MT Song Dossier - 2nd and 3rd Semester - Fillable2

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2nd & 3rd Semester

MUSICAL THEATRE SONG DOSSIER


Name_____________________________________________________________ Class/Section_______

Song_________________________________________ Show ____________________________________

Composer ____________________________________ Lyricist __________________________________

1. Character - build a character history based on the given circumstances and/or your imagination.

a. Character Name ______________________________________________________ Age______

b. Physical Descriptive Adjectives ___________________________________________________

c. Cultural Background/Languages/Dialects__________________________________________

d. Hometown (City, State, Country) ___________________________________________________

e. Personality Assets________________________________________________________________

f. Personality Flaws________________________________________________________________

g. Complexes (obsessions, phobias, hang-ups) _________________________________________

h. Occupation_____________________________________________________________________

i. Education ______________________________________________________________________

j. Social Standing __________________________________________________________________

k. Private Life______________________________________________________________________

l. Public Life_______________________________________________________________________

m. Political Views ___________________________________________________________________

n. Philosophical Views_______________________________________________________________

o. Sexual Life_______________________________________________________________________

p. Religious/Moral Views____________________________________________________________

q. Hopes___________________________________________________________________________

r. Disappointments _________________________________________________________________

s. Secrets __________________________________________________________________________
2. Place/Environment – From the libretto and/or imagination, when and where does the
song take place? (Include: City/State, Country, Specific Location, Day, Time, Year, Season)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Structure of Song/Scene

a. The Moment Before: What happened to motivate the song? (Using the given facts from
the libretto and/or your imagination, describe what events lead up to your song.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

b. What is the song about? This is the “Essence” of the song. What basic human emotion
does the song address? i.e., Loneliness, Addiction, Thrill, Betrayal, Revenge, Loss,
Unrequited Love, Unexpected Love, etc. (You will create an AS IF that connects you to
this). This is NOT a rephrasing of the lyrics or the objective of the song.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Objective – What do you want to accomplish? What do you want the person you are
speaking to TO DO?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. Urgency – WHY do you need to achieve your objective? What are the stakes or what will
happen if you don’t achieve your objective?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
6. Obstacle – WHAT and/or WHO is preventing you from accomplishing your objective?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

7. Relationship - To whom are you talking? (can be more than one person, list all)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

8. Journey – each song is a story that consists of a beginning, middle and end; CREATE A
THREE ACT PLAY.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

9. The Final Moment

Have you reached your objective? _________________________________________________

What has the song accomplished? How are you different from when you began?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________
10. Emotional Preparation “…that device which permits you to start our scene in a condition of
emotional aliveness.” – Sanford Meisner

DO NOT COME IN TO A SCENE EMOTIONALLY EMPTY. Name the overall emotion you
feel in the “moment before” and describe what you are going to do as an actor to get in to it
i.e., tell yourself a joke, remember a song or a story, picture a loved one, etc.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

11. AS IF – Connects you to the “Essence” of the song. What is the parallel emotional
circumstance you are using from your own life experience AND/OR your imagination to
connect you to the entire song? i.e, in the song “I Cain’t Say No” from Oklahoma, the essence
of the song is an “Addiction” to boys. If you don’t have that kind of addiction, you may
substitute it for shoes or food.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

12. Lyric Analysis


Define any words or phrases that are unfamiliar: _______________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Note any interesting and/or internal rhymes: ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

13.Putting It Together
Indicate some choices you tried and discarded, and why. _________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

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