Seminars at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

Friday, Sept. 17, 5pm, The Theatre at St Clements, 423 W. 46th
The not-for-profit theatres in New York and around America have an incredible history of developing new musicals - from "A Chorus Line"? at the Public, through "Avenue Q" at the Vineyard, with literally dozens of shows in between. Today, as we see this symbiotic relationship more and more, this seminar asks: What role do non-profits play in developing and presenting new musicals? How have non-profits tended to move productions to Broadway? What sort of collaborations exist between commercial producers and non-profits? What are "enhancement deals?"? How do you assess if you are submitting to the right producing company for your work?

Panelists:

Ken Greenwood - Sr. Business Representative, Actors Equity Assoc.; Clifford Lee Johnson III - Director of Musical Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club; Jon Kimbell - Artistic Director, North Shore Music Theatre; Eric Krebs - Eric Krebs Entertainment; Jack Viertel - Creative Director, Jujamcyn Theaters; Artistic Director, City Center Encores!

Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

CHANGING SOUNDS - How today's music is remaking musical theatre

Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, 5pm, 47th Street Theatre, 304 W 47th
Hip-Hop culture, Pop hits, World music, New Music? How is the good, old-fashioned American Musical developing and changing? Is the Broadway sound and audience resistant to certain types of music, or is it open to the popular rhythms of today? This seminar asks "how is today's music remaking musical theatre? Is the sound of the "American musical"? something definable and frozen, or something that that is evolving through different influences?

Panelists:

Gabriel Barre, Director; Kevin McCollum - Producer, (La Boheme, Ave Q, De La Guarda); Eric Salzman - Composer & Creator of New Music-Theatre, Writer; Clyde Valentin - Founder & Executive Director, Hip Hop Festival; Founder, Black August Benefit Concert series; Elizabeth Williams - Producer, Waxman/Williams Entertainment (Bombay Dreams); Barbara Zinn Krieger - Artistic Director, Making Books Sing (Founder of Vineyard Theatre)
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

THE CRITICS - Reviewing the Situation

Wednesday, Sept. 29th, 5PM, The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th Review or not to review? Professional critics and the Audience - what is the relationship? Do critics write to the industry, the public in general, or their employer's audience? What is their relationship to their editors? To Advertisers? How has the advent of the electronic media affected them? Do bloggers really count? Are reviewers affected by promotional publicity? By Buzz? How do press agents fit into the picture? What prompts the critics to visit your show, and can you use their critiques? At what stage of development do critics play a role?

Panelists:

David Rothenberg, Press Agent, Radio Host; Sherry Eaker, BackStage; Peter Filichia - Star Daily Ledger, Theatremania.com; Adam Feldman, TimeOut Magazine; additional panelists TBD
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

AUTHORS - How to Write Shows and Influence people

Thursday, Sept. 30th, 5pm, The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th
Writers and composers exist in a solitary occupation. How can they reach out to collaborators? Get past the gatekeepers? Network? Market themselves and their work? How can they string the individual events of each project together to build a career?

Panelists:

Beth Blicker, Literary Agent, Abrams Artists; Tom Cott, Artistic Director for Musical Theatre Works, NYMF Advisory Board; Carol Edelson, Music Theater International; Sharon Fallon, Producer (I'm Not Rappaport), New Producers Alliance; Tim Jerome, President NMTN/NYMF; Michael Kenyon, Literary Manager, The Public Theater; Beck Lee, Media Blitz Publicity/Marketing
Admission Free; RSVP to: NYMFseminars@aol.com

THE CAST ALBUM - From hit LPs to free MP3s,the changing face of Cast Albums

Friday, Oct. 1st, 5PM - The Theatre at St Clements. 423 W. 46th
Has the day of the cast album passed? With many major labels scaling down or removing any connection to musical theatre - can the cast album still be a marketing tool? If there is no hit song, can the show be a success? Or is the cast album being reinvented - in this age of mp3's and downloads, and ordering of niche recordings across the internet, is there a new model being created?