Friday, March 13, 2015
What Musicals and Comic Books Have in Common
OnStage: I had the good fortune to see the cartoonist Alison Bechdel give a talk at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010. Mostly, she talked about the process of creating a comic strip or graphic novel, but one thing she said stood out to me, and made me think of musicals. Unfortunately, that talk was not recorded and put online, but it must have been similar to this part of a talk she gave at Cornell a year or so earlier, which was put on YouTube: “I had the somewhat unusual experience of being raised by parents who loved music and books and art and who really wanted me to become an artist or a writer…It’s a double edged sword because you still have to rebel against it. So I think I came up with a pretty good way of rebelling: instead of becoming an artist or writer, like they wanted me to, I became both at once.”
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After reading Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comices" this year in Hawk vs Handsaw, I've been thinking more and more about the effect comics have on art as a whole and how they're so successful at what they do. Upon reading this article, I didn't consider comic book artists as both artists and writers, but it makes sense that they are. There are very physical limitations in comics, page size, font size etc. And yet, the author must express both a written story and a graphic story in that space. It's said that creativity stems from restrictions in art, and comic books definitely follow that path. However, the connection of comic books and musicals is extremely interesting. At first, I thought that Fun Home was the first one to have undergone that transformation, but that wasn't the case (Silly me for forgetting important works of musical theater). Both of these art forms are commonly regarded as "frivolous" and in that vein it makes sense that one would lend itself to the other. Once you delve into them, comics are so nuanced, and if we gave each of them the artistic credit they deserve, these art forms could blossom even further.
To be perfectly honest, I do not really see the correlation that the author is trying to draw between comic books and musicals other than the literal one of Bechdel’s Fun House turning into a staged act. I expected more allegorical standing in this article, but basically what I got was that musicals and plays use imagery of people just like comic books do, and I thought that itself was a pretty straightforward point. Both mediums tell a story using visuals and words, the only difference is that one is on paper and the other is people. Maybe I am missing some substantial or conceptual argument to this piece, but I see none other than a woman who’s creative parents wanted her to be both educated and creative, and she did both. I do not necessarily think it is a ground breaking move, however it is pretty cool that they managed to turn a comic book into a musical.
I think this is a really interesting and beautiful way to look at two art forms that are both often underestimated. The first time I read a graphic novel was for my seventh grade summer reading assignment, something that was shocking to parents and students alike. The novel was called Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, and it followed Satrapi through her childhood in Iran. I remember being totally fascinated by this book. There was something really awesome about being able to get the textual and visual information in the story at the same time, which brings me to this idea of "layers." I think that the layering of art forms in theatre is one of the bigger things that draw me to it, because theatre is a representation of life, and life is the most intricately layered thing there is. I have never been able to appreciate a form of art that has only one layer to it as much as I have been able to appreciate something like a graphic novel or theatre. It's more exciting, it's more real, and I think those things make art so much more interesting.
This article brings up and articulates a very important point about the state of commercial theatre, and the state of the musical theatre art form in general. Because many people don't have any understanding behind the process of becoming a character, or the process of learning how to become a top actor/singer/dancer, I think many people assume that musical theatre doesn't deserve the respect that "high art" does. However, I can attest personally and say that acting/singing/dancing all at the same time is INCREDIBLY difficult, which should be a point that goes without saying, but for some reason it just doesn't. Perhaps it has something to do with how much theatre were exposed to when were younger? I remember having art classes in elementary school where we played with clay and did some finger and marble painting, which at least gave me the idea of how difficult it would be to create an actual full sculpture or to paint a Monet. If I hadn't made the decision to join chorus in elementary school would I just assume that singing was easy? Maybe I would have, but thats where the heart of the issue comes in. I HAD to take my visual arts classes, they were a part of the curriculum. I CHOSE to take chorus class, which included us working on an entire holiday musical to present to our parents in the cafetorium in December.
