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 Ass and the Dog (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Two Dogs and the Dead Ass (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Catted Anarchist (by Ambrose Bierce)
      • The Rights Of The Soul (by Giuseppe Giacosa)
      • Physicians Two (by Ambrose Bierce)

      *** 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 12, 1971     The rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar opened in New York, marking Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway debut.
      • October 14, 1930     The Gershwins’ Girl Crazy opened on Broadway, making a star of Ethel Merman, who stopped the show cold with “I Got Rhythm”.
      • October 23, 1972     Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin opened on Broadway, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse.

      *** 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!

      • Hyphens in lyrics:

        Four general principles of hyphenating lyrics: HYPHENATE: 1) Between double-letters (fun-ny). 2) Between differing consonant sounds (cen-tral, not ce-ntral). 3) Elongate vowels (che-mi-stry); 4) Make exceptions, however, for clarity (book-ing, not boo-king).  Dictionaries aren’t the authority here; your ears are.

        See attached for a more complete discussion and some further examples.

      • Single rhyme:

        Perfect rhyme in which the accent is a a final single accented syllable. Such as:

        mat/cat
        jacks/tacks/relax
        tree/knee/Tennessee/Peggy Lee

         

        (Also called “Masculine rhyme”)

      • Score:

        Refers to the piano-vocal version of a musical. In developmental phases, the score contains all the dialogue which happens while music is being played; in publication, dialogue is often truncated and incomplete.

      • The Musical from the Inside Out:

        by Stephen Citron. Chicago, Elephant Paperbacks, 1997.

      • A cappella:

        Singing which is without any accompaniment.

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


Will Rogers, circa 1920’s. From the Musical Theatre History collection of the Library of Congress.


Skies are weeping
While the world is sleeping,
Trouble heaping on our head.

--P.G. Wodehouse