Just like last year, we at ANMT are producing a musical for performance in North Hollywood - but this year we’re doing it at almost ten times the scale! There will be a live band, a bigger theatre, more elaborate scenery, costumes and lights; and of course the budget is much bigger. Obviously, the stakes are way higher this time around…
Now, you’re probably asking yourself – who in their right mind would produce a brand-new musical in today’s economy? In Los Angeles? In the summer…!? Well, simple answer: someone who saw a 156% return on their dollar last year using the same business plan (aka us!) Now we’re trying to repeat our success.
As our Executive Director Scott Guy says, it’s all about pre-sales. Last year, we reached out to our members, friends, and fan base and requested everyone to buy tickets in advance for the workshop production of 40 is the New 15. Guy insisted that the Academy would not commit to production until pre-sales equaled the entire budget, from opening night to closing night, every single dollar. It took a massive email and telephone campaign, but we did it: we raised the entire budget by selling tickets in advance…and so, we were able to produce 100% risk-free, and the show went on to become a big summer hit. It’s received a lot of attention, even garnering a 2010 GLAAD Media Award nomination, and being selected by Stephen Schwartz for the ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop at the Disney Studios in February.
This larger production of 40 is the New 15 is scheduled to open on July 16th and run through August 22nd at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. A show described by critics as “a diamond in the rough” and “sweetly entertaining”, it follows the lives of five 40-year-olds looking back to when they were 15 looking forward to being 40.
We’re looking for $15,000 in pre-sales by April 15th (with the option of exchanging tickets for different dates, in case your schedule changes!). If you want to be part of musical history by supporting a brand new musical, visit our website www.anmt.org for reservations and additional information.
Author: Elise Dewsberry
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc., Elise has been involved in the development of new works for over forty years: as an actor/singer, as a director, as a dramaturge, and as a writer. While living in Toronto, Elise served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Muskoka Festival; the Co-Ordinator of the festival’s annual Musical Theatre Writer’s Colony, the Associate Dramaturge of the Canadian Stage Company; the Resident Dramaturge of the Smile Theatre Company; and was the co-founder of Toronto’s Script Lab. Elise spent many years touring Canada with Nine Months – a one-woman musical which she commissioned from writers Carl Ritchie and Stephen Woodjetts. Elise and Carl also co-wrote Any Body Home?, which was produced by the Cordova Bay Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, and published by Dramatic Publishing. Elise joined ANMT as Associate Artistic Director in 2003; joined Founding Artistic Director John Sparks as Co-Artistic Director in 2010; and became Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc. in 2013. Elise is also the author and evaluator of the Book Lab and the Outlining Lab, offered online through www.writingmusicaltheatre.com, and publishes a monthly blog on the craft of musical theatre available at https://nmi.org/elises-video-blog/.