Hello Carl~
Perhaps this seems obvious, but the first thing you need to do is
finish the first draft of your musical, book and score. You?re on the
right track, getting your music out of your head and off tape and into
Finale. This will be essential; it will also be essential to have a
piano score, so if this is not something you can easily accomplish,
you may have to hire someone to help. This can be done by paying
someone a flat fee, or by giving them a portion of any royalties,
should the show be produced. (The first option is preferable, but if
this person [or anyone else] contributes to the artistic side of the
music, it?s only fair to give them a cut of the royalty.) I recommend
that you establish some sort of written agreement about such things.
It can be as simple as letter, signed and dated by both of you. For
help on writing such agreements, I highly recommend ?The Stage
Writer?s Handbook? by Dana Singer. This is the bible of all
playwrights and musical theatre writers, and you should read it cover
to cover several times. You can find it at any good bookstore, or
through Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1559361166/qid=1081452075/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-5500146-2032652?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Once you have a complete first draft, you can consider a number of
routes. The most time-honored and recommended is to conduct several
?readings? of your show. Get together a bunch of actors, pass out
scripts, and sit back and listen to them read the book. Be sure to
solicit their feedback. Then conduct several more readings, this time
inserting the music. (You can either sing the songs live or use
recordings for this.) The idea is to involve people who know a lot
about theatre, and get their honest feedback. Invite not just actors,
but singers, directors, stage managers?.Hopefully, you?re involved in
theatre in your area, and therefore know such folks. (If you aren?t
involved in theatre, now?s the time to start! Theatre is a lot about
networking. Go volunteer at a local community theatre?in any capacity
that will put you in touch with performers and directors. The
experience will be invaluable and shed new light on your writing, and
you?ll make connections, too.) Through these readings, you?ll probably
have some ?Eureka!? moments about changes that you feel you must make.
if you hear the same critique more than once, you should seriously
consider making a change.
After you?ve written a few drafts of your musical, you might want to
do a staged reading. This means the performers keep the script and
score in their hands, are dressed in ?street clothes,? and use minimal
blocking. Such a staged reading can be as simple as directing the
actors and singers yourself, and having a private showing in your home
in front of specially invited guests, or as elaborate as finding an
interested director who will stage your reading for a night at a
theatre. Who will direct the reading? Someone you?ve met through your
networking! ? Again, the idea of a staged reading is to take a
critical look at the musical, find flaws, and correct them. Often,
feedback is solicited through sheets of paper, asking specific
questions about the show and leaving lots of room for miscellaneous
comments.
If you want to skip this step, you might consider ?workshopping? the
show. This means getting the actors off script and score and
performing the show in front of an audience without much in the way of
scenery, props, or costumes. You can do this yourself, in a public
space, or?possibly--find a theatre willing to do this.
But what you really want to know is where to mount a production ?
Again, your local networking will help a great deal here. Often,
community and university theatres are good places to mount a first
production. But some professional theatres do it, too. Here are some
professional theatres to consider:
A Contemporary Theatre
The Eagles Building
700 Union St.
Seattle, WA 98101-2330
Accepts works from Northwest artists only; stages musicals. Best time
to submit is September through April.
The Empty Space Theatre
3509 Freemont Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98103-8813
Stages musicals, prefers shows with small casts.
The Group
305 Harrison St.
Seattle, WA 98109
Stages musicals that have multi-cultural casts. Cast limit of ten people.
Tacoma Actors Guild
901 Broadway
6th Floor
Tacoma, WA 98402-4404
Stages musicals; prefers small casts. The best time to submit is
spring through summer.
I?ve purposefully not included certain theatres (like Seattle Rep)
that do not accept new works unless they?ve been recommended by an
industry professional. (That will come later in the career of your
musical!) In addition, while every effort has been made to ensure the
information about these theatres is accurate, theatres sometimes fall
out of business, or change residences frequently. Therefore, I
encourage you to check out your local telephone directory?or better
yet?newspaper arts section and ensure you have the correct contact
information. This will also give you the opportunity to learn what the
local theatres are up to, and what sort of works they prefer. In
addition, I?m sure you?ll discover emerging theatres that might be
interested in your work.
But don?t just send your script off to a theatre. Protocol is to send
a letter of inquiry first, directed toward the person who handles new
scripts. (To find out who that is, you must call the theatre and ask.)
Use letterhead, and make sure the letter is both short and neat.
In your query, you must summarize the main thrust of the plot. Your
letter should also note the cast size, gender of characters (i.e.,
?there are four women and two men?), what time period of the musical
is set in, locale, and anything else the theatre might need to know.
Mention that the musical has been through X number of readings,
stagings, or productions. Your letter must be no longer than one page.
Also, be sure to include a self addressed, stamped envelope, or you?re
not likely to hear back from the theatre.
Then wait. Sometimes it takes a long time for the theatre to get back
to you, but all you can do is wait. Use the waiting time to polish
your show and prepare for the next step:
If the theatre is interested in your show, you?ll need to mail them
your script (properly formatted), and a recording of the music. The
recording can be just you singing, if necessary, but it should be of
reasonable quality. You don?t want to send a recording made with a
cassette recorder. At the very least, a simple home studio recording
would do the trick, and today?s MP3 players can often make decent
recordings, if you use a good mic. If you can get some singers to
volunteer to learn the score and record it, all the better.
Be sure to present yourself in the most professional manner possible;
that includes having attractive, but simple, labels on the cassettes
or CDs that you send. If you?re at the point where you have reviews or
write-ups about your musical, send copies of the very best of these,
too. And don?t forget to include a self addressed stamped envelope
that will cover the costs of returning everything. Then, wait some
more.
To find contests for new musicals, theatres in Washington and
elsewhere interested in staging or developing new musicals, you really
need a copy of the ?Dramatists Sourcebook.? This is an incredible
resources, which will also offer good advice on how to make
submissions and format scripts properly. You can find this at some
bookstores, or at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1559362170/qid=1081454685/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-5500146-2032652?v=glance&s=books
The current edition says it is for 2002-2003, but the publisher has
recently announced that the sourcebook will no longer be published
every year. Now it will come out every other year. Therefore, no 2004
edition will be printed.
If you want to get really serious, consider becoming a member of The
Dramatists Guild. Here, you?ll get the latest industry news, plus good
opportunities for networking. Members can also get their hands on
lists of theatres interested in new musicals. To find out more about
this organization, go to their website: http://www.dramaguild.com/
Finally, hang tight and keep your sense of humor. The journey from a
musical in your head to a musical on the stage is usually a long one,
fraught with road blocks. But persevere, and you will know the great
joy of seeing your work in front of an audience!
Break a leg!
Kriswrite
RESEARCH STRATEGY
Researcher?s personal knowledge and experience
Searching the "Dramatists Sourcebook" and phone directories |
