NYMF Announces ASCAP Presented 2008 Educational Series

The ASCAP Foundation will present this year's New York Musical Theatre Festival's Educational Series at Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Lincoln Triangle (1972 Broadway at 66th Street) on September 18th, 25th and October 2nd.  The Educational Series provides an opportunity for audience members and aspiring theater artists to learn directly from industry professionals.  All seminars are free of charge and made possible through the generous support of The ASCAP Foundation's Irving Caesar Trust.

This year's Educational Series will consist of three seminars:

September 18th at 5:30pm

Comedy Tonight:  Composers and Lyricists Who Write for Laughs

Moderator: Peter Filichia (TheaterMania, The Star Ledger)

Guests: Chad Beguelin & Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer), Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), Hal Goldberg (Nerds), Mark Hollmann (Urinetown), Zina Goldrich (Junie B. Jones), Bobby Lopez (Avenue Q), Matt Prager (She Can't Believe She Said That)

Writing the perfect music and lyrics to accompany a musical comedy can be an arduous task. The composers and lyricists must write songs that don't drag down the comedic script, but rather, bring it to the next level.  After all, a musical comedy without funny songs is laughable - in a bad way. Learn what it takes to write the music that complements some of today's funniest musicals as our panelists give you the scoop on how they create show-stopping musical hilarity.

September 25th at 5:30pm

An Original Musical:  [title of show] goes from NYMF to Broadway

Moderator: Isaac Robert Hurwitz (Executive Director/Producer, NYMF)

Guests: Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen ([title of show]

Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen are pretty candid about their journey to Broadway fame - after all, their musical, [title of show], documents the highs and lows they've encountered on the path from NYMF to the Great White Way.  Find out how Hunter and Jeff have adapted, updated and developed [title of show] through each stage of its life.  We can't think of a better way to celebrate NYMF's success than to showcase our first musical to make it to Broadway!! So join the fun, y'all, because we've got a panel about a musical about writing a musical about writing a musical that's sure to please all you tossers out there.

October 2nd at 5:30pm

A Lot of Livin' to Do:  Up Close and Personal with Charles Strouse

Moderator:  Michael A. Kerker (Director of Musical Theatre, ASCAP)

One of America's foremost musical theatre composers, Charles Strouse, is the winner of three Tony® Awards.  From his first Broadway musical, Bye Bye Birdie, Mr. Strouse has made an indelible mark on American music and Broadway for the past fifty years, including Annie, Golden Boy, and Applause, and continues to make his mark today.  Michael A. Kerker, ASCAP's Director of Musical Theatre, conducts an intimate one-on-one interview with Charles Strouse to discuss his craft and compositions, up to and including his most recent musical, The Night They Raided Minsky's, due to open in Los Angeles in January. The panel features special guest performances of Strouse's beloved songs, both classics and new.

Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF is widely regarded as the essential source for new work and emerging artists, and is the largest musical theatre event in America. NYMF exists to revitalize one of America's greatest art forms by discovering, supporting and promoting new musical theater artists, and by introducing audiences to the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary musical theater.

NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by amNewYork, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, HX Magazine, Jossip.com, King Displays, Queerty.com, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, Metromix.com, The New York Blade, Next Magazine, Panasonic Astrovision, Queerty.com, Tekserve, TheMENEvent, VOGA Italia, and The Zipper Factory. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

All seminars are free of charge and will be held at Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 65th Street. 

Memberships and tickets for all other NYMF productions are currently available for members; individual tickets go on sale September 1st and can be purchased at www.nymf.org   or by calling 212-352-3101.

Photo of Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen by Peter James Zielinski