Resources for Musical Writers

Books on Making Musicals

How To Write a Musical - Reviews of Best Books SPECIAL TO MUSICALWRITERS.COM: William Squiers reviews the major books that explain how to write a musical.

The Making of Musicals - get the behind-the-scenes scoop. The Making of Gypsy, West Side Story,....

Reference Books and Handbooks - Essential Guides

Biographies: Composers, lyricists, Book Writers, producers

Creativity: Keep your creative juices flowing.

Essential Software

Find Classes, Workshops, Talks

See ASCAP and BMI | See Academic programs

Famous musical theatre writers have answered questions on Theatre Talk, a PBS program from WNET www.theatertalk.org/ for archive of available tapes.

Watch videos online using Real Player at www.americantheatrewing.org. The American Theatre Wing's panel discussion series brings together performers, directors, playwrights, designers, choreographers and behind-the-scenes personnel from the Broadway theatre.

Order Chatterbox interview videos. Seth Rudesky interviews mostly actors but sometimes writers, including Stephen Schwartz. www.sethsbroadwaychatterbox.com/

Finding Collaborators

1. Network at various workshops and festivals listed in the Production section of this site.

2. Check http://www.ascap.com - collaborator's corner is part of their website.

3. the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation amd the Dramatist Guild co-sponser an exchange gathering. www.ssdc.org/sdcf.php has info - gatherings for dramatists and musical theatre artists.

A press release in 2006 read: "The Dramatists Guild has announced its next Exchange event, a two-hour networking session for directors and dramatists working in the New York area. The free event is open to directors, choreographers, writers, lyricists, and composers, and gives these professionals a chance to meet and mingle in an informal social setting. Each exchange is limited to 20 participants. The series was created in the hopes of fostering ongoing, working relationships between participating artists."

Finding Scripts and Scores to review

Here are some places to find resources to buy or to review.

See our Study Musicals section for published resources.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has an extensive, mostly non-circulating collection. www.nypl.org/ The library also includes the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library, one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts. Researchers may be able to view video tapes of earlier production.

The Broadway Sheet Music Store MusicNotes.com is a wonderful source for musical sheet music and arrangements.

Another fine source for scriptsis The Drama Book Shop in New York City. Dramabookshop.com.

To send suggestions, comments, or questions write to comments@musicalwriters.com