Article: Julia Oschewsky’s ‘Jazz meets Theatricality’
Since this was the only “academic” article I could find which was most relevant and similar to my chosen research topic, I was very curious to read what she had to say and see if there was anything I could add.
What stands out first is where she writes, “The elements have to support, have to work with and have to be coherent with the musical meanings/ material. If not, the added elements are without function and just something that exists aside…” This falls in line with type of approach I had in mind for an interdisciplinary performance. I would add however that the elements must be also relevant and supportive of the type of message or atmosphere that you are trying to make. Sometimes, contrast in the disciplines or elements can aid in highlighting, for example, a certain theme.
In page 7 of her article she asks the question “are there musical structures in jazz that allow theatrical skills to be involved?” An interesting question that, in my opinion, I feel doesn’t get answered in the following pages.
- The jazz musical structures that she is referring to are:
- Improvisation
- “Extended” harmony, dissonance
- Specific colour in voice or voicing (altered or diminished chords, etc)
- No lyrics necessarily
If we go according to the skills/ tools listed in the book ‘Handbook for the Actor’, then the answer is yes, there are theatrical skills that can be used in jazz. However, she is not clear in stating the skills that she is referring to. Whether she is referring to general things like props, lighting, storyline, movement, and acting or not.
On page 14, she begins with a chart that she uses to describe the physical structures and situation on stage during a performance. She uses the term “Frontal” for what she finds to be the typical setting of a jazz performance, and “Non-frontal” for the opposite.
She states that in ‘Frontal’ there is no interaction with the audience. I do not agree with this even though I can understand why she makes this statement. Sometimes when you go to a jazz concert, the musicians seem to be very self-involved. However, I don’t find that this is a default of jazz music. I know as a jazz singer, I strive to reach my audience with the music. The interaction between jazz musician and audience is different and not always so obvious.
In the beginning of the article it seems like her focus is more on pleasing the audience but that changes towards the end when she writes “Art is more than pure entertainment…It should move, activate, inspire, and trigger emotion and thought.” This stands out for me as this is my ultimate goal as a musician and performer.
In conclusion, this article was a good springboard into my own research as I created a lot of questions from it such as:
1. Should the music guide the performance or should the performance guide the music?
2. Is there a fourth wall in jazz performance?
3. Is there such a thing as an active audience with a fourth wall?
4. If there wasn’t a fourth wall in jazz music in the past, when did it come in?
5. Where does “charisma” come in?
6. Should you “play yourself” or “play a role”? And if you “play a role” is it not jazz anymore?
7. Can scatting be theatrical?
I realized that the answers to some of these questions would be subjective. For example, the question of whether the music should guide the performance or vise versa will depend on the individual’s preference to their artistic approach. One person may start out with a clear performing concept and therefore may want to create music to match the concept. And of course this can happen the other way round as well.
Although I had questions about the Fourth Wall, I decided not to pursue the answers to them as I realized, with the help of my coach, that it is a big and complex topic in itself which could take away my time and focus from other things that were maybe more important towards my research.
The most important question for me though, was whether scatting could be theatrical. Since scat singing is a typical characteristic for jazz voice, the process of finding an answer to this question could lead me on the right path towards integrating theatre and jazz, without the performance turning into a “musical”.
Other questions I would find answers to in the following books I was to read, experiments that I would do, and conversations I would have.
Book: A Practical Handbook for the Actor
Reading this book brought me a kind of peace! It de-mystified acting and spoke about solid tools that can be used and improved to be able to act. Where as in the past, it seemed to me that you either had the “talent” to act, or you didn’t.
So what are the tools of the acting craft?
A strong clear voice
Good clear speech
A strong supple body
The ability to analyze a scene correctly
Semantics – the ability to use words specifically in order to choose a good action
Memorize by rote
The ability to work off the other person
The ability to act before you think (i.e. on your impulses)
The ability to concentrate. Remember that concentration is like a muscle; when it wonders it can only be tempted back by a good action and placed lightly back on the task at hand
Bravery
Will
Common sense
When I started thinking about my research topic, I had hoped that perhaps what I would learn could be applied not only to singers who deal with words in the form of lyrics, and story telling through song, but also to all kinds of musicians. Later on, I thought that maybe be a little bit ambitious and far off. After all, instrumentalists are restricted in movement on stage because of their instruments. And some instrumentalists, because of the nature of their instrument, cannot incorporate text into their performance of a song. Both of these things a vocalist can do which makes the craft closer to one of the actor. But this book had a lot of interesting advise that, I believe, other musicians would benefit from.
