Musical Theatre Writers Workshop

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Theatre Building Chicago’s Musical Theatre Writers Workshop is “hands-on” for writers. We are dedicated to developing NEW MUSICALS and nurturing new musical theatre writers. If you are an aspiring composer, lyricist or book writer, the TBC Musical Theatre Writers Workshop is looking for YOU.  The workshop begins in September 2009.

John Sparks Artistic Director & Workshop Director   773-929-7367 ext .222 Jsparks@theatrebuildingchicago.org

John selects and oversees about 20 new musicals each season. He also directs the TBC writers' workshop, which he co-initiated in 1987. John has served as the director for the Academy for New Musical Theatre in Los Angeles since 1981, and is currently a board member and guest instructor with Mercury Musicals Development in London. He has collaborated in writing numerous musicals such as Babes in Barns, Hans Brinker, Cashel Byron, and The Arresting Dilemma of Mr. K, which have been produced in Chicago, Los Angeles and the east coast. He has received local awards such as the After Dark Award for Best Score and several commissions from Theatre Building Chicago and from the Frederick Loewe Trust, awarded by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre B.A., Stonehill College, North Easton, MA, M.F.A. Playwrighting, UCLA.

CORE CURRICULUM
Fall Semester : Writing the Show 2009/2010 A Series of song writing and scene writing assignments covers the following points of craft:			MUSICAL THEATRE WRITERS WORKSHOP SCHEDULE 2009/2010
Lyrics:	Music:	Book:	Semester 1	Semester 2
Poetry vs. Lyrics Imagery Rhyme Prosody Character	Melody Harmony Rhythm Style Form	Plays vs. Musicals Structure Song Placement Dialogue Format	Sept 26-27 Oct 24-25 Nov 21-22 Dec 12-13 Jan 23-24	Feb 20-21 Mar 20-21 Apr 24-25 May 22-23 Jun 12-13

Winter/Spring Semester: Practicum  2010 Writers collaborate with actors and directors to create and perform a mini-musical for the public, during which the following aspects of the process occur.
Planning the Show	Writing the show	The rehearsal process
What to write about Presentational styles Size of the cast Vocal Range vs. Character Language	Collaboration Outlining Creating roles for specific actors Spotting songs First Draft	Revisions Rehearsal etiquette Collaborting with production personnel Artistic Conflicts Performance
Schedule a personal interview with Allan Chambers, Associate Artistic Director of TBC.  773-929-7367 ext. 229 Allan@theatrebuildingchicago.org	Musical Theatre Writers Workshop Brochure & Application (156 KB PDF) Schedule & Fees (2009-2010) (200 KB PDF) note: requires Adobe® Reader® to view. Download it Free	New musicals developed in the TBC Musical Theatre Writers Workshop have gone on to presentation in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego and Seattle as well as international arenas!

"John Sparks is a wonderful teacher and was a real help to me. I still think about the things he siad in that workshop. He's a real boon to people writing musicals." Mark Hollmann 2002 Tony Award Urinetown

"Congratulations Theatre Building Chicago...on supporting new musicals, insuring a great space for actors, writers, composers and directors to work at their peak." Melissa Manchester Oscar Nominated &Grammy Award Winning Singer Songwriter

"Theatre Building Chicago's concert staging of REX was professionally satisfying in every conceivable way. I hope the opportunity arises to work with them again soon." Sheldon Harnick Lyricist - Fiddler on The Roof