Friday, July 23, 2010

7:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Opening Schmooze

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM

WATCH ME!: Musical Theatre in 2010

A cross-section of musical theatre practioners - from writers to actors to producers - will discuss the current state of musical theatre in theatre, film, and television.

Moderator:  Jeff Marx (Tony Award winning Co-Creator of Avenue Q)

Panelists:  Brad Ellis (glee);  Roger Love (Vocal Coach to the Stars)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Breakfast Schmooze

10:00 AM - 11:15 AM

PAY ME!: Getting Paid as a Musical Theatre Writer

Representatives from BMI, ASCAP, Dramatists' Guild, ALAP, Writers' Guild, and the Licensing/Publishing industry.

Moderator:  Dan Berkowitz (Co-Chair of The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights)

Panelists:  Michael Kerker (ASCAP Director of Musical Theatre);  Larry Dean Harris (Dramatists Guild);  Fred Stuart (Director of Sales & Marketing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide)

11:15 AM - 11:30 AM

Coffee Break Schmooze

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

SUE ME! How to Avoid Being Sued By Your Collaborator; Q&A with Entertainment Attorneys

A panel discussion with entertainment lawyers discussing collaboration agreements, copyrights, and whatever other legal questions you might have.

Moderator:  Gordon Firemark (Entertainment Lawyer)

Panelists:  Michael Blaha (Entertainment Lawyer, Producer);  Robert Lind (Director, Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute, Southwestern Law School)

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

Lunch Schmooze

2:15 PM - 3:45 PM

TWEET ME!: New Media, New Audiences; Using the Internet to Get Yourself Heard

A discussion about Facebook, Twitter, social networking, YouTube; author websites; e-blasts; self-publishing; and e-marketing gimmicks (ones which work, and ones which backfire)

Moderator:  Nancy Leb (Consultant, Hytone Arts Management)

Panelists:  William Chamberlain (Viral Marketing Strategist, Social Media Consultant, Web Content Producer);  Jordan Beck (Creator of the web series Sunset Players);  Ben Ryan (Actor / Writer / Internet Series Producer)

3:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Coffee Break Schmooze

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

PRODUCE ME! Launching a Musical from Los Angeles

How do you launch a musical in Los Angeles, for a regular or extended run, or one designed to hit the road and beyond? Local artistic teams talked about premiere musicals in Los Angeles over the previous two years: how did they get launched, and where are they now?
Evening free for off-site dinner and theatre.

Moderator:  Terence McFarland (Executive Director, LA Stage Alliance)

Panelists:  Rick Sparks (Director, Divorce: the Musical);  Kevin Bailey (Producer, NoHo Arts Center);  David Elzer (Demand PR);  Michael Shepperd (Artistic Director, Celebration Theatre);  Karyl Lynn Burns (Producing Artistic Director, The Rubicon Theatre)

Invited Panelists:  Michael Ritchie (Artistic Director, Center Theatre Group)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

ANMT Feedback Demo (at ANMT)

Get a taste of ANMT's feedback process. The ANMT staff will provide feedback and advice on selected conference participants’ musicals. Selections from 2-3 musicals will be read, sung, and critiqued. Here's how yours could be one of them:

All registrants are entitled to submit ONE project for the Feedback Demo. Your submission must be a maximum of 10 pages, and can be book only, or book and music. If you are submitting a song (or songs), please provide a piano/vocal score. The ANMT staff will sight-read/sing your material and then give some feedback. To be considered, please turn in your submission to the Conference staff no later than Saturday, July 24 at 6pm. Note: We cannot guarantee that we will have time for all of the submissions.

Sample responses to ANMT’s feedback:

"I couldn't be more impressed with the folks at ANMT. They are dramaturgs, coaches, and teachers of the greatest, highest caliber. The feedback they'll offer you on your work is astonishingly insightful and detailed. I was amazed to find this level of professionalism and intelligence about musical theater outside of NYC. You can take or leave, of course, anything they say, but when they critiqued a project I wrote there, I found 90% of their feedback right on the money and incredibly helpful, and the project I was working on there grew by leaps and bounds because of their input. I highly, highly recommend getting their input on your new musical projects. Their teeth are sharp as sharks', but they don't bite."
- Jeff Marx, Tony award-winning co-creator of Avenue Q

