How to Perform in Movie Musicals with Director Dave Solomon (Disney’s ‘Beauty & The Beast’) | ‘How We Role’

Dave Solomon is a New York City-based writer and director for theatre and film. He’s been Associate Director to Scott Ellis, Joe Mantello, and Bill Condon on sixteen Broadway productions, including Elf, Side Show, Tootsie, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 9 to 5, Curtains, and Assassins.

In film, he worked as assistant to Oscar-winner Bill Condon on Mr. Holmes and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and as Associate Director to Scott Ellis on A Christmas Story Live.

Solomon recently directed and contributed additional book material for the new musical Already Perfect in London and staged a concert reading of The Rink for Classic Stage Company with John Kander, Jessie Mueller, Beth Leavel, and Santino Fontana. He’s directed national tours of Elf and Tootsie, the Japanese premiere of Tootsie, and is developing the new musical Pump Up the Volume.

This episode is a treasure trove of creative wisdom, covering:

How to carve out your own path and trust where it leads

Shifting performances for the stage versus the screen

Locking into tone without forcing “big” choices

Choosing an audition song that fits the project and fits you

What directors look for in collaborators

Technical skills for movie musicals from lip syncing to CGI

Working with legends like Dolly Parton and on the new Crazy Rich Asians musical

Creating original work in an oversaturated content landscape

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Dave Solomon: You know what, I was thinking about this last night because I knew you were going to ask me questions like this, Robert Peterpaul.

Robert Peterpaul: [Laughs] I’ve got a lot!

Dave Solomon: I was listening to other people who had like, quotes, and other guests you’ve had on like…what am I gonna say? But, no, actually…I think it’s two things. Like, you have to make your own path, but then you sometimes also have to follow and trust where it’s going. Like sometimes you’re laying the path, and sometimes you just have to follow it. Because I think it’s kind of like being in the right place at the right time, but also being ready for when the right place and the right time happens. And, I think we also make that happen.