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Weston Playhouse gets $60,000 for world-premiere musical

By Andrew Gans, VermontBiz.com

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company has received a $45,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a $15,000 grant from the National Alliance for Musical Theatre in support of its 2011 world-premiere musical production of Saint-Ex.  These grants are the latest show of support for Weston’s New Works program which began in 2007.
“We are pleased and honored to receive these latest grants, particularly in a 75th anniversary year,” commented WPTC Producing Director Steve Stettler.  “This is the first grant that we have received from NAMT and while we have received NEA funding every year since 2001, this is the largest grant in that ten year history.  It is a real testament to the part that Weston is playing in the development of new work.”

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FROM THE ROAD: Pacific Northwest Tour- Part 1:Portland

Some trips are quick little excursions to see a new musical and visit a couple members.But every once in a while, the stars align and I get the opportunity to see a lot of everything in a short period of time.In my recent trip to Portland and Seattle, I was able to see 4 members, 6 shows, 11 Festival alumni; all while enjoying 3 planes, 2 rental cars (which included a free upgrade from a compact to a new mustang!), and 1 train. These are my favorite trips, even though they are quite exhausting.Nothing makes me happier at NAMT than getting out to support our members’ new musicals and seeing them in action on their home turf.
Up first was Tigard, OR (just outside Portland) to catch the world premiere of Ripper at The Broadway Rose Theatre. Ripper was in our 2009 Festival of New Musicals and is written by Duane Nelsen. Luck would have it that when I was out there, Duane was back in town to see the show so I got to have dinner with him and Sharon Maroney, Producing Artistic Director of The Broadway Rose, pre-show. The dinner gave us a chance not only to catch-up but also to talk about the process for both Duane and Sharon. This was Broadway Rose’s first large-scale new musical and world premiere—a bold and brave undertaking since Ripper is not a small show. If you want to start producing new work, definitely call Sharon (listed in your Little Black Book) as her company learned a lot in its first go-around.The production was really great and fully realized…what more could any writer ask?The production was not only educational for the theatre but also for Duane who was able to learn so much about his show that he was not able to glean before from just readings.Now, Duane is ready to work on the script while looking for the next-step production, and Broadway Rose can start the hunt for their next new musical, both wiser from the experience!
 
The next morning, it was off to Portland’s Union Station to take a train up the coast to Seattle and Issaquah, WA for the next stop on my Pacific Northwest Tour…

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Festival Shows in the News

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Duane Nelson Musical Thriller Ripper Begins World Premiere at Broadway Rose Theatre

Abe Reybold directs Ripper, which will officially open Aug. 4. Performances continue through Aug. 21. Ripper has book, music and lyrics by Nelsen.
Nelsen’s musical received a 2007 reading starring Davis Gaines and Annie Golden, and was presented as part of the 2009 National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals.
Nelsen loosely based his script on the Jack the Ripper tale, according to the Broadway Rose. “Neighbors, friends, and lovers are all suspects. Some are driven to find the truth. Others stop at nothing to obscure the facts and manipulate the situation to their own advantage. From the reporter who covers the story and the magician who runs the brothel, to the police and, of course, the prostitutes, an intricate plot unfolds that interweaves magic and mayhem, the lively nightlife of the music halls, and the ever-present danger of a killer lurking in the shadows.”

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What do YOU want to know about this year's Festival?

Every year the Festival Committee strives to select the eight most diverse and exciting musicals out there, and this year they have topped themselves. Over the last three Festivals, we have been working hard to improve the member experience at the Festival. From bigger signs to a reconceived program, we want all of you who come to the Festival to have a great time and enjoy the shows.

This year, we are at it again…now focusing on providing you with more information about the show before you even get to the Festival. Over the next couple of months, I will be adding more content to the Festival website, including cast size, band size, future productions already lined up, facts you should know about the show, and (hopefully) even members-only introductory videos from the writers talking about their show. I want everyone to see every show, but I know that that is not always possible so I want to give you more tools to know which shows would be more suited to your tastes and needs.

I would love any thoughts you have about this…what would be helpful for you to know about these shows before you come to the Festival? Email me your thoughts at branden@namt.org. I can’t wait to share this bold and exciting Festival with you in October!

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NAMT in the News

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Militello to Lead NAMT

Betsy King Militello has been tapped as exec director of Gotham’s National Alliance for Musical Theater, succeeding Kathy Evans.
A former management consultant, Militello recently served as veep of development at Outward Bound. She also has had nonprofit admin positions at Hunter College and the Big Apple Circus. Her legit production experience includes stage management and lighting gigs in pro and amateur troupes.

