IN ONE NIGHT One Saturday evening, 6pm to 10pm July 23 Course Fee: $125 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $75)
OR
IN THREE WEEKS Saturday/Sunday evenings for three weeks, 6pm to 10pm July 23 & 24, July 30 & 31, August 6 & 7 Course Fee: $750 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $600)
The course that tells you; - What you need - Why you need it - How to set it all up (Step by Step by Easy Step) and…. - How to creatively integrate your website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, YouTube account, audio, video, and more, to successfully market and sell your musical, play, tickets, products and services!
Does the word ‘Twitter’ make you recoil in fear? Do you ignore people when they ask you to ‘Facebook’ them? Do you wish you knew how to make a video and upload it to YouTube? Does your website look like a forgotten ghost town? Hell, do you even have a website!?
If an embarrassed ‘yes’ is the answer to any of these questions, then this is the course for you!
In this Intro session, you will get an overview of what the heck you need to get yourself up on the internet; guiding you through buying a domain, building a WordPress site, setting up a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and a YouTube account.
It’s fun and it’s easy - promise.
But wait… there’s more!
We’re also going to show you how you bring the online world into the ‘real’ world and creatively integrate your audio, video, social media and website into your musical, play, product, or service to create a seamless, 24/7 connection with your fans!
* Students who enroll in the Introductory Session and would like to continue on in the full course may do so at the end of the Introductory Session for an additional $625
INSTRUCTOR INFO: Kevin Saunders Hayes Film Composer: Composed, recorded, performed and produced over 45 feature film scores, including two Academy Award Nominated documentaries, Five 1st-Round Grammy Nominations and two 21st Century Filmmaker Awards for Excellence. Television Composer: Composed, recorded, performed and produced hundreds of hours of music for a variety of clients including; NBC, ABC, CBS, Turner/Cartoon Network, Sci Fi Network, National Geographic, A&E and Animal Planet. Advertising: Composer Composed, recorded, performed and produced thousands of National and International Television and Radio commercials for clients that include; Kellogg’s, Playdoh, Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Dodge, Six Flags, Discover Card, Toyota, AT&T, and The Home Depot. Vox Lumiere - Silents you can hear Creator, composer, producer of the five-time, 1st-round Grammy Nominated Vox Lumiere - Silents you can hear. Vox Lumiere is the next evolution in entertainment where rock concert comes together with new music, live performance and classic silent films such as Metropolis, The Phantom of the Opera, Peter Pan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for a spellbinding live performance of modern theatrical magic. Vox Lumiere has received two 21st Century Filmmaker Awards, and their PBS Special is shown nationally on PBS. Theater Composer / Songwriter: Composer, lyricist and producer of thousands of songs, including the title tracks to a number of feature films. Hayes is also the composer and lyricist of 15 stage musicals. Record Producer, Audio Production & Multimedia Post-Production: Produced various music projects for a wide variety of bands, solo artists, singers and songwriters. Hands-on practical working knowledge of digital recording and sequencing with Logic, and Pro Tools and all major DAW production tools. Detailed knowledge of entire audio and visual post-production process. (www.kevinsaundershayes.com) Other Music Related Expertise: Composition, Music theory, Orchestration (real-world and sampler-based), Bass Playing (30 years of professional studio recording and live performance experience), Music Business (reading and negotiating contracts, copyright, performance rights organizations), Music Marketing (how to present yourself professionally, how to find work, making and keeping relationships).
Instructor: Industry Guests! /Scott Guy /Elise Dewsberry
July 11 through August 16
Course Fee: $100 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $100) Auditor: $10
Join us this summer for a very special series of live streamcasts of musical theatre workshops. Submit your musical for live feedback, or audit sessions of new musicals-in-progress…from anywhere in the world!
There’s no software to install or upload — ANMT’s proprietary software takes care of all that from our streamcasting headquarters in North Hollywood. All you need to do is click a link, and, voila! you’re watching live. Or, because of time-zone differences, if your live session airs in the middle of the night, we can arrange for a private password-only taped version to be viewable later.
You give us up to 25 minutes of material & CD of music. We’ll read it, and comment on music, book & lyrics. Normally this would cost up to $320; but it’s just $100 for these summer streamcasts only. (We’re trying to spread the word about what we do!) For the most promising musical of the summer, we’ll contact some of our musical theatre colleagues, including Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins), Stuart Ross (Forever Plaid), Cheri Steinkellner (Sister Act) and tell them about it! At some of the sessions, we’ll invite some exciting special guests from Celebration Theatre, LA Stage Alliance, Dramatists Guild, etc.
‘I couldn’t be more impressed with the folks at ANMT. The feedback they’ll offer you on your work is astonishingly insightful and detailed. I highly, highly recommend getting their input on your new musical projects.’ –Jeff Marx, Tony award-winning co-creator of Avenue Q
Course Fee: $195 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $145)
FOR THE UNWARY IN THE THEATRE BUSINESS
Join Theatrical Attorney and Producer Gordon Firemark for a survey of the legal issues confronted in the development and production of theatrical works. We’ll discuss underlying rights issues, licenses, options, commissions and collaborations, we’ll also look at some of the common financing pitfalls and the troublesome questions of subsidiary rights and director’s claims of copyright in other authors’ works. Finally, there will be ample time for participants’ questions. Don’t miss what promises to be a lively, informative and entertaining discussion.
