Idea for a Review for my Magazine

I have decided for my magazine to review in great detail one musical. So I'm going to write the synopsis for my own brand-new, breath-takingly-good pirate musical..!

Why this theme I hear you ask? Well there are a few reasons. One - I have the resources as far as costume and props go having myself and several other friends needed the costume for a dance show and I know a male with a keen musical interest that owns his own pirate jacket. Two - As far as I am aware there is only one pirate musical in existence, 'Pirates of Penzance' by Gilbert and Sullivan. Three - I love all things Pirates of the Caribbean.

I have constructed a mood board, a bit like my musical theatre one, but just on pirates. To construct this I carried out research in the form of asking people what comes to mind when I say pirates to them. So I suppose I have built up a very very stereotypical view of pirates, but that will be what people going to see a pirate musical would expect. I must say, Pirates of the Caribbean seemed to be very influential in the responses. Which I suppose was expected.

Wooden leg, anchor, gold, hat, eye-patch, hook for a hand, pirate flag, hanging, prisoner, sword, rum, parrot, boots, big jackets. All of these I'm sure speak for themselves. As for the colours, brown and black because of the stereotypical colour of the clothing they wear as well as their ships. And red for danger and fighting because pirates were not exactly law abiding and fought a lot. The words and phrases are typical phrases that you might expect a pirate to say. Obviously a majority is actually taken from Pirates of the Caribbean. But the series of films are very influential on pirate views. I will consider all of these aspects when creating my double-page spread.

Deconstruction 2

I have chosen to also analyse this picture of a male musical theatre star as it is totally different to middle-aged lovely Alfie Boe and maybe not everyone's perception of people in the Musical Theatre business..?

Say hello to Ramin Karimloo...

I must back-track a bit, I know I just called Alfie Boe middle-aged, he's not quite there (I think it's the beard that makes him look older for the part he's currently playing) he's actually 37 and Ramin here is 32 however, I'm sure you'll agree that they are presented in very different ways in the images with contrasting representations!

A bit about Ramin. He's Canadian born but is living in England. He enjoyed musical theatre when he was living in Canada and has been incredibly successful since moving to England. He's currently playing the Phantom in Love Never Dies which is the sequel to Phantom of the opera.

So the image. It is a mid-shot, chosen to flaunt his body build. Compared to Alfie, he is portrayed as a bit of a sex symbol and he looks serious. Some people may interpret his stance as arrogant as he appears very confident. However, it does appeal to his target audience, which if you hadn't guessed, are women as well as homosexuals. This particular image may actually draw people's attention to musical theatre that may not have been interested as this image doesn't necessarily conform to the usual image of musical theatre.

Deconstruction of an Image of an Iconic Musical Theatre Star

Alfie Boe is a new rising musical theatre star and he has an amazing voice! He is currently 37 and was discovered in a rather odd way. He'd always had a passion for music but never knew what to do or how to go professional until that is, he was working in a garage and to pass the time he sang aloud. One day a customer who worked in the music industry told him of a company that were auditioning for a tour. He went along and that's where it all began! Interestingly, he says that he has never since been able to track down the mystery man who convinced him to audition! From that audition his career in the music industry went from strength to strength and is now best known for his performance in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables. Here is the image from the front of his latest album.

It is a head and shoulders shot of him. The way he is posed and with the position of the collar of his coat as well as his facial expression, makes him look happy, friendly and even a bit cheeky. This image would appeal to his target audience (musical theatre lovers of all ages) because the image denotes him to be approachable and a nice guy.

The text in the bottom left hand corner simply says his name and the title of the album. The font, colour and size for his name make's it stand out as it is a contrast to the rest of the cover. The font for the album title appears hand written, adding a personal touch the album and adding to the image of him being friendly. It could also echo his life, in that he is just an ordinary person, discovered by chance; the font is like any other hand-written writing.

Dancing Times

May not strictly be musical theatre but this magazine - Dancing Times - is about dance...in case you hadn't worked that out. So it does cover one aspect of musical theatre.

The history - Amazingly, it was first published in 1894! It was originally published as the house magazine for the ballroom establishment Cavendish Rooms which is in London. However, in 1910 it was brought out by two men who developed and turned it into a national magazine and has had a huge impact on the world of dance. In 1962 dancing times turned into a4 size as it remains today and an a5 magazine called 'Dance Today' was spun-off and named its sister magazine. Dance Today is purely about ballroom, where the original idea begun whereas Dancing Times covers all styles, though predominantly about ballet it would seem.

The particular issue I have is priced at £2.95 however on the internet it is announced that the new issues will be 'begrudgingly' priced at £3.15. It is a monthly magazine and I am going to analyse the Feb '11 issue.

