Musicals

[Mana]

Sorry if this topic already exists, or if this is the wrong area to make it...



I've always wanted to write a musical and I am finally attemping it. I have a plot, which I am mainly working on at the moment, then I intend to write and add in songs, then actually write the thing... is this the right way to go about it?

Has anyone written a musical before? Any tips?

[Team 2012]

Hate to dash cold water, and be sure to take this as merely one input on this issue, but marketing an original musical screenplay is a punishing experience. Very few musical films are made from spec scripts: almost all come from musicals already successful on stage. And a few like "Moulin Rouge" use existing songs.

Contests and any agent/prodco that bothers with feedback just hate lyrics in a script. We've seen notes that say "Too many song lyrics in this script" (like you can write a musical without them) Or "Put the songs at the end of the script" (unlike any script for a musical we've ever seen)
It's just not something people are widely seeking or really even know how to react to. A lonely task.
On the other hand. it can be a compelling experience and lots of fun. Among our team, we've written three musicals. And they're really cool. But submitting them anywhere, even website feedback is a frustrating experience.

If you want to see how a musical script looks, get hold of one off the web, "The Sound Of Music" is easily available. Lyrics are treated like dialog and can be broken up with action description, etc.

Be sure to have "Original Music and Lyrics by..." on the title sheet, right under your byline otherwise people jump to the conclusion that you're using existing songs and give you the moth-eaten "don't use commercial music because..." rant.

Have fun.

[Cyia]

You'd probably be better off writing a musical stage play.

[hunnypot]

My friend wrote a musical short scrip and won a competition with it. He won the funding (he's also a director and directed the short) but had to keep within the rules of the competition and so the ending is affected. Anyway, the short has gone on to be shown at festivals around the world.
He wrote the lyrics but not the music.
However, I don't think this is usual. I agree with Cyia. Try making it a stage musical.

[Mana]

To be honest, I'd rather write a stage musical than a movie musical, but I have no idea how to write for the stage :S


Thanks for the tips and advice etc. everyone!



Also, I'm not really writing this as a "I want to get this made so I'm gonna write what they're after" thing, I'm writing it for me, mainly... Having it made would be a bonus though :P

[Team 2012]

Doing it for stage is not a bad idea. You can convert over to a stage script easily enough.
And it MIGHT be easier to get it produced. Depending on the subject matter and cast size it might be something a school or little theater could do locally. You videotape it and you've got something going on.

It's nice to hear about somebody scoring with a musical script, hunnypot Always nice to know there's a shot out there, however remote.

[Mana]

The other concern I have for writing for the stage is my plot is quite complex... would it work for the stage?


I might write it as if it were for the screen, look at it and see how I could convert it, maybe?

[Team 2012]

Plot complexity should be a factor. Same amount of time either way.

Having a lot of characters is an issue. It's tough for theater to have big casts.

[Mana]

It only has 6 or 7 main characters, but quite a lot of other characters (mostly one group... it's kinda hard to explain without explaining the plot...)


Also, what is the average amount of songs in a musical?

[hunnypot]

It only has 6 or 7 main characters, but quite a lot of other characters (mostly one group... it's kinda hard to explain without explaining the plot...)


Also, what is the average amount of songs in a musical?

I would take a look at top WE/Broadway shows. You could do a sing through like Jesus Christ Superstar or just songs popping up like Rocky Horror. Work out the story first and see what parts need a song inserted at that moment. Rocky Horror was originally too short and needed extra songs to pad in out. Richard O'Brien quickly wrote 'Time Warp' before the premiere.

[zeprosnepsid]

Musical shorts have been successful the past few years (successful in getting more work for the people involved). Look at West Bank Story that won the Academy Award for short film. Also, the director of Step Up 2 made a short musical and was originally going to direct the new Bye Bye Birdie.

Several cult hits have gone from stage to screen (just meaning they don't have to be West Side Story) like obviously Rocky Horror Picture Show and more recently Repo! The Genetic Opera.

So, if you want to go anywhere with it, perhaps a short or a stage version would be the most viable.

But you could write the feature, see if you can get someone interested (Producer/Director) and see if they could shoot a portion of it, or a short film version that could be used to pitch the whole (like what they did with Donnie Darko).

[8thSamurai]

That's a lot of main characters, either way. Stage or screen, there's more often one main character, a couple of supporters, the main antagonist, and sometimes a couple of supporters.

I have to ask - how many musicals have you watched - stage or screen? Experience writing music for voice (which is different than instrument), lyrics/poetry?

I'm not sure how two in known history equals several - and be prepared to be patient. Repo was workshopped for 12 years before being picked up. A friend of mine has been shopping another for near 20 at this point, and he's not the only one.

Starting with a short would be a much less arduous undertaking.