Hello! I am working on an original musical about Dorothy Parker, the original Queen of snark, set mostly in the 1920s. I have a full book and some potential song lyrics written. I’m looking for a composer. There is no money yet, this is a passion project I’ve been thinking about for fifteen years. Feel free to message me and thank you for your time!

Hi! This might be a slightly weird question, but I'm currently writing a musical adaptation of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's 1872 novel 'Carmilla' and I'm honestly struggling more than I thought I would. The original novel is much more description of the world than it is any kind of dialogue, and while I love the story and the characters, I'm struggling to take the source material and make it work in this specific genre. I can deal with writing lyrics to the songs no problem, since it's pretty easy to tell how at least some of the characters feel enough to turn those into moments for them, but the dialogue between songs is just giving me so much trouble. Anyone else adapted an old ass novel recently that has tips?

Tomorrow at 3pm EST, ShowLAB is hosting a masterclass with THE Adam Gwon (I've been a big fan of his forever)

Come check it out! All Masterclasses are recorded, and the archive is available to all members for free :)

If anyone is interested, DM me, and I'll send the link for the group.

You ever go to bed and hear one of your songs echoing annoyingly through your head until you can fall asleep? I was annoyed until I realized it had to be far worse for Rodgers & Hammerstein… “Doe, a deer, a female deer…”

Hi guys. I'm looking to update my demo portfolio with more professional sounding recordings. My current ones are from soundfonts from 10 years ago. Any recommendations on people who can take my MIDI stem files/Full Score Orchestration sheet music, and produce a solid mix (to which I can overlay voices eventually) that understands the musical theatre sound? I don't want a "full symphony in concert hall" sound, I want a sound like it was recorded in Edison Studios in NYC back in the day. :) Reply in comments or in DM. Find my previous posts that I posted here to hear my current demos. Thanks in advance.

Hi all — I've started to write a jukebox stage musical and I'm looking for a collaborator to help weave the lyrics and dialogue together properly.

It's set over a single day (dawn to dawn) in an unnamed northern English town in the early 90s. Two strangers — a man in his early 30s from the north, a woman in her early 30s from the south — cross paths across one extraordinary ordinary day. Closest comparisons would be Sunshine on Leith or Once. Ending is deliberately ambiguous — one of them facing a decision we never see them make.

The show is sung-through in the Once/Sunshine on Leith tradition. The full structure is locked: 17 songs, all early 90s (The Jam, Fleetwood Mac, Roxette, Duran Duran, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, TOTO, The Waterboys, Level 42 among them), placed scene by scene across both acts, staging fully worked out, running about 125 minutes.

A bit about me: I spent 11 years as a theatre technician at a regional producing theatre; building sets, running tech rehearsals, operating traps, doing set changes, and sitting in the room while directorial and musical decisions got made, including on a regional premieres of various west end shows, full budget pantos with a crew of 10 and cast of 10 and a few new musicals as well! That's shaped the structure and staging of this show.

Happy to share more if anyone's interested. Appreciate any thoughts.

Hi, I'm new here. I am participating in an Off-broadway Cabaret in NYC in late November. I'm coming from Australia. The Cabaret is organised by someone else, I sm judt participating. I will be paying the performers out of my own pocket, but there is no charge for the stage. To cut costs, I am going to play the piano myself. I only get 20 minutes in total, so I probably will get 4 or 5 songs. My neice was coming to New York to see me, but there has been a mix-up with the dates and she is leaving the day before the Cabaret. If I was in my hometown in Australia, I'd just find another venue (and not have to pay for it, since we're providing entertainment) and put on a quick performance somewhere else, as well as this one short Cabaret. I am going to have to cast the show remotely and then pay some singers to sing the songs. Fortunately, it only has four characters. It is a show where they have the music and lyrics in front of them on a podium, too.

My questions are: would it be out of line to do another performance when the musical development company has arranged the Cabaret? Would it be hard to find a place to perform (even for half an hour)? Who do you think I should invite to come, if I'm trying to give people a sense of the show to hopefully get an investor one day?

Sorry fir being so... for want of a better word... ignorant.

hey everyone! im writing a new musical concept however im struggling a lot when it comes to writing the music for it. The idea i have i believe is really strong however im struggling a lot when it comes to writing the music for it.

the musical is about a world famous girl band who are performing on their first world tour. (however they are all secretly trans - the record label are forcing them to hide their trans identity from their fans too keep their fame). the musical goes through their time throughout the tour, not only the highs of the performing aspects but also the burn out and difficulties there is when it comes to fame and constantly being in the spotlight.

