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Event Details
  • How to Write a Musical... submit now!
    July 16, 2016
    10:00 am - 6:00 pm
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FEEDBACK WORKSHOP #3: RECKONING AND RESOLUTION

NOLA Rehearsal Studio
250 W. 54th St.,  11th Floor
Saturday, July 16th, 10am to 5:30pm
Submission deadline: Friday July 8th (extended), noon

This 3-part workshop is dedicated to fostering a conversation about musical theater structure not only for writers but also for producers, directors and everyone involved in the creation and production of new works. "Part 3: Reckoning and Resolution" will focus on the last scenes of a musical and how songs help resolve the story and the characters' journeys. Up to ten teams will present a song and scene from their shows to a professional panel of commercial producers, directors and writers, including:

  • Ryan Bogner, VP of creative development for Stageworks Media; former director of creative development and production for RKO Stage Productions;
  • Ken Cerniglia, dramaturg and literary manager of Disney Theatrical;
  • Skip Kennon, composer/lyricist (Herringbone, Don Juan DeMarco, Time and Again), former artistic coordinator of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and teacher for two decades;
  • Tom Polum, producer (The Toxic Avenger, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, All Shook Up).

Bob Ost, executive director of Theater Resources Unlimited, and TRU Literary Manager Cate Cammarata will facilitate.

We will focus on three main aspects of a show: 1) songs that express the resolution of a character's "want," or the overcoming of obstacles, and how it leads to a final choice; 2) "eleven o'clock numbers," the big dramatic show stopper that sums up the (usually) main character's journey; 3) the finale, an effective and emotionally satisfying way of concluding your story. We will discuss the function of songs, with special attention paid to the way they move the action. In addition, we will continually explore the delicate balance between script and song. 

Writers (or producers!) are invited to submit no more than 25 pages of a show you are working on. We want to see the last section of your show in which we head towards the summing up and conclusion of the plot and the resolution of the characters' wants. Include MP3s of the songs within only those pages. Also send a concise synopsis of the preceding action of the show, and how it leads to the resolution in the section presented.

Submission deadline: Wednesday, July 6th (extended). Download the Application, fill it out, and email to TRUStaff1@gmail.com to sign up. This workshop is scheduled to run from 10am to 5:30pm with a lunch break, and brief end-of-day reception. Submission fee is $10 for TRU members, $20 for non-members. If accepted, it will be applied to a participation fee of $100 ($80 for TRU members). Prices are discounted for those who have taken previous parts of this workshop.

The cost for non-participants to attend for the full day, to observe the presentations and be part of the discussions, is $50 ($30 for TRU members). 

**If accepted, you will present 10-15 minutes including one song and scene, followed by about 15 minutes of feedback. There will be a participation fee of $100 ($80 for TRU members), which includes 2 seats for the entire day workshop as well as your presentation slot. Because space is limited, any additional attendees from the musical team (including music director, additional collaborators and cast members) who wish to observe the entire workshop must reserve in advance and will be charged a nominal $20 per person.

SCHEDULE

10 am to 10:15 am - check in.

10:15 to 11am - Discussion: How do you bring the action of your show to an effective dramatic (and musical) conclusion? Is resolution better served by song or by dialogue? Do all shows need a big "eleven o'clock" number, or are there other ways to leave an audience emotionally satisfied?

11:00 am to 1:30 pm - Five writing teams will explain their work’s overall concept (in 30 seconds or less) and present up to 15 minutes of a song and scene that demonstrates a resolution of the show's major conflict or a coming to terms for one of the characters, the resolution of their ongoing "want." After each presentation, panelists will provide feedback.

LUNCH BREAK
(On your own. Great time to make new friends in the industry!)

2:30 pm to 3:00 pm - 
Discussion: The dramatic journey of characters: how wants and goals may evolve over the course of a show. Panelists will comment and invite audience feedback.

3:00 pm to 5:30 pm
- Five writing teams will explain their work’s overall concept (in 30 seconds or less) and present up to 15 minutes of a song and scene that musicalizes the action leading to the resolution, or leads up to (and includes) a satisfying finale that leaves the audience with a sense of completion.

