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“And We’re Back” – Shaping the Path Forward

Wednesday, July 27 2-5 pm ET

Online

As we emerge from the pandemic, many of the logjams in our work are starting to clear and we’re finally shaping the future. At this year’s Writers’ Roundtable “And We’re Back” – Shaping the Path Forward, we’ll discuss the ways our musicals are breaking new ground with audiences in a world that is quickly changing, learning to live with the effects of COVID on our New Works Processes, and how writers and producers together can embrace other media as musical theatre expands beyond the stage.

Agenda

Wednesday, July 27, 2022 (All times ET)
2:00 - 2:15 pmWelcome
2:15 - 3:00 pmBreaking the Mold

• How have expectations changed – for Writers? For Producers? For Audiences? How should they change?

• What writers want to explore, what theatres want to produce, what audiences want to see—do they align? Should we focus on the intersection or use the healthy tension to expand?

• How are producers handling unique or unconventional stories? How do we make space for more than one musical with a specific perspective or about a given community? How can we better prepare audiences to engage with unique stories?

• How do we scale-up grassroots excitement for a particular story or show? How do writers keep producers’ attention when culture and politics are shifting so quickly?

3:00 - 3:45 pmCoping with COVID

• How are we balancing staying safe and doing the work? How do we make sure COVID doesn’t run (or ruin) our reading, workshop or production process?

• In what ways can we make working with COVID-safety protocols more sustainable? How do we transcend the now-omnipresent COVID threat to keep new work development moving productively forward?

3:45 - 4:00 pmBreak
4:00 - 4:45 pmBeyond the Stage

• How is live capture and streaming re-shaping our new works process? Does the future of theater exist in a hybrid of in-person and digital programming?

• Can we better plan and prepare for exploitations in film, television, etc. during the theatrical production process? How do writers and theatrical producers work together in pursuit of this additional life to a play?

• Are there programmatic trends in television and film that can help inform how we program our theatrical seasons? Are other media (TV, film, video games, books, etc.) taking more programmatic and content risks than live theaters are taking? Are there lessons we can learn from other media?

4:45 - 5:00 pmClosing Comments/Farewell

Attendees

Constellation Stage & Screen
Chad Rabinovitz
Artistic Director
Constellation Stage & Screen
Kate Galvin
Casting Director/Creative Producer
Directing Observer
Britt Berke
Goodspeed Musicals
Donna Lynn Hilton
Artistic Director
Hunter College MFA
Diana Ly
Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma
Michael Baron
Producing Artistic Director
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Frankie Dailey
New Works Director
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Skye Cone Ivey
New Works Assistant
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Adam Grosswirth
Member Services Director
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Emily Vortherms
Operations and Communications Associate
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
Betsy Militello
Executive Director
Paramount Theatre
Amber Mak
Director/Choreographer
Ragovoy Entertainment Group
Dawn Smalberg
Producer
Seaview Productions
Jana Shea
Producer
Timber Lake Playhouse
Paul Stancato
Artistic Director
Jean-Paul Yovanoff
Owner/Founder
Christine Burke
Ms. Wheelchair America 2022/Disability consultant
Yoonie Yun
Directing Observer
Paige Price
Producer
Joey Monda
Producer
Yuri Worontschak
Composer
James Waterbury-Tieman
sharon fallon
Producer/General Manager
James Sasser
Writer, Producer
James Campodonico
Composer
Mindi Dickstein
Kevin Merritt
Writer/Producer/Director
Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer
Ray Leslee
Composer
Beth Blatt
EllaRose Chary
Steven Gallagher
Elissa Adams
Associate Artistic Director & Director of New Work

Guidelines

Participation Guidelines

NAMT is committed to recognizing and celebrating the diversity of experiences, talents, skills, cultures and opinions that our members bring to our community, and specifically to our events. We invite you to participate in the Writers’ Roundtable in a spirit of open-mindedness, curiosity and respect.

We want every NAMT event to be a safe, inclusive and productive environment for all participants. In that spirit, we ask you to…

  • Be inclusive, actively seeking and inviting diverse perspectives
  • Listen to understand
  • Participate in an active and direct way, with professionalism and respect for others
  • Be considerate, kind, constructive and helpful in your language and actions
  • Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory or harassing behavior and language
  • Respect confidentiality requests by speakers and other attendees

NAMT staff and Board may take action (up to and including expulsion with no refund and exclusion from future events) to redress disruptive, disrespectful or offensive behavior or any other actions deemed in conflict with the above guidelines.

Thank you to every NAMT community member for helping to make all of our events informative, inclusive and respectful.

This page was last updated on 06/30/2022