NoteWorthy

Noteworthy 2019. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
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NoteWorthy

Offered bi-annually in Toronto, NoteWorthy allows Canadian composers, lyricists and playwrights to focus on their musical theatre creation skills – whether they have previously written a musical or not.  Through master classes and guided collaborative writing assignments in a paid, intensive 6-week writing laboratory, NoteWorthy strives to help established artists explore the ways in which they can work within this form. 

Co-facilitated by Robert McQueen and Kevin Wong, NoteWorthy explores what the component parts of writing a musical are.  The program presents an opportunity to meet like minded creative artists, learn from experts in the field, and partake in conversations that allow you to explore the form and your capacity to innovate within it.  

This is an In-Person Program for artists who have established their practice as playwrights, lyricits, book writers, composers, or songwriters. 

Seventy artists have come through the NoteWorthy program since 2011, forging important, ongoing writing partnerships and a renewed understanding of the musical theatre writing process. While NoteWorthy is process-driven rather than product-driven, in several past cases, work or partnerships from within the program have led to continued musical development from The Musical Stage Company and other Canadian theatres!

Photography from NoteWorthy 2019

 

Sponsors

Leading Light
Andrew Gillespie

NoteWorthy

Offered bi-annually in Toronto, NoteWorthy allows Canadian composers, lyricists and playwrights to focus on their musical theatre creation skills – whether they have previously written a musical or not.  Through master classes and guided collaborative writing assignments in a paid, intensive 6-week writing laboratory, NoteWorthy strives to help established artists explore the ways in which they can work within this form. 

Co-facilitated by Robert McQueen and Kevin Wong, NoteWorthy explores what the component parts of writing a musical are.  The program presents an opportunity to meet like minded creative artists, learn from experts in the field, and partake in conversations that allow you to explore the form and your capacity to innovate within it.  

This is an In-Person Program for artists who have established their practice as playwrights, lyricits, book writers, composers, or songwriters. 

Seventy artists have come through the NoteWorthy program since 2011, forging important, ongoing writing partnerships and a renewed understanding of the musical theatre writing process. While NoteWorthy is process-driven rather than product-driven, in several past cases, work or partnerships from within the program have led to continued musical development from The Musical Stage Company and other Canadian theatres!

Photography from NoteWorthy 2019

 

Alumni of NoteWorthy include:

Bookwriters/Lyricists:

Fatuma Adar
Shannon Currie
Ellen Denny
Kanika Ambrose
Nam Nguyen
Rose Napoli
Maja Ardal
Liza Balkan
Marjorie Chan
Anna Chatterton
Chris Craddock
Sara Farb
Steven Gallagher
Amiel Gladstone
Beth Graham
Andrew Kushnir
Rosa Laborde
Matt Murray
Alex Poch-Goldin
Tracey Power
Erin Shields
Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Julie Tepperman
Vern Thiessen
Makram Ayache
Chantal Forde
Aaron Jan
Marcia Johnson
Frances Koncan
Jordan Laffrenier
Andrew Moodie
Luke Reece
Kodie Rollan
Meghan Swaby
Jennifer Villaverde

Composers/Lyricists:

Njo Kong Kei
Alice Lin
Avery Jean Brennan
Aaron Jenson
Suzy Wilde
Joseph Tritt
Colleen Dauncey
Dorothy Dittrich
Zachary Florence
Bram Gielen
Reza Jacobs
Britta Johnson
Bryce Kulak
Yan Li
Anton Lipovetsky
Kieren MacMillian
Andrew Penner
Dustin Peters
Nicky Phