This may be a weird ask, but I was wondering if there was anyone here interested in allowing me to have a go at orchestrating their musical for free. I have experience in orchestrating many different styles of music for many different types of ensembles, but my heart has always belonged to musical theater. I am about to attend college for music composition and I thought orchestrating a musical could be a way to develop my skills outside of that. If you're interested, you're welcome to dm me to discuss more information. Thanks!

Hi! I have a research project going on at Carnegie Mellon University.

Please complete this short Recruitment Form (about 2–3 minutes) to be a part of the study. To verify the authenticity of this research or for further questions, please feel free to reach out to the study co-ordinator at kkanav@andrew.cmu.edu.

I am looking for composers who would, as part of the study, write songs as they would have naturally. You would be given free access to a paid music theory-aware songwriting sketchpad and would simply compose for 2 weeks - whatever you may like and whenever you are free. In return, we get to analyze the songs you have composed. As it is a phd research project, with the aim of writing an open-access research paper, we would not claim ownership of your content. You remain the owner of the work you produce.

I want to categorically mention (also in the consent form) that we'll not be using the data to train an AI/ ML model. Neither is it for product testing. We're an educational institution and are only interested in seeing how musicians interact with tools and features in a theory-aware songwriting sketchpad. The behavioral aspect of it will make it a publishable research (and I need that for my dissertation).

Benefits are upto 50 usd + free access to the composition tool. If you think it does not match your hourly rate, I would like to again remind you that it is not a composition assignment. Basically, you get paid for what you usually do! You compose the songs you like (for yourself or for your clients, not even for us). We just get to analyze your data on a voluntary basis.

Mentioning again - Recruitment Form (about 2–3 minutes) for taking part in the study!

Source material for new musicals has always been pretty impressively varied, from Ancient Greece and Rome, Shakespeare, pop and rock music, literary classics, biographies, and of course, brand new ideas. I think Hadestown speaks very strongly to the notion that even seemingly-stuffy or offputting content can be made to soar musically.

If it were possible, what play or movie would you like to see transformed into a musical?

I've always thought Angels in America is one of the most brilliant plays ever written, and like Ragtime, resonates incredibly with our world 30+ years later. Its very theatrical moments like the Angel's visit and other fantasy elements lend themselves so well to musical theatre, not to mention the sheer scope of the play. It would be, admittedly, a tall order, one which probably no one could write except Kushner himself with Joe Mantello directing. But Kushner rewrote West Side Story for Spielberg, and Mantello directed Wicked! I think Iike to see Adam Guettel's ideas for the music.

One can dream! What would be your dream?

Hi! I’ve been going back and forth deciding on what I should write or ask for about a week. So I’ll just say what’s on my mind , sorry for the jumble of thoughts

I love writing lyrics for potential songs (pretty good with melodies ) and I love writing stories. Musicals were an obvious choice. I actually write a lot of lyrics for concept albums (range from pop, rnb, musical theatre). And I have two ideas in mind for musicals (I already have full flushed out outlines)

But I want practice first . And I would love to practice or create something on a smaller scale with someone as that practice . I will admit , composing is not my friend haha. I have lyrics and story , and maybe a note or two in my head , but the instrumentals I do struggle.

If this interests anyone , that would be lovely . I hope someday my ideas leave my head , my notes app, word doc, and note books , and can be shown to many . If you read this , thank you!

Hey all, I'm super excited to announce that this month, on July 26, ShowLAB is going to be hosting Adam Gwon to talk about creating compelling musical arcs in songs.

While the live event is for Premium members, ALL members have free access to Masterclass replays, so there's no pressure to join.

If anyone is interested, let me know, and I'll share a link.

https://preview.redd.it/8td5aen11nah1.jpg?width=2500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8c09035b9ddae1937271061f7cdd8f0acc7e4d7

I am not in the musical theatre community, thought I have my MFA in theater and film it was long time ago, and I focused on the Film side working in LA for years in TV production and music for film/TV and have since moved on to working as an ad executive. So TLDR I have no theater connections.

Recently I wrote a musical ("Glitch" about an Engineer who falls in love with the AI he's building) and instead of trying to get it made by creating a demo (I wouldn't know where to start) I am planning on trying to produce and polish the music myself and then releasing it on TikTok and YouTube as as an animated production - think "Epic, The musical". Not expecting it to get millions of views, but hopefully enough to show it's value to a potential producer. One of the things I learned in the entertainment industry was it is a lot easier to get interest if you can "prove" there will be an audience...

Am I crazy?

Hello, guys! I’ve been working on my musical “1835”, a musical about the 1835 (shocking) arrest and execution of James Pratt and John Smith, and I’ve been struggling immensely with every aspect of it. It’s my first musical, an ambitious project, so it makes sense, and I have some level of compositional experience (albeit a very low one), so I’m able to at least get my feet off the ground in that field. However, it really does appear to me that lyrics don’t come particularly easily. It’s difficult to write lyrics that aren’t quite shallow, or fit the tune and syllabic structure, and sometimes, I just blank completely!