INSTRUCTOR INFO: Theatrical Attorney Gordon P. Firemark represents artists, authors, producers and others in the fields of theatre, film, television, music and new media. In addition to his practice, Mr. Firemark is a professor of business law at Loyola Marymount University and Theatre Law at Southwestern University School of Law. He is the host and producer of the Entertainment Law Update Podcast. A theatrical producer himself, he is also the author of the soon-to-be-published Theatre Producer’s Legal Survival Manual. More information is available at http://firemark.com.
Mr. Firemark is the President of the Board of Directors of ANMT. Mr. Firemark holds a B.A. in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Oregon, and earned his law degree at Southwestern University School of Law. Before opening The Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark, Mr. Firemark was a partner with the Business Affairs Group, a boutique entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. He has also worked in the legal and business affairs departments at Hanna Barbera Productions and the MGM/UA Worldwide Television Group, and started his legal career as an associate at Neville L. Johnson & Associates, a West L.A. firm specializing in entertainment litigation.
Course Fee: $325 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $295)
A Series of (brief) lectures, (brief) assignments, and open masterclasses.
The lecture/assignment portion of this class will be a brief exploration of the ideas of Heinrich Schenker as applied to the music of Richard Rodgers. (Did I mention it will be brief?) If you are new to ‘Schenkerian Analysis’ it is a different way of looking at harmonic structure than the traditional functional harmony taught in most academic music theory courses. The thing I found most valuable as a student of Schenkerian technique however, was guidance for my melodic structures and that’s what I want to focus on here. If you have ever found yourself feeling that your melodies just don’t have enough ‘oomph’ or that they seem to wander around aimlessly, this course might be for you.
The first night will be all lecture. After that, each week will begin with about an hour of lecture/assignments, then the remainder of the class each night will be an open masterclass.
You’re free to bring in any score of your own that you’re troubled by and we can all talk about it and I’ll offer any help I can. Or if you just want to talk generally about a specific topic that could work also. We can talk about harmony, chord vocabulary, style, groove, arranging for the piano, writing for the voice, notation, formatting, how to get your lyricist to write something that’s actually setable, how to get your bookwriter to understand that the story needs to be heightened enough that the character actually has a reason to sing about something, dieting tips, postmodern architecture, whatever you’re interested in.
On the first night I’ll query the class to see if there are any ‘themes’ of concern in common so we can focus on a specific area each night. The only pre-requisite that I would recomend is that you must be able to analyze harmonies. I don’t mean for harmonic function, I just mean you must be able to say ‘Oh, I see these two bars here are built around an F major chord’. If this is a challenge for you, you’re still welcome to take the course but I won’t be able to address basic questions about harmony during the class.
INSTRUCTOR INFO: Ross Kalling is an award-winning musical director/pianist, having received Dramalogue awards for productions with Friends and Artists’ Theatre Ensemble and the Odyssey Theatre. His other hyphenations include Composer/Lyricist/Arranger/Copyist-Dramaturg-Voice Teacher/Coach-Actor-Author. As a teacher he established the music curriculum at ANMT and continues to be very active privately as a vocal coach and consultant. He was Musical Director at the prestigious Beverly Hills Playhouse for fifteen years where he worked with stars such as Jeffrey Tambor, Dorothy Lyman, Penny Fuller and Doris Roberts and directors Gene Reynolds and Milton Katselas. He is currently the musical director/pianist for Gary Imhoff’s ‘Musical Artists’ Workshop’. He worked on the feature film ‘Relative Strangers’, coaching respectable vocal performances out of Danny Devito and Cathy Bates. He can be seen performing around town at various cabaret venues or in concert halls (and elegantly appointed living rooms) with his classical trio ‘trioCAYENNE’.
Four Monday evenings from 7pm to 9pm THIS COURSE WILL TAKE PLACE AT SCREENLAND STUDIOS
July 11, 18, 25, and August 1
Course Fee: $200 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $175)
How many of you feel great when you sing your audition song…and then politely nod in terror when they invite you to come back for the dance audition?
Well, now you can bring it down a few notches on the scary-meter because Broadway dance captain Angel Creeks (FOSSE, CHICAGO, STARLIGHT EXPRESS) is here to give you the tools to truly succeed at the dance call.
This is not your regular dance class…you will get individual attention and help from someone who has been on the other side of the casting table numerous times.
Whether you have never taken a jazz class in your life or you are a seasoned dancer, you will gain simple, usable, and practical tools to succeed in the dance call. (P.S. It’s rarely about being the best dancer.)
