BY JENN Q. GODDU
New musical development
in Chicago has been given another boost with the arrival this spring of
The ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop. Formed by the
ASCAP Foundation and Walt Disney Feature Animation in conjunction with
the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, this to-be annual workshop
will be directed by Oscar and Grammy winning composer/lyricist Stephen
Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin), and theatre composer/lyricist Craig
Carnelia (The Sweet Smell of Success and Working). If you’ve been
sitting on a new concept for musical theatre, send two copies of each
of the following: a CD or tape with four original songs (including lyric
sheets), a brief description of each song as to its plot placement, a
brief synopsis of the musical, and biographical information on the lyricist
and composers (including mailing addresses, email and phone numbers) to
Michael Kerker, c/o ASCAP, One Lincoln Plaza 7th Floor, New York, NY 10023,
attention: Chicago The ASCAP Foundation/Disney Workshop. The deadline
for submissions is March 19, 2004.
Kerker
said he’s not only looking for “quality, needless to say,”
but also for interesting ideas and musical theatre scores with songs that
move story along or express character, rather than pop music scores.
The
four-day workshop will take place on April 21, 22, 28 and 29, 7pm, at
the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.). The creators of up
to four projects will be invited to present selections from original works-in-progress
for professional critique by prominent theatre producers, directors and
composers. Others who apply but are not accepted are invited to audit
the critique sessions for the winners, as it is still a good way to gain
insight into what works and doesn’t, Kerker said. For those who
get the full production, the workshop offers the participants a chance
“to get really good feedback from people in the industry who really
know how to do it…because sometimes you work in a vacuum.”
In
the past, Chicagoans have participated in the workshops on either coast,
and last year’s hit Dr. Sex at Bailiwick was developed in
the program. ASCAP, which has been running workshops such as this in New
York for 20 years and Los Angeles now for eight, had been looking for
a long time to bring their workshop to Chicago. “We just really
want to help nurture new musical theatre talent because it’s a very
hard place to get work exposed,” Kerker said.
Also
new to Chicago is a sibling rival for MoviePhone. Chicago’s StagePhone
was launched in late February. This is an interactive toll-free telephone
listing of nearly 200 Chicagoland theatre companies. Patrons calling 1-800-STAGE411
(1-800-782-4341) can find out performance schedules, venue locations and
ticketing information. The descriptions are pulled from TheStageChannel
database (www.stagechannel.com).
“This is just a way to use the data that already exists,”
said Marty Higginbotham, founder of StagePhone and StageChannel. “It
was time to give patrons another way to access the information.”
Theatre
companies will soon be able to enter their own data into a web-based interface
that will include their show details on StageChannel and StagePhone at
no cost. Higginbotham plans to add value-added services that will be fee-based
for theatre companies down the road. For instance, the phone system searches
now by date, theatre company or play name, but soon the caller will have
the opportunity to select information regarding featured shows. Those
listed will have paid a small fee for the additional exposure, Higginbotham
said.
You
might call the number to find out what time the shows are running at the
newly reopened Profiles Theatre. Another of the venues shut down
temporarily in the city’s PPA licensing crackdown, Profiles is back
in business at 4147 N. Broadway on March 18. The company continues its
celebration of its 15th anniversary season with the Midwest premiere of
Chicago native Adam Rapp’s Blackbird. The show is a love story pairing
an injured Gulf War veteran and a heroin addicted ex-stripper together
on Christmas Eve. The show, directed by Profiles artistic director Joe
Jahraus, runs through May 2. The New York production of this new play,
directed by Rapp, opens a few days after Profiles gets back on its staging
feet.
Zut
Alors! Chicago Shakespeare is keeping up its partnerships with
renowned international theatres by bringing the Comédie-Française
to Navy Pier for four performances June 17-20. Molière’s
Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) will be presented
in French with projected English translation in the Courtyard Theatre,
in a proscenium setting closely resembling the Comédie-Française’s
resident theatre in Paris.
Good
news also for Goodman Theatre director of education Stacey Ballis,
who celebrates the release of her debut novel, “Inappropriate Men,”
next month. This chick lit-style novel features a plus-sized protagonist
who, seeking distraction from the dwindling passion in her marriage, gets
involved with a married man more than 20 years her senior. The Chicago
native’s book is available online at www.Amazon.com and in bookstores
after March 30. A release party is scheduled for April 12 at Sauce, 1750
N. Clark St.
Congratulations
are also in order for playwright Margaret Lewis, who was recently
awarded $7,000 for “a fellowship in scriptworks” from the
Illinois Arts Council. Lewis’ Burying the Bones, which was
featured in a recent Performink Play series, is currently getting its
world premiere at Stage Left Theatre.
Ballots
for ratification of the one-year extension of the Television/Theatrical
and AFTRA Exhibit A agreements were mailed in late February to more
than 120,000 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists (AFTRA) members. A simple majority is required to pass
the agreement, which includes such proposals as the right for SAG and
AFTRA to negotiate jointly with producers on all terms and conditions
for primetime dramatic television programming, daily pay for freelance
performers on digitally produced programs that equal the rates paid their
network counterparts, a minimum salary rate increase of 2.5 percent and
an increase of 0.5 percent in producer contributions to union health plans.
Ballots were due back to the union March 18; more coverage on the vote
in the next issue.
And finally, a public memorial will be held for arts advocate Fred Fine on April 2, 2 pm., at the Dance Center of Columbia College. For information, call 312/344-8182. Fine, who passed away on Feb. 10 at the age of 89, created Columbia College’s Arts, Entertainment and Media Departments well as serving as Chicago’s first Commissioner of Cultural Affairs. Speakers at the service include: Columbia’s president Dr. Warrick L. Carter, Goodman’s Roche Schulfer and Nick Rabkin.