Seminars at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

Friday, Sept. 17, 5pm, The Theatre at St Clements, 423 W. 46th
The not-for-profit theatres in New York and around America have an incredible history of developing new musicals - from "A Chorus Line"? at the Public, through "Avenue Q" at the Vineyard, with literally dozens of shows in between. Today, as we see this symbiotic relationship more and more, this seminar asks: What role do non-profits play in developing and presenting new musicals? How have non-profits tended to move productions to Broadway? What sort of collaborations exist between commercial producers and non-profits? What are "enhancement deals?"? How do you assess if you are submitting to the right producing company for your work?

Panelists:

Ken Greenwood - Sr. Business Representative, Actors Equity Assoc.; Clifford Lee Johnson III - Director of Musical Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club; Jon Kimbell - Artistic Director, North Shore Music Theatre; Eric Krebs - Eric Krebs Entertainment; Jack Viertel - Creative Director, Jujamcyn Theaters; Artistic Director, City Center Encores!

Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

CHANGING SOUNDS - How today's music is remaking musical theatre

Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, 5pm, 47th Street Theatre, 304 W 47th
Hip-Hop culture, Pop hits, World music, New Music? How is the good, old-fashioned American Musical developing and changing? Is the Broadway sound and audience resistant to certain types of music, or is it open to the popular rhythms of today? This seminar asks "how is today's music remaking musical theatre? Is the sound of the "American musical"? something definable and frozen, or something that that is evolving through different influences?

Panelists:

Gabriel Barre, Director; Kevin McCollum - Producer, (La Boheme, Ave Q, De La Guarda); Eric Salzman - Composer & Creator of New Music-Theatre, Writer; Clyde Valentin - Founder & Executive Director, Hip Hop Festival; Founder, Black August Benefit Concert series; Elizabeth Williams - Producer, Waxman/Williams Entertainment (Bombay Dreams); Barbara Zinn Krieger - Artistic Director, Making Books Sing (Founder of Vineyard Theatre)
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

THE CRITICS - Reviewing the Situation

Wednesday, Sept. 29th, 5PM, The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th Review or not to review? Professional critics and the Audience - what is the relationship? Do critics write to the industry, the public in general, or their employer's audience? What is their relationship to their editors? To Advertisers? How has the advent of the electronic media affected them? Do bloggers really count? Are reviewers affected by promotional publicity? By Buzz? How do press agents fit into the picture? What prompts the critics to visit your show, and can you use their critiques? At what stage of development do critics play a role?

Panelists:

David Rothenberg, Press Agent, Radio Host; Sherry Eaker, BackStage; Peter Filichia - Star Daily Ledger, Theatremania.com; Adam Feldman, TimeOut Magazine; additional panelists TBD
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

AUTHORS - How to Write Shows and Influence people

Thursday, Sept. 30th, 5pm, The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th
Writers and composers exist in a solitary occupation. How can they reach out to collaborators? Get past the gatekeepers? Network? Market themselves and their work? How can they string the individual events of each project together to build a career?

Panelists:

Beth Blicker, Literary Agent, Abrams Artists; Tom Cott, Artistic Director for Musical Theatre Works, NYMF Advisory Board; Carol Edelson, Music Theater International; Sharon Fallon, Producer (I'm Not Rappaport), New Producers Alliance; Tim Jerome, President NMTN/NYMF; Michael Kenyon, Literary Manager, The Public Theater; Beck Lee, Media Blitz Publicity/Marketing
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

THE CAST ALBUM - From hit LPs to free MP3s,the changing face of Cast Albums

Friday, Oct. 1st, 5PM - The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th
Has the day of the cast album passed? With many major labels scaling down or removing any connection to musical theatre - can the cast album still be a marketing tool? If there is no hit song, can the show be a success? Or is the cast album being reinvented - in this age of mp3's and downloads, and ordering of niche recordings across the internet, is there a new model being created?

Panelists:

Ralph Braun- AFTRA Recording Representative; Robert Cabell- CabellnCo., audio recordings; Brian Camelio- President, Artistshare.com; Steve Fickinger,-VP, Disney Cast Recordings; Lonny Price â€" Director; Thomas Z. Shepard - Record Producer, Composer
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

Movie Musicals: The Renaissance

AMC Theatres Empire 25, 234 West 42nd St., between 7th and 8th Ave
Monday, September 27, 2:00 PM
Have studios forgotten the magical appeal of the Movie Musical? In their golden age, dozens were released every year and audiences flocked to see them. Somewhere along the way, musical theatre styles separated from pop culture and production declined. Til recently. Not one of the films being shown in this series is more than seven years old, and we had a considerable variety of recent films to choose from, with musical styles from hip-hop to country to opera and everything in between.

There's no question, the movie musical revival is here.

Please join our panel of movie musical professionals for a discussion that will demystify the process of developing, making and marketing musical films and testify to the vitality, diversity, and future of the modern movie musical.

Panelists Include:

Neil Meron, Storyline Entertainment (CHICAGO, THE MUSIC MAN, ANNIE, CINDERELLA, GYPSY); Julie Goldstein, Miramax Executive VP of Development & European Production (Executive Producer of CHICAGO); Maggie Malina, VH1 Senior VP of Original Movies & Scripted Series (MTV's Hip-Hopera CARMEN); Gary Springer, Springer Associates PR (Broadway & Film) 90 minutes; $10

ANNOUNCING THE NEXT MEETING OF THEATER RESOURCES UNLIMITED ...
presented in association with the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Back Stage.
Monday evening September 27th, The theater at St. Clement's Church, 423 W. 46th Street
doors open at 7:30pm, panel starts at 8:00pm
(note: this is 1/2-hour later than originally listed)

Big, Bouncy and Breakable: How to Raise a Healthy Musical

The writers gave birth to it. Now it's up to the producer and general manager to get it ready for the world. From table readings to staged readings to developmental productions to final staging, what are the options available to help a musical reach its potential and be successful? Have Fringes and Festivals replaced the Equity Showcase? Does your baby belong on or off-Broadway? How about regionals and universities? Producers and general managers will discuss their relationship, and the decisions they must make in bringing a musical from page to stage.

Jennifer Costello, vice-president Clear Channel Entertainment (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, Wonderful Town, Caroline or Change); Betsy Kelso, producer/self-producer (The Great American Trailer Park Musical in NYMF); Jon Kimbell, artistic director North Shore Music Theater (George Stiles' Tom Jones); Karen Mack, producer (Believe in Me ... a Bigfoot Musical in the NY Fringe); Michael Weitz, producer (The Flute Player's Song in NYMF); Cheryl Wiesenfeld, producer (Caroline or Change, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

Panel is subject to change due to the availability of panelists. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments; panel starts promptly at 7:30pm. FREE for TRU members; $10 for non-members. If money is a problem, come early and offer to volunteer - we always need the help! Please call at least a day in advance for reservations: 212.714.7628; or e-mail to: TRUnltd@aol.com The previous two panels were sold out, so reservations have become essential.