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Musical by Former ‘Daily Show’ Head Writer Chosen for Festival in New York

Given some of the things Jon Stewart has said about Republicans on “The Daily Show,” don’t expect his former longtime head writer David Javerbaum to be gentle on the target of his stage musical that will be presented at a coming New York festival: James G. Watt, the Secretary of the Interior in the Reagan administration.
Mr. Watt is perhaps best known for causing a furor when in an attempt at light-heartedness in 1983 amid the affirmative action wars he said of a five-person panel: “I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple.” He resigned a few weeks later, partly over the remark.
Mr. Javerbaum, who was a writer and producer on “The Daily Show” for 11 years until last summer, and who shared a Tony Award nomination with Adam Schlesinger for best score for “Cry-Baby” in 2008, has also written the book and lyrics for the rock musical “Watt?!?” about the life and times of Mr. Watt. The composer and pianist Brendan Milburn wrote the music.

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Thoughts on a Theatre Closing

It’s always incredibly sad when a NAMT member theatre closes. Since I started this job shortly before the beginning of the recession, I’ve unfortunately seen several members close their doors. What’s striking is how often the reasons for one theatre going under are completely different from another, and how often they’re unique to that one organization and its circumstances. It’s easy to blame “the economy,” but it can be so much more complicated that.
Our friend Jason Loewith at National New Play Network wrote an excellent testimonial to his friends and ours at FloridaStage, discussing the wonderful impact they had on artists and their community, and also the unusual set of circumstances that led to their sudden closure. I encourage you to read it. (Jason later refined this post for NNPN’s newsletter, so this version is sort of a rough draft, but it’s too long to reprint in this space and this is the only version that’s linkable.)
We like to focus on good news, and fortunately NAMT members have no shortage of that. But it’s important to note the losses too, and see what lessons we can learn from them to strengthen our own organizations. It also drives home the importance of us coming together as a community at NAMT events and elsewhere, to share ideas and help each other in this ever-challenging business.

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Writer's Residency Grants begin TODAY!

Today we launch the application for the next round of Writer’s Residency Grants. These grants help supplement member theatres’ musical development with a little bit of cash to bring the writers along for the ride. We believe it is vital that the writers are part of as much of the process as possible when developing a new work. The grants are flexible and the application is short. We want to give out these $1,000 grants to theatres that have exciting new readings, workshops or productions to help ensure that they can incorporate the writers into the process. This money could be used in a whole host of ways for shows at any stage of development, whether the work is being done at the theatre or elsewhere.
This round’s information and application can be found here. I hope that many of our members will apply as we continue to strive to support all of your important work toward creating our next great new musicals. We gave out 7 grants to great projects last year and want to continue the trend this year! If you have any questions, please let me know at branden@namt.org.

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Farewell from Executive Director Kathy Evans

I have come to the end of a fantastic 9 years as Executive Director of NAMT. I left corporate America to work with talented and smart people like you, and I am so happy to have gotten to know so many of you personally. I still pinch myself that I get to do my job in something I love as much as musical theatre. Doesn’t it feel like an exciting time? Between the very entertaining Tony’s,Glee, and TV’s singing and dancing contests, there is a beautiful vortex of activity circling this art form we all love.

I feel like those Tony winners who don’t have enough time to thank everyone… there isn’t enough space here to thank everyone who has helped make my time here so inspiring. However, I must thank all the Presidents under whom I worked, in chronological order — Sue Frost, Michael Jenkins, John Breckenridge, Denny Reagan, and Marilynn Sheldon. Without their leadership, we wouldn’t be this strong and have so many exciting new programs like the National Fund for New Musicals today. By the way, I’m consulting for NAMT until the new Executive Director is here, and I am on NAMT’s Board, so I am not going far!

Please stay in touch with me in my new incarnation as Founder of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. I will be giving writers working residencies in upstate New York inthe summer and will be back in New York City in the fall. The best way to reach me is: RhinebeckWriters@gmail.com. I will miss you all beyond words. Thank you for everything you have done for me and for NAMT.

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Show us your stuff, songwriters!

