I went to see a play this weekend put on by kids. My daughter's friend was in it. It was amazing how the play actually had a live orchestra playing the music and it was like I was at a mini Broadway production. I wonder if these musicians got paid. They were adults and had 5 performances that weekend.

I had a friend that played violin in a school orchestra and she said that they were not paid for their performances at the school.

Maybe it was anti-child labor laws or something
but they sounded great- almost pro- and they really enjoyed it.

I haven't seen a play with an actual orchestra in it, however my kids are still young so I don't know what the local high school does. That would be pretty cool though just like going to Broadway, something I have never done!

Haven't seen a musical or an opera Rio? Sounds like a great idea for a family vacation to me. Go up to Niagara Falls, hike around, see Toronto (I think you get a better view from the Canadian side, haha), and go see one of their major productions. You can always go see Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King (In my opinion, The Lion King is one of the best musicals ever written, and I'm a harsh critic. It's even better than the movie by a long shot.), or several Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. You'll have a blast.

If the vacation thing isn't in the books, there are plenty of community theaters somewhere in your area I bet you could check out. They're usually wonderfully cheap, and since it's almost entirely (if not all) volunteer work, the people are usually genuinely into it for the fun and for the sake of art. It's not uncommon to get to talk to the actors/producers/director/musicians afterward at these places.

Note: While musicals can be great in most any format, from community to Broadway, I would only suggest that you go see opera in a larger scale production, just because of the intense training required for singers AND musicians to be able to surmount their performance tasks.

Oh, and...



That made me burst out laughing.

My cousin was in a high school orchestra and he had several big productions during his three years in it. The shows were pretty amazing. He got a musical scholarship actually, and is off to college this month.

well i guess its one of those things that they will perform for free..why not as your daughter's friend on the details?

In many cases, schools will use mostly student players but bring a few paid adults to anchor the sections and play the important solos or lead parts. Some school boards think that if it's not all students in the orchestra, it's faking it, and some schools have great student orchestras. In many cases, college age students in music schools will play for free or for a nominal fee just for the experience. I've played some high school musicals, Gilbert & Sullivan and amateur theater productions. At first I played for free, but after I realized the commitment it takes -- if you want to do it right -- I asked to be paid, although not union scale. A G&S production takes an average of one rehearsal a week for three months, a week of orchestra & dress rehearsals, then 9 performances that take three hours, not including travel time. That's a lot of hours to do for free, no matter how much you love to play.