Class Type: The Play Class Level: Beginning or Intermediate

This is multi-session class, participants are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions:

October 27 & October 28, 2:00pm - 5:00pm (CST)

November 1, 6:00pm - 9:00pm (CST)

November 3 & November 4, 2:00pm - 5:00pm (CST)

“Perhaps the toughest, most pivotal and thankless job in musical theater is that of the book writer. Their work lays the groundwork that allows our songs to soar. Their words are the runway we take off on, the flight plan we follow and the key to our safe landing.” - Alan Menken

The secret to writing the book of a musical is conquered by a unique recipe of conquering structure, with a strong dose of harnessing the creative soul of course, and is always completed by that very important dash to the stew - the art of collaboration. Join us for this week long intensive, led by Crystal Skillman, that will guide you in adapting a work into a musical or creating an original musical. The class will share what Crystal has learned being a dramatist now writing for several musicals, and offer feedback for ideas for full length musicals. Writers will leave the class with having conquered a short ten-minute musical, the ability to write a musical theater scene, and be confident in how to use musical theater in an effective way to explore their own kind of theatrical language. 

This is the seminar for you if: 

• You are a composer seeking to learn how to improve your own bookwriting skills/or working with a book writer.
• You are a writer who writes plays with music looking to take the leap into musicals or strengthen that work. 
• You are a writing team looking for guidance on your musical, and ways to strengthen your work together.
  

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PostScript: Crystal is an award winning dramatist. She is the musical theater bookwriter of Mary and Max, with composer/lyricist Bobby Cronin, and director Stafford Arima. Featured in American Theatre, Mary and Max was workshopped at Pace New Musicals, just announced as the winner of  Journalist Prize for the 2018 MUT Awards, and will debut at Theatre Calgary in their new season this fall.