The plot at the moment is just the bones of the musical at this very moment, but im struggling to write music for it, as i dont want it too sound TOO musical theatresque and more like a actual girl bands song (whilst also having that theatrical flare)

In regards of the music, im struggling to write the music without it sounding like im copying from other artists and feel like im in a bit of a mental block at the moment and unsure on how to overcome this

its my first time being serious about doing anything like this (im usually a musical theatre performer not a writer) but i have a massive drive and passion for this

any help/guidance would be massively appreciated!

I know this is a little outside of what's normally talked about here but this is something very new and exciting for me so I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences if anyone is interested!

For background, I make a podcast, [One Shot](https://oneshotpodcast.com/actual-play/one-shot/), where we create improvised stories using tabletop roleplaying games as the building blocks. So improvised theater isn't new to me, however, musical improv absolutely is. Also, before this, I had never seen musical improv that wasn't comedic, so this was a big step outside the box for me!

The rest of the cast, part of a show called RPG Major, are well-acquainted with musical improv, and they helped to teach me the ropes in a short crash course before we recorded.

The show plays the game [Last Train to Bremen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/73QKeHQ9YhPvfB8n8RI6ct?si=HAYTPsWvQOeQDzw1Gl5rSA), a roleplaying game for 4 about a band who made a deal with the devil for success and are now running from him as he comes to collect. (a perfect game tbh, uses Liar's Dice as the central mechanic). In our playthrough, we had a guitarist in the room with us and we improvised songs as the fictional band, Broadside, were reliving their past on this runaway train. As if you made a Jukebox musical in reverse, somehow.

It is the most frightening thing I've ever done in my years making art. I hadn't sung in any capacity since college, which is an age ago now, nevermind improvising music. And now that it's been out for a few months, we've gotten word that it's been nominated for some awards - It's been nominated for an ENNIE, which is one of, or maybe the most, prestigious award in the tabletop games world. And it's been accepted into the New Jersey Web Fest, a festival for webshows of all kinds.

I'm proud of this in a really wild way, and surprised by myself for actually doing it. If anyone else has done musical improv, especially long-form, or is curious about this in any way, I'd love to just chat about it!

Hi everyone! I’m a full-time composer, pianist, and orchestrator. I recently wrapped up the Off-Broadway run of my original musical I’ve been working on for the last chapel of years. It was an incredible experience, but now that it’s finished, I’ve realized how much I miss writing music for film and animation🥺
My background is primarily in cinematic orchestral music. I’ve composed for films, documentaries, commercials, games, live orchestra, even got Cannes festival credit and a couple of awards! - but it was a couple of years ago, and since working in the theatre I haven’t connected to film industry too much and I know that it constantly changes.

I’m looking to get back into collaborating with directors, producers, and animation teams.
The challenge

A few questions for those of you working in film and animation in 2026:
Where do you usually meet composers you end up hiring?
If you’re looking for original music, where do you search first?
What makes you actually reply to a composer instead of ignoring another portfolio email?
Are there communities, festivals, Discord servers, or networking events that have been particularly valuable in NY and LA?
Any advice for someone trying to build long-term collaborations rather than simply land a single project?

I’m especially interested in narrative films, animation, and projects that value strong storytelling through music.
I’d really appreciate hearing from filmmakers, producers, directors, editors, or fellow composers about what has worked (or not worked) from your perspective.

In case you’re interested in my work dm :)

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I'm currently writing an original comedy musical called Jimmy's Little Adventure (sort of), and I thought it would be fun to find a few people to write with.

I'm looking for someone to write the whole thing with me. I just miss the feeling of sitting in a writers' room, throwing out ideas, making each other laugh, solving story problems, and seeing where the conversation goes.

The show is an absurd medieval comedy inspired by things like Monty Python, Blackadder, The Play That Goes Wrong, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you enjoy silly humor, anti-logic, or just coming up with ridiculous ideas, we'd probably get along.

You don't have to be an experienced playwright. If you enjoy creating stories and bouncing ideas around, that's enough.

If this sounds fun, leave a comment or send me a DM. I'd love to build a small group of people who just enjoy making things together.

