Elle Tyler is a composer, lyricist, educator, innovator, and champion for the arts.
She’s composed two full-length musicals (Getting Through April, The Door) and a folk cantata (Good News), and has a third musical in-progress. Her work has been featured in the New Musical Project 2022 (Boulder), the Colorado New Musical Fest 2021 & 2022 (Broomfield), Circle in the Square Theatre School (NY), and MusicalWriters.com New Works Cabarets (Dallas). Her musical Getting Through April had its world premier in Dallas, Texas, over New Years 2025, directed by Rebecca Lowrey.
MusicalWriters.com sat down with Tyler to gush over Getting Through April, talk about her current projects, and more!
What was the first “real performance” you’ve had of your work? How did that performance come to be, and what did you learn from it?
ET: I had thirty minutes of my fantasy musical The Door produced as part of the 2022 New Musical Project. I believe this was the first time that I wasn’t integrally involved in making the production happen (i.e. begging friends to sing, and me being behind the piano the whole time). I actually got to watch a director work with the cast, and then sit back and watch the performance. I learned that it’s incredibly important to make sure everything you want communicated is in your script. I think it’s great for different casts to take things in different directions with the way they interpret your work, but anything that you HAVE to see/hear/etc. needs to be in the script–don’t assume that directors and actors will be able to read your mind!
How did you get started writing musicals?
Elle Tyler: I’ve always written songs, and I’ve always loved musical theater, concept albums–anything that tells a story. Around 2016-17ish, I got the idea to try to tell a story with twelve songs, one song per month of the year. I wanted to see if a coherent story could be told with just those twelve moments in time. That was the beginning of Getting Through April!
Congrats on the recent production of Getting Through April! What is one thing that surprised you about that process?
ET: What a delightful surprise to see the way Rebecca filled space. I am definitely still growing in my writing of stage directions, and this show in particular has A LOT of empty space. Rebecca found so many gorgeous ways to keep telling the story through movement and action. Particularly, the way she had characters work on this piece of mixed-media art that’s integral to the story, and there was also an excellent silent game of Apples to Apples that I very much enjoyed. 😆
The cast of Getting Through April with director Rebecca Lowrey and writer Elle Tyler
What are you working on right now?
ET: I’m still working through edits after getting to see MW’s fabulous production of Getting Through April; in addition to that, I have a new show called Nadia Half Dreaming that will have a 30-minute presentation as part of the New Musical Project in Boulder, Colorado this coming summer. I wrote an Easter cantata that I try to perform with folks each spring, and will be doing so again this April; and I just found out a new solo project (still in progress) got accepted to the Denver Fringe Festival! So there’s always something in the mix 🙂
What’s a lesson you’ve learned from your writing journey that you’d like to share?
ET: Rejections are part of the process; lean into them, learn from them, let them go. You have to put yourself out there to get opportunities, and you’ll get plenty of rejections along the way, but keep going. That one “yes” out of 100 “no”s makes it totally worth it!
Why did you become a MusicalWriters.com member?
ET: At first my plan was to join for a month to be able to see the full submissions calendar. 👀 But then there were so many other great opportunities and benefits, I kept up the membership (and I’m so glad I did!!)!
Click here to learn more about the MusicalWriters Membership (which includes a year-long submission calendar for musical writers).
What have been your most memorable moments with MusicalWriters?
ET: By far, Rebecca & Co.’s production of my show Getting Through April over this past New Years. The level of talent, commitment, excellence, and heart, was absolutely stunning. The production was both exactly how I imagined my show coming to life and beyond my wildest dreams. It truly does take many people to bring a musical to life, and I’m so grateful to have had that group of people on my team.
Watch the full production of the show here.
What do you love most about MusicalWriters.com?
ET: The community, the ABUNDANCE of resources, and all the opportunities to hear your work performed by crazy-talented singers and actors!
What is your favorite musical writing (tech) tool?
ET: RhymeZone LOL!!!
What’s the best way to get better as a musical writer?
ET: Listening to and studying other work, and lots of writing.
You can listen to the full score of Getting Through April anywhere you stream music.
Do you have a website? What tool or service did you use to create it?
ET: www.ellegtyler.com; Squarespace
Do you use social media to promote your work?
ET: Yes! My handles are @ellegtyler and @gettingthroughapril – I only use Instagram but would like to get more on my YouTube channel!
When you are not writing awesome musicals, what are you most likely to be doing?
ET: Reading, make-believing with my two small children, playing in the pit for or music-directing other people’s musicals 🙂
Lightning Round with Elle:
Coffee or tea? Coffee forever!
Cats or dogs? Dogs
Pizza or Hamburgers? Pizza
Road Trip or Fly: Road trip!
Flip Flops or Crocs? Flip Flops.
Apple or Android? Apple
Three things within arms reach right now? A jar of jam, my iPad, and a baby monitor
Thanks so much to Elle for sharing her time and talents with MusicalWriters!
You can find more info and other upcoming performances on Instagram @ellegtyler or on her website, www.ellegtyler.com. You can also listen to the cast album for her show Getting Through April wherever you stream your music.
