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BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop

Relation to NPYA

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Criteria for Selection

Music by Tom Kitt,

Book & Lyrics by Brian Yorkey

Brian Hill and Neil Bartram

Similarities

• Accept large amount of submissions/year

• Tendency to use same key staff yearly

(NPYA: Cecily O’Neill, David Montgomery, Katie Pelkey; BMI: Patrick Cook, Robert Lopez, Maury Yeston, Frederick Fryer, Alan Menken)

Differences

• BMI offers a longer range of development (2-3 years), NPYA is one week long

• BMI has set structure of assignments and guidelines for the 2 years

• NPYA is structured to get a show on its feet in one week for a final presentation; BMI focuses more on the craft of writing and does not strive for production-ready presentations

The Story of My Life

Music & Lyrics by Neil Bartram, Book by Brian Hill

Artists from many different musical theatre genres are invited to apply.

With application, sumbissions must include:

  • Composer: 3 contrasting compositions on CD - up-tempo, comedy song, ballad.
  • Lyricist: 3 contrasting lyrics - up-tempo, comedy song, ballad.
  • Composer/Lyricist: 3 contrasting songs on CD - up-tempo, comedy song, ballad.
  • Librettist: excerpts from works published or in progress w/ at least one example of comedy writing. At least 10 pages must be in dramatic script form.

Started at BMI, then off-Broadway, then Arena Stage, then Broadway, won Tony's, won the Pulitzer (2010), went on to tour and have regional success.

  • A global leader in music rights management, BMI serves as an advocate for the value of music, representing more than 8.5 million musical works created and owned by more than 600,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers
  • In 1961, BMI joined forces with the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre conductors, to create a setting in which new writers for the musical theatre could learn their craft.
  • BMI's Musical Theatre Workshop is considered to be the foremost training ground for new musical theatre writers
  • The Workshop’s mission is to develop the skills unique to musical theatre writers through round-table presentations and critiques of its members’ ongoing musical theatre scriptwriting projects.
  • Neil Bartram was in BMI and started writing The Story of My Life; Brian Hill would only come to BMI when presentations occurred
  • Created original story, not adaptation
  • BMI had relationship with MTC at the time, and MTC would host cabarets of new songs by BMI participants; proved beneficial and MTC then did 2 readings of the musical
  • premiered on Broadway and did not last 1 month
  • regional and overseas success, and was nominated for many awards (Drama Desks, Barrymore, Ovation)
  • Team continues to develop work through Canadian Music Theatre Project

Will Chase and Malcom Gets

Development Process

Henry and Mudge

Uniqueness

Book & Lyrics by Kait Kerrigan,

Music by Brian Lowdermilk

  • TYA show based on book series
  • Off-Broadway production at Lucille Lortel Theatre (2006), produced by TheatreWorks USA
  • Has had 4 national tours
  • Individual songs have become extremely popular choices for young people in cabarets/YouTube hits

The BMI Workshop does not strive for fully finished, presentable works in the 2 year period.

The program runs for an extensive period of time.

The program is completely FREE.

Producers are NOT invited to final presentations.

**participants meet once/week for 2 hours**

FIRST YEAR:

- Composers & lyricists are paired off for each assignment (different teams throughout year)

- Explores basics of writing for musical theatre

- Assignments include creating songs based on scenes from plays, short stories, novels

- Assignments performed and discussed with moderator

- Analysis of current and past musicals

- Culmination: creation of 10 minute musical

SECOND YEAR:

- Composer/lyricist team work on writing a full-length musical

- Teams are encouraged to work on an adaptation

- Weekly meetings used as a forum/sounding board, critically and openly evaluating music and lyrics of works in progress

- Concludes with presentation of 20-minute excerpt of works in progress, judged by BMI panel

*limited number of writers invited to

"Advanced" Workshop*

Jennifer Cody and Todd Buonopane

Conclusion

Lauren Kleinbaum & Nicky Phillips, recipients of the 2014 Jean Banks award for best 10-minute musical

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) met and became a team in the Workshop and found the experience “invaluable.”

Flaherty: “It is the most developmental of all the musical workshops. It’s helped me build confidence in a variety of areas, particularly when it comes to presenting my material. I’ve learned to take chances, to stretch.”

Robert (Bobby) Lopez and Kristen Anderson met at BMI (though Bobby mainly collaborated with Jeff Marx, he married Kristen and now they are famous for writing the songs in Frozen)

In the words of Workshop founder Lehman Engel, “It takes ten years to learn to be a good doctor or lawyer. Creative people should be given equal time and opportunity to burnish their talent. If they have responsibility and sufficient knowledge as an undercoating to their talent, they’ll come through and ultimately be marvelous.”

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