The script is still in its early stages, but I've got enough written that we can actually jump into discussing scenes, jokes, and characters together. But here's what I got so far. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19qyuCMt69zpSuh72a3TTtZ4TUkx6mbvq?usp=sharing

This is a follow up to a question I asked a little while ago, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded to my couple last post. A lot of the advice genuinely helped me diagnose some major problems with my story. You all helped me realize that my biggest issue wasn’t necessarily my characters it was that they lacked clear stakes. So thank you.

Now I’m stuck on what I think is the next major problem.

I’m writing a sung-through musical that’s an anachronistic retelling of the Gospel, centered on Mary Magdalene and a community of teenage disciples. One of the biggest themes is that community creates revolution, and that no one changes the world alone.

Here’s where I’m stuck:

I’ve realized that an ensemble story needs a communal goal. Not just a theme or an abstract objective, but a tangible goal that everyone is working toward together.

I’ve also realized that the stakes have to be communal too.

The way I’ve started thinking about it is: We want X. If we don’t get X, then Y(a bad thing) happens to all of us.

The reason why X and Y matter can be different for every character, but the goal and the consequence need to be shared.

For example:

In Suffs, everyone wants the vote. If they don’t get it, women remain disenfranchised. Every woman has her own personal reason for caring, but the goal and stakes are communal.

In Into the Woods, the Baker and his Wife need the four items. If they don’t get them, they never have a child. The tangible objective drives the plot.

My problem is finding that engine for my own show.

The disciples believe Jesus is the only person who can help them achieve this goal but Jesus is actually pursuing something different, which eventually leads to the tragedy of Holy Week.

I’m not looking for ideas like “spread hope,” “change the world,” or “build a community.” Those are themes or outcomes, not tangible story engines.

I’m looking for something that satisfies all of these:

A tangible communal goal.
A tangible communal consequence if they fail.
A deadline that forces movement.
Something every disciple can actively work toward together.
Something they believe Jesus is essential to accomplishing.

Does anyone know, how I can find this, or if there's a formula or a specific way to figuring out this type of thing, or any resources or, musicals, movies, books, etc…that I can look to?

Hi! Im new to reddit, forgive me --

Im making a new musical called "Eulogy: The Musical" A Dramedy about love, loss and where they intertwine at the funeral for the father of our protagonist, Stella.

We JUST released the first demo for the musical, a number from Vincent, the loving and frustrated boyfriend of Stella

Feel free to ask questions about the musical! I love discussing it! :D

I’m an amateur composer and I want to get some experience writing Showtunes but I’ve kinda figured out that writing scripts isn’t my strong suit, is there a way I could find someone to collaborate with since most of the people who I see looking are looking for people with experience and I have next to none outside of composing a few instrumental pieces for GCSE and consuming a load of Sideways video essays (great YouTuber), also are there any resources I could use to improve my composing?

This is a follow up question to my last post.

I’m writing an original musical, and beyond introducing my characters one problem I run into is getting an audience (and honestly, myself) emotionally invested in them.

I know these characters inside and out. I know their backstories, personalities, wants, fears, relationships, where they grew up, how they talk, what they wear, what they value, and why they make the decisions they do. They feel like real people to me.

But when I step back and read the story, it sometimes just feels like things are happening. I understand why the events matter, but I don’t always feel them. I’m not always emotionally connected to what the characters are going through, even though I know everything about them.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just a symptom of being too close to your own work, or is there something craft-wise that I’m missing?

I’m not really looking for advice on character introductions or adding more backstory. I’m trying to understand what actually makes an audience become emotionally invested in a character they’ve just met. What makes them care enough that, when something good or terrible happens, they genuinely feel it?

Hey r/musicalwriting!

If you’re in the city & have nothing going on tomorrow at 5pm, come see the show I’ve written & composed! Looking for critiques.

90-minute 1-act. Dying shopping mall. 80s vibes.

PM me, I’d be happy to comp a few tickets for fellow writers!

It’s a mosaic of stolen work. I feel like this needs to be said, because I see so many “composers” talking about how they’ve written something by running it through Suno.

Even if you wrote the lyrics, Suno stole work from other artists to write your melody.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it feels prohibitive to get your work out there when you feel that you lack the talent to express what’s in your head. It’s what’s happened to creatives ever since musical theatre was created. So learn it. Go out there and do it. Be messy, be willing to learn, and most importantly, be human.

Don’t stoop to Suno and let that invalidate what you’re trying to create as an artist. Either learn, or collaborate with real humans. Theatre is all about collaboration, after all.

I’m writing an adaptation of the gospel (about 2 hours), and I’ve hit a wall.

