Author Archives: boz

Making Musicals: Feedback and Rewrites

Posted on April 28, 2020 by boz

As you have readings of your musical, people will give you their opinions — whether you asked for those opinions or not. So, how do you make sure that you get useful feedback and avoid useless (or harmful) feedback? One … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

2020 OBA Award Nominees

Posted on April 28, 2020 by boz

This morning via Facebook Live, journalist Michael Musto announced the nominees for the 10th annual OBA Awards. Among the Off Broadway Alliance honorary awards, book writer and lyricist Gretchen Cryer was named as one of the Legends of Off Broadway. The 2020 … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: Rehearsals and Readings

Posted on April 27, 2020 by boz

Once you have a workable draft of your musical, you need to hear it read aloud. There are three main types of readings to consider: a private reading (unrehearsed), a closed reading (rehearsed), and an open reading (staged). The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: The Accompaniment

Posted on April 24, 2020 by boz

A lead sheet shows the essential elements of your song: lyrics, melody, and harmony. It is the basic work of a composer. The melody’s notes are written on a single staff of music, the lyric’s words are written below the … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: The Harmony

Posted on April 23, 2020 by boz

Harmony is the most advanced building block. It is the pitches above and below the melody, grouped together into chords. You might imagine melody as the horizontal sounds and harmony as the vertical sounds of your song. The notes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

24 Hour Musicals 2020

Posted on April 22, 2020 by boz

Yesterday, The 24 Hour Plays premiered 10 new viral musicals. Follow their Twitter thread for links. For the record, he shows were “Five Minutes in This Hallway” with music by Rona Siddiqui, book and lyrics by Kristoffer Diaz, performed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Online, Shows | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: Music First

Posted on April 22, 2020 by boz

If you have experience with music, you may want to begin by writing the melody instead of the lyrics. One good way to compose a song is to build it in small pieces, bit-by-bit from motif to phrase to period. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2020 Drama Desk Nominees

Posted on April 21, 2020 by boz

Today, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced the nominations for the 65th annual Drama Desk Awards on the afternoon edition of their Stars in the House livestream. The 2020 awards will be presented remotely in a virtual ceremony on May … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: The Melody

Posted on April 21, 2020 by boz

Melody is a more advanced building block than rhythm. It is the pitches you sing, the part you hum. If you’re new to music, one way to become more familiar with melody is to draw the contours of songs. Choose … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making Musicals: The Rhythm

Posted on April 20, 2020 by boz

As you begin to write music, keep two things in mind. First, the music helps us understand the feeling underneath the words. Is the character feeling happy and excited or anxious and afraid? The music will let us know. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment