Temple University has a graduate degree (MFA) in Musical Theatre Collaboration, which opens some interesting opportunities for undergrads.
My son, a sophomore BFA MT, just participated in a reading of a new musical that the MFAs conceived and wrote. Because it was done virtually, I was fortunate to be able to tune in (it was audio only this time) and listen.
It was a fun show with upbeat music, well-written humor, and sweet moments as well.
This was a valuable opportunity because there is professional work to be had in workshops and readings. Young professionals can make important networking contacts and hone their abilities in this kind of work, and young Temple grads will already be able to send out resumes showing that they have experience in this area.
This was a 29-hour reading, which means that the performers rehearsed and spent about 29 hours in the past week or so to make this happen (in a professional 29-hour, Actors Equity waives the contract requirement for its members because this type of reading is often used to get financial support to help a work move forward, and this means that new actors might be in the room with celebrated seasoned professionals and producers) .
They got the experience of learning brand-new music that was completely unfamiliar to them and practicing their skills around that. Because of the pandemic and the fact that they wouldn’t be together in one room for the reading, the ensemble pre-recorded their music parts for this reading, but the rest was done live. It was an exciting opportunity to spend a week reading the script for the creators and coming back the next night to script changes that the cast had to be flexible enough to adapt to.
They’ll be workshopping/performing this show in the spring and I look forward to see how the show has grown!