INSTRUCTOR INFO: Angel Creeks is an acclaimed dancer/singer who has thrilled audiences on Broadway and across the country. A second-generation Fosse dancer, she was mentored by the legendary Gwen Verdon. She starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning CHICAGO and FOSSE, and performed the role of Velma Kelly on the Broadway National Tour of CHICAGO. She also worked extensively with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group on the Las Vegas production of STARLIGHT EXPRESS. She honed her skills with the Lula Washington Dance Studio in Los Angeles and later trained with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and The Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Course Fee: $125 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $95)
FOR COMPOSERS, LYRICISTS, PLAYWRIGHTS, SCREENWRITERS AND TV WRITERS
For Writers:
According to professionals from the online music academy the Music Matters, many writers, playwrights and screenwriters are trying their hand at writing musicals, but the process of musical theater creation can be bewildering, especially if you’re a writer who has only written non-musical projects and may not be acquainted with even the most basic principles of music. If Mom didn’t force piano lessons on you, if you weren’t in a high school garage band, how do you, as a writer or scriptwriter, navigate that daunting world of tempos, rhythms, verse-chorus, legatos and back beats? This course provides, for writers, a place where your questions about music, no matter how basic, can be safely asked.
Your script writing skills will be valuable in writing musicals, but they’re going to have to be adapted. All you’ve learned about laying out a narrative line, story structure, characterization, plot points, all of it, will be just as crucial in musicals. (Don’t let the songwriters convince you otherwise!) But on occasion, some bending will have to occur. For example, sometimes, in musicals, it’s OK to let forward plot motion stop.
In learning about creating musicals, we will never call this ‘book writing.’ The craft is not creating lead-ins to songs, though that may occur. You are writing a start-to-finish dramatic piece for the stage, whether the story is original or adapted.
For Composers:
It’s equally important for a composer / songwriter starting out in musical theater to know something about the basic principles of dramatic writing: story structure, plot points, engaging an audience, and the crucial matter of making an audience wonder what’s going to happen next. And, of course, becoming familiar with the sight of index cards on the corkboard. Your instrument, the one you’ll be playing in musical theater, is your audience. So how do you get the right responses at the right times? How do you find the perfect place in the narrative to put a song, and the perfect song for that place, remembering at all times you are writing a score, not just a song? How can you to avoid the trap of too many passive songs in which characters do nothing but reflect on plot events? Also important: Deciding when a song is the right solution, and when it’s better to musicalize an entire scene.
For both composer / songwriters and script writers:
Collaboration Fundamentals: This will be Couples Counseling (or in some cases, Trio Counseling) for creative teams — Learning to communicate directly, in clear language, not jargon. Making sure all collaborators are writing the same show. Making sure the script writing side is able to contribute knowledgably to the musical elements, and that the songwriters are respectful of the dramatic writing rules that can make or break a show. Examining how the team can advance their project from an idea on a page to a finished draft to the process of readings, workshops and production.
THE THREE PROJECTS APPROACH
Those enrolled in the workshop will be invited to submit their current musical-in-progress, whatever the stage of development of the project. Out of these, three will be selected for class analysis, given a creative MRI and discussed freely; one musical per class, each class session three hours. In the fourth and final session, time permitting, other members of the class will be given an opportunity to present their works-in-progress for evaluation. You are welcome to join the workshop if you do not have a current musical project
SUBMISSION PROCESS
For submission, musicals at any stage of development are welcome, from the earliest one-page story idea (encouraged!) to a rough sketch with a song or two, all the way to a produced show in the process of revision. Early stage concepts are especially welcome, since so many projects fail in the very first creative phase — the creation of a musical-worthy storyline, and the choices for songs and song placement. Submissions should include:
- Story synopsis of the musical
- Biographies of the creators.
- Description of the project’s stage of development; e.g. outline, first draft, produced and in re- writes.
- Project’s history: A list of any previous productions, readings or workshops.
- Existing materials: Scenes, lyrics, demo recordings, sound files, complete libretto, or an outline, if the show is in a very early stage of development.
Mark has led his musical theater workshop at University of California, Santa Barbara and at the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, where he received this appraisal:
‘I gained SO MUCH out of Mark’s workshop, you wouldn’t believe. Not only from working (my musical) Pyro, but working the other projects as well. It’s a smashing success. Congrats on organizing this. In LA, it seems there are a lot of ‘bunk’ workshops, classes, seminars, etc. This one was hands down the most informative, nuts and bolts, specific, and productive workshop I’ve attended. (Feel free to quote me for the next one).’
–Sean Galuszka
Musical Theater Workshop student
INSTRUCTOR INFO:
Mark Saltzman dwells comfortably in the worlds of musical theater and script writing, being an accomplished writer of movies, teleplays, plays, songs, and stage musicals.
He began his career as an audition pianist in New York, and became a script writer and songwriter for the Muppets. His songs and sketches for SESAME STREET won him seven Emmy Awards and the opportunity to collaborate with composer talents like Joe Raposo and Alan Menken. Mark has written several feature films, including the children’s classic THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS. For CBS, he wrote the Christmas musical MRS. SANTA CLAUS, starring Angela Lansbury, with songs by Jerry Herman. His stage musical, THE TIN PAN ALLEY RAG, has run in theaters throughout the country, including Pasadena Playhouse and New York’s Roundabout, winning many honors along the way, including several L.A. Ovation Award nominations and a NY Outer Critics Circle Award nomination as BEST OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL. More at Msaltzman.com
