How Does The Show Go On? - An Introduction To The Theater
Page 3 of 3

When Tom was growing up in California he had to cobble together whatever information about the theater he could from subscriptions to New Yorker and Theatre Crafts magazines. There were just few resources available to budding actors or technicians at the time. "Much of the stuff available was geared towards professionals so I had to piece it together for my own curiosity and understanding," Tom admitted. "The kids stuff really was dumbed down which was a product of the time. I wanted to keep this book real and explain what a wig is and what role the prop department has. The irony for me is that we are supposedly in a world of new media. All we hear about is new media, new media, new media. However I live in the world of the oldest media known to man. Theater predates everything including books. Everyone is thinking about how to deliver entertainment through cyberspace whilst we stand on the stage and switch on the lights to perform in front of people every night."

Click here for a much larger version of this picture

The hardback clocks in under 130 pages and is packed with photos of the cast and creatives going about their jobs in bringing Disney musicals to the stage. It is a revealing look behind-the-scenes of how a show is created and what it takes to perform the final product eight times a week and is immensely comprehensive. However one of the hardest tasks that Tom faced was keeping the volume short. "You know there is an old joke � I apologize for writing such a long letter but I didn't have time to write a short one. Only writers would understand that!" Tom joked. "There are topics that I have left out that would be fine for a second edition. The Little Mermaid is not in the book as it was finished before the show went into rehearsals [the show opens on Broadway on January 10, 2008]. Jeff and I have conceived a companion book that we are hoping to start work on in January."

"I had worked on so many of The Making Of� books for both feature animation and our shows and although it was fun to be part of the editorial teams of those I actually wanted to write something that expressed my point of view and is mine," Tom relayed. "It is gigantically harder than most people think. I also wanted to make sure the book was affordable. I don't get one red cent off of the book and we used a lot of our resources to keep the cost down. It is only $19.95."

Click here for a much larger version of this picture

Unlike Tom I never dreamed of being in theater and for most of my life I have never had any real interest in Broadway. That changed with the arrival of The Lion King which introduced me to a form of entertainment that I did not possess as a child growing up in suburbia. For the past three years I have been privileged enough to write about the creative endeavors of Tom, Disney Theatrical Productions and the cast and creatives behind TARZAN, Mary Poppins and now The Little Mermaid for Tales from the Laughing Place magazine. This book will be a compelling and useful resource for me in the future when I need to interview participants for the magazine. I certainly gleaned significant information from seeing each Disney show through Tom's eyes. I heartily recommend it. Especially as Tales' Creative Director Lindsay Cave is featured in the book!

That said � I can't forgive Tom for spelling theatre wrong throughout the book.

How Does The Show Go On? � An Introduction To The Theater by Tom Schumacher with Jeff Kurtti is available now from all good bookshops.

Click here for a much larger version of this picture