“Musical Makers . . . where imagination meets the page and stage”

 

INVITATION to those viewing this page: you are invited to contribute to this page. Send an e-mail to
Jill Marshall-Work,listing your selected topic(s), your advice/experience relating to the topic(s), and/or
links to web pages that relate to the following topics:

H O W - T O   (W R I T E   A   M U S I C A L)

• Adapting Other Works for the Stage
• Writing a Musical for Kids by Musical Maker Jacqueline McMahon
• On Writing a Musical
• The Unofficial “How-To-Write-A-Musical” FAQ
• Musicals 101 (history, how musicals are made, and more.)
• A “Playwright (of musicals) for Youth” Speaks Out
• Movie Musicals: From Stage to Screen
• The Playwriting Seminars
• Drama Workshop
• Practical Playwriting
• Suite 101 Playwriting
• E-script, the internet's scriptwriting workshop
• Writing, Developing and Producing New Plays
• Playwriting ABCs

APPLICABLE SOFTWARE
• Finale by CODA (music notation)
• Sibelius (music notation)
• Opus 1 (music notation)
• Mosaic by MOTU (music notation)
• Noteworthy Composer (music notation)
• Cakewalk Scorewriter (music notation)
• Scriptware (scriptwriting)

PERIODICALS
• Show Music Magazine
• Backstage Magazine

BOOKS
• Dramatists Sourcebook
• Stage Writers Handbook by Dana Singer

QUESTIONS
• Tips on finding collaborators and the fine art of collaborating, including long-distance collaboration methods
   and advice (see also Musical Makers Collaboration Connection)
• What should a young (high school/college) person do to get started in musical theatre writing?

http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/actf/actfmta.html

http://www.youngplaywrights.org/nationalcontest.htm
• What kinds of workshops and other learning opportunities are available to people who want to improve
    in their writing?
• Finding the Muse by Musical Maker Jacqueline McMahon
• A checklist/tip list on what makes good lyric-writing craft
• A checklist/tip list on what makes a good book for a musical
• A checklist/tip list on what makes a good score for a musical
• Where do musicals come from: a listing of musicals and their source material

 

L E G A L / B U S I N E S S   I N F O

• Adapting Other Works for the Stage
• Publishing/Royalties
• Stage Writers Handbook by Dana Singer

QUESTIONS
• Researching copyright holder information: who holds the underlying rights?
   U.S Copyright Office search engine
• Legal terms and issues in adapting copyrighted works.
• Legal/copyright issues in ____ (name specific country)
• Work for hire: when should you?
• Collaboration agreements: how and why
• Researching copyright holder information: who holds the underlying rights?

 

S H O W   D E V E L O P M E N T

• Workshopping a Play by Musical Maker Jacqueline McMahon
• Stage Writers Handbook by Dana Singer

QUESTIONS
• 17 surefire ways to get your script rejected by Musical Maker Linda Eisenstein
• How to get into a formal development program associated with a theater or theatre group
• How to produce your own reading, staged reading, workshop or production

(see also: Musical Makers Callboard—submission opportunities)

S H O W   P R O M O T I O N

• Adapting Other Works for the Stage
• Stage Writers Handbook by Dana Singer
• Dramatists Sourcebook
• Marketing and Networking for Playwrights
• Transatlantic Playwriting

QUESTIONS
• Marketing your show: a checklist/tip list
• Marketing and Networking for Playwrights
• When, how, and where to publish: advice and a resource list
• Producing and promoting CDs

(see also: Musical Makers Callboard—submission opportunities)

R E S O U R C E S

(see also Musical Makers Links section and Workshop/Educational Opportunities.)

ORGANIZATIONS to consider joining
• ASCAP and Junior ASCAP Members
• BMI
• Dramatists Guild
• Songwriters Guild
• International Thespian Society (for high schoolers)
• Theatre Communications Group
• British Academy Composer and Songwriters
• Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance (Australia)
• Association of Canadian Librettists, Composer and Lyricists
• SOCAN (Canada)

REFERENCE for writers/composers/lyricists
• U.S. Copyright Office
• Creator’s Copyright Coalition (U.K.)
• Semantic Rhyming Dictionary
• Lexical Freenet—connected thesaurus/rhyming dictionary

PUBLISHING/LICENSING ORGANIZATIONS for musicals
• Music Theatre International (MTI)
• Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatre Library
• Tams-Witmark
• Samuel French
• Dramatists Play Service
• Dramatic Publishing
• Baker’s Plays
• Broadway Plays Publishing
• Pioneer Drama Service
• Musicline Publications
• New Theatre Publications/Playwright’s Co-operative
• I.E. Clark Publications

INVITATION to those viewing this page: you are invited to contribute to this
page. Send an e-mail to Jill Marshall-Work, listing your selected topic(s), your
advice/experience relating to the topic(s), and/or links to web pages that relate
to the above topics.