Friday, February 18, 2011

Start Here To Get A Quick Overview of the Musical

Below is one of the free downloads for "One Mad Christmas" and is a snapshot overview of the musical. Use the controls at the bottom of the box to view in full screen, zoom, or download the file.

Download all of the free preview files from the box in the sidebar, or click here for the direct link to them all.



We know it's not even Easter, yet, but wouldn't it be great to "lock in" what you're doing for Christmas this year? :)
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Be sure to download all of the free "preview" files that are located in the sidebar of the main page of this blog, and start with the file, "1MadStarthere.pdf." If you have any additional questions, please feel free to drop me a line at: johnnyleckie [at] gmail.com


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Preview Party Ideas for "One Mad Christmas"


Many churches performing dramatic musical productions at Christmas plan a "Listening/Viewing" type of party prior to beginning rehearsals in order to cast the vision and get everyone jazzed (so to speak) about the production. But how do you do that without a soundtrack or quality preview video? That's where we were when we introduced "One Mad Christmas" to our group for the first time.

In previous years, we had used a preview video for this purpose, but this one was, of course, different. We had the added excitement of it being an original musical, but we also had to discover a way to give everyone a picture of what to expect.

Here’s what we did to pull that off. Maybe it will give you a few ideas, also:
  • I recruited people to do a reading of the dramatic script before our listening/viewing party. These were generally people I had in mind for the various roles, but not all of them. We printed out copies of the script for everyone, invited them to my house for pizza, assigned them parts to read through, and then we sat in a circle and did a “reading run through.” When we had our "all chorus/cast/interested parties" listening/viewing party, I had these same people read it through like a “radio show.” (Although I honestly can’t remember if we read through sections or the whole thing.)
  • I previewed/worked through the score with my pianist and drummer before “previewing” it with everyone else. They had a pretty good handle on it by the time we presented it at the listening/viewing party.
  • I printed up production books that included all of the songs that the entire chorus would be singing as well as costume information, background info, countdown information, etc. and passed them out to everyone who came to the listening/viewing party. (Much of this information is provided for you in the "Director's Production Guide" for "One Mad Christmas." It is provided with the other downloadable materials when you license the musical.)
  • We sang through the songs live with piano and drums as we introduced the musical that night. This created an immediate "hands on" experience with the musical that involved everyone in the process from the beginning.
  • We made a big deal about it being a “special” production, unlike the “canned” musicals we had done in the past. (Not being derogatory here, just trying to distinguish it as being something unique.) Our cast and chorus were very excited about doing a musical that no one else in our area was doing, and one in fact, that had never been done before!
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Be sure to download all of the free "preview" files that are located in the sidebar of the main page of this blog, and start with the file, "1MadStarthere.pdf." If you have any additional questions, please feel free to drop me a line at: johnnyleckie [at] gmail.com

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Special Deals for February

Considering performing the dramatic musical, "One Mad Christmas" with your church, this year? Still have a few questions?

Join us tonight, 7 pm, (CST) live, for a free "text based" chat about the musical!
Thursday, February 3rd, at 7pm Central Standard Time.

Enter a Name or Nickname, click "sign in" and you're there! We'll be there for about an hour - Drop in at any time during that hour and chat w/ us for as long as you like!

** We are giving away copies of the "Director's Production Guide" and special discounts to those who join us tonight. We look forward to talking to you!