- 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 Development Series
- 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 Academy 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.
*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 one of our Partner Theatres at no additional cost to the writer except personal travel expenses. If a theater is unavailable due to COVID-19 or any other circumstances, an online reading will be suggested. Particpants are not required to hold a staged reading at 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
Producing Director
Rebecca Lowrey is passionate about creating new works and has spent the past 17 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.
Kelley Poché Rodriguez, PhD
Development Coach
Kelley Poché Rodriguez is a freelance music director, collaborative pianist, and clinician. She has played and music directed shows across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, including at Casa Mañana, Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas, Firehouse Theatre, North Texas Performing Arts, OhLook Performing Arts, Theatre Coppell, Uptown Players, and numerous university and high school theaters. She is in demand as an audition pianist and is a frequently invited masterclass presenter. Kelley has collaborated on masterclasses for Lindsay Mendez, Corey Cott, David Gaschen, Rob Rokicki, and Amanda Flynn.
Kelley holds a PhD in Fine Arts/ Music Education from Texas Tech University, and has been on the faculties of Texas Woman’s University and The University of Texas at Arlington. She has published and presented nationwide her research on music of the Holocaust, choral sight-reading, and effective arts adjudicator training.
Kelley has collaborated with Jill Blalock Lord, Director Emeritus of OhLook Performing Arts, on numerous new works concerts and pilot productions and regional premiers of many new musicals, including American Psycho, Sister Act Jr., Freaky Friday Jr., Rudolph Jr., Silence, Island Song, Dula, Citizen Drumpf, and Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera. She loves being a part of the process to bring new musical theatre works to life on the stage.
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.
Julie Danielson
Music Reviews
Julie Danielson serves as the Artistic Director and Resident Music Director for Music Theatre Kansas City (MTKC). She has her own private vocal coaching studio in Kansas City and works regularly as a professional musician. In New York, she was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music assistant for Bring it On and played bass for Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, The Book of Mormon and Smash, as well as many Broadway benefit concerts. In the cabaret scene, she has played at Feinstein’s, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Room and The Annual Cabaret Convention. As a music director, she has worked at many theaters in Kansas City as well as Transcendence Theatre Company (Sonoma, CA), the Kansas City Symphony (Seussical), and she prepared the back-up chorus for Josh Groban’s Closer tour. She music directed the Regional Premieres of Bring It On, School of Rock and Freaky Friday and the World Premiere of Pasek & Paul’s James and the Giant Peach. She is also the co-composer of two original musicals, The Truth…and Other Lies and Sugarplum. She has music directed over 90 shows and has played for over 100. Education: Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
Julie Haverkate
Development Coach / Dramaturg
Julie Haverkate is a dramaturg, editor, and passionate advocate of work that is inclusive both on the page and off the stage, behind the scenes. As the Literary Editor for Disney Theatrical Group, she spearheaded DTG’s first collaboration with Marvel—a collection of plays centered on some of the brand’s most beloved super heroes—collaborated on musicals for Broadway, regional theaters, and schools; and led the research and content development of all published dramaturgical materials for all DTG titles (Beauty and the Beast, Peter and the Starcatcher, Shakespeare in Love, and more). She has also worked with Theatre Communications Group, Electric Pear Productions, and the Summer Play Festival; and has written for American Theatre magazine, Broadway World, ink19, Show Business, and StageGrade. She received her M.A. in Theatre Studies from Florida State University and a B.A. in English Language & Literature from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her Master’s thesis, PARADE Diverges, centering on Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s Tony Award-winning musical, Parade, was published by VDM. www.juliehaverkate.com