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:

      • From the Minutes (by Ambrose Bierce)
      • The Mascot (by W.S. Gilbert)
      • My Twenty-Five Days (by Guy de Maupassant)
      • The Girl Scouts’ Good Deed (by Edith Lavell)
      • Spreading the News (by Lady Gregory)

      *** 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 19, 1973     Savion Glover, the youngest person to win Best Choreographer Tony Award for his work on Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, was born today. Glover also appeared in The Tap Dance Kid, Jelly’s Last Jam, and the film Tap.
      • November 6, 1989     Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever, a revue compilation of some two dozen of their “trunk” songs from the past 30 years, opened Off-Broadway today.
      • November 16, 1968     Zorba, by Kander and Ebb, which reunited Fiddler on the Roof vets Herschel Bernardi and Maria Karnilova, 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!

      • List song:

        The list song is a song whose prime characteristic is lyric which features a list centered on a topic. Secondary characteristics vary, but might include: rapid tempo or pace, clever rhymes, minimal grammar and a sense of absurdity. But not all list songs are rapid, and some are serious. Often the raison d’etre of a list song is to feature a performer or to show off a clever lyricist. Examples include: “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” (Pirates of Penzance); “The Elements” (Tom Lehrer); “Tchaikovsky and Other Russians” (Ira Gershwin); “You’re the Top” (Cole Porter); “My Favorite Things” (The Sound of Music).

      • Parable:

        An extended metaphor in the form of an anecdotal narrative generally focused around a single set-piece/action, designed to teach a moral lesson. Examples include: Tortoise and the Hare, Boy Who Cried Wolf, Prodigal Son, Emperor’s New Clothes.

      • 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’.

      • 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.

      • Stage Directions Format:

        Tips on formatting stage directions and asides.

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


St. James Theatre, NY – 1948. From the New York Public Library collections.


Here in the gloaming I long to stray,
Back in the highway of yesterday.
Slowly my dreams unfold,
Scenes that will never grow old.

--Frank Loesser