A Crash Course in Writing Musicals
A weekend-sized version of the Academy for New Musical Theatre’s prestigious two-year curriculum, covering the process of writing a musical — from blank page to the stage.
“Finally, finally! I’ve been hungry for this!”
“Very helpful!”
“Very professional.”
“I thought it was perfect.”
“I don’t think there was anything missing.”
“Really good and really helpful.”
“It was great!”
Scroll down to see excerpts from the course.
Unit 1 - Overview
This condensed Crash Course in Musical Theatre is designed for you to bash through, to see what’s ahead, and for you to begin working with some of the basic building blocks rightaway. We’ll cover the process of creating a musical, from beginning to end, including outlining, song spotting, lyric writing, formatting, and approaching producers.
Unit 7 - Progressions
A progression is an underlying organization which gives shape or movement to the idea of a lyric. That is, the lyric with a progression will take the listener on a journey from the beginning of the song through some action, some change, some drama, some conflict, some inflammation of conflicts, and resolution, and deliver them to an end that’s measurably different from the beginning. Here’s a look at five tried-and-true progressions: Problem-solution; Viewpoint; Calendar; Pronoun; and Geography
Is It Funny? (Hint: No....)
Scott scowling at your sense of humor. Things are funny only if Scott says they are.
Unit 10 - Formatting overview
Introduction to formatting of musicals; overview of integration of book, lyric, music. Quick look at margins, indentations, and page numbering.
More Than One Way to Write a Musical?
Once upon a time, there was only ONE way to do things. I’ve grown more flexible as the years have gone by.
You can take this course in a weekend. Most folks do it in four two-hour sessions.
Fill out the registration form and get started today!
About your instructor.
SCOTT GUY
Scott has been actively involved as a writer and producer in both theatre and television. He has six Emmy nominations, and over 100 produced television scripts for Warner Bros., FOX-TV, Disney, Discovery Channel, PBS, etc. Scott is the Executive Director of New Musicals Inc. where he supervises the development of musicals for live and digital platforms. He created the Lyric Lab over fifteen years ago and has supervised the development of hundreds of musicals. He has been Winner/Finalist for the Richard Rodgers Award, Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Award, four-time winner for Stages Musical Theatre Festival, and many other accolades. His theatre scripts, including The Fish Whisperer, Just-So Stories, Der Strunkenwhitenlieder, and Rootabaga Stories have had multiple productions throughout the United States.
THE ACADEMY FOR NEW MUSICAL THEATRE
ANMT was founded over 40 years ago. Under its parent organization, New Musicals Inc., The Academy continues to offer a comprehensive, multi-year musical theatre curriculum for bookwriters, lyricists and composers (the Core Curriculum), as well as an on-going writers’ workshop. ANMT develops several dozen musicals each year for producers and writers all around the country through table readings, workshops, concerts, and occasional productions.
Scott Guy