In this book, it states that one of the jobs of the actor is to “decide what is going on in the text in simple, actable terms” (pg5). This means that the actor needs to analyze the play and text, and portray his findings with “physical action”. Therefore, “Physical action is the main building block of an actor’s technique”. The book then goes on to list the characteristics of an action, most of which I could relate to and found to be good advice to musicians as well. Below I will list some of the ones that I could relate to as a musician. An action must:
Be physically capable of being done. – What I decide to do on stage must be within my register or technical capabilities
An action must be fun to do… What gets you going?What gets you hot? If you are clear, specific, and strong with yourself, then, chances are that that is how you will be onstage. – Like what you’re doing and the pieces you choose to sing. Be convinced in your ideas and choices.
An action must be specific. Stanislavsky said, “Generality is the enemy of all art”. – Being more clear and specific with actions and musical choices makes more impact on stage
An action cannot be manipulative…in other words, you make up your mind ahead of time how you are going to play a scene and allow nothing to sway you. – Being blind to the other musicians and reactions on stage. One should be open to the possibility that things won’t go the way you planned it, and rather interact with the musicians and the music in the moment.
The action must be in line with the intentions of the playwright. – Action and musical choices must make sense, and be substantiated.
I found this interesting because music is not really considered a very physical discipline. What I mean by this is that compared to actors and dancers, musicians are quite static on stage, the only movement being that made to play their instruments. Yet here is a list of what an “action” is, and I find it to be relevant, useful, and relatable to musicians as well.
There are a lot of similarities between the craft of acting and music. Not only in the tools needed to do the craft, but also in how to approach your craft in terms of approach towards rehearsing, performing, mind set, and concentration.
For example:
“The time you take to say to yourself ‘Oh, I’m such a terrible actor, I’m not unconnected to what’s going on’ is simply more time wasted.”
This passage refers to your state of mind during a performance. One shouldn’t live in the past mistake or dwell on how things are not going well, but rather shift your mind onto what is going on whether it be your fellow actors, or the music.
“It is not your job to assess how well the other actor is doing, any more that it is your job to assess how well you are doing”(pg45)
Here they give the advice to not judge yourself and the others that are on stage with you whilst you are performing. Not judging will also prevent one from feeling frustrated and keep one concentrated on what’s important, be it the story line, or the music.
“…you must act before you think. What we mean by this is that you should act on what occurs in you as it occurs in you, without passing judgment on the impulse. The place for applying the skills of analysis is at home.”(pg43)
I believe this last quote is particularly relevant for jazz musicians. This is because one of the defining characteristics of jazz is improvisation. I think the goal for most jazz improvisers is that after “applying the skills of analysis at home” by studying the chord changes and the different improvisational possibilities, they can then come on stage and rely on their impulse that has its foundation on the wealth of knowledge that was gained from the studying and practicing that occurred before hand.
A lot of things said in this book are not new and I have heard the same advice given in one way or another over the years from fellow musicians and music teachers. However, it is also nice to see that the advice can be applied in other art forms. It is also sometimes useful to hear the same things told differently and/ or from another perspective. Perhaps the message finally sinks in for someone when received in this way.
The only comment in the book that, I could see, would be a cause of conflict is on page 31 when it states “the actor is not meant to have an experience or expose himself to the audience”. Right before this statement, it says, “The bottom line is: What does it look like to the audience?” In acting terms, this refers to the question of whether one should “feel” what the character is feeling when acting on stage. The answer being that it doesn’t matter as long as the audience sees what the character is feeling. I think some musicians may beg to differ when those statements are applied to musical performance. As far as I know, most musicians are constantly searching and striving for that ‘great performing experience’ and I was always under the impression that if you want to be an ‘artist’, you must be willing to expose yourself. Now whilst I find relief in the thought of not having to expose myself constantly, I do find myself feeling a sense of loss at the thought of not striving for that “great experience” or rather “great feeling”. At the same time it also relieves a bit of pressure because now I don’t have to feel that I have failed in some way if I didn’t have that “feeling”.
