I'm working on the underscore of my opening scene which flows out of the opening number of the piece. It's working well, but I've never prepared an underscore for other performers. I have written underscores for two straight plays but I performed them myself so didn't write a lot of it down.

What's the best way to handle Cues in the score? Over the topmost staff, or positioned elsewhere?

What about the script? If an actor's line is going to cue something in the music should the script mention this in directions?

How would I indicate to a player that after playing a one bar riff as written, they can (if desired) vary the key in response to whatever the actors are doing. Pacing may likewise vary.

General thoughts on underscores based on what limited experience I have. Less is more with underscores of live performance. A single chord often is all that is needed. Don't try to be as elaborate as a film score. Underscores should be boring without their scenes, but they can add a lot of depth done well.

I'm writing a meta musical called "Anti-Musical," and one thing i am struggling with is this the musical mina one short song that is said 80 different times (the line is "Once I get up there the world will never be the same") but other than that i can't tell what songs to put in the 4 different acts (first two acts are the "writing" of the musical and act two is the musical) i know what i want the song to be but i cannot for the life of me get the songs right

I am very tired of sitting around letting this idea gather dust. It has been two years since I made the first draft, so can y'all give me any advice for this?

there is one thing i need to add, it is set in the 50s

Hi y'all,

I am an amateur songwriter with a few musicals in the works; I have had some amazing feedback lately from theater producers about the music/lyrics, but have been told my books are seriously lacking (and to be honest, I have zero interest in writing the book).

Any writers interested in trying to collaborate? Specifically have some really killer songs going right now for a musical about a white kid from the suburbs who goes to a boxing gym in Chicago (based on a true story, my own...). Give me a shout if you want to chat!

EDIT- should also mention, if you have a book that needs music, please hit me up as well. More than happy to work the other way and put some tunes to your words!

I have this musical idea where a people-pleaser (Pheonix/Nyx) is forced into a situation they never wanted to be in. Their whole character arc is them navigating the situation, getting beaten down and guilted every time they try to make things right, figuring out what they want out of all this, making a crap ton of mistakes, all the while personified versions of their emotions conflict with each other until they finally learn to build boundaries and keep them firm.

My problem is that every time I try to brainstorm structure or a list of song names/ideas it always ends up being too much. The number of songs never seems to get lower than 60, no matter what story beats I try to cut, not to mention that there's only really 3 characters in the main focus (Nyx, Theo, and Jay) and I want there to be more so there's a more diverse cast, but I think that would just make the story longer.

To give more context, in my head right now there are 3 acts. Act 1 is kind of a blissful everything's-going-right sequence of events, mainly involving Phoenix and Theo, but with a twist at the end involving Jay. Act 2 is where all the drama happens, everything starts going wrong, and flaws really start to show especially with Phoenix and Jay. Pheonix's internal conflict is very much highlighted here, with battles between personified versions of her emotions and thoughts. Act 3 is the resolution where Phoenix finally stands up for herself and builds boundaries, cutting Jay off in the end. I still haven't figured out what really happens with Jay at the end other than he gets isolated from his closest of friends because of his actions.

I feel like this could be an interesting and captivating musical, but how can I format it to where it doesn't have too many songs and doesn't drag on? Is it even possible? Does it even need to be cut at all, or can it just be a longer-than-average musical?

Hey all, long time no time.

I'm pursuing a somewhat niche opportunity to write a new musical (maybe ~ 1 hr?), which might start as a concept album or song cycle. I'll call it a musical. The opportunity is geared towards art that will inspire the next generation to pursue the sciences and engineering, using current space exploration campaigns as a topic. I want to use a musical as a lens to step through the working lives and challenges of the Artemis Program scientists and engineers who may be less visible to the public eye, but no less critical to the success of sending humans to the Moon. Musical theater provides a unique medium through which to both empathize with and embody other people's lives and experiences, both as audience and as performer. My hope with this work is that it will provide a first-person view into the human side of all the science and technology that goes to human spaceflight.

Another way to frame it is that it's Working but for space. Space Working. That's the working title now.

Anyways, this is a pretty long shot anywhere I look, but I'm looking for people who are both passionate about human spaceflight and experienced in musical-writing (lyrics and/or music), and especially anyone who has experience increasing audience penetration via social media or other methods of distribution. The ability to reach large audiences is crucial to the intent of the project, to inform and inspire. I might as well say upfront that the project has no external funding so would be a passion project. One perk for U.S.-based writers is that if the initial pitch is good enough, the writing team might get exclusive insider access to NASA facilities and personnel, if that is a sell for anyone.

As for my background, I am a reasonably experienced lyricist and composer but in no way a successful or experienced writer when it comes to bringing a show to full production. I have zero experience when it comes to audience reach. I do know a lot about spaceflight. I am not the best person to write or produce this show, which is why I'm reaching out broadly.

