Saturday, September 17, 2011
City seen as a plus for NYMF projects
Variety: Big-money hits from "Wicked" to "The Book of Mormon" to such performance-oriented TV shows as "Glee" and the upcoming "Smash" keep motivating producers to develop new musicals. But before those shows can land an extended run, they have to walk. And that's where, for some of them, the New York Musical Theater Festival (running Sept. 26-Oct. 16) comes in.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
What NYMF does that is great compared to other new works festivals is that they really help each production along the way, and don't just give them a space and say "here. go." Each production gets a budget, consultations, and most importantly, the chance to have a live audience's presence inform their show, because we all know having them there changes everything. It might be a bit soon in the lives of these new musicals for them to be seen in "production" form as opposed to workshops, but clearly some shows have gone on to get pretty big out of NYMF, so the system clearly does a few things well.
Like a lot of the theater scene in NYC, NYMF is centered around moving to Broadway. However, they also perform several other functions in the theater industry that are equally as, or more important. Writing a new show, particularly a new musical is hard. What is even harder is getting it in front of people. In these hard economic times, theaters don't really want to take a risk a produce an unknown show. NYMF allows new shows to get some face time with the public and the decision-makers in the theater industry. It allows the creators, producers, and performers to add that critical third components to the script and the production, the audience. Not only are these workshop-type or first productions important for getting the show in front of potential producers and investors, but they are vital for the creation of the show itself. Hopefully, as the economy begins to show signs of improvement, more people will rediscover the importance of encouraging experimentation and new plays in America.
If there is one thing that I miss about the city, it is different operations like the NYMF. There are so many collaborative works that perform in the city and that find a single passion to just do what they love to do. It is also refreshing that there is a variety of talent and experience working around each other. From that perspective, there is so much that we can learn from one another as well as have all of these great productions played out. It is so difficult to create a good show that is captivating and that will make it. I think that this is a good experience for people that want to test their abilities, ideas, and how they carry their work out.
In addition to being seen with all these other plays and musicals, there is the entire advantage of being in a big city. New York lends itself to all of these doors that a production can be pushed through. There are so many opportunities and it is awesome that companies get chances like these in a place that has become known for theater.
I would disagree with Chris here in to say that NYMF is not really all about sending commercial production to Broadway. Rather, it is an opportunity for the theatre community to pull their resources to encourage and support the development of new works. For many of the shows being presented, this is their first time in front of an audience and it is unlikely that they will be picked up for a Broadway, or even Off-Broadway run any time in the near future. NYMF is one of the few festivals that really centers on the work itself and allows for refinement as opposed to a quick a dirty production in a warehouse at 2am with Fringe.
Post a Comment