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- Do you have a show you’ve been working on, but the only ones that have heard it are your kids and your cat?
- Feeling a little stalled creatively, or unsure of how to solve a story problem in your script?
- Want to really dive into polishing and fine-tuning your show?
- CRAZY PUMPED to hear your show performed by real actors in front of a real audience?
Wherever you are in writing your show, we’ll meet you there and help you move forward!
The MusicalWriters Development Series provides one-on-one coaching and a customized 12-month plan* to get your show from idea to page to stage. We’ll walk alongside you and make sure you’re on the right track!
“The development series seemed too good to be true, but in fact, it was better. I feel like I’d been working my whole life for this moment, and it was worth it.”
Goal Setting
Your initial consult will include an evaluation of where your show is in development and what your needs are as a writer. We’ll set “SMART” goals, both monthly and for the completion of the program, that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Oriented.
Script Work
We’ll match you with a specialized Development Coach who will help chart your course (which can morph as necessary as you move along). After a thorough script review, you’ll be guided through whatever work your show needs—character development, story structure, song placement, lyric specificity, theme clarity, etc.
Music Work (it’s a MUSICAL after all!)
Songs are the soul of your show, so you’ll meet with a professional music director to evaluate your score. This can include balancing song types, evaluating vocal ranges, creating a piano/vocal score, integrating script and score, looking at potential instruments needed, and any other music-based issues that need to be addressed.
Branding / Marketing
For those who are ready, we’ll help you determine your target market/audience and walk you through what’s important when creating your musical’s key art and website. We’ll also address managing social media, creating a pitch deck, and how to put your best foot forward when submitting to contests and/or producers.
Final Reading
The last few months of the Development Series will be spent in preparation for the final staged reading.** Writers will meet with a producing director to ensure materials are ready, character and casting needs are specified, and all questions regarding production are addressed.
Let’s get started! Have questions? Email development@musicalwriters.com.
MusicalWriters.com Development Series
$9,999
- 12 Monthly Consultations with Development Coaches
- In-Depth Script Reviews and Ongoing Script Work
- Table Reading
- Music & Score Review
- Branding/Marketing Consultation
- Preparation for Staged Reading
- Final Staged Reading
- Industry Networking and Connections following Staged Reading
- PLUS! 12-Months of MusicalWriters.com Membership
Enrollment in the MusicalWriters.com Development Series is for 12 months. Additional costs may be incurred by the writer depending on their personal choices in hosting a table reading, producing a concert reading, and any fundraising or marketing. The Development Coach will offer guidance, recommendations, and resources on ways to reduce or fundraise to cover these costs. Package pricing reflects casts of up to 10 actors; additional actors incur an added per-actor fee for table and staged reading opportunities.
*Developmental steps and monthly topics be adjusted based on suggestions of the Development Coach regarding the unique needs of the writer and musical.
**The final staged reading will be produced and performed by MusicalWriters.com or one of our Partner Theatres at no additional cost to the writer except personal travel expenses. Particpants are not required to hold a staged reading with MusicalWriters.com or one of the Partner Theatres. However, if a staged reading is held at a non-Partner Theatre, the writer is responsible for any expenses related to production. The final staged reading must be completed within 18 months of start of Development Series. If writer is not ready within 18 months, a staged reading will not be provided.
MusicalWriters Development Series Team
Rebecca Lowrey
CEO & Producing Director
Rebecca Lowrey is passionate about creating new works and has spent the past 20 years as a premier music director, vocal coach, and accompanist in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, New York City and everywhere in between. The impressive ability to play anything put in front of her has gained her entry to elite casting rooms, production meetings, rehearsals, and beyond, resulting in a unique skillset that spans more than just music — simply put, she knows what works for a musical. A director and producer as well, Rebecca is adept at getting new shows up on their feet in record time, all while efficiently coordinating the long list of to-dos required to prepare a show for an audience.
