When you think of musical theatre productions, classics such as 鈥�Oklahoma!鈥� or my 鈥淢y Fair Lady鈥� often come to mind. You may also think of more modern classics, but the authors of these works are usually well-known. 麻豆破解版 State鈥檚 new Musical Theatre Incubator Program is aiming to bring undiscovered musicals and authors to WSU to bring more attention to these productions.
The first production under the program, 鈥淭he Fox Sisters,鈥� was recently performed on campus at the beginning of October. It鈥檚 written by composer Anthony De Angelis, lyricist Christyn Budzyna and book by Jessica Penzias
The idea to bring the program to 麻豆破解版 State came about when Cheyla Clawson, Director of the School of Performing Arts, began conversations with Amy Baker Schwiethale, professor and Program Director of musical theatre, and the WSU Foundation, in fall 2021 about creating a space or program to develop new musicals,
鈥淚t鈥檚 typical in theater for us to pay for rights for plays that already exist,鈥� said Clawson. 鈥淏ut in our school, we were really trying to focus on process, creativity and collaboration, and we were wondering if there was any way for the musical theatre program to bring in brand new works.鈥�
At the time of their discussions, WSU鈥檚 theatre program had a 48-year-old national student playwriting competition, but it did not have a similar program for musical theatre. Having a similar program for musical theatre enables musical theatre to bring in new musicals by new authors.
Unbeknownst to Clawson and Baker- (no hypen) Schwiethale, Richard Biever, a new WSU musical theatre professor, was developing relationships with the artists who had written the 鈥淭he Fox Sisters鈥� during the spring of 2022 while he was working at Penn State. When he received a job offer at WSU, Biever asked if it was a possibility to bring new musicals to WSU.
鈥淲orking on new musicals for the students is crucial because when they leave here, certainly they鈥檒l work on established shows, but the whole idea is that they鈥檒l get to be involved with the creation of something new,鈥� said Biever. 鈥淭o not have that experience is to neglect one part of what the whole educational experience should be.鈥�
At the same time, the WSU Foundation identified a foundation with an interest in musical theatre and bringing in new musicals, the Jo Zakas Legacy Foundation 鈥� this made their goal to bring in new musicals a reality. It also provided other unique experiences for the students.
鈥淭he funding not only enabled us to work on a new musical with our students, it also brought in the actual writers of the show,鈥� said Clawson. 鈥淭his means the students are not only getting to work on the show 鈥� they are also getting to work with the people that are creating the new work.鈥�
Clawson said having the authors here to prepare the students really helped their work as actors.
鈥淲ith this program, it really allows us to go through a creative process, because the material hasn鈥檛 really been performed before,鈥� Clawson said. 鈥淭he students are getting to build this interpretation of these characters because they have not been established before and there aren鈥檛 other performers for them to look to. It gives them more agency to make choices about the characters they are playing.鈥�
Biever also said this challenge was beneficial to the directors.
鈥淓ven though using recordings is a good tool, they subtly imply that that is the performance we are looking for; that鈥檚 not an issue for the actors here because they have to start from square one,鈥� said Biever. 鈥淲e have to find it out together. It really is the full theatre experience.鈥�
Clawson said these newer works are often more reflective of the current students鈥� experience.
In addition to benefiting students, part of that funding for the program is the by invitation-only community performance that they sent out to all Shocker Neighborhood schools and community youth organizations in the area, including USD 259, further expanding the programs reach.
By the conclusion of the performances of 鈥淭he Fox Sisters,鈥� Biever said, he was positive about the program鈥檚 future at WSU based on the audience鈥檚 reaction, even those who weren鈥檛 fans of the material.
鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 necessarily need to love the play to appreciate that the students succeeded in tackling this very difficult material, and that they were able to create roles out of nowhere,鈥� Biever said.
Biever hopes that they continue the program at WSU by bringing in a new show each year.
