Your Musical Theater and Audition Guide

By Ferdinand Gernandt

So you’re a singer, dancer and actor with a passionate love for the stage and you dream of performing behind the footlights with all the musical theater greats. Broadway here you come! Musical Theater is an incredibly exciting and rewarding line of work. SO, let’s get into the heart of stepping into a career in the world of Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Steven Schwartz, Rogers and Hammerstein, Harold Prince and Bob Fosse . You may have heard the phrase triple threat mentioned when speaking of stage performers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ferdinand Gernandt
• Release date: May 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329177291

Ferdinand Gernandt

Ferdinand has been part of the SA entertainment industry for over 15 years and has evolved from being a sought after vocalist and Performer to a respected and accomplished Choreographer, Director and Producer.Ferdinand recently produced, directed and choreographed the Smash Hit musical “REIK NA DIE STERRE” and is currently in the process of developing the full feature film “#SCARS”He has also been seen on the small screen in varied featured parts in “VILLA ROSA, ISIDINGO, 7de LAAN & SCANDAL” His most recent theatre accolade was playing the role of Electra in the Roller Skating Musical “STARLIGHT EXPRESS”Ferdinand completed his diploma in Musical Theatre at Pretoria Technikon in 1999. After his studies he joined “African Footprint” for three years (704 performances) as part of the original cast, touring abroad to Atlanta, Georgia and performed at the “Royal Variety Performance” in 2000, London. He also performed for “Celebrity Cruise Lines” and “Princess Cruises” as singer/dancer and guest entertainer for two years. On Ferdinand’s return to South Africa he choreographed and starred in “Best of the boys - Calendar Boys” as lead vocalist at the Performer Theatre, following he choreographed “Duke” for Tswane University of Technology (TUT) for their annual Dance Season in 2005. Other Shows include: “7’Tease Fever” “The Wizard of Oz” “Vodacom CEO Awards 2005” Fred Casely in “Chicago” the Musical “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” Galileo understudy in “We Will Rock You” "The King and I" and wowed audiences as the John Travolta character Tony Manero in the West End hit Musical “Saturday Night Fever”Ferdinand's short film screenplay "Uit die Kaskenades" got commissioned for production for kykNET's Silwerskerm Filmfees which landed in the TOP 10 out of 450 other scripts. "Debuut - PILOT" an Afrikaans GLee kykNET Series which has been developed into the popular kykNET series STERLOPERS. 8 DAYS IMDB credit as writer for this feature film, produced by After Eden Pictures USA. His screenplay and brainchild "LINE OUT - the movie musical" is in development with DreamVision and After Eden Pictures, USA.Further projects include: Nianell - Sand en Water CD launch, Innibos Kunstefees 2011 as well as “SKOUSPEL 2013 & 2014” He was also the choreographer for the Afrikaans 50's movie musical "Pretville" Produced by Hartiwood Films.Ferdinand acts as producer, director and choreographer of this yearly youth development project the "Broadway Performance Showcase Experience" which is an initiative to create a sound platform for our young artists in South Africa providing a safe environment to uplift and transform our culture.The “FADCreationS Mentorship Program” is a 3 to 6 month program where one-on-one training, mentorship and guidance is provided to select individuals to bridge the gap between amateur and professional, preparing the young talents for the industry.

Book preview

Your Musical Theater and Audition Guide

By

Ferdinand Gernandt and Diani Gernandt

Copyright

Copyright © 2015 by Ferdinand Gernandt, Diani Gernandt

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

ISBN 978-1-329-17729-1

Postnet Suite 349, Private Bag x4, Wierda Park

Pretoria, Gauteng, 0149

www.fadcreations.co.za

Musical Theater as a Career

So you’re a singer, dancer and actor with a passionate love for the stage and you dream of performing in behind the footlights with all the musical theater greats. Broadway here you come!

Musical Theater is an incredibly exciting and rewarding line of work. SO, let’s get into the heart of stepping into a career in the world of Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Steven Schwartz, Rogers and Hammerstein, Harold Prince and Bob Fosse .

You may have heard the phrase triple threat mentioned when speaking of stage performers.

Definition of a Triple Threat: (Wikipedia)

Triple threat (entertainer), a performer who excels at acting, singing, and dancing.

When training and preparing to enter the musical theater industry your biggest strength is to become as proficient as you can in all three these disciplines. It takes an enormous amount of commitment and discipline to continuously improve and maintain your skill and craft in this arena.

Musical Theater performers work in seasons of rehearsals and seasons of performances.

When you are ‘in season’ this means the production is currently running and you’re doing between 6-9 performances per week. Mostly theater performers have Mondays free and will start their week on a Tuesday evening with performances every evening and added matinees (afternoon shows) over weekends. There may be understudy