“[For us] the script takes as long as it takes. It’s a separate piece. Once everyone says ‘ok we want to make the movie,’ we have 16 weeks of prep, including casting, creating music, choreography, rehearsals…everything. We usually start recording songs, if we’re lucky, 16 weeks before shooting,” said Vincent. “Teen Beach had 9-10 songs written at the same time. Once the demo is done, then choreography can start. Once kids are cast, we generally have 2-3 weeks of dance rehearsals, they have to learn entire movie, and then it’s six to seven weeks to shoot (32 days). It’s a sprint.”

With any TV production, the process is a collaborative effort, with many people giving input along the way. With so many voices in production, it’s a wonder exactly how much freedom a composer will have when it comes to pulling the music together.

“I have a lot. In Galavant, I was working with Alan Menken and he was given a lot of freedom and guided the chasing down of this Monty Python/Princess Bride style. In Agent Carter, musical episode nine, the two showrunners on a whim said ‘lets do a musical’ and they thought I’d say ‘that’s crazy’ but I said ‘ok’ and they said ‘wait really?” and we started to develop it. It ended up turning into this huge thing on a sound stage in Universal, and all along the way no one knew what they were doing so they looked to me because I’d been working on Galavant for two years. There’s a lot of situations where not a lot of people know how to do this and how to do it in the constraints of television. But, when you figure it out, then they trust you,” said Lennertz.

“On School of Rock, it’s a team effort,” said Mann. “[With] the original songs, I am given a lot of freedom. We get the script and take a look and realize where we’re supposed to go. There are obviously people above the composer/song writer who make sure it’s right for the show, and the showrunners…so there’s a lot of tweaking that happens once it’s in the [show’s] universe, but generally, when you have to write something new there’s freedom in it. If you loved it when you gave birth to it, chances are that someone else is going to love it too.”

While every production has a dream cast, the panel discussed the chase for that “diamond” actor and the overall casting process.

“It’s ‘the diamond.’ [With actors,] acting has to be there. There’s nothing you can do about that, can’t fake the acting. Then there’s singing, which we can help, but it helps if they can make it a part of their performance. Then there’s the dancing, and you have to work with what you’ve got. And then the bottom [of the diamond] is if they can be funny. So to find those kids that have all four of those [attributes], like a Miley, or Demi, it’s gold to be able to find those kids. It’s tough because they’ve only had so many years to learn,” said Vincent.

While the industry is very competitive, it can be an incredibly fun place to work. The panel had a few pieces of advice for those interested in getting into television.

“Everything counts. If you want to do something, if you want to act, sing, write poetry, whatever piece of this whole thing, you’ve got to find someway to do it,” said Vincent. “If that’s at home, finding a friend with a guitar…but I remember in college I had a band and we just were looking for anywhere to perform. We ended up playing at the school pub, paying them to let us play, but it was a chance and we did it. We had a great time, and it led to something else. In order to reach a point where someone will pay you to do something, you have to have experience,” said Vincent.

Tags:


  Save as PDF