Producers
  • RYAN BOGNER

    serves as VP of Creative Development for Stageworks Media. Previously he was the Director of Creative Development and Production at RKO Stage Productions, where he was responsible for the theatrical development of titles taken from the RKO Pictures film library and other acquired properties, as well as management of the company’s business and producing operations. Bogner began producing theater in the Independent and not-for-profit New York scene. He has produced shows at Williamstown Theater Festival, The Ohio Theater, 42West, The Zipper Factory, The Julia Miles Theater, Dixon Place, The New York Musical Theater Festival and The New York International Fringe Festival as well as countless developmental workshops, readings and concerts. Notable productions include: Here Lies Love (Williamstown), The Orion Experience, Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life, Hurricane. Prior to beginning his producing career, Bogner worked in the executive and theater operations departments at Jujamcyn Theaters, and in the professional licensing department at Theatrical Rights Worldwide, managing licenses of such shows as Spamalot and The Color Purple for major professional theaters domestically and internationally. Bogner is a graduate of the CTI 14 week program, holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theater and Directing from The Boston Conservatory, and an M.F.A. in Theater Management and Producing from Columbia University. He has been a guest lecturer at Pace University and is a member of the Musical Theater Factory where he co-created and adjudicates the 4x15 workshop series.

  • KEN CERNIGLIA

    is a veteran dramaturg, writer, and creative executive. He dramaturged the innovative Broadway hits Hadestown (8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical) and Peter and the Starcatcher (5 Tony Awards). As resident dramaturg and literary manager for Disney Theatrical Productions for 16 years, he developed over 60 titles for Broadway, touring, international, and licensed productions, including The Hunchback of Notre DameFreaky Friday, Aladdin, NewsiesThe Little MermaidHigh School Musical, and Tarzan. He recently conceived and developed Marvel Spotlight, a collection of one-act plays with teenage super hero protagonists who tackle real-world problems in a diverse society. Other dramaturgy includes the chamber opera Blood Moon (PROTOTYPE 2020); the new musical Bridges (Berkeley Playhouse); Passion Trilogy (Fisher Ensemble/Loyola Marymount University); and Bud, Not Buddy, The Gift of NothingThe Cricket in Times Square, and OLIVERio: A Twist on Dickens (Kennedy Center). Ken is a frequent guest lecturer, artist, and adjudicator at conferences, universities, and festivals around the world. He is immediate past president of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), co-founder of the American Theatre Archive Project, and Artistic Director of Two Turns Theatre Company. He holds a Ph.D. in theatre history and criticism from the University of Washington.

  • SKIP KENNON

    was the overall Artistic Coordinator of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and the teacher of the first year there for two decades. He wrote the music for the one-man musical Herringbone (Playwrights Horizons - starring David Rounds, Hartford Stage - starring Joel Grey, Edinburgh Festival, Philadelphia's Prince Music Theater, Chicago's St. Nicholas Theater, 2007 season opener at Williamstown Theater Festival - starring B.D. Wong), the music for Here's Our Girl (workshopped at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater), and the music and lyrics for the musical version of The Last Starfighter (Storm Theatre, Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals - summer 2006, New York Musical Theatre Festival readings - fall 2006), Blanco (Goodspeed Opera House at Chester, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, National Music Theater Network), Feathertop (WPA Theater, Pennsylvania Stage Co.), and Time and Again (Manhattan Theatre Club, San Diego's Old Globe Theater, Eugene O'Neill Center National Music Theater Conference). Kennon also wrote the music and lyrics for the one-act musical Plaisir d'Amour (book by Terrence McNally), which was produced at New York's Triangle Theater and seen in workshop at Circle Rep, as well as the music for the one-act musical Afternoon Tea (book & lyrics by Eduardo Machado), which was performed at Theater Row Theaters in 2005 by Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. He was a classical music critic at the Hollywood Reporter for five years.

  • TOM POLUM

    Founding member of Streaming Musicals, producing the films of Emma, Marry Harry, No One Called Ahead, Pride and Prejudicewww.StreamingMusicals.com.  Author of Mambo Italiano which had it's world premiere last August at the Westchester Broadway Theatre.  Outer Critic's winner Best Off broadway musical for The Toxic Avenger; produced the Houston production of The Toxic Avenger, following the off-Broadway New York premiere of  about the first superhero from New Jersey by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) and David Bryan (keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi) and directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando. He also co-produced Last Call, a musical documentary by Broadway director Christopher Ashley (Xanadu, Rocky Horror Show, All Shook Up) and is developing the musical comedies Mambo Italiano (based on the Canadian film starring Paul Sorvino) and Zombie Honeymoon, as well as other musicals, including Heloise and Abelard, The Toxic Avenger Christmas Chaos and Finding Frida Kahlo. Past credits include the tour of Broadway’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony nomination for Best Musical).

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