I’ve considered reaching out and getting in connection with a collaborator for lyrics, but I have no clue how to go about it, and I have no money to pay with (if it is to be a transactional thing).

So, humble Redditors, I come to you to ask: How do you do it? What gets the creative juices flowing? What makes the magic jumpstart?

Hi everyone! This is my first post on Reddit, so bare with me. I am currently in the process of outlining/piecing together a new musical, and I am looking for a composer who can execute my vision. The show is loosely centered on the tragedy of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, but uses a broader lens to focus on the scene of NYC in the late 1900s'/early 1910s' (similar to Ragtime). Some of the elements the show discusses are workers rights, child labour laws, immigration (Southern Black immigrants and Russian Jewish immigrants), and northern racism. Some central characters include:

- Several young female factory workers

- Two African American brothers who left the south

- The corrupt Triangle Shirtwaist Factory owners

- One of the most infamous voices of the worker's strike (Clara Lemlich)

The show will begin in 1909 and follow the factory workers strike, centering in on the love story of Anna Altman (a Russian-Jewish immigrant) and Elijah (one of the black southern immigrants). The story will ultimately end with the factory fire.

The music should loosely include musical elements present in Parade (Jason Robert Brown), The Outsiders (Justin Levine), Ragtime (Stephen Flaherty), and Les Mis (Claude-Michel Schonberg).

Let me know if you are interested in collaborating with me on this project!

Gonna post this to r/Playwriting as well for double feedback.

So, I’m currently writing this play that I’m hoping that when I get the first few drafts of completed I could find some people who could collab with me on composing and turning this into a musical. (As I’d mostly be working on the book and lyrics haha, I’m not too good with scorewriting…)

Basically it’s a retelling of Hänsel and Gretel wherein they’re two sixteen year old fraternal twins living in fairytale Germany (The era of aesthetics is vaguely 18th century albeit with some hints of 19th century romanticism, specifically with Hänsel.) Living in the aftermath of a great earthquake that caused a famine. And, we open on their parents’ SECOND attempt to abandon them.

Basically the general rigamarole of the original story, they get abandoned, they get to the candy house…

And due to all this pent-up stress over the last few months, they argue. Outside the house.

And before they know it, the resident of the home, the Witch sees them both outside quarreling, and breaks up the fight. By kidnapping Hänsel and saving him to eat for later and placing a displacement spell on Gretel that sends her far far away from their forest.

So basically, we have two versions of the second act.

Version A. Which is Gretel’s Route, and from her POV it showcases her journey back to the Witch’s house to save Hänsel.

and

Version B. Hänsel’s Route, which showcases all the bullshit that he has persevering through in this damn house, and also him finding out that, he sure isn’t her first victim.

So yeah, that’s basically the main elevator pitch I have for this show, anymore and I’ll start getting into detail about the characters and finer details which I will save for my Tumblr blog when I get a bit more progress in on the draft.

I will add on as one more final addendum that for the musical style of this show, I was hoping for it to be a mix of Into the Woods (Which, I feel like is a given at this point lol) and 2008’s Frankenstein: A New Musical, because, this does take after the 18th century after all.

Anyway, that’s all, I’d love to hear your guys’ feedback!

I’m writing a musical retelling of the Gospel through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, and I’ve hit a wall with her central want.

I understand the structure of a musical pretty well. The protagonist needs a clear want in Act 1, they pursue that want through actions and tactics, Act 1 ends with a major setback or false victory, Act 2 introduces new tactics, Hosanna becomes a major hopeful turning point, and then the crucifixion devastates the protagonist because it destroys (or appears to destroy) the thing they were pursuing.

My problem is that I can’t find a want for Mary that satisfies all of those requirements.

For context, Mary is not written as a natural revolutionary. She’s cynical, distrustful, and emotionally guarded. She has experienced trauma, manipulation, and abandonment. She’s the audience surrogate for a generation that often feels disillusioned by institutions, leaders, movements, religion, and promises of change.

Every want I come up with that can logically generate the public action of Hosanna ends up becoming some variation of

Freedom
Revolution
Justice
Political change
Reform
Destroying the system
Creating a better society

The problem is that those wants feel more appropriate for characters like Peter or Judas than for Mary. The second I give Mary a want like that, the show starts feeling like Hamilton, Rent, Suffs, or a traditional revolution musical. Those are great shows, but that’s not the story I’m trying to tell.

I want the audience to leave feeling like Jesus changed the world because he offered hope in grief, healing in suffering, and community in isolation not because he won a political movement.

The challenge is that Hosanna still has to function dramatically. It can’t just be a celebration. It has to be a tactic. The characters must believe that whatever they are doing in Hosanna will help them get closer to what they want.

