The Emotional Effect of Musical Underscoring in the Play columbinus

Abstract

One of the most debated political topics in today’s media is the prominence of school shootings. During a time of discourse, artists typically use this energy to enhance their work and create emotional pieces of art that cause audiences to think about these events. I chose to work with the play columbinus because I felt the story of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre is important and should still be told, but I also felt this story needed to be emotionally enhanced to reach a younger audience 19 years later. As a musical theatre major, I have a clear understanding of how music is able to impact a large group of people when used in the appropriate manner. Therefore, I felt as though musical underscoring would be a compelling vehicle to heighten the emotional impact of the show. I was able to test how musical underscoring at selected points felt in the context of the show through case study readings, where the results provided me with the final underscoring track list to be used in conjunction with a full production of the show at East Carolina University.