NMI’s RESOURCE CENTER for musical theatre writers

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

• Stage Directions Format:

  Tips on formatting stage directions and asides.

• Exposition:

  Exposition is the information the audience needs to know in order to understand who the characters are in relationship to one another, and information they need to know in order to understand what has happened to them before your story begins.  See Neighbor Exposition as well as Stranger Exposition (below).

• Musical Scene:

  A musical scene is defined as a moment in a musical when an entire scene is musicalized. This may mean that the sequence contains one or more songs and/or reprises, including underscored dialogue (if necessary, but not required). The section being musicalized must be a complete scene, with a beginning, middle, and end, and including a dramatic action.

  Definitions of dramatic action will keep you awake nights, but the one we use is: The exercise of a character’s will in the face of an opposing force.

  Musical scenes are useful when there are multiple conflicting forces on stage at the same time (Think “Tonight” from West Side Story), but they’re not merely crowd scenes. The focus of a musical scene is generally on one character who is working through a problem or confronting a conflict, though there could be multiple characters in action.

  Ballads, rhythm/uptempo songs and comedy songs can all serve as the basis for musical scenes. “Tonight” from West Side Story is an example of a musical scene arising from a ballad.

  Another example of a musical scene (even though it only involves one character) is “Soliloquy” from Carousel. It begins as a reflective moment and contains elements of charm in the songs “My Boy Bill” and “My Little Girl”. But at the end of the song, the young father-to-be realizes what his responsibilities will be. Consider the final lyrics: “I never knew how to make money/But I’ll try, by God, I’ll try/I’ll go out and make it or steal it or take it/Or die!” The reflection has caused him to make a decision, and we know he will act on it. Definitely a musical scene.

  Not all musical scenes need to have such dire consequences as “Soliloquy” does to qualify. “You Must Meet My Wife” from A Little Night Music is a comedic musical scene. During the song, Frederick gives Desiree permission to hate his wife, Anne, by revealing her to be a perfectly horrible little simp, which she is, and Desiree announces her decision, albeit cleverly and comedically, to do the little witch in.

  A caution: don’t create a musical scene simply by adding underscoring or vamps to a scene in a book. You want your music to have a dramatic function, and not simply mark time in order to make a scene feel as though it’s a whole musical sequence.

• Format:

  Standard formatting guidelines for script, also for score.

• Ballad:

  A ballad is a song with a serious lyrical intention that is characterized by the legato feeling of the melodic line. That is, the content of the song is usually something we take seriously and the music is smooth and flowing. It is the legato feeling of the music that really defines the song. In other words, a bouncy tune with serious words isn’t a ballad, whereas a smooth, flowing melody with a lighter content very well could be a ballad.

  Ballads are used for many dramatic reasons, but the most common is probably a love song of some kind or other. Examples abound, and you can select your favorites. “If Ever I Would Leave You” is a typical ballad of the love song variety. Although the song is performed in the show Camelot with a very strong rhythmic pulse, the melody is very legato in style. Notice, also, how the words are arranged to make this possible. The only consonant that could be considered harsh in the opening title phrase is the “v” in ever and leave, and neither sound prevents the easy motion of the lyric. Say the phrase, “If ever I would leave you.” One word blends into the next effortlessly – making this very easy to sing in the legato style of the music. Also, the phrases tend to end with round, open sounds – “Knowing how in spring I’m bewitched by you soooooooo” – so the singer can sustain the ends of phrases with an attractive sound. If a ballad is defined by the character of the music, the definition must be supported by the sound and content of the words.

  Certainly not all ballads are boy-meets-girl love songs. One of the most interesting is from Oklahoma! The song “Lonely Room” is used to humanize a character. Jud is the villain, but rather than the evil, leering gent of earlier melodramas, he’s characterized as a psychologically disturbed murderer who craves physical love. Here the song really helps the audience understand and even fear the character. The words are effective, and the music is sometimes balladic and legato, other times abrupt and staccato, reflecting the schizoid nature of both the song’s content and the character.

  Another interesting use of a ballad is the song “Far From The Home I Love” in Fiddler On The Roof. This song explores the drama with a simple eloquence and causes the central character to re-examine his priorities when his daughter sings it. Again, the lyrics support the style of the music with soft consonants – “Far from the home I love/Yet there with my love, I’m home.”

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