Lots of choices warrant careful decisions
January 26, 2021 2:17 PM Subscribe
I just finished writing a musical based on a previously self published book about that I talked about in Mefi Projects. Now, I am trying to get it out into the world. It has been copyrighted and submitted to Writers Guild of America. And yes, I know that is not all I need to do to protect them. That's just background.
I reached out to script publication and contest entities. I've also looked at local theater and meetup groups to help me find people to read the script and work out any unforeseen problems with structure or plot. I'm working with a composer to take the song treatments I've come up with to develop melodies that I can put lyrics to. In the meantime, after sending queries to some contests that are now defunct, Pioneer Drama Service, whom I didn't directly contact, asked me to submit the script. And the Dramatist Guild says that joining as an associate member will help me as well, though I'm not exactly sure how yet. There are lots of boilerplate guides to what I need to do to refine and promote a script. My desk is currently covered with them. But as you know, those can be of great help and no help. Is there anything I need to know that you know that might not be in these guides? Advice for going slow, TEDtalks to watch, measuring twice-cutting once - that kind of thing?
The musical is so different from the book. I know it needs to be treated differently and has a different audience. The Mormon church, in their reaction to the Book of Mormon musical was, "You're seen the show, now read the book." I'd like to have that kind of fun with it too, but I want to be smart. Help, please.
I reached out to script publication and contest entities. I've also looked at local theater and meetup groups to help me find people to read the script and work out any unforeseen problems with structure or plot. I'm working with a composer to take the song treatments I've come up with to develop melodies that I can put lyrics to. In the meantime, after sending queries to some contests that are now defunct, Pioneer Drama Service, whom I didn't directly contact, asked me to submit the script. And the Dramatist Guild says that joining as an associate member will help me as well, though I'm not exactly sure how yet. There are lots of boilerplate guides to what I need to do to refine and promote a script. My desk is currently covered with them. But as you know, those can be of great help and no help. Is there anything I need to know that you know that might not be in these guides? Advice for going slow, TEDtalks to watch, measuring twice-cutting once - that kind of thing?
The musical is so different from the book. I know it needs to be treated differently and has a different audience. The Mormon church, in their reaction to the Book of Mormon musical was, "You're seen the show, now read the book." I'd like to have that kind of fun with it too, but I want to be smart. Help, please.
hmm.
are you interested in being involved in the realization of this work onstage? workshopping a couple numbers at your local fringe fest might be a good step...
posted by sixswitch at 2:48 PM on January 26, 2021
are you interested in being involved in the realization of this work onstage? workshopping a couple numbers at your local fringe fest might be a good step...
posted by sixswitch at 2:48 PM on January 26, 2021
If you're asking specifically about how to get it out into the world, entering playwriting contests would be a traditional step. Most playwrights in my experience go through workshops and staged readings with their writers' groups, then small local festivals and/or production with a local theater.
Admittedly, a lot of my experience is secondhand, but my husband and my sister have both worked on new play festivals, and that was the history of all the plays they worked on.
posted by gideonfrog at 3:30 PM on January 26, 2021
Admittedly, a lot of my experience is secondhand, but my husband and my sister have both worked on new play festivals, and that was the history of all the plays they worked on.
posted by gideonfrog at 3:30 PM on January 26, 2021
sixwitch is wise, self-producing at a festival or at least a workshop that you can film and use for pitch material is an avenue. Note that many hits (Kim's Convenience, Fleabag) started as fringe festival shows!
This previous question might have some suggestions, too.
How connected are you to your theatre scene? Are you watching livestreams, following musical theatre companies on twitter, are you going to networking type theatre events, conferences, seeing what's out there (it's all on zoom these days)? That might help you make the necessary kinds of connections to musical directors and companies.
And...this maybe isn't fair of me to put on you in this moment, but I can't help it:
This is a moment where folks in the theatre scene are...terrified. Like, our whole industry is in the shitter. Folks are worried about mental health, about losing lives. So if you're coming in with your hot new thing (and seriously, way to go - making stuff is HARD! You made a thing!!!) to see what you can GET - make sure you're reading the room, and seeing what you can GIVE too.
posted by stray at 5:05 PM on January 26, 2021
This previous question might have some suggestions, too.
How connected are you to your theatre scene? Are you watching livestreams, following musical theatre companies on twitter, are you going to networking type theatre events, conferences, seeing what's out there (it's all on zoom these days)? That might help you make the necessary kinds of connections to musical directors and companies.
