Collaboration In Theater Analysis

Collaboration is a critical component of the music theater program. What I learned from the book “Collaboration in Theater” is that the performance of an excellent musical cannot work without the cooperation between the actors and the back stage crew. The perfect collaboration includes time, schedules, stage design and other projects plagued many steps in the collaborative chain.
What is more, there are always some aspects of successes and frustrations when people cooperate, not to mention the collaboration in theatre. In the beginning of the process to create the show “The Life”, there were some frustrations between the Department of Theater and the College of Music need to be considered. For example, the difference in vocabulary, rehearsal times and logistical finger-pointing were all elements in the frustration between the two departments. Since the Department of Theater wanted to showcase their actors while the College of Music focused on the voice of their students appeared in the showcase. In addition, the first production meeting with director and designers was terrible. “The lighting designer was in another state working on a show. The scene and costume designers seemed shell-shocked from their hectic summer schedules. Unsympathetically, the director plowed ahead, as he would be leaving town for three weeks. The timing was disastrous.” Pg. 2040 It shows that it is not an

easy thing to gather everyone of the show to cooperate.
On the other hand, when it comes to the successes of the process to make the show “The Life”, “I particularly remember a moment in which I felt the necessity to express an artistic opinion on somebody’s work. Not only was my respectful comment well received, it opened the opportunity to exchange impressions on each other’s area, nurturing the artistic result of the show.” Pg. 2660 The collaboration encourage communication between directors and designers. In this way, a torrent of new ideas and finer distinctions will come in. For another example, at the beginning, the director Rob Roznowski, thought that it was always the designer’s job to bring in the images, and his job was then to choose the images that he liked. However, after he worked with director Kirk Domer, he tried to working in this new way and found out that it was better for the designers and actors to understand the director’s vision. He said “I prefer working like this because it really helps me spark discussion with the designer.” Just like the Domer’s opinion, “I always like when a director can speak through words as well as images. For myself, I find it easier to work with a director who works in evocative images expressing the sensation or smell or taste of an environment rather than telling you that this building should be stage right.” Pg.1965
From reading the process that how the directors, designers, actors and other back stage crew cooperated successfully to create the musical show “The Life”, I realized that collaboration is not easily to achieve.

Each team members need to be involved positively and willing to communicate effectively to make the collaboration successfully. It is the ability that extremely important and useful for everyone to learn and utilize whenever at school for group paper or at work for team project. Especially, I am in the finance major. I definitely sure that I will face lots of team work in the

future.