APPENDIX 2
NEW MUSICALS—A MISSION POSSIBLE
THE BACKGROUND
TO THIS
REPORT
Last year the House of Commons Select Committee
were seeking submissions on "the future of musical theatre"
and a member of CML wrote a document which was described on first
reading internally as his "look back in anger" moment.
It was decided not to make a submission at this point, in haste,
but rather to look to the future (rather than the past) and prepare
a short document on what might get done.
In November 2004 we learned of the demise of
the Bridewell Theatre, and there was a depressing radio debate
on the future of musical theatre, which seemed to blame so many
things—and not focus on a possible simple long-term solution.
The following short proposal has been welcomed
by Cameron Mackintosh, is in the process of being discussed with
those most closely involved with new musical theatre, and will
then be used to seek the necessary "R&D" funding
support to make a difference.
In 10 years time, maybe, the UK musical theatre
scene will be as vibrant with new homegrown talent as UK new playwriting
and new filmmakers.
CATALYSTS IN
UK MUSICAL THEATRE:
TO MAKE
THE GOOD
GET BETTER,
AND THE
BEST GET
NOTICED
Many people believe there are things missing
in the development of musical theatre in this Country, which make
it difficult for the best new work to reach a demanding audience.
What are the problems?
— Audiences for drama are searching
for a rich, mixed diet, and finding it. Musical audiences are
attending less and less challenging work.
— Producers are wary of taking major
risks on new work, and are unsure about the market for medium
scale work, compared to blockbusters.
— The best UK writers of musical theatre
do not believe they have as many opportunities as the best UK
drama writers, or as many as their US contemporaries working in
musicals.
— Emerging writers of musical theatre
are not encouraged in any structured way to improve and develop
[nor is there a forum to discourage them when they are seen to
be hopeless cases].
— Enthusiasts believe musical theatre
is the domain of every amateur writer—all it needs is a
few tunes, some quick lyrics, a blockbuster movie or classic novel
to adapt, and surely there's a willing producer desperate to invest
millions in their work.
— Some of those who do invest millions,
and devote their entire career to the development of musical theatre,
believe that the cream will rise to the surface without help.
— Some of those who have millions and
a passion back the most crazy dogs, and put off audiences, critics
and investors by their choice of pieces/people they back.
— And some believe if there is too
much encouragement then the world will be drowning in tapes of
bad musicals.
How have other artforms "cracked it"
? . . . two examples
Playwrights can study their craft at school,
college and university. They can enter open searches, they can
pitch radio plays, they can join young-writers schemes in most
of the major producing theatre, they can aspire to reading schemes
at theatres like the Royal Court, and they can aspire to studio
productions. . . all supported with arts council funding. If they
are successful they can play in the subsidised and commercial
world, equally accepted in both.
Filmmakers can study their craft at college
and university. They tend to start creating film shorts, they
can enter competitions, win prizes, and be spotted with an inspiring
new idea. There are apprentice support programmes, there are subsidised
and commercial avenues for filmmakers, and the world of television
and advertising to offer places to develop their craft.
So. . . What are the solutions?
A: RESEARCH
A1. Study, quickly and dispassionately,
what has worked in the US for musical theatre writing and r&d
programmes. And research what is happening in the UK for playwrights,
filmmakers and other artforms.
A2. It may be found that existing organisations
are covering some of the "needs" identified below—in
which case the research will gather this information and provide
a focus to champion this work so it cannot be accused of being
a "best kept secret".
B: COMMUNICATION
AND A
DATABASE
B1. Gain a better understanding of what
is currently happening in the UK—from the RNT to writers
co-ops and colleges, from the Bridewell to Avalon, from YMT:UK
to regional reps, from Greenwich to Cardiff, and who is mentoring/assessing
work at present.
B2. Ensure that we have a proper understanding
of all the best emerging writers who are out there, possibly through
MMD, Writer's Block and Cardiff IFMT.
B3. Ensure that every emerging producer
and director/musical director is kept informed of what writers
are doing.
B4. Provide an ongoing information hub for
writers, producers, opportunities as MMD aims to for its members—but
widening the service.
C: ACQUIRING
SKILL—TOOLS,
NOT RULES
C1. I accept you cannot learn to write a
hit musical, but you can learn how to use the basic tools which
help to make a musical, and you can try out your skill at mastering
these tools without wasting everyone's time and patience on creating
a full scale musical.
(a) If you can write a 10 minute musical
with an interesting theme or angle, then you are using the tools
of book, music, lyric writing and collaboration.
(b) If you can present that piece and receive
useful criticism and commit to improving the piece, then you are
using the tools of re-writing and working with a producer/director
in development.
(c) If you can write a 20-30 minute complete
musical piece (as you might were you a choreographer/composer
partnership in the ballet world for a triple bill), then you have
the chance to hone your own voice, explore a topic in more depth,
and have something to show as a calling card for your style.
(d) If you can do much of this work in a
safe environment (underground rather than in the glare of a competition
or gala showcase) then you have the chance to push your own boundaries,
and accept the kind of harsh criticism which will be the rough
and tumble of major musical production.
(e) If you have the chance as a writer, or
indeed a director and musical director, to work with a group of
people engaged in the same journey of discovery, then you build
your collaborative skills, your ability to listen to other voices,
and friends with whom you may work in the future.