The statement goes on to add “but to help tell a story…by applying the tools he has developed to create an illusion.” This is more in line with the way I want to approach my performances. It seems like musicians (especially in art music/ modern music) are not necessarily thinking about the audience and the audience is not a concern or deciding factor in their artistic process when creating a piece. That doing so means that you are “creating for the audience” or “for the audience’s taste” which would lessen the quality and authenticity of the work. I on the other hand would like to take the audience into consideration and don’t feel like this has to negatively impact creativity or the integrity of the work. I think that it should be possible for one to create what one likes, and at the same time use tools that could help guide an audience towards understanding what the piece is about. I don’t like the idea of a passive audience and would like to provoke a reaction and emotions from the audience. I would like that the audience would understand what I’m doing on stage. I like the idea of audience participation, even in the music making! Therefore, this ‘actors’ viewpoint suites me.
Book: Acting For Singers
Whilst the previous book deals with acting in general, this book focuses on the challenge that comes from acting whilst singing. How do you make your character and his or her actions (both spoken and sung) believable?
Some of the points made and advice given in this book are the same as in the Handbook for the Actor, but in addition it also adds some detailed group and individual exercises that you can then go and try out yourself.
These are some of the advice given that stood out for me:
“You never repeat yourself exactly…you will wonder why your character has to say the same thing more than once; you will want to explore what your character needs to express but hasn’t yet been able to fully articulate…”
This passage encourages the singer to really think about the lyrics, and about why the character is repeating a certain phrase. It also encourages the singer to realize that every performance will be different that they should become aware of the “subtle nuances” that they will hear or see not only in themselves but also in their fellow singing partner.
“The composer and librettist…include in the score only material that they feel is relevant and useful to their intent…They intend its various elements to work together through you.”
Here is, again, an encouragement for singers to analyze the music and lyrics. Nothing is in the score without a reason. There is a reason for why a certain word is repeated, or why the melody goes up instead of down. It is the responsibility of the singer/actor to analyze and find out. Knowing this will help the singer give a more convincing performance because there is intent behind the action and voice.
‘The goal of good acting singing is to communicate all the nuances of the music, text, and characters so that the audience has a fulfilling aesthetic and emotional experience.”
All the training and preparation that the singer/actor must do is towards this goal. Creating believable characters and being believable as your character will make the audience connect better with your character and engage their empathy.
This book, more than the other, talks about using “feelings” and “emotions” of your own to create believable characters (chapter 2). I think this is a little tricky because I feel like emotions and feelings cannot be easily controlled, or may overwhelm and get in the way of singing technique.
The exercises are a mixture of practical exercises (by practical I mean not having to do with feelings and emotions), and exercises that call you to try to expose yourself emotionally. An example of one of these exercises is the “Bigger circles” on page 157 which I am already familiar with. Below are the instructions of the exercise given in the book.
“Instructions:
Stand in the middle of the stage or a large room. Choose an intense feeling or need appropriate to a character that you are studying. Arouse that feeling or need in yourself by focusing on a few details of your character’s Given Circumstances and applying the Magical if. Now imagine that you are standing in a small but very bright light – like that of a follow spot. Experience the chosen feeling or need as an energy that fills to bursting the small, intense circle.
Slowly expand the circle. As it grows, keep it filled with the radiating energy of the specific feeling or need. Continue to increase the size of your circle until it reaches the walls of the room or the theatre so that the particular feeling you have evoked is bathing everything within the circle’s outer reaches – including any objects or other people.”
This exercise is supposed to not only “heighten” you emotions but also to improve your concentration and presence. Whilst I find it an interesting concept (and is also tiring to do), what leaves me wanting is the intangibility of it. There is no way to know by yourself if the energy circle has reached the back of the auditorium or not. I talk about this issue with Denis van Galen in an interview that I conduct with him.