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 Thrift of Strength (by Ambrose Bierce)
      • The Three Princesses Of Whiteland (by Sir George Webbe Dasent)
      • Dorothy (by Benjamin Charles Stephenson)
      • Augustus Does His Bit (by George Bernard Shaw)
      • The Doctor’s Dilemma (by George Bernard Shaw)

      *** 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:

      • November 22, 1965     Man of La Mancha began its original 6-year Broadway run today.
      • November 7, 1946     Eartha Kitt made her Broadway debut in 1946 in the revue Bal Negre.
      • November 12, 1989     Grand Hotel: The Musical, with a score by Maury Yeston, Robert Wright, and George Forrest and directed by Tommy Tune, opened on Broadway 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!

      • Personification:

        Investing abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities or abilities. Such as:
        The ground thirsts for rain.
        The dew winked in the morning sun.
        Ol’ Man River, he mus’ know sumpin’.

      • Soprano:

        The highest female voice, generally lighter than other women’s voices. Often associated automatically with innocence, purity, youth. Changes timbre below about middle C and above high F. Examples include: Maria (West Side Story); Luisa (Fantasticks); Hope (Urinetown); Ann (A Little Night Music)

      • Iamb:

        A two-syllable unit comprised of a unstressed syllable followed by a stressed accent.

        I know a dark secluded place.

      • Accent – agogic:

        Agogic refers to duration. Agogic accents are a result of notes which are noticeably longer (or shorter) than the notes around them.

        • O-klahoma where the wind….
        • Maria, Maria Ma-reee-ia
        • Wou-ldn’t it be loverly?
        • Sunrise, sunset.  Swift-lee fly the years.
      • 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

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


Russian Music Hall – date uncertain. From the New York Public Library collections.


I’d be the first one to agree
That I’m preoccupied with me.

--Jerry Herman