In an effort to provide their students with more educational and artistic opportunities, Baylor University has recently restructured and revamped their Musical Theatre concentration. Lauren Weber from Baylor University says, “A part of this restructuring process has been to examine the work that we do with our students and how it compares to current trends in professional musical theatre, and explore ways that we can better prepare our students to take on a variety of roles in professional and educational musical theatre upon graduation. We have added new works into our rotation as a way to give students the opportunity to participate in the development and workshopping process of a new musical work.”
Lauren Weber reached out to MusicalWriters.com about this new submission opportunity. Baylor University’s Theatre department has discovered that workshopping new shows needs to be a part of their musical theatre performance curriculum, and they need writers and their new work to make it successful. They are looking for completed scores/scripts. Preference will be given to material with roles for women and limited language.
How will having students perform new works help enrich their studies?
Performing in a new work will allow students to experience the creative freedom and unique challenges that come from the process of developing a character in a new work, free from any preconceived ideas or expectations based on the original or most famous portrayal. Students will gain new perspective on the importance of interpretation of text and music in creating a role, and they will be an active participant in the collaborative process with the writer(s), director, and fellow cast members.
What are the long-term goals for the Baylor University Musical Theatre Workshop?
The Baylor University Musical Theatre Workshop (MTW) class is a course taught each semester to Junior and Senior theatre majors earning a concentration in musical theatre at Baylor University. As such, each musical theatre student takes the course four times. Baylor University has recently revamped the structure of our MTW class to establish a four-semester rotation of curriculum and projects for the class to ensure that they are giving each student the opportunity to learn and hone a variety of skills and apply those skills to a variety of musical theatre styles and situations. The Musical Theatre department at Baylor intends for the focus of one of the semesters in the rotation of four to be workshopping a new musical. “We hope to establish Baylor Theatre as a go-to program for artists seeking a supportive and collaborative workshopping experience for new musical works” says Lauren Weber.
What kind of relationship do they desire with the writer?
Weber explains, “We are hoping to establish a collaborative relationship with the writer to emulate the experience of new work being developed in collegiate theatre. At a minimum, our desire is to communicate with the writer several times throughout the rehearsal process to receive feedback either remotely or in person as circumstances allow.”
How will the new work be performed?
The Baylor University Musical Theatre Workshop will culminate in a free staged reading/concert performance open to the public. Donations from the event go towards a musical theatre scholarship awarded to a student based on need and merit.
How do you submit to the Baylor University Musical Theatre Workshop?
This submission will be on an ongoing basis with the first deadline being June 22, 2022. Send the following materials to: Lauren_Weber@baylor.edu
Hi Kenady,
Do you know how many demos they expect? All the songs? Just a few?
Thanks!
Ed Levy
Ed, I’ve reached out and asked. I would suggest starting with 3-5 and if they ask for more you can send more.
Hi Kenady, Can you submit more than one musical? Wendy Waters
Wendy, Baylor University hasn’t given guidance on this. I would go ahead and submit both.
Hi Kenady,
I have a password-protected video of a stage reading performed in NY last month of the “On The Flip Side”. The production features thirteen one-hit wonders from 1964 to 2010; there are also two original songs in the show. I have developmental rights for all songs in the production.
I can breakout each song from the video to include the script setup. Do you think that will serve as the demo or will a studio recorded demo be required.
Thank you.
Michael, I would just make sure that your demos adequately give them a feel for the style and the quality of the songs. They don’t have to be professionally recorded, just make sure it’s putting your best foot forward.
Is this submission process still open?
We hope to have updated information soon!