Rebecca is a champion of diverse casting and production teams (#WomenDirect) and has the pull and connections to assemble unforgettable, live, onstage bands. In 2017, Rebecca began producing a series of intimate productions known as the Living Room Concerts. Starting with simple piano-only performances in her living room with friends, the series expanded to poolside parties and festive holiday gatherings. Her recent credits include the critically acclaimed production of the rock musical Lizzie at Imprint Theatreworks in Dallas, a lauded run of Gutenberg! The Musical! at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, and a Rocky Horror Show and 9 to 5 that celebrated the uniqueness of its performers.
You may recognize Rebecca from TikTok, where her popular #DuetWithMe videos encourage thousands of performers to #KeepSinging. Rebecca earned her bachelor of arts degree in music (with a minor in business administration) from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.
Trent Clifford
Writer, Director and Dramaturg
Trent Clifford is a playwright, dramaturg, and director currently based in Waco, Texas. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Wild Imaginings, the first professional theatre company in Central Texas, and the only theatre company in the area dedicated to new work. With a decade of experience in running arts organizations–educational, community, and most recently professional–he brings the unique perspective of a director and producer to his work as a writer and dramaturg.
To that end, the first thing he did when he started Wild Imaginings in 2020 was to found the Epiphanies New Works Festival, a now-nationally renowned festival in which he works as a dramaturg with playwrights and musical writers across the country. Deeply committed to local arts leadership, he is also the founder of Shakespeare in the Park Waco and currently serves as the playwright-in-residence for the Heart of Texas Children’s Theatre, where he has been commissioned to develop a series of plays for young audiences, specifically with touring potential in mind.
As a director, he has over 60 credits and counting to his name, including Into the Woods, RENT, Godspell, Assassins, Next to Normal, The Thanksgiving Play, Julius Caesar, and more. Since founding Wild Imaginings, he has also directed three world premieres and five regional premieres, including Fairview, Un Hombre: A Golem Story, Handless King, and Parts and Pieces.
Trent’s own plays have been widely read and produced, including most recently OutCry Theatre, Dragon Eggs Productions, Richmond Triangle Players, Broken Arts Entertainment, Resolute Theatre Project, Playwrights Round Table, and Windmill Arts. In 2024, he was commissioned by Hope Rise Thrive, an advocacy organization for survivors of domestic violence, to tell the stories of over 20 survivors through a play script.
A queer survivor of domestic violence himself, with a Masters of Divinity to boot, Trent speaks and writes often about issues of justice, faith, and identity. In 2024 his debut book was published: Reclaiming Faith: Learning to Rediscover Church, God, and Ourselves.
While his journey has taken him many places, it all started with musical theatre. And now he gets to come full circle, bringing his diverse educational experience (psychology, public relations, nonprofit leadership, and theology) into conversation with his professional experience in order to walk alongside the people striving to make American musical theatre more interesting, exciting, and representative. What could be better?
For more about him and his work, visit trentclifford.com.
Holly Reed
Development Coach: Key Art & Marketing
Holly Reed is the owner and Creative Director of Reed Creative Group, a graphic and web design company. She is past owner and CEO of MusicalWriters.com. In addition to bringing over 20 years experience in creative direction, marketing and brand consulting for the non-profit, startup, and entertainment industries, she is also a speaker, writer, and coach to aspiring entrepreneurs and dreamers of all sorts.
Holly (book/lyrics/music) and her husband Kelvin Reed (music) are thrilled about the trajectory of their upcoming show TRUE NORTH: A Magical New Holiday Musical. Holly and Kelvin were commissioned to write “That’s What Friends Do” for Girlhood the Musical (CPA Theatricals) and Camp McAuliffe, which is now Camp [MySchool] the Musical, a fully customizable grade school musical.
Holly is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild and holds a BFA in design and music from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is co-founder of the Ally’s Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in North Texas devoted to granting a last wish to young, terminally ill mothers with children.
To contact Holly about key art design, website design, or other branding and marketing services, email hollyr@reedcreativegroup.com.