So my question is:

How do you write a protagonist whose central want is personal, emotional, or relational rather than revolutionary, while still allowing that want to generate large scale public action like Hosanna?

What kind of want could Mary have that

Drives the entire musical,

Creates actionable tactics,

Makes Hosanna feel hopeful and earned,

Is not fundamentally a revolutionary or political objective,

Allows Jesus to become the emotional center of the story,

Makes the crucifixion feel like the destruction of the thing she was pursuing?

Hi, everyone!

Over the past few months, I have put my all into this project. I want to make sure that this could genuinely work, because I am very passionate about it.

The idea is for it to be a 2 act crime musical set during the 1950s in Las Vegas involving a mafia family, a professional heist crew, and two government spies who end up having their worlds collide after their failures lead to them discovering the details of a top secret, dangerous government project. The musical's world often involves casinos and government nuclear testing considering how much of an impact they had on 1950s Las Vegas culture. As a sidenote, I plan on making any casino names, government facility names, nicknames, and mafia names fictional to the best of my ability.

The musical style for each of the groups will be unique, but I am currently still trying to determine what each group's musical influences and leitmotifs are going to be. It will bring in themes of betrayal and trust, consequences of crime and power, family vs chosen family, vengeance, and redemption.

If anyone has any additional questions on anything or feedback on things that may need to change or be built further on, I will be sure to respond promptly. I always appreciate constructive criticism, so please provide it if you feel that anything needs to change or be elaborated on.

Thank you!

Larka

Hi! There is a show i am working on currently. I would need a composer and lyricist to help with the music asepect as it’s not really my strong suit. I can help with lyrics as well since I am better with words than music but I’d like someone who feels comfortable with writing lyrics as well so we can bounce ideas off one another. Please feel free to reach out if you are interested.

more deets about the show:

I currently have the first draft of the show done and stopped there so I can do revisions needed alongside who I work with for the music.

its kind of a psychological thriller comedy type deal if that makes sense. the quick summary of it is Aniya and her friends go to an adult summer camp where she is assigned to chain 2, a cabin who has a reputation not only for having the same women in it every year, but for being sketchy and dangerous. As she gets to know them she gets pulled more and more under the influence and into their activities.

Making It Happen: Festival of 15 Minute Musicals

The Theater Center is now accepting submissions for Making It Happen: 15 Minute Musicals, a new short musical festival giving writers, composers, lyricists, and creative teams the opportunity to present original musical theatre work on an Off-Broadway stage in the heart of Times Square.

Following the success of Making It Happen: Ten-Minute Play Festival, this new festival shifts the spotlight to musical theatre. We are looking for fully original 15-minute musicals of all styles, genres, and subject matter.

Selected musicals will perform at The Theater Center on one of three preliminary performance nights:

Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday, August 26

Each evening will feature three musicals. Audiences and judges will vote to determine one winner from each night. The three nightly winners will advance to the Finals on Wednesday, September 2, where one overall winner will receive a $5,000 prize.

Submission Deadline

Submissions are due by July 6th.

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking short, original musical theatre pieces that can make a strong impression in 15 minutes or less.

All submitted material must be fully original, including book, music, and lyrics. Teams must have the rights to perform all submitted material.

Pieces should be simple, flexible, and festival-ready. Because the festival is designed for quick changeovers, shared resources, and acoustic performance, we strongly recommend a cast size of six performers or fewer.

Production Requirements

 This is a non-union festival. All casts, creative teams, musicians, and production personnel must be non-union.

Selected teams will be responsible for providing their own:

• Cast
• Director
• Stage manager
• Music director
• Live musicians and/or accompanist

Live music is required. Tracks are not permitted.

No microphones will be used or provided. All musicals must be able to be performed acoustically in the space.

Productions should be minimal in design. Selected teams should plan for simple staging, limited technical needs, and an efficient setup and strike.

What Selected Teams Receive

Selected teams will receive:

• Performance space at The Theater Center
• Basic technical support
• Box office services
• Festival-wide marketing
• A technical rehearsal slot on the day of performance
• The opportunity to present original musical theatre work in front of a live New York audience

How the Festival Works

Each preliminary night will feature three 15-minute musicals. Audiences and judges will vote to determine one winner from each evening.

The winning musical from each preliminary night will return for the final performance on September 2. At the Finals, one overall winner will be selected to receive the $5,000 prize.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: July 6th
Preliminary Performance Night 1: Wednesday, August 12
Preliminary Performance Night 2: Wednesday, August 19
Preliminary Performance Night 3: Wednesday, August 26
Finals: Wednesday, September 2

Artists should only submit if they are available for at least one preliminary performance night and for the final performance on September 2.

Submit Your Musical

Applications are now open for Making It Happen: 15 Minute Musicals.

Submit your musical by July 6th for consideration.

https://forms.gle/pHEK7spUVK1DzDxo8 - SUBMIT HERE