Matching Items (3)
Description
This thesis explores the various reasons that Broadway musicals fail, or "flop". It goes into detail on several musicals of different genres, and explains what their shortcomings were, whether it be a less-than-perfect book, a weak score, or a production team that was not experienced in the skills that it takes to put together a musical. It discusses how long the shows ran for, or if they ever made it into a Broadway house. It looks at what the audience reception was like for each show, and whether the shows were a success with the tough critics of Broadway. In addition to this, I have recorded several of my peers performing songs from the musicals I have discussed in the written portion of this thesis. This helps to educate an audience on what it would have been like for one of the flop's real performances. The videos also do a wonderful job of communicating what the show sounds like, and how it can make an audience feel or react. Lastly, it gives more insight into why the musicals they are from failed to thrive in front of a Broadway audience. Through my research, I have discovered that creating a musical is possibly one of the most difficult feats a team of creative people can accomplish. There are countless reasons for failure in these shows, but overall, I feel that every failure had something to offer, and because of that, are surely worth celebrating.
ContributorsUrias-Ramonett, Sedona Lee (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This presentation explores the processes of writing and producing the original musical "Subplots," debuted in August 2022. Through composition and music direction lenses, this presentation outlines the creative journey from conception to performance, highlighting the process of collaborating with a librettist, performers, and production team members. This thesis was completed under the direction of Dr. Jody Rockmaker and Dr. Alex Temple; all materials are copyrighted by Anthony Procopio and Sara Matin.
ContributorsProcopio, Anthony (Author) / Rockmaker, Jody (Thesis director) / Temple, Alex (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
The thesis I completed for Barrett, The Honors College was created as a method to develop and strengthen my long-form storytelling abilities. The goal of my creative project was to create the first draft of a stage musical and mount it in a reading or workshop of some kind. I reached this goal and then some with the help of my directors and two wonderful Barrett students that helped me along the way: Mallory Smith and Ethan Fox. We completed the first draft of the show and then held a read-through with a full cast of actors, with almost twenty people attending.
Then, I went back and used some of the feedback from the read-through to write another draft of the show. However, along the way, I took a few major creative turns and ended up with a story that was similar to the first draft in many ways but was ultimately a larger divergence than I originally anticipated. This was a blessing, as it forced me to re-evaluate multiple creative decisions I’d made and gave me two long-form stories with great potential to work with rather than just one. It also presented multiple opportunities to combine and enhance both ideas in order to write one strong story using both concepts. The beauty of this Creative Project is that my portfolio is much stronger for having completed it and I now have multiple paths to choose from to move this project forward in the future.
In the defense, I discussed the grueling process of actually writing these scripts, hosting a read-through as well as the possibilities for both stories in the future. We also discussed the possibility of taking these scripts and pitching them to companies like Samuel French and in hopes that they’re sold, licensed and performed in perpetuity. I’m grateful to my directors, Professors Jason Scott and Gregory Maday, for always pushing me and cutting me slack when I fell behind and to my friends and the wonderful support the Honors College has given me throughout the last four years.
Then, I went back and used some of the feedback from the read-through to write another draft of the show. However, along the way, I took a few major creative turns and ended up with a story that was similar to the first draft in many ways but was ultimately a larger divergence than I originally anticipated. This was a blessing, as it forced me to re-evaluate multiple creative decisions I’d made and gave me two long-form stories with great potential to work with rather than just one. It also presented multiple opportunities to combine and enhance both ideas in order to write one strong story using both concepts. The beauty of this Creative Project is that my portfolio is much stronger for having completed it and I now have multiple paths to choose from to move this project forward in the future.
In the defense, I discussed the grueling process of actually writing these scripts, hosting a read-through as well as the possibilities for both stories in the future. We also discussed the possibility of taking these scripts and pitching them to companies like Samuel French and in hopes that they’re sold, licensed and performed in perpetuity. I’m grateful to my directors, Professors Jason Scott and Gregory Maday, for always pushing me and cutting me slack when I fell behind and to my friends and the wonderful support the Honors College has given me throughout the last four years.
ContributorsWright, Andrew John (Author) / Scott, Jason (Thesis director) / Maday, Gregory (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05