BWW Blog: Tools to Add to the MT Tool Kit

Many musical theatre enthusiasts already own their favorite must haves, whether it be their rep binder, their coveted Laducas, or a go to audition outfit, but beyond those standard items, the musical theatre enthusiast checklist tends to become less obvious. While some people are fans of Grether's Pastilles, others might opt for Fontus lozenges, or Sour Patch Kids to moisten their mouth. In a business where the must-have list is not as standard as a typical desk job and opinions vary from artist to artist, below are my must-haves for any musical theatre enthusiast to add to their tool kit.

1. Appcompanist

This is especially useful during the pandemic. Appcompanist is a subscription based app that has a significant portion of the musical theatre canon ready for your accompaniment needs. In addition to providing acoustically pleasing accompaniment, it also allows you to play the melody line with the accompaniment in the event you want to spot check a few notes, or learn the entire melody line. You can also change keys on demand and adjust the tempo. This app, though a pricey subscription, has been a valuable tool in my training for preparing my material and presenting my material, even without an accompanist, or voice teacher live and able to play my accompaniment for me.

2. Scribd

Another subscription based service, this website allows you to access a multitude of documents. This is especially useful as a musical theatre artist because you have access to a significant portion of sheet music for the musical theatre canon. My favorite aspect of Scribd is how many piano/conductor scores and scripts the website has access too. If you want sheet music for a show, or want to find the libretto of a show, Scribd is a great place to start searching.

3. A Really Fun Spotify Playlist

Aside from choosing monologues and songs for your college auditions, another dreaded choice is deciding which song to use for your dance prescreen. Sometimes, you're endlessly scrolling through your music, or searching through Youtube trying to find the perfect song. My best advice is to create a playlist of non-theatre music and theatre music that you vibe with. With non-theatre music, Sammy Rae and Postmodern Jukebox are great artists to start building your playlist. For theatre music, choose your favorite shows and select the "dance production numbers" from the show. From these playlists the algorithm will enhance your recommended songs, discover weekly, and daily mixes. By the time you have to make your decision, you will

have access to many songs that are tasteful to you, while also being uniquely yours. As much as we love "Too Darn Hot", unless you're bold, you probably will want to choose another song to dance to.

4. A Youtube Playlist of Your Favorite Theatre Videos

When you need an extra boost of inspiration and motivation, Youtube has been a wonderful source to fill that need. Whether you love watching the 2013 Tony Awards opening number, Jessica Lee Goldyn's "Music in the Mirror", or the BCEFA Broadway Backwards rendition of "Cell Block Tango", having these videos all organized and ready to be accessed in a playlist can help feed the soul if you are feeling the need for some inspiration.

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