And...this maybe isn't fair of me to put on you in this moment, but I can't help it:
This is a moment where folks in the theatre scene are...terrified. Like, our whole industry is in the shitter. Folks are worried about mental health, about losing lives. So if you're coming in with your hot new thing (and seriously, way to go - making stuff is HARD! You made a thing!!!) to see what you can GET - make sure you're reading the room, and seeing what you can GIVE too.
posted by stray at 5:05 PM on January 26, 2021
It seems like you're getting a little ahead of yourself. You say you "just finished writing a musical" but then you say that you're "working with a composer to take the song treatments [you've] come up with to develop melodies that [you] can put lyrics to." So, at this point, you don't have a musical, you have the "book" (everything but the music and lyrics). And the book and the music/lyrics need to work together to tell the story. You don't want to have the songs just repeat the story in the book, so unless you've already left spaces in the story for songs, you're probably going to need to chop out some of the story and replace it with song. That process is going to take a fair amount of time, especially if you're dependent on someone else coming up with the songs.
So, finish the actual musical part of your musical. I can't imagine spending money on an entertainment attorney before you have the music at least mostly finished.
A friend of mine was a part of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop for many years, and he made a lot of connections, and was able to workshop a lot of stuff, and eventually had a couple of musicals published. If someone enters the program and is just a book writer or a composer or lyricist, they're paired with someone who does the rest. But everything that comes out of the workshop is a musical (or at least part of one). If you're not in NYC, it may not be of any value, but it may be a good place to start: https://www.bmi.com/theatre_workshop
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:09 PM on January 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
So, finish the actual musical part of your musical. I can't imagine spending money on an entertainment attorney before you have the music at least mostly finished.
A friend of mine was a part of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop for many years, and he made a lot of connections, and was able to workshop a lot of stuff, and eventually had a couple of musicals published. If someone enters the program and is just a book writer or a composer or lyricist, they're paired with someone who does the rest. But everything that comes out of the workshop is a musical (or at least part of one). If you're not in NYC, it may not be of any value, but it may be a good place to start: https://www.bmi.com/theatre_workshop
posted by jonathanhughes at 5:09 PM on January 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
New Play Exchange is what you are looking for. Very inexpensive, great community.
posted by parmanparman at 10:31 PM on January 26, 2021
posted by parmanparman at 10:31 PM on January 26, 2021
You might want to look at Ken Davenport's The Producer's Perspective for a start to learn what the development process is.
posted by tmdonahue at 5:33 AM on January 27, 2021
posted by tmdonahue at 5:33 AM on January 27, 2021
The Dramatists' Guild doesn't publish plays or scripts; it is a professional organization that provides assistance to playwrights and musical theater writers. So getting your work published by a company like Pioneer Drama Service should not affect your ability to join the Dramatists' Guild.
(Perhaps you are mixing up the Dramatists' Guild with Dramatists' Play Service (DPS)? DPS is a publishing company like Pioneer. And if a publishing company agrees to publish and license a work of yours, it makes sense that they'd want an exclusive contract to it.)
But I agree with @jonathanhughes that you are putting the cart way before the horse in looking for publishers before your musical is even completed. And as @stray said, theater is in a tough spot right now. Many publishers won't even consider works that haven't had at least one production, so you should focus on writing, revising, and making connections in your local theater community.
posted by clair-de-lune at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
(Perhaps you are mixing up the Dramatists' Guild with Dramatists' Play Service (DPS)? DPS is a publishing company like Pioneer. And if a publishing company agrees to publish and license a work of yours, it makes sense that they'd want an exclusive contract to it.)
But I agree with @jonathanhughes that you are putting the cart way before the horse in looking for publishers before your musical is even completed. And as @stray said, theater is in a tough spot right now. Many publishers won't even consider works that haven't had at least one production, so you should focus on writing, revising, and making connections in your local theater community.
posted by clair-de-lune at 9:46 AM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
To answer one part of your question -- about Pioneer and the Dramatists Guild:
[on preview, what the previous poster just said!]
The Dramatists Guild is not a publisher/licensing organization -- they are, well, a guild for stage writers & composers. Joining them can help in you in various ways like teaching you to recognize what is standard in production contracts and other agreements and so on. They are a good source of all kinds of information like that.
Back to Pioneer: you could submit work to multiple publishers/licensing organizations -- but once one accepts your work, then you are bound to them. Other licensing organizations are MTI (Music Theatre International), Concord Theatricals (which bought up other organizations like Samuel French and Tams-Witmark), TRW (Theatrical Rights Worldwide.)
But as has been pointed out, you don't have a musical just yet -- you have the beginnings of one. So it's not yet ready to be published/licensed.
Seconding the recommendation of the BMI Workshop as a place to learn the nuts-and-bolts of musical creation, and to meet like-minded folks who are creating musicals. Honestly, once you start looking, there are a lot of groups interested in creating new musicals (look at the organizational member list of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre -- namt.org -- they are an industry group whose members are all theaters who create and develop new musicals.)
