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 Triumph of Night (by Edith Wharton)
      • The Survivors (by Elsie Singmaster)
      • Father Matthew (by Guy de Maupassant)
      • The Eagle and the Magpie (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Princess in the Chest (by Andrew Lang)

      *** 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:

      • September 13, 1948     Nell Carter, Tony Award and Emmy winner for Ain’t Misbehavin’, was born today. Later a television star, Carter’s also appeared in the 1979 film version of Hair and returned to Broadway two decades later to play Miss Hannigan in a revival of Annie.
      • September 16, 1924     Lauren Bacall, star of Applause and Woman of the Year who came to the musical stage after 25 years of movie stardom, was born today.
      • September 18, 1905     Choreographer Agnes de Mille, who changed the face of dance forever with her integrated work on Oklahoma!, Carousel, and her Tony-winning Brigadoon, 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!

      • Accent – harmonic:

        A change in the expected harmony causes harmonic accents, or change in the harmonic rhythm. Perhaps a pattern has been established wherein the chords change only and always on the downbeat, so that when this harmonic rhythm is altered, an accent results. Or an deviation from the use of standard tonal harmony might cause an accent (e.g., a key change; an unexpected or unusual chord in the middle of standard tonal harmony; revoicing of a chord; etc.)

        • Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin’, woo woo  (from Chattanooga Choo Choo)
        • Was it accidental, or accurately planned? (from You Were There)
      • Linear prosody:

        In which the meaning of the lyric matches “meaning” of the music; broken linear prosody is when lyric’s meaning is broken by pauses or elongations in the music. (See prosody; linear prosody refers to horizontal, forward motion created either by the lyric or the music)

         

        An example of broken linear prosody:

        SHE HELD UP THE BABY.  IT SMELLED

        (music plays a little underscoring)

        THE ROSES.

         

        An example of beautiful linear prosody (Now from A Little Night Music):

        Now as the sweet imbecilities tumble so lavishly onto her lap
        Now there are two possibilities: A) I could ravish her; B) I could nap.

      • Anapest:

        A three-syllable unit comprised of two unstressed syllables followed by an stressed accent. Such as:

        • Are you LONEsome tonNIGHT?
        • Do you MISS me tonNIGHT?
      • Double rhyme:

        Perfect rhyme in which the accent involves two syllables; the first syllable is accented, the second is unaccented. Such as:

        fatal/natal
        screaming/steaming
        daughter/water

         

        (also called “Feminine Rhyme”)

      • Mixed metaphor:

        Using more than one metaphoric scheme in the same expression.

        You’re missing the boat because you’re jumping the gun.
        Changing horses mid-air.

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


Left to right: Gene Buck, Victor Herbert, John Philip Sousa, Harry B. Smith, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George W. Meyer, Irving Bibo, and Otto Harbach. circa 1920. From the Musical Theatre History collection of the Library of Congress.


Maybe fifty million Frenchmen will agree
But spare us
Another song about Paris.

--Dave Frishberg