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Collab Lab: From Scene to Song

materials for collab lab

Welcome to the Collab Lab, your chance to collaborate with a fellow participant of the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge and write a song together! Led by Rebekah Greer Melocik & Jacob Yandura, this hands-on workshop will sharpen your skills in identifying the exact moment a character must sing. Students will be paired up in writing teams, and together you’ll analyze a popular movie scene, identify the moment for music to begin and write an original song for that scene. It’s a fun, low-stakes opportunity to collaborate, experiment and bring a scene to life through song.

The following materials will be helpful as you write your song with a fellow Challenge participant in breakout rooms.

Questions? Reach out to NAMT Program Assistant Amanda Freedman at amanda@namt.org.

The Prompt:

  • Write a song with another Challenge participant based on a popular movie scene
  • Choose from 3 different scene options

Once in Breakout Rooms:

  • Introduce yourselves
  • Decide Composer and Lyricist
  • Choose which movie scene you want to adapt into song
  • Choose the character who will sing
  • Analyze the Dramatic Context of the scene (discuss with your partner!)
  • Identify the moment that launches your character into song

Writing the Song:

  • Decide what musical Tone and Style best suit the moment
  • Brainstorm a few ideas for the song’s lyrical hook
  • Write!

Use this worksheet as a guide.

(it will automatically make a copy for you to be able to write on)

 

Video #1: The Hunger Games

In a dystopian future, what was once North America is a country divided into 12 Districts,  where every year two young members from each district are selected as tributes to compete in a televised event called the Hunger Games, where they must fight to the death until only one remains. This scene is from the Reaping, when the two tributes from each district are chosen to fight in the games. In this moment, the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers as tribute in place of her sister to fight in the Hunger Games for District 12.

 

Video #2: The Incredibles

A family of superheroes try to live a normal life despite all having superpowers. In this scene, Bob, the father of the family, visits Edna Mode, the designer who built his supersuit, to ask her to patch a hole in his suit. Edna refuses to build Bob a new suit, but then agrees, and makes her rule for the new suit very clear: no capes.

 

Video #3: Home Alone

Kevin is accidentally left behind when his entire family leaves town for a holiday vacation. In this scene, Kevin discovers that he is home alone.

 

Collaboration Tips:

  • Say “Yes, and!”
  • Follow your first instincts: write first, edit later
  • There are no wrong answers (except for blank pages)
  • Encourage each other: the collaborator kills the inner critic!
  • Have fun!

Questions about the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students? Check out namt.org/challenge for more info!

This page was last updated on 03/27/2025