NMI’s RESOURCE CENTER for musical theatre writers

insider tips

glosssary of terms

FREE format video

public domain ideas

FREE curriculum video

theatre archives

Welcome to the musical theatre writers’ Resource Center.

This is a FREE page hosted by New Musicals Inc.
As of September 1, 2024, we are NO LONGER maintaining a list of Producers and Theatres, or a Contests Listing. We have found we are no longer able to keep those lists properly up-to-date.
BUT we encourage you to check out the offerings from our friends at MusicalWriters.Com who have a wealth of resources for musical theatre writers!
What you can still find on this page is:
  • an idea library of thousands of royalty-free public domain stories and plots
  • a glossary of musical theatre terms (with audio/video examples)
  • access to short videos filled with tips and advice from NMI staff
  • access to critical feedback options and format guidelines from NMI

Enjoy!


FORMAT LIKE A PRO


Watch this FREE video to learn how to implement the FORMAT GUIDELINES specifically designed by New Musicals Inc. Make sure your script and score look professional and are ready to go into development.

Want more tools to help you get your formatting right?

*** VISIT OUR FORMATTING PRODUCTS PAGE ***



LIBRARY OF IDEAS (Royalty Free)

FREE ACCESS to a library of 1000+ downloadable royalty-free stories, plays, plots and other inspiring indeas we’ve found in the public domain for you. There’s a brief excerpt of every item in the library, so you can take a quick glance to see whether or not you want to read the whole text. In addition, the NMI staff has made annotations and recommendations for many of the titles in the library about their potential to become musicals. Save hundreds of hours of research and reading!


Here are some random samples from our listings of story ideas in the public domain:

      • The Old Woman and Her Servants (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Ash-Tree (by M.R. James)
      • A Widow (by Guy de Maupassant)
      • The Wolf turned Shepherd (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Brothers (by Louisa May Alcott)

      *** LINK TO COMPLETE LIBRARY OF IDEAS ***


IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT


New Musicals Inc. offers a whole series of professional online LABS for bookwriters, lyricists, and composers who are serious about improving their craft. This video is a FREE sample of one of the lecture videos from the all new Lyric Lab 1 - Fundamentals.

FREE PROGRESSION HANDOUT


NEED SOME FEEDBACK?


Have you written a musical? Are you working on one? NMI has smart, professional, detailed dramaturges who will help you make sure you are on the strongest path to fulfilling the promise of your work. From video and audio feedback packages to one-on-one dramaturgical sessions, we have what you need to take the next step forward. We even have an annual contest that results in a workshop and concert reading in Los Angeles.

"We really did appreciate all your help - you’ve got just the right tone to critique. It’s a matter of 'A Spoonful of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down'!”
                    ~~George Stiles
          (Mary Poppins, Honk, Soho Cinders)

*** Check out NMI's Feedback options ***


MUSICAL THEATRE ARCHIVES


Here's a sample of items from our vault of historical photos, and musical theatre trivia about events that happened THIS month in the past:

      • October 23, 1972     Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin opened on Broadway, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse.
      • October 29, 1891     Fanny Brice, the star of a dozen editions of The Ziegfeld Follies, brilliant comedienne, and inspiration for Funny Girl, was born today.
      • October 16, 1925     Angela Lansbury, musical star of Mame, Anyone Can Whistle, Gypsy, The King and I, Dear World, Sweeney Todd, and others, was born today.

      *** Click to access the full archives. ***


INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE


Here is one of our videos with insider tips and advice:


GLOSSARY OF TERMS


Here are some samples from our Glossary of definitions of musical theatre terms. We will be adding to this over time - as well as adding actual sample scores and sound recordings. Check back often!

      • Chord symbol:

        A chord symbol is a letter and/or accidental which indicates a root pitch on which a chord is to be built and other symbols which indicate the composition of the chord.

      • Metonymy:

        Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is actually meant. Metonymy differs from synecdoche in that synecdoche references an actual piece of the original; metonymy is about an attribute or something related to but not part of the original. Such as:

        crown for royalty
        mitre for bishop
        wealth for rich people
        brass for military officers
        bottle for wine
        pen for writer

      • Golden age of musical theatre:

        A period from approximately 1943-1963 which includes many of the most popular shows of Broadway.

      • Lyrics on Several Occasions:

        by Ira Gershwin.

      • ABAB:

        A refrain structure in which an initial A section is followed by a section of contrasting musical material (“B section”), followed by a repetition of the initial A section, and concluded with a repetition of the “B section”. Lyrics change in each section, but there is usually a repeated lyric in the same location of each A section (e.g., lyric is repeated either the beginning or the end of the A sections). Generally this corresponds to a refrain of typically 8-bar sections. ABAB refers to the structure of the Refrain, not the structure of the song. An example is: Que Sera Sera (Livingston/Evans).

      *** Click to access the full glossary. ***


Poster for “I’d Rather Be On Old Broadway With You” – 1909 – from the New York Public Library collections


I didn’t know what time it was.
Then I met you.

--Lorenz Hart