Over the years, I’ve had a few enquiries from guitarists looking to make the leap into community theatre. Here are a few of the tips I’ve given them on getting started, getting connected, and starting to feel comfortable with the specific challenges of playing for musical theatre.
The single biggest difference between musical theatre and pretty much any other type of playing is versatility: you need to be able to switch genres and mindsets in a moment, even if you don’t need to cover any genre as well as a specialist. That goes for sounds too, and I’ve been firmly on the Line6 Helix train since they came out – I have a core “virtual rig” for each different show I do, plus standard sounds for steel string acoustic, archtop etc. Over the years I’ve picked up a few guitars, but my go-to is a Line6 Variax, because it can “fake” everything from a Telecaster to a 12-string acoustic. You could probably cover most things with an HSS Strat and a steel-string acoustic (next on the list would be maybe a semi/hollow-body). And you’d be surprised how often mandolin, nylon-string and even banjo turn up!
One of the trickiest things about playing in a theatre context is that the musicians are following the actors – that means being responsive to the Musical Director in terms of tempo, timing of entries etc. and also being flexible about when the actors are more fluid with timing – you need to be mentally on your toes. It’s very different to playing in a stage-band context.
And then there’s familiarity with shows – this really comes with time, but there are places where you can find the guitar parts for shows as PDFs (useful for building a practice library, as long as no-one is actually producing a show without the appropriate license etc.) I would say that maybe 85% of any given show is pretty straightforward, but there will typically be one song (or even just a few bars) that it’s worth woodshedding before you get to the band rehearsal. (Only one rehearsal! Although some things are still settling down through the dress rehearsal and even into the first performance!) You can find plenty of videos of amateur productions on YouTube, which are great for getting an idea of tempo and feel.
Another thing that’s becoming increasingly important is being comfortable with “silent pit” situations, where there are no amps and everyone uses headphones for monitoring. My son is a drummer, and has fancy custom-moulded in-ears, but I’m fine with a non-custom set I bought online for ~£50. That’s another reason for using a Helix/Kemper etc. rather than an actual amp. (For gigs that aren’t “silent pit”, I run my Helix into a FRFR powered cab but send my signal to the sound desk direct from the Helix, not the cab.)
Finally, the amateur/community theatre scene is a great way to build your chops, build your reputation, and build your network – with other guitarists, bass players and drummers, and also with keys players who will often be MDs for other productions. My actual job is outside music entirely, but I play for a production at least one week per month. Then it’s a case of networking your way into sitting in on a professional show when it comes near you on tour, and eventually depping for the odd night (or week) and then building that into full bookings. That’s never been part of my plan, but mates of mine have gone from the local community circuit to national and international pro tours… but they’ll often still play for amateur stuff when they’re available, as it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends (and because they enjoy it!)