Every year, I scour the Internet and the country for exciting songwriters to present in the Songwriters Showcase during the Festival. I try to compile as many choices as possible and then work with the Festival Committee co-chairs to select the most dynamic group of songs and songwriters to complement that year’s Festival. This year, I’m opening up the submission process to all of you.
I’m looking for songs from complete (or almost complete) new musicals that have not been heard much in New York. Send me the full show demo (not just one or two songs) along with a long-form synopsis and production history to NAMT, 520 8th Ave, #301, NY, NY 10018. Feel free to tell your talented friends too!
We want interesting, innovative and diverse songs for the showcase and I know that amongst our alumni and members we can put together the best showcase yet!

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NAMT Member Discounts

One of our lesser-known member benefits is the Discounts and Deals page on namt.org (member login required). We’ve partnered with several vendors to bring NAMT members some special offers that we hope you’ll find useful – and will save you some money! Currently available are discounts at the Empire Hotel near Lincoln Center, 10% off cast albums at Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records (including Catch Me If You Can and The Book of Mormon!), special rates at several NYC rehearsal studios, a 60-day free trial on BofoBox.com, and a free membership to CultureMatchup.com. In the next few weeks we’ll be adding a discount to the National Arts Marketing Project conference, and an offer on PCI insurance from Compliance for Business.
Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, or if you can put me in touch with anyone who might be able to offer similar services to your fellow members (airlines, or hotels or studio space in other cities would be great!).
We want you to get the most out of your membership, so visit the website for a full list of member benefits. Email website@namt.org if you don’t have or don’t know your login.

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How Far We've Come!

As we prepare to head to San Francisco for our Spring Conference, my head is immersed in our five-year strategic plan. The Board and staff have been working together over the past eight months to create a valuable framework to help the National Alliance for Musical Theatre grow. The Board will be discussing the final version at our board meeting next week, and our President Marilynn Sheldon will share some of the highlights with conference attendees.
I have been struck, during this process, by how far NAMT has come. In the past five years, our membership has grown from 130 to 150 organizations; we launched a new website with many more features; and our conferences, Festival of New Musicals, and New Works Summits have helped spawn myriad new musicals across the country. I am particularly proud of the National Fund for New Musicals, which has awarded 31 grants totaling nearly $150,000 to support producers and writers in new work development. There is much more we plan to do for our membership with new granting programs. We’ll have to use some of the fundraising ideas we learn at the conference to help NAMT grow! Details to come…stay tuned!

Kathy Evans
Executive Director

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Residency is key!

I had the privilege a couple weeks ago to speak to a group of donors from Zach Theatre who were in NYC on a theatre trip. My charge was to not only tell the donors about NAMT and our Festival but to also excite them about developing new musicals. As many of you can guess, this is a joy for me to do and topics I can discuss for hours. Elisbeth Challener from Zach asked me to advise the group on simple ways they can get started with new musical development. My answer was quite simple: bring in a writing team for a residency. To have devoted time away from life in a room with a piano is always sought after by our writers. It is how theatres can start to build relationships with writers and vice versa. It is not even that pricey. Plane tickets, hotel rooms, a stipend for the writers and maybe a rental car are the only real expenses. If you ask nicely, I bet the writers would even play some of the songs they worked on at a cocktail party for donors at the end of week. It is also a great way energize the winter doldrums!
I’m a big fan of having writers in residence as part of the development process, which is why we have the Writers Residency Grants. The next round is not until September but I wanted to plant the seed now. Do you have access to space, a piano and want to help develop a new musical? If so, I know a couple hundred writers you should meet!

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In His Dreams? Not Quite. David Hyde Pierce Plans His Directing Debut

So was this transition to directing a long-held artistic desire that Mr. Pierce has waited years to fulfill? “No,” he said unequivocally in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “Exactly the opposite. People have told me for many years that I should direct. Even back when I was doing ‘Frasier,’ the camera people on ‘Frasier’ would say, ‘Oh, you should really direct.’ And I’ve never wanted to until now.”
What made the difference, Mr. Pierce said, was the musical itself, which features a book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove and music by Barbara Anselmi, and which he said he had been a fan of in various incarnations. (“It Shoulda Been You” made its New York City debut in 2009 at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals.)
Mr. Pierce said he also responded to the musical’s philosophy on parenthood, which, he said, “is similar to what I’ve come to learn about directing, that you hope for the best and you embrace the unexpected, and ultimately you let people find their own way.”

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NAMT's New Strategic Plan

After a long year of work, the Board of Directors approved a five-year strategic plan in March. The process was thorough and incorporated valuable input from many stakeholders, including the membership. 50% of you completed a survey last fall — a remarkable result. I was particularly pleased to see that 90% rated NAMT membership as having either High Value or Very High Value– a wonderful stamp of approval for the impact of this organization.

The strategic plan has 3 Key Goals, incorporating the stakeholders’ belief that NAMT become a primary resource for best practices among musical theatre producers; make a bold commitment to growing our funding programs; and evaluate and strengthen our programs in ways that assure even greater impact. This plan will serve as the roadmap for our future, starting with the search for the new Executive Director. We are happy to share the plan with all of you. A summary will be mailed to all the members in the coming weeks, and you can review it online now at namt.org/plan. We remain committed to our mission, our membership, and this art form that we all love.

Kathy Evans
Executive Director

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New Works Director on the Road

I just got back from two weekends of catching great Festival shows. First I was in Seattle to catch Vanities a new musical (Fest ’06) at The 5th Avenue and Iron Curtain (Fest ’09) at The Village Theatre. Then this past weekend I swung down to see Liberty Smith (Fest ’00) at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. All three productions were fantastic, inspiring and very worthy of future productions.

The Festival is just the first step in the process of getting great new musicals out into the field. The next steps rely on theatres seeing each other’s work, sharing work and spreading great musicals around the country. I know the economy is still rough but when you set your next budget, try to find money to include some travel for your key staff to see other work around the NAMT membership and maybe even find a little more to help host a NAMT member at your theatre during your next great project. No one wants a new musical to only have one production, and that can change with you taking one quick trip to a fellow NAMT member to see their great work!

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Following Along

The massive South by Southwest Interactive conference just wrapped up in Austin, and thanks to the Internet I was able to follow along a little bit from here. A handful of arts and other non-profit people ventured into these deeply techy waters, and I hope more of us get to go in the future. It’s not (just) about gadgets and toys; increasingly, technology is dictating how we engage our customers, both to get them in the door and provide them with service. For us, working in an art form that’s all about live human interaction, this can seem counter-intuitive, but the beauty of all this technology is how we can engage with people outside of the theatre. People at SXSW were talking about customer behavior, the customer experience, and paying attention to how people behave vs. what they say they want. A lot of this is social media, but there are bigger things coming down the pike, like new ways to pay for tickets, new ways to provide discounts, and new ways your audiences will want to communicate with you.

It’s hard to know what trends will stick, which ones are worth spending our limited resources on, which is exactly why conferences like this are important, so that we know what’s out there and what people are buzzing about. We can follow the leads of deeper-pocketed corporations or charities…but not too far behind.

The NAMT conference is much smaller than SXSW, of course, but we’ll be experimenting next month with letting people engage online as well. Follow @NAMTevents or search #namtsc11 on Twitter, or follow along at namt.org/twitter even if you don’t have an account.

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How do we select shows for the Festival?

Thank you to everyone who submitted shows to this year’s Festival…160 scripts were sent in for review! Many people ask me: What happens next? Well it is a simple process to explain but a long and hard process to carry out.
Shows submitted to the Festival are sent on to the Festival Committee, a group of 13 brilliant and brave NAMT members who will each read and evaluate 25 or so shows between now and late April. The shows are all “blind,” meaning the Committee knows nothing (no authors’ names or production history) but the art in front of them. I send each show on to committee members who are most likely to love the show and advocate for it.
Then, we meet in late April in NYC and discuss all of the shows. Our goal for that meeting is to leave with a list of the 20 best, most diverse, exciting, fresh new musicals we can find that represents the breadth of work happening out there but also moves the art form forward. Then we repeat the process with the Top 20…but this time every show is read by every committee member.
By mid-June we will have taken 160 shows, divided them by 20 and gotten the 8 shows we will present at the Festival in October. It is a big task, a daunting task…but anyone on the Committee will tell you: it is a whole lot of fun!

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Supply & Demand

Have you heard of the controversy surrounding Rocco Landesman’s remarks at last week’s new play convening at Arena Stage? To simplify, Rocco questions the increase in arts institutions in the last 20 years, when audience participation in the arts has decreased, begging the question — Is there too much supply and not enough demand? You can read his blog post and comment as well on the NEA’s site.
The NAMT Board is about to embark on our strategic plan retreat. One of the key questions raised by our members in the survey you completed in December mirrors the issues addressed by Rocco: audiences. How can we keep current audiences and attract new audiences to the theatre? What innovative methods can we find, as a field, to bring audiences to musicals? What role does new work play? These are big questions. I am excited to tackle these issues with our dedicated board members. Our goal is to have the final plan approved by the Board for our Spring Conference in San Francisco, to present to the membership. NAMT is in a strong position today, as an organization, and we look forward to great things to come.

Kathy Evans
Executive Director

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Seeking: Exciting, brave new musicals!

Every January and February changes the topography of the NAMT office in a wonderful way. Piles of CDs and scripts start appearing on once empty flat surfaces and binder clips become scarce. It is submissions time for our 23rd Annual Festival of New Musicals. The non-member deadline passed earlier this week and I am excited to give the members and alumni an extra 3 weeks to find those perfect shows to submit this year (your deadline is on February 15, postmarked). As the Festival has grown in my 3 years here, it has become clear that we really need to present the best, most eclectic, exciting 8 works we can find and I look to you, our members and alumni, as the primary source for our great musicals. Don’t be afraid that something is too edgy, or too wholesome, or too big, or too small for the Festival. Is it great? Does it excite you? Does it make you love being in the theatre? Then submit it because odds are you are not alone in your opinions! Let’s share our great work with the each other and the world this October!

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Tweeting DURING a show?

I’m a bit of an internet addict, and I’m a big fan of Facebook and Twitter in my personal life. But I’ve yet to be convinced that social media is effective as a marketing tool, since your audience there is self-selected: you’re not reaching anyone who doesn’t already know you. I also enjoy my time in the theatre as a time to turn off my addictive devices. So I’m fascinated by the SF Playhouse Pluggers program. The Playhouse invites select patrons to tweet during the show. They sit in the back row so as not to disturb others, and the Playhouse doesn’t censor them in any way. So the theatre gets the word out to everyone who follows their “pluggers,” inviting new people into the shared experience happening in the room. They also get some “cred” for not being afraid of criticism. You follow someone on Twitter because you’re interested in what he has to say, so if he’s writing about a show, his interest might get you to check it out yourself…offline.
We’d love to hear from members who have had success with innovative campaigns like this. Or let us know if you try this idea out!

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Join Op4G and Help NAMT!

Do you like to give your opinion? Do you like pocket money? Would you like to help NAMT support the development of new musicals? Now you can do ALL THREE! Last week we told you about our new relationship with Op4G, and I wanted to mention it again because I am so excited about its potential to help you and NAMT. In my long career of hearing businesses tout “win-win” scenarios, I believe this truly is! Op4G is a market research company partnering with not-for-profits to find a select demographic base for their corporate clients. If you join, you get paid for giving your opinion on surveys and a portion of your payment is donated to NAMT. It’s easy to join. Go to www.Op4G.com and click on the orange “Join Op4g” button. When asked to “select your non-profit”, select National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Indicate how much of your payment you want to donate to NAMT – between 25% and 100%.

Please spread the word by sharing this link. If we can get lots of people to join Op4G and choose NAMT as their not-for-profit, we could create a donation income stream to help writers and producers that will last for years.

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Seize the moment at the New Works Summits

As theatre people, we tend to not venture far from home and see each other’s work. We pour so much time into our jobs and craft that it can seem daunting to go see someone else’s show when all you can think about is your own. But there is something vital about seeing other work.
This is why NAMT holds New Works Summits all around the country; to get us out and seeing new works at member theatres and sharing the experience with our colleagues.

The Summits are truly special events. Small and intimate, you actually find time to say “hi” and to have conversations with everyone. Together we get to enjoy a weekend filled with shows and other events as peers. There is something invigorating about seeing a musical with fellow producers and writers who you can turn to afterwards and spark up a discussion then and there, not over the internet.

I hope that many of you will join us January 14-16 at Goodspeed Musicals in CT for the next New Works Summit. Let’s experience these new musicals together!

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NAMT Receives $25,000 Grant from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announced that the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation has granted $25,000 to support NAMT’s next strategic plan. In addition to the Doris Duke grant, NAMT also received funding from Kenneth and Marleen Alhadeff Charitable Foundation ($10,000) and Stacey Mindich Productions ($5,000). The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, whose mission is to help producers and writers in the creation, development, and production of new musicals, will build on the success of the last plan, which resulted in the launch of the National Fund for New Musicals in 2009. The Fund has already awarded 17 grants to not-for-profit theatres across the country.
NAMT Executive Director Kathy Evans said, “We are incredibly honored to receive a grant for the first time from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Their generosity is instrumental in providing our Board and membership the unique opportunity to assess our organization, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of NAMT. We plan to discover and implement concrete ways that we can build on the success of our Festival of New Musicals, National Fund for New Musicals, and other programs that support producers and writers.”

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