Welcome to the behind-the-scenes look at our Moana Music Show! Discover the creativity and teamwork that brought our virtual performance to life. From homemade costumes to coordinating the music, explore the unique ways we captured the spirit of Moana online. Join us on this exciting journey!
Arranging the Music
The first step in any show is arranging the music. For the Moana Music Show, April Cox and Marissa Mann arranged the music. The songs were split up in this way:
April Cox: An Innocent Warrior, How Far I’ll Go, We Know the Way, I Am Moana, Know Who You Are, and We Know the Way Finale
Marissa Mann: Where You Are & Shiny.
Casting
The second step is always the casting. Moana Music Show was the first show that I used Backstage for, and it made it a lot easier to do the casting, though I did find one or two of the singers from Facebook.
The cast for Moana Music Show is as follows:
Moana: April Cox
Maui: Kimberley Kang
Tamatoa: Melanie Grunwald
Tui: Jaxon Shaw
Tala: Carol Turnage
Tala Understudy: Melanie Grunwald
Sina: Elyssiah Hernandez
Sina Understudy: Diane Weigle
Hei Hei: Fawkes the Green Cheeked Conure
Chorus:
Soprano: April Cox & Diane Weigle
Alto: Melanie Grunwald
Production & Filming
Right now, there are two types of production periods, depending on the size of the show. Because Moana Music Show was a relatively small show, the singers made appointments with the producer for 30 minutes to record their songs. The exception to that was Melanie since she had taken on more parts. I did have one individual take much longer and one individual take much less time.
For this type of production, the amount of time it takes to record to the songs depends on the work put in. Performers can choose whether they want to work on their songs during recording or beforehand, but if choosing during the recording session, then it will take longer.
For other, larger shows, there are 1:1 recording sessions for the vocals as well as group acting and movement recording sessions. These tend to require much more of a time committment.
Editing
The final stage of every music show is the editing. This can take the longest amount of time, depending on the complexity of the show. Overall, the Moana Music Show is relatively simple compared to other shows. I would say that the most challenging part is changing the color of Moana’s hair in editing. The singer has long blonde hair, and Moana has black hair.
AC & the Virtual Virtuosos 
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