Christina Meyer is a Wisconsin-based writer, lyricist and songwriter. She has written several one act plays, ten minute plays and ten minute musicals. Her work has been produced by the Chicago Dramatists and the Smallfish Radio Theater Podcast. Her short horror play, Go To Sleep, was a finalist in the Memoriam Development Night Shade competition and produced as a short film during the pandemic. (Check it out below!)
Christina enjoys writing comedy, horror and fantasy. She is currently working on a full length musical about vampires. MusicalWriters.com sat down with Christina to talk about musicals, education, and New Kids On the Block for this month’s Member Spotlight.
How did you get started writing musicals?
Christina Meyer: I have loved watching musicals growing up but it wasn’t until I saw Phantom Of The Opera and Rent that I thought I might want to write my own musical. I loved the theatrics of Phantom as well as the music. I loved the contemporary style of music in Rent which sounded like some of the songs that I wrote as a pop/rock songwriter. A few years ago, I signed up for a musical theater writing workshop through Theater Building Chicago. During that workshop, we had to write a monologue and at the end of the course, our monologues were performed by actors in front of an audience. Seeing something that I wrote performed live really fueled my desire to continue writing more projects. During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to take several online classes through Chicago Dramatists. Through these classes, I wrote a ten minute play and a ten minute musical. Those classes were truly eye opening and also gave me the confidence that maybe I could really write a full length musical.
What are you working on right now?
CM: I am currently writing my first full-length musical about vampires. The working title is Forget Me Not, but that will be changing since there is already another musical in production by that name. A blossoming romance between a conflicted half-vampire and a headstrong human may wilt when she finds out his secret and his family wants to wipe her memory to protect it. He tries everything in his power to convince his family that she’s not a threat. But he may be left wondering if the heart can remember what the mind forgets.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned from your writing journey that you’d like to share?
CM: One big lesson that I learned is that writing musicals, particularly songs in musicals, is much different than writing for the commercial pop market. I have been writing pop and rock songs since I was a teenager, so it was a bit of a mental switch to learn how to write a song for musicals. I still haven’t mastered this and am still learning everyday how to improve my musical writing craft. I also learned that writing musicals involves a ton of rewriting and reworking which has been both fun and challenging.
Click HERE to listen to some of Christina’s pop and rock music.
Writing a musical isn’t easy. What’s your “why” in being a musical writer?
CM: I want to create more diverse genres of work for musical theater. I personally love diverse characters and stories. I’m a big fan of fantasy and horror and would love to create musical works in those genres. I am always getting ideas in my head for things that I think could make a good show. I enjoy the challenge of writing different types of stories that may not be what is typically seen on stage. I also just enjoy the writing process. I love writing dialogue. I didn’t know that I would until I took a playwriting class and had to do it for the assignments. So far, I’ve gotten pretty good feedback on the things that I’ve written. Even if nothing ever happens with any of my future work, I enjoy the process of creating. I love getting into the headspace of a new character and figuring out how to tell their story.
Why did you join MusicalWriters Academy?
CM: I joined MusicalWriters Academy because I was looking for collaborators for my full-length musical. My strengths are writing the book, lyrics and some melody. I wanted to find a composer to collaborate with me on my musical. I also joined for the education on the process of writing and producing a musical. The MusicalWriters Academy has been a great resource. The monthly feedback groups have been so valuable as well as all of the information and resources.
What was your most memorable moment from the most recent Musical Writers Festival?
CM: My most memorable moment from the Musical Writers Festival this past year was having a song from my musical performed at one of the feedback sessions. I attended the Musical Writers Festival for the first time in 2022. At that time, I was just starting the process of writing my full-length vampire musical. I remember seeing all of the performances of other writer’s songs and being blown away. I set a goal for myself to have a song ready to submit for the Musical Writers Festival the next year. It was definitely a learning process as I had to find someone to create a piano/vocal score. But I got everything done and turned in. I was surprised when my song was actually picked for one of the feedback sessions and not just the showcase. The feedback that I got on the song was so helpful. It was also amazing to hear Robert Escamilla perform my song. His performance was wonderful and he told me afterwards that he really wanted to perform my song after he heard it. I mean is this even real life!!!!
Click here to register for the 2024 Musical Writers Festival.
What’s your proudest accomplishment as a musical writer?
CM: My proudest accomplishment as a musical writer is writing a ten minute musical. This was done through a Chicago Dramatists class that I took. It was pretty intense because we had 6 weeks to write a ten minute musical based on a prompt. At then end of the class, they brought in actors to perform each student’s musical via Zoom. There is just something magical about seeing a performance of a work that you created. It’s better than Christmas.
Do you have any regular collaborators?
CM: I don’t yet but I have recently met a couple of composers through Musical Writers that I hope to collaborate with in the future.
What do you love about MusicalWriters.com?
CM: I love all of the resources. From the articles to the video archives to the Circle chats. There is such a wealth of information on there. I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of all of the information there.
Is there a particular MusicalWriters resource that has been most helpful for you?
CM: The Musical Writers Festival has been so helpful. I have learned so much from hearing the work of other writers. Also the breakout panels at the festival have been great and so informative. The Musical Writers Ultimate Planner has also been great. I have been using it as I write my musical and it is a great guide.
Click HERE to get your own copy of the MusicalWriters Ultimate Planner!
What is your favorite musical writing (tech) tool?
CM: Final Draft
Click here for a series of Final Draft resources and master classes.
What’s the best way to get better as a musical writer?
CM: Always be open to learning new things. Also getting feedback on your work and hearing your work read out loud is so valuable.
Do you have a website? What tool or service did you use to create it?
CM: I don’t have a website for my musical or musical writing. I have a website for my general songwriting. I used WordPress to create it. Doctor Metal Music – Christina Meyer’s Music
Do you use social media as a writer? Which site is your favorite?
CM: Not specifically as a writer though I have shared some of my writing and the events that I’ve attended on my personal social media. Facebook is my favorite because I find it easier to share links on there. Also I was able to find local actors to do a table read through a Facebook group.
Just for fun: What’s your favorite “guilty pleasure” album to listen to on repeat?
CM: New Kids On The Block – Face The Music. But not really a guilty pleasure because I’m a proud NKOTB fan.
Listen to Christina’s interview about NKOTB on the Finding Favorites podcast below:
Lightning Round with Christina Meyer
Coffee or tea? Tea
Cats or dogs? cats
Digital or analog? analog
Fly solo or team up? Team up
Pizza or Hamburgers? Pizza
Road trip or fly? Road trip
City, Country, or Suburbs? Suburbs
Flip Flops or Crocs? Flip Flops
Apple or Android? Android
Most recently used emojis? Crying laughing, Heart and Heart eyes
Last thing you texted? Sounds like a winner
Three things within arms reach right now? Cellphone, headphones, mug of tea
What is one question you wish we would have asked?
CM: Who is a dream actor you would want to star in your musical? Joey McIntyre. I would love for him to play the vampire dad.
Thanks so much to Christina Meyer for sharing her time and her talents with Musical Writers!
Connect with – and learn more about – Christina at https://doctormetalmusic.com/
