Theatre and Music 8.1

I have worked in theatre for 3 summers, starting as a student then getting promoted to an ASM (assistant stage manager), working behind the stage on a mix of main shows, childrens shows, lunch time performances and gala’s. In the months I was there it gave me a great understanding of the industry, how theatres are run, how the chain of command works (and in theater there is always a chain of command), but more importantly it showed me how different aspects of media tie into each other. The theater has to make sure that an audience will actually turn up to watch the shows, and to accomplish this it needs to make sure there is sufficient coverage through advertising so that the public knows the play is going on, tieing it into the advertising industry. It needs to make sure it has all the equipment necessary to make sure the productions run properly, such as lighting, costumes and sometimes sound equipment if it’s a musical. On top of this every theatre needs a fully prepared front of house staff, taking care of duties which don't usually involve the stage: taking people to their seats, working bars, manning the box office, cleaning... All are essential for the theatre to run smoothly but are often overlooked by the general public. In the national theater while on the trip for college in the Oliver Stage we got to see some of the musical facilities they had access to, such as the two ashtrays (a slang term for the boxes where the orquestra sit during performances) which were kitted out with soundboards, microphones and cue prompters, along side some lovely instruments.

In the music industry all the different angles of creative media play a big role also. Nowadays, especially since the success of youtube has allowed amateur productions to be widely seen by the public, music videos for songs has become a completely standard tool for increasing coverage and gaining recognition, and in a more artistic light provides ways for musicians to express themselves outside their usual methods. And in actual feature films, an incredibly powerful tool used all over the craft is the incorporation of music alongside the visuals to create or assist in the effect of emotions. But the music industry doesn’t just stop with film, there are whole TV stations which are dedicated to nothing but music, promoting bands, playing songs and relaying news, agencies of designers making album covers and posters for the music and now even computer programmers making games to promote new releases. There are people who own studios, renting them out by the hour to musicians, sometimes charging a fortune. There are promoters, who do nothing all day but trying to set up gigs and parties. The band manager who has to organize pretty much everything the band does at all times, from what they eat, to where they sleep, to their transport and often even the clothes they wear. There are producers, who help and oversee the recording in studio, often lending their sound and style to the recording, Lee 'Scratch' Perry is a prime example. There are offices filled with lawyers going through endless piles of legal documents copyrighting and protecting the music which has been made. All in all, in any media related business there will always be a cross over between the different fields, all playing a vital role to form the media industry.