HOW TO WRITE FOR MUSICAL THEATER, with Bob Garrett
Bob Garrett has accumulated a remarkable set of skills and experiences that position him to mentor someone writing for musical theater.
His career highlights include hit songwriter (Heart, Tina Turner, etc), Motown staff writer, recording artist (A&M records), Broadway star (Grease, Godspell, etc.),vocal coach (Katy Perry, Big Time Crush, cast of Glee, Vanessa Hudgens, Janet Jackson, American Idol, The Voice, etc.)--and contributor to musicals like The Color Purple, Modern Love (Hall & Oates), Stars in Your Eyes (Mark Taper Forum) and more. He has written the book and lyrics to SING!, a new contemporary production co-written with 10 top hit writers of the day. From the concept to the stage, the songs to the book, and the arc that ties it all together, Bob Garrett understands how to guide you on your unique path toward writing and selling a successful musical. His 10-wk class How to Write for Musical Theater is enrolling now.
In this inspiring and helpful Zoom conversation, Bob is joined by three talented members of The Songwriting School community who have all completed musical theater productions of their own. To learn more about our own Richard Castle, Liz Schiller, and Robbie McDonald, read below.
Watch the full event here:
Bob Garrett's 10-wk class over Zoom, How to Write for Musical Theater, will help you turn your idea into a musical theater production and get you to a tangible outcome. We are grateful to offer this course again in 2021!
For more about the course or to enroll:
Special Guests: We are proud to welcome three accomplished members of our community who have written musical theater productions: Robbie McDonald, Liz Schiller, and Richard Castle. Each shareS insights and advice about their own experience, from idea to finished product. Liz is a graduate of Bob Garrett's class and with Richard, workshopped a number of songs for their latest productions in Songmakers ("beyond the Roots" for Roots graduates), and Robbie was a longtime member of The Songwriters' Workshop.
Richard Castle (book & lyrics) is a professional lyricist and playwright. LOVE STINGS, a new musical comedy, was commissioned by Northern Sky Theater and will have its world premiere there in the summer of 2021. OKLAHOMA IN WISCONSIN, his 1950s-style family musical, enjoyed its world premiere at Northern Sky Theater in 2017. THE ANGEL OF PAINTED POST was selected by Stephen Schwartz for the ASCAP/DreamWorks Musical Theater Workshop in Los Angeles. His comedy song Mr. Whiskers was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition in 2020. Other projects include book & lyrics for the vampire musical BLOODLINE, and lyrics for the L.A. Latino Theater Company production of L.A. CARMEN. Richard’s shows have been featured in the L.A. Stages New Musical Festival, and his songs have been performed at A Little New Music, a showcase of new musical theater writers, at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC, and with the Hexagon Revue in Washington, DC. Richard holds a degree from the USC School of Theater and has studied at the Songwriting School of Los Angeles. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. www.RichardCastle.com
Robbie McDonald: Accidental Joy is a musical inspired by Hair!, Godspell, and oddly, the Sound of Music. We performed at NYMF (sadly no longer in existence), the Belasco and the Montalban theatre.
Robbie is working on a new record to be released on vinyl in February, as well as a brief musical monologue. Hear his beautiful music on Spotify.
Liz Schiller is the creator and book and lyrics writer of Look For Me, a musical about healing from trauma that's been in development since 2014. She's also an alum of Bob Garrett's musical theater class. A virtual reading of Look For Me was JUST released on Vimeo. You can register to see it through the project website, www.ptsdthemusical.net.