But actually, perhaps you don't need all that. Without knowing more, just in the description of the project, it sounds like what you are creating is more like a live stage experience that is an extension of the book you've written -- is that correct? Because really you could spend forever learning about musicals -- which is a good thing (that's what my life is about in many ways -- writing / teaching / producing in this form.) But, there are very targeted sorts of shows which both are and aren't musicals -- I'm thinking of shows like "X the musical" -- Golf the Musical, Menopause the Musical, and so on -- which exist for a particular audience and don't necessarily adhere to the "rules".
A thing to think about is -- where do you envision this musical happening, and what connection does it have to the book you've written? For example, I worked for a while with a person who had a known persona in the productivity field -- they had a website, podcast, blog, etc -- but they were tired of giving the same sorts of standard talks at conferences. So they turned some of their ideas into a musical, with a composer friend. (I came in briefly as a dramaturg.) It would not have made sense to critique it in the same way as a "standard" musical because the goal was different. The purpose was to engage people who would be at a conference, interested in this subject -- to grab their attention in a different way than every other presentation. You get the idea.
So, it's a rather huge question. Start with the same questions you began with when you wrote the book -- "what am I communicating? and who is the audience for this?" These are the questions you'll return to over and over while creating.
Good luck - ! Musicals take a while to put together, so don't be discouraged. I do encounter a lot of people who think, "I want to write a musical -- how hard could it be?" and they aren't prepared for the many challenges involved (if you actually want to get it up on its feet somewhere.) And I know at least three writers of musical theater -- very talented, hard working, trained professionals -- who all turned to (successfully) getting novels published because it was easier. :) Hang on to your initial inspiration, and you'll do fine.
posted by profreader at 10:06 AM on January 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
[on preview, what the previous poster just said!]
The Dramatists Guild is not a publisher/licensing organization -- they are, well, a guild for stage writers & composers. Joining them can help in you in various ways like teaching you to recognize what is standard in production contracts and other agreements and so on. They are a good source of all kinds of information like that.
Back to Pioneer: you could submit work to multiple publishers/licensing organizations -- but once one accepts your work, then you are bound to them. Other licensing organizations are MTI (Music Theatre International), Concord Theatricals (which bought up other organizations like Samuel French and Tams-Witmark), TRW (Theatrical Rights Worldwide.)
But as has been pointed out, you don't have a musical just yet -- you have the beginnings of one. So it's not yet ready to be published/licensed.
Seconding the recommendation of the BMI Workshop as a place to learn the nuts-and-bolts of musical creation, and to meet like-minded folks who are creating musicals. Honestly, once you start looking, there are a lot of groups interested in creating new musicals (look at the organizational member list of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre -- namt.org -- they are an industry group whose members are all theaters who create and develop new musicals.)
But actually, perhaps you don't need all that. Without knowing more, just in the description of the project, it sounds like what you are creating is more like a live stage experience that is an extension of the book you've written -- is that correct? Because really you could spend forever learning about musicals -- which is a good thing (that's what my life is about in many ways -- writing / teaching / producing in this form.) But, there are very targeted sorts of shows which both are and aren't musicals -- I'm thinking of shows like "X the musical" -- Golf the Musical, Menopause the Musical, and so on -- which exist for a particular audience and don't necessarily adhere to the "rules".
A thing to think about is -- where do you envision this musical happening, and what connection does it have to the book you've written? For example, I worked for a while with a person who had a known persona in the productivity field -- they had a website, podcast, blog, etc -- but they were tired of giving the same sorts of standard talks at conferences. So they turned some of their ideas into a musical, with a composer friend. (I came in briefly as a dramaturg.) It would not have made sense to critique it in the same way as a "standard" musical because the goal was different. The purpose was to engage people who would be at a conference, interested in this subject -- to grab their attention in a different way than every other presentation. You get the idea.
So, it's a rather huge question. Start with the same questions you began with when you wrote the book -- "what am I communicating? and who is the audience for this?" These are the questions you'll return to over and over while creating.
Good luck - ! Musicals take a while to put together, so don't be discouraged. I do encounter a lot of people who think, "I want to write a musical -- how hard could it be?" and they aren't prepared for the many challenges involved (if you actually want to get it up on its feet somewhere.) And I know at least three writers of musical theater -- very talented, hard working, trained professionals -- who all turned to (successfully) getting novels published because it was easier. :) Hang on to your initial inspiration, and you'll do fine.
posted by profreader at 10:06 AM on January 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Looks like there are lots of resources at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.
posted by parmanparman at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2021
posted by parmanparman at 2:14 PM on January 27, 2021
Response by poster: These are all great. Thank you.
posted by CollectiveMind at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2021
posted by CollectiveMind at 10:15 PM on January 27, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:22 PM on January 26, 2021