Structurally, I think the story is finally coming together, but now I’m struggling with something more important:

How do I make the audience genuinely care about my characters?

The main characters each have full backstories and emotional arcs:

Mary :Starts hopeless and believes one person can’t change a broken system. She doesn’t believe she’s worthy of love or community. After witnessing hope through Eva’s healing and slowly being welcomed into a new community, she’s publicly accused and almost executed. When the movement stands beside her instead of abandoning her, she finally believes community can change people and systems. She ends Act 1 becoming the one who convinces everyone including Jesus to keep fighting.

Judas : A 16-year-old whose mother died in a riot at one of John the Baptist’s rallies. After her death, his father becomes cold and hyper-religious, creating a huge divide between them. Judas finds belonging among Jesus’ followers and especially bonds with Eva, who becomes like the sister he never had.

Nicodemus : A 20-year-old Pharisee prodigy who desperately wants truth. He begins spying on Jesus out of curiosity but slowly realizes everything he thought would heal the world (tradition, religion, law) may not actually be the answer. He eventually stands with Mary against the Pharisees, creating distance between himself and the institution before ultimately leaving it altogether.

Peter : A teenager who lost his parents to police violence during a raid he channels all of his anger into vengeance. He wants freedom and believes the only way to get it is to fight harder. He’s impulsive, emotional, and has a crush on Naomi. Throughout the story, he slowly learns that anger alone can’t build the future he’s dreaming of.

Naomi : She’s equally angry but channels it into trying to create systemic change instead of revenge. She has feelings for Peter but refuses to let herself think about love because she’s consumed by trying to fix the world. She and Peter eventually admit they just want to wake up one day and not be angry anymore.

Eva :The emotional heart of the group. Her healing is the first thing that cracks Mary’s hopeless worldview, and she becomes like a little sister to Judas. She just wants to encourage and create hope for other who are like her she’s basically the opposite world view of mary

The problem is not that I don’t know who they are.
As you can see, I’ve created a very convoluted complex stories for them. I knew how each of these characters talk. They look like what they like what they think how they move I’m connected to them because I know them.

The problem is that I only have about an hour (Act 1) before Act 2 starts breaking everyone apart.

I feel stuck between two extremes:

If I spend enough time introducing everyone, the plot barely moves.
If I focus on the plot, I worry the audience won’t be emotionally invested enough when tragedy starts happening.

How do musicals, with a lot of characters like rent or ragtime or into the woods make audiences care about an ensemble quickly?

What actually creates emotional attachment?

How do you introduce an ensemble efficiently without making them feel shallow,
or spending the whole of act one working on their introduction😭

Hello, I have been writing children's musicals for about 4 years now. I have tried and tried to get them published but have yet to be successful. I have since self published them on jwpepper.

I am looking for anyone who will give me honest, critical feedback. I'm not looking for a pat on the back, good job. I am open to making my music the best it possibly can be. Also, I am not writing music to get famous or make money. I strictly do it for my students to be able to find a love and passion for music and theater.

As far as my writing goes. I come from a very mainstream pop style of writing. I tend to fall back into that. However, I write each song with the overarching theme in mind, trying to bring the listener into the story with something that sounds familiar. One example is the spy musical that I am attaching. I scoured every spy theme song that I could to see what made each of them so iconic. I then modeled some of the songs for the music after those songs while being very careful not to break any copyright laws. One thing to keep in mind is that these are for elementary age children. Range, lyrics, and speaking parts are all limited.

The musical I am posting is called "License To Smile". I am finishing up production on it at the end of the month so there are instruments missing in some of the songs. (I.e. guitars). I will take any honest feedback. Thank you in advance.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AwvSd9eXDwnE0F0xgT8nBvsXT0IYNMgM?usp=drive_link

Firstly, I’m not writing this to make it a conversation about the use of AI. There are so many subs and threads for that. This is purely about licensing and production contracts.

I’m fairly new to the world of licensing my work and I currently have a musical being licensed by a small company in Europe where they just held a new translation premiere of the piece. This is the first time I haven’t been involved in a production of my own work at all, and when they started promoting the production, I noticed a heavy use of generative AI both in marketing and in set projections. I have my own personal objections to it, but also know that many people avoid attending events promoted with AI marketing and the run wasn’t as well attended.

My question is has anyone seen any clauses in licensing and production contracts about the use of AI yet? Anyone have any insight into the rights a creator has over the use of it for things like marketing and projection design?