This article put into words a thought I have had for a very long time. It seems ridiculous that the same people who laud music as one of the truest ways of conveying human emotion treat musical theatre as a second class art form. Musical theatre has, in it's combination, the capability to tug on human heartstrings in both a performative and musical way. I think that some heavier musicals have done a lot to disperse the jazz-hand stereotype. Personally, I have been deeply moved by shows such as Spring Awakening and Next to Normal, which transcend the musical theatre genre into a more poignant art form.
I have to admit though, even though I have read the graphic novel Maus, I have had trouble thinking of comics as a legitimate art form. Unfortunately, I think my cultural connotations are just too strong. I think I need to rethink my assumptions, because if I can have such as strong connection to musical theatre, it seems hypocritical to not think of graphic novels in the same way. Both mediums CAN be silly, but they possess the capability to lend a certain amount of emotional gravitas, making both powerful mediums.
When I started reading this article, I was pretty skeptical of how comics and musicals can be seen as particularly similar, other than the fact that they are both major art forms. But as I read, I began to realize just what the author means. In the article, 'layering' was brought up. This to me is exactly what these two art forms have in common. Graphic novels take a story and layer on pictures and drawings, which enhance the story by not only giving it a clearer picture, but also showing things that mere words can not always do. Musicals do the same. It takes a well accepted art form: plays, and it layers on singing and dancing. Singing and dancing are perfect examples of finding abstract and effective ways in which a person can express overwhelming emotions. Taking these very emotional art forms and layering them on top of plays create this new form of performance that can convey so much more than what a mere play can do. Both comics and musicals are perfect examples of synergy; the combining of one or more things to create a product that is greater than the two things together.
People may not think of musicals and comics as similar at all. When you think about how they both came to be then you could find the similarities between them. They both developed from combining other forms of art. Musicals are from Opera, music, dance, and theatre combined into one. Comics are a combination of writing and art. Comics are more in depth stories because they are illustrating the story very detailed as it goes along. Comics do not use a lot of words and writing to tell the story. The illustrations are a huge part of the story telling, which is also similar in musicals. A story can be told partially by a dance segment or a song. It does not need to be entirely filled with dialogue. Transferring a comic into a musical is very interesting because part of the work is already done. There are clear ideas of what the world should look like and the emotions and actions of the characters are often displayed in the illustrations. Comics are also written in dialogue form, most of the time, which is easy to transfer to the stage.
I love how this author brought together two very separate artistic mediums- comic books and musicals- to show how the lesser known art forms should be valued more as their own art, and to celebrate their similar beginnings. They both started with a want to combine other art forms- written or visual or auditory- into something better. It’s a shame that they are as underestimated as they are. It is very hard to do singing and dancing and acting, or both the writing and the drawing, and yet people still think it is just a hobby that some people do. I think making comic books into theatre is a really cool idea since the comic book pages can be seen as stills for a production. They give you everything you need to know while leaving room for artistic license. It’s really great that Bechdel got the opportunity to put her book on stage.
I know Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel “Fun Home” quite well after reading it for a Senior AP Literature class, and its exciting to think that it’s been adapted into a stage performance piece that will now hit Broadway. Even so I can’t say this without being a bit weary. The novel is truly a fantastic piece of literature it is a story of self identity in a world of confusion, and the vast allusions in the text make it interwoven complex and dense. To me a play adaption of the text seems to make more sense than a musical adaptation, but I’m still excited to how The Public has worked with this piece of literature, especially with their track record of birthing many extremely reputable musicals over the years. I have high hopes for this production to provide the story of the graphic novel the acclaim I think it deserves. Yes, other graphic novels turned musicals like Spiderman may not have achieved the success they set out to, but I think this story is more compelling, and the adaption will hopefully open more people’s eyes to the heavy, intriguing and wondrous stories many graphic novels hold, and ultimately help create new attention and accessibility for this genre.
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