Here is the front cover. It is conventional and it is all actually light blue and white, apart from the black background of course. All these colours work well with each other and compliment each other. In the title of the magazine the word Dancing is in italics and is bold which emphasises the word, thus making the genre stand out. As you can see, just below the name is the issue reference and price, to the right side there is a tagline stating that it is 'Britain's leading dance monthly' and the website address. This tagline would actually help in persuading someone to purchase as it gives it dominance over the market and hints that it is the best. The use of the word 'leading' is a bit of a pun really as, especially in ballroom dancing the word is used as 'the male leads'. The image is, well, quite stunning. It is a longshot of Erina Takahashi who is a member of the English National Ballet, performing a classical ballet movement. The magazine features a 4-page spread of an interview with her. As I've mentioned before, it seems to be mainly ballet, this image will therefore appeal to its audience. The light colours of her leotard, tights, and pointe shoes stand out against the black back-drop. The text surrounding the picture is fairly large and because of the colours, it also stands out from the background. A majority of the text is bold to grab the reader's attention and also most is in capitals. In the bottom right corner the word 'WIN!' is in capital letters which also works as a selling point. Although it is not in this image, in the very bottom right corner there is the bar code with the phrase 'Sister to Dance Today' above it, advertising that magazine also.

The contents page still conforms to the blue+white colour scheme with some black ink. It is professionally organised with subheading splitting up the contents - Features and Regulars - both of which are bold to stand out. Whilst this is a good idea, easy to find what you're looking for, it is not in order and so the contents jumps about which can be frustrating. The features section (Top left) has a pale blue background so that is stands out and the section includes a picture which is later used in one of the feature articles. All of the page numbers are bold to stand out and in the feature section they are all black but in the regulars section they are multi-coloured, following no pattern. The titles of all the pages are also in bold and of a bigger font to stand out. Within the short descriptions of what is on the pages, the names of the people it features are in bold. This is a good idea as it allows the reader to see quickly what they might be interested in. In the top right there is the blue heading 'On the cover' and a smaller copy of the image from the front cover, just below this there is the name of the dancer, the dance it is taken from, the choreographer of the dance and the photographer of the picture. This makes it very informative and professional. In the regulars section there is a turquoise box featuring three more article information as well as a picture. This box is titled 'IntoDance' which I think appeals to a certain audience and it seems to be a slight gossip section as it delves into peoples lives as well as including 'Your Page' for the reader to get involved.

This is pages 36-37 of the magazine and I have chosen to look at this page spread as it shows world dance. The left-hand page is an advert for a competition in Beijing. The writing at the bottom of the advert is both in English and Chinese which keeps the location known as well as appealing to an audience of Chinese ethnicity and those who also enjoy travel. The red and white on the blue background stand out as well as the red being the colour of the countries flag. The image is a series of white lines making up a simple image of a dancer in a tutu. This image is original and effective especially as the background colour has a section which is lighter, coming from the dancers head. The right-hand page is an article about 'how ballet is soothing the current economic crisis in Greece'. The layout is professional and typical of magazines/newspapers with a large picture at the top, large title, subheading, first paragraph in bold and the text arranged into columns. The article still follows the house-style, meaning the magazine is flowing and continuous throughout. The article does actually go on to a second page and it is very informative. Its purpose is not to entertain but it gives a lot of facts and information to the reader in a formal way. Both images have strips of navy blue at the top and bottom, separating them nicely, they also both have the photographer and where is was taken in white. Like the contents page, in the sub-heading the name of the writer is again in bold. At the bottom of every page it says the magazine title, issue and page number in light grey, italics. For example, this particular page says 'Dancing Times\February 2011\37'. This is an excellent idea as it makes navigating around the magazine easy.

All in all - a good informative, professional magazine.

Musical Stages...again!

There's no need for me to call into one of the shops in London...they've posted me a copy of their latest issue for free which is usually priced at £4! I sure do love Musical Stages....especially when you consider that I've emailed M.IsFor 3 times now and had zilch back!

So this issue is the same issue that, if you scroll further down, I have already analysed the cover and talked about the contents.

Anyway, looking through this magazine its fantastic! It's got so much information in it, quite literally everything you need to know about current musical theatre and it looks very professional. The general house-style seems to follow a pattern of blue and white headings with black text for the articles. My scanner isn't big enough for the magazine so I've resolved to taking pictures, I know it's not very clear but it will give you the general layout.

This is pages 8-9 and they're under the heading 'Ron Cohen's Broadway'. The magazine has reviews from the Westend, Broadway and regions across the UK and so it appeals to a wide audience and a large range of people as it just about covers every genre within musical theatre! So as you can see the headings are a blue block with the title printed in white capital letters across it, indented to the nearest edge on either page. There is a subheading which is black ink, bold and slightly bigger than the rest of the text. It is actually also a rhetorical question meaning the reader's attention is immediately grabbed. The main text is black with the names of other musicals in bold to make them stand out. This is effective because people can essentially skim read and if they find a musical they're interested in, read it! As you can see, there are two large pictures, one of each page which take up half of the page. They are establishing long-shots which are action shots as in both cases the casts are in the middle of a song and/or acting. In small white writing in the top left hand corner the title of the musicals they are taken from is printed, with the photographers name down the right hand side. The actual content of the text is not only reviews, but facts and history of musical theatre on Broadway thus making it highly informative.