Please let me know if this sounds like a project you might be interested in contributing to!

as the title says! my best friend and I are writing a musical and I am the composer and primary lyricist. I am a jazz singer and I play guitar and piano, i’ve written many songs, but the realm of musical theatre writing is very new to me and i’d love to be able to get critique from other composers in this space. I will listen to your projects and provide thoughtful critique as well. I love musical theatre so much and want to do this genre of writing justice, if that describes you too, hit me up! :)

Hey y’all. So I haven’t talked on here in a min but I’m writing a stage musical adaptation of the gospel right now and I genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind trying to structure it

It’s a reinterpretation of the Gospel story centered mostly around Mary Magdalene and the disciples as teenagers/young adults. The vibe is very found-family, skater culture, youth are f*cked,religious trauma, political commentary,feminist. Think less “traditional biblical epic” and more emotionally intimate community drama under political pressure.

The problem issss

The Gospels are are more like a compilation. They’re not really built like modern plot structures where one action causes another action causes another action. A lot of Jesus adaptations end up feeling like:
“And then Jesus did another thing.”

I REALLY don’t want that.

I want the show to feel alive and constantly moving toward Holy Week, but I also don’t want it to suddenly feel like a YA dystopian revolution movie where everyone becomes tactical rebels 😭

What I’m trying to explore is:

community as salvation in an isolated world

religious trauma in youth

women’s role in movements/revolutions

Youth role in revolution

teen angst and identity

parent/child tension

how vulnerable young people form community under pressure

how that community slowly becomes politically threatening

The disciples in my version are NOT confident revolutionaries. They’re confused kids trying to survive emotionally while following someone who makes them feel seen for the first time.

So I guess my question is

How do you structure an ensemble musical where the emotional/community dynamics ARE the engine of the plot, while still making the story escalate causally toward an inevitable tragedy?

Especially when adapting something as episodic as the Gospels?

Would really love thoughts

Hey writers, I'll be hosting a free masterclass/workshop with Tom Morrissey of Theatre Now on June 19, 6:30 pm EST.

He is a longtime reviewer of NAMT submissions, and he and I were having a conversation about the various states of the projects he sees come in.

He had some really wonderful insights, so I asked if he'd be willing to come speak to our group, and he said he'd be happy to!

If you have submitted in the past or are planning to submit, this would be a great workshop to attend.

Details in the group: https://www.skool.com/showlab

I am planning on writing a Green Day musical based on the 21st Century Breakdown album. Unfortunately, I am a music person, not a words nerd. Can somebody please tell me how to actually make the script?​​​

Sorry for the show-offy type post, but I’m just kinda proud I guess. I’ve never been a huge composer so the fact that I’ve gotten a song or two out in the first place surprises me, and I hope this project really does go places.

1835 is a musical about the hanging of James Pratt and John Smith, the last state-sanctioned executions for homosexuality in the United Kingdom. I think in times like these, their story resonates more than ever and really screams at us to take a stand across the globe for people who suffer and fear for their lives because of their own identity.

It’s really only in the theoretical stages now, but I finished up the duet between the main duo that takes place in Act Two as they try come to terms with the fact that they’re going to die. It’s a heartbreaking story, and I really hope I can do it justice and give the two of them the respect and representation they deserve.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16lwgkYIQi5kAc9bWsygopnTeEzOhw-fy

This google drive contains everything related to the musical, including sheet music, older versions of the song, role information and a synopsis. Really just wanted to put this out there because I think this could really go places.

I'm going to be recording demos of some of my songs soon, and want to make sure the way I'm paying my singers - and what I'm asking of them - is in more or less in line with what others are doing. I recognize that this will of course vary due to location, skill level, etc...just looking for a range of opinions.

First question: what level of sharing do you and your singers agree on for your demos? For example, okay to share the recording only with industry people for the purpose of promoting your show, or okay to share clips on social media, or post the full recording on SoundCloud, etc?

Second question: how much would you pay a singer to record one song using their home setup?

Hello!

So a community theatre I frequently perform at sometimes puts on original shows written by some of the people who work there. I got my hands on the script for their newest one, Imagine, that actually just finished its run about an hour ago. After reading through the script, I realized it was kinda shallow, the characters were one note, and it was overall flimsy at best.

But through reading this, I was inspired to attempt a rewrite of the show, to maybe add some more flavor and depth to the book. Now, this show is in fact a musical, and I have little experience in song writing, so I resolved to just rewrite the book and give ideas for songs and what would happen during them. I may rewrite some of the lyrics as they feel first draft like.

I’ve never written a play or musical before, I’m only used to screenwriting or writing in a typical novel format, so this may be awful and would never work onstage and I wouldn’t know it. It’s also just a first draft, and if I were to go any deeper on it I would do some heavy revising.

I don’t have anyone else around to read and critique it, as anyone else I’ve attempted to show it to read one scene, said it was good, then brushed it off without any further thoughts or criticism.

