PERSONAL GAME
A live theatre experience showcasing MFA candidate Ashley Baker’s costume designs, with original music by Orchestra Next. This unusual project will feature performers in costumes which abstractly express different paths people take in adapting themselves for role-playing games.
Directed by John Schmor and featuring original music by Orchestra Next
The Music for Personal Game
The original plan was for the musicians to come together in a studio and record the music for this production. Instead of having a composed score for them to record, both John Schmor and Brian McWhorter were interested in curating a session where the musicians could devise the music together. When the recording sessions were canceled because of covid restrictions, there was a problem: devising a score together seemed impossible and there wasn’t enough time to compose something. The solution was something like a telephone game.
John sent draft images of the costumes and subjective ideas for moods to all the musicians, Brian put together basic structural ideas (tempos and measure numbers) and then Ken Mastrogiovanni (drums) was asked to lay some tracks down . Once Ken was done, the tracks went to Tyler Abbott (bass) who recorded the first pitch material. Then the tracks went to Torrey Newhart (piano), then Avery Scanlon (guitar), and then to Idit Shner (reeds). Each time the tracks changed hands, it was apparent that things were really coming alive. Finally, Brian took all of the material and, working with John, produced the final tracks for the show.
The musicians never had any sheet music to go off of. They were only going off of the images, moods, tempos, and each other’s recordings that were given to them. The music for Personal Game, in the end, was devised in a socially distanced way.
Orchestra Next
Idit Shner – clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Avery Scanlon – guitar
Torrey Newhart – piano, melodica, voice, aux percussion
Tyler Abbott – bass
Ken Mastrogiovanni – drums
Original music for Personal Game composed – in order – by Ken Mastrogiovanni, Tyler Abbott, Torrey Newhart, Avery Scanlon, Idit Shner. Produced by Brian McWhorter.