OK, so I’m a couple of months late with the progress report. It’s all right, though, because we are really close to finishing up. We’ve rescheduled our performance dates to start in February. (See below)
One reason for the delay in this project: To make something accessible to the musicians, we needed to create a score for the music, but we also needed them to see and react to the words in one-man script that Pat wrote.
So we came up with a new name: “SCORPT,” which combines the score and the script. It’s an actual “book” that sits on the music stands and contains not only the notes each instrument plays, but the salient lines from the script that I speak, AND, since the musicians move around to different positions during the show, instructions (blocking) for their movement, and finally, since they also speak on occasion, the words they must utter. YIKES.
However, Olivia has been up to the job and the SCORPT is nearly complete. We are interviewing musicians as you read this, so if you know of any, let us know!
Here are the instruments we need:
1. Honkytonk/Stride Piano; Piano often carries bassline in lieu of string bass.
2. Bass Trombone (score includes arrangements, as well as sections where chords are provided as in fakebooks and trombone is invited to act as bass)
3. Trumpet (includes written parts and opportunities for improvisation; familiarity with New Orleans style is preferred)
4. Viola (mostly melodic lines but some sections call for rhythmic chord comping a la Appalachian fiddle style); Doubling on Musical Saw preferred (mostly effect)
5. Banjo (mostly chords/rhythm with some arranged melodies and opportunities for improvisation); Doubling on Harmonica preferred
6. Percussion including timpani, snare, high hat, crash, and more! Foley effects include: chainsaw, loon and bear, to name a few.
Show Dates so far:
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Rehearsals: mostly in late January and early February
Shows
Preview Performance – Friday, February 15, 2019, 7:30PM
Spokane Community College at the Lair Auditorium
Grand Opening Weekend
Friday, February 22, 7:30PM AND Sunday, February 24, 3:00PM
Sandpoint, Idaho, the Panida Theater
Spokane, March 1, details TBA
Other performances to follow if the show is a hit!
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Also, I just wanted to share my relief. Olivia has REDUCED the time she spends talking to me in Capitals. But then again, she as reduced the time she spends talking to me at all, so maybe it’s not so good.
One of the inspirations for our work is Spike Jones: go to YouTube and check this out, or any one of his zany compositions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2TOF4LPeGI