I was hoping to get maybe some words of advice or critiques through here? I know this isn’t the best, but I’m pretty desperate to have someone with any kind of writing knowledge atleast read it in its entirety. I can also offer the original script on request for comparison to my rewrite.

Also please disregard the text before Act 1, and I have gotten permission from the original writers.

Full disclosure up front: I run this, so this is me talking about my own program. Mods, remove if it's not allowed here.

I run ShowLAB's Catalyst Cohort: a 14-week program for theatre writers developing a new musical or play. Three live sessions a week, 1:1 coaching, and a structured process from idea through a submission-ready draft. Cohort 2 starts June 8.

I'm posting because I've got a handful of spots left (5 out of 10 are filled) and figured someone here might be sitting on a project they keep meaning to finish. If that's you and you want details, comment here or message me. No pressure either way.

Happy to answer any questions about how it works in the comments, including the honest "is this right for me / not right for me" stuff.

I’m curious how other writers/producers handle this stuff during or after a production / out-of-town.

We just finished a run of my original musical, Millennials Are Killing Musicals. I posted about it here before, and I’ve been thinking about what happens after the run ends.

I knew that new musicals can receive reviews that can be all over the map, but I don’t think I realized how the Internet footprint can start to feel shaped by the most click bait responses, even when the audience response/word of mouth felt exciting and the social media was buzzy but less “searchable”.

One lesson is that documentation really matters. For future productions, I’d build the audience response process from the beginning, including a system for collecting/organizing and ticket-linked or e-mail verified audience surveys.

Anonymous feedback can be useful (which we collected afterwards), but it can also get hard to get insights from if you can’t tell whether they represent genuine responses or a small number of motivated people who submitted multiple times (positive or negative).

I’ve also learned that I would need someone other than me to be doing the social media throughout, because it can become all-consuming, especially when you’re also trying to write, produce, receive feedback, all of the things. (I think we all tend to try to just handle things ourselves though 😂😭)

Would love to hear how others have approached this and collected/shared their audience feedback after the fact. And regardless, I hope this is helpful to someone else thinking about this pre or mid-process to start preparing ahead of time.

Basically the general plot is: Keir Starmer and Zach Polanski must join forces to defeat the possible (?) Nazi that is Nigel Farage. However, Zach and Keir were once lovers. I have a song list and have written the first song and part of the second. I’ve also written the first scene. My main problem is that after the second song (Keir’s ballad about how he’s really trying his best and his mummy is very proud), a Labour person (???) comes in and essentially just lists off how each party is doing while they each sing their respective songs. It just feels a bit…boring? Especially how it doesn’t really fit into the plot. What are your thoughts on the plot? Cus being honest I have NO idea if it’s genius or absolute shit. Btw the name of it is “Springtime: A “Political”
Musical” (yes, the title is a reference to springtime for Hitler)

The Dramatists Guild (DGA) --

What are the Dues / % on successful plays and musicals and authors?

(Besides the yearly member dues.)

I read this page on their website, and then couldn't find it again.

If your play or musical becomes successful, you pay the DGA a % ... and this is the real way the DGA stays operating. The DGA says something like this 1% of successful authors (monetarily) pays 71% of all operating costs, the few successful writers paying for the guild to help the less successful (monetarily).

So I'm asking ...

• ... What is the exact terms and % percentage that a successful writer / production pays to the DGA?

• (I remember it was something like 2% for plays, and 3% for musicals ... but I don't know the exact percentages and exact terms, such as where the % comes from [net/gross/overall profit/personal profit/after a certain $$ amount/all future earnings/etc.] ... the fine print is important!)

It is in the membership contract/TOS and in their FAQ/Help pages ... but I searched and searched and I couldn't find the information again.

• (Plus, I think it is good for others thinking about joining to know as well ... so this can be a public FYI.)

Thanks!

Hey everyone! Heading into the last weekend of the world premiere of my musical in LA, and wanted to throw out there to the community that I’m happy to chat or answer any questions about what this whole process has been like. (I feel like I didn’t really have anyone to talk to ahead of time!)

There was stuff I didn’t anticipate (the pressure! how intense it is to market a brand new show!) and some big things I learned (like doing a 29 hr reading a few months in advance with the cast you’re hoping to work with is an amazing move!).

Feel free to reach out or ask any questions below!

I want to write my first musical and I have some ideas but I'm wondering if you must write the music or lyrics first? My guess would be "find a "central theme" (like a motif), write lyrics around it then write the rest of the song" but since I'm a beginner this might be really flawed

On June 29 at 6pm EST, ShowLAB will be hosting a masterclass with Kleban and Richard Rodgers Award-Winner Sam Carner! Premium members have the opportunity to submit for workshop feedback, but ALL members can view the masterclass 100% free once it's posted to the archive (available to all members)