So a quick look at some of the other pages...

To the right are pages 14-15. This comes at the end of the Broadway section. I have chosen to upload this image because the double page spread has a range of things. Top left there's the final part of the Broadway reviews and information with a picture that has the same layout of where it's from and who took it. The blue rectangle to the right of this image is an advertisement for their own magazine. 'Have every issue of MUSICAL STAGES mailed to you direct for just £20 per year - see page 43 for details'. By putting their title in capital letters it makes it stand out. Presumably, to be reading this the reader would be into buying the magazine. However, as this talks about subscribing, it must be aimed more at readers who are not regular in the purchase. They choose to say 'mailed to you direct' because it makes it sound easy and effortless to have in mailed to you. The bottom half of page 14 and the bottom left hand corner of page 15 are two more adverts. The one in a yellow (to stand out) box is advertising the shop Dress Circle which is 'The Greatest Showbiz Shop in the World' and also one of the few. The advert consists of explaining what type of things it sells then 5 little images of CD covers and information on title, artist, price and content. Underneath this is the companies address and other contact details. The advert on page 15 is for Hurtwood House. I have been on te website given and have discovered that it is a very expensive, but the best in the country boarding school which actually focuses around performing arts. The advert takes an image and style from artist Roy Lichtenstein which they've cleverly manipulated so that the speech bubble says 'I wish I'd gone to Hurtwood.' From the underneath text it's clear that the advert is aimed at people looking for sixth forms/colleges so 16+. I think it appeals to this audience because of the modern picture. The actual content on page 15 is entitled 'Repetitive Strain Injury' which I have said on a previous blog what a great idea i thought it was, given all this extra information. Well, it's a very misleading title! It's not about RSI at all. It is in actual fact someone analysing song lyrics, past and present! Which is still a good article and breaks up the reviews...just not what I was expecting.

There are a few reviews which are in so much detail. There are some shows that have a double page to themselves with pictures, background information, the actual review and a list of all the cast members and characters as well as the creative team and jobs!

One last thing I want to comment on, because it's genius!

Say hello to 'Musical Mole'!!

So this little Mole is a character created by the magazine and acts as a kind of Agony Aunt/question and answer thing. Basically if people have a query about some musical theatre trivia...then they can ask Mole. And it would seem from this issue that if you're having friend/bully issues surrounding musical theatre...you can write to Mole! In this particular issue Mole responds to 4 issues/questions as well as giving and introduction of musical trivia and news. In his closing paragraph the writers really do create a character for him which adds comedy to the magazine. For example, Mole signs off saying 'Ah well, back to cutting out all those pictures of John Barrowman and pasting them over the walls of my office - good times'

So, all in all a very very good magazine! It's informative as well as adding humor to it, it's aesthetically appealing and keeps the readers attention throughout.

Musical Stages

So I wrote a letter to the magazine 'Musical Stages' and they emailed me back within 24 hours of me posting the letter, which is amazing!

So in my letter I asked about where the magazine is distributed and asked if they could give me any information on any statistics. Unfortunately they didn't give any numbers but informed me that it changes per quarter.

So what have a found out? It has contributors from a great long list of countries including America, Australia, South Africa, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan...!

It is predominantly sold by subscription to people and only available from 3 retail shops, all of which are in London. Conveniently, I'm going to London next week so I'm going to try and get hold of one. I was also informed that all major drama schools and societies subscribe to the magazine and have copies in their libraries/reading rooms.

So just a bit of extra information I've gathered. But I will consider this when deciding on my final target audience.

Types of Research

1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Quantitative
4. Qualitative

Primary Research means research that you do yourself and textual analysis. For example, a questionnaire, sending a letter and sending an email all class as primary research. This applies to my research as I have written to and emailed the two Musical Theatre magazines that I have analysed and I plan to do a questionnaire/survey as part of my planning to find out exactly what I my target audience wants. The questionnaire will be specific and all relevant to my audience and magazine style, it is also easy for me to distribute.

Secondary Research is research that has already been carried out by somebody else. For example, on the internet and books. Despite information in books being available and reliable, it may not be the most recent and relevant as things change quickly these days and 'go out of fashion'. The internet, for me, is easily accessible, fast and personally doesn't cost me any money! I will be looking at and finding information via the internet through industry and individual websites.

Quantitative Research is research based around numbers and finding patterns/trends within these numbers. This will become relevant in my research when I analyse the results from my questionnaire I'm going to circulate. The more people that answer the questionnaire; the better and the more reliable my average results.

Qualitative Research, this is more like carrying out an interviews, gaining opinions and feeling of people toward questions and ideas. I will use this method of research with a few people as I begin constructing my magazine to find out what 'works' and what doesn't 'work'.