"I recently had the pleasure of working with The Academy for New Musical Theatre on a reading of The Grouch’s Daughter, my new musical co-written with Jack Helbig. ANMT staff member Elise Dewsberry served as both dramaturg and director, and in our years of working on this show, no one person has been as helpful to us as she was. Prior to the reading, we received a set of notes that were as thoughtful as they were thorough. ANMT’s suggestions led to a rewrite that greatly helped us shape the show and refine its style. I'm deeply impressed with the care and intelligence of their creative input, and would not hesitate to work with ANMT again."
- Mark Hollmann, Tony award-winning composer of Urinetown

Moderator:  Elise Dewsberry (Artistic Director, ANMT)

Panelists:  Elise Dewsberry (Artistic Director, ANMT);  Scott Guy (Executive Director, ANMT);  Ross Kalling (ANMT Music Advisor)

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

PICK ME!: Contests, Festivals, Grants and Big Important Prestigious Awards

It's one thing to write a great musical...now what do you do with it? Insiders' Guide to submitting to contests, festivals, residencies, grants, foundation support, and other ways to get your work noticed.

Moderator:  Debra Gussin (ANMT lyricist and Winner of many Songwriting Awards)

Panelists:  Claire Peeps (The Durfee Foundation, Individual Artists Grants);  Katy Hilton (Grants Manager, Center for Cultural Innovation);  Alan Scott (Founder of Music Bridges)

4:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Coffee Break Schmooze

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

PITCH ME! Producers and Executives Who Actually Want You to Email Them

How do you get someone, anyone, to take your pitch? We've assembled a group of powerful panelists who will actually take your pitch. They'll talk to you about how to approach them, and how NOT to approach them.

But also, as a bonus for everyone who's registered for the conference (at LEAST for the Sunday session), we've compiled a long list of producers of new musicals who've agreed to receive an email pitch from you: you send us two paragraphs -- one about you and one about your project -- and we'll send it directly to them. The regional theatres and commercial producers who have already agreed to be part of the list have, between them, developed and launched such shows as:
Wicked
Shrek
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Vanities
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet
Catch Me If You Can
Next to Normal
and many more!

The list of folks who have already agreed to receive your email pitch includes:
321 Theatrical Management
42nd Street Moon
5th Avenue Theatre
Alley Theatre
Amas Musical Theatre
Arizona Theatre Company
Broadway Rose Theatre
Broadway/L.A.
Cabrillo Music Theatre
California Conservatory of the Arts
California Musical Theatre (Music Circus and Broadway Sacramento)
California State University, Fullerton
CAP21 - Collaborative Arts Project 21
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre
Cumberland County Playhouse
Dallas Theater Center
Danish Academy of Musical Theatre
Demos Bizar Entertainment
Denver Center Theatre Company
Florida State University College of Music - Music Theatre Program
Ford's Theatre
Junkyard Dog Productions
Las Positas College
Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Inc
Millikin University, Department of Theatre and Dance
Music Theatre of Wichita
Musical Mondays Theatre Lab, Inc.
Musical Theatre West
New York Theatre Barn
North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Northwestern University, Music Theatre Program and AMTP
Pace New Musicals
Pennsylvania Centre Stage
Playing Pretend
Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Red Mountain Theatre Company
ReVision Theatre (The Genesius Guild, Inc.)
SenovvA, Inc.
Spirit of Broadway Theater
Stacey Mindich Productions, LLC.
Stage Aurora Theatrical Company, Inc.
Tacoma Musical Playhouse
Theater Latté Da
Theater of the Stars
Theatre Building Chicago
Theatre Under The Stars
University of Michigan Department of Musical Theatre
Uptown Players
Utah Festival Opera Company
Village Theatre
Walnut Street Theatre
Western Stage
Weston Playhouse Theatre Company
Woodminster Summer Musicals
ZACH Theatre

NOTE: Bring your proposed pitch to the Sunday panel for feedback; but note that you will be given the opportunity to REVISE your pitch and submit it via the ANMT website anytime prior to August 9, which is when we will actually be submitting the pitches to the list.

Moderator:  Elise Dewsberry (Artistic Director, ANMT)

Panelists:  James Blackman (Executive Director/Producer, Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities);  Daniel Henning (Founding Artistic Director/Producer, The Blank Theatre Company);  Richard Fowkes (Business Affairs Executive for Legendary Pictures; Paramount Studios for three decades);  Cate Caplin (LA Director/Choreographer);  Hilary Genga (Producer)

6:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Final Schmooze