(f) This programme of development also involves
directors, musical directors, stage management and producers—each
can grow from the process of working with the new writers, and
any programme can develop new talents who will feed into every
area of theatre/arts. The world needs new producers—here
is a way to encourage them to learn.
C2: This work should happen in private,
out of the public gaze. There should be funding secured to avoid
the need for high profile sponsorship leading to press/public
exposure, as was the danger in projects like Buxton, Oxford, and
the Vivian Ellis Prize and remains the danger of Cardiff.
This work cannot be driven by one teacher (as
is currently happening in a programme at Goldsmiths). The three
disciplines of book, lyric writing and composition have to be
developed as collaborative arts, and collaborative mentoring.
This takes high student/faculty ratios which needs to be handled
differently from everyday Higher Education courses with low student/tutor
"contact hours".
There are skilled practitioners here and in
the USA who have the ability to lead emerging writers through
this process. There are theatres around the UK that are undertaking
versions of this process for playwrights (and maybe we will discover
for musicals). There are writers (maybe still at school, maybe
early in their careers, or maybe just stuck in a particular mould)
who would benefit from the chance to collaborate in private, and
try new ideas.
D: ASSESSING
WORK
D1: Establish a reading service, or work
with an existing service if suitable, so that writers can get
useful critique for their work, and producers can have somewhere
to pass on writers who deserve this attention.
D2: The service to be offered at three levels:
| Introductory | two songs, lyrics, maybe an idea or a 10 min musical is there a spark of talent in this writer/collaboration
|
| Mid-Stage | assessment of a synopsis, 4-5 songs, lyrics or one of the 20-39 minute musicals. Is this worth continuing/reading, networking with other creators, or showing to a wider group of assessors.
|
| Full Stage | detailed critique post mid-stage. Assessed by two people. Potential to recommend to others or association with MMD.
|
| |
The charges for Introductory level should be as low as possible
and borne by the writer. Assessment by a pool of voluntary readers,
maybe with seasonal entry deadline.
Mid-stage may need to be supported with grant, or membership
income and fundraising and readers should be paid. Full stage
should be funded by the script submitter—either writer,
champion or producer.
E: RESULT OF
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
AND ASSESSMENT
E1: Maybe there is a new opportunity for showing musical
theatre talent, which draws on the choreographic model, and creates
mini-productions of three of these 20-30 minute musicals in a
contrasting programme. Maybe there are theatres (as there are
on the West Coast working with Lehman Engels) who would relish
the chance for a Sunday night new musical triple bill.
This process may uncover one of three things:
New collaborations for existing talented writers
New writers unknown to producers at present
New musical forms experimented with in the privacy of this
process.
E2: What such a programme of work, over 5-10 years, would
show to the world are a number of valuable lessons, I think:
— that the industry encourages writers to take up
musical theatre writing,
— that it is immensely difficult and few come through,
— that it is essential to build your skill in a
collaborative environment,
— that musical theatre is an immensely broad canvas
of work encompassing the next Chitty, Our House, Blood Brothers,
Les Miserables, Floyd Collins, Wild Party, Nixon in China and
far more unusual pieces.
— That just as the audience for drama have immensely
varied tastes encompassing sell outs for shows as varied as Krapp's
Last Tapes and Noises Off, so musicals and their writers, producers
and directors have immensely varied tastes.
— That some work/writers will achieve acclaim in
the subsidised sector with a small opera company maybe, whilst
some may achieve success by being spotted by a commercial producer—and
some may work in both camps quite happily, as seen by creators
like Matthew Bourne or Tom Stoppard.
— And finally, over 5-10 years it will show that
every critic gets it wrong—sods law says that the next great
musical writer will have dropped out of this process, or been
rejected by those who champion the programme, and the hit will
be achieved by the-one-that-got-away. But that's life.
F: ENCOURAGING OPPORTUNITIES
TO PRODUCE
F1: The final section of the plan would be to assess
the most sensible way to make available a small fund of money
which can be used to inject small amounts of investment and grant
into projects which may have a life, if they are seen by the public
and a wider audience.
Applicants to the fund could come from four sources:
— Writers wishing to record, read or showcase their
work when it is ready.
— Emerging producers wishing to present a new piece
of work.
— Theatres wishing to present a new piece of work,
— or one of those who need to expand the musical
line-up or cast size above what they would normally be able to
fund to make a new musical work.
F2: Assessment of the best plan for such a fund could
look at one of four models:
— How the TIF works and whether an investment model
for new musicals, outwith the West End, might be sensible.
— How the US assess cases for NEA awards, and how
various models may or may not have worked with the UK arts council
and other national funding bodies.
— How the FSA or CMF or Esme Fairbairn and others
work in assessing worthy cases, where there is no expected return
on injection of support.
— How the BFI and other film finance organisations
treat the development of new film projects, and the encouragement
of shorts/new work.
F3: Linked to the fund must be a process for communication,
and lobbying. Over the period of 5-10 years it feels that one
of the most important things which needs to happen is a change
of expectation.
Much of this has been tried or championed over the last 20
years by individual projects, and individual writers/enthusiasts.
However, where it has suffered is in not having a long-term consistent
development plan.
What I am proposing is not major injections of millions of
pounds, but an initial injection of seedcorn money, a plan to
raise a fund over 5-10 years, and a chance for all those involved
to seek funding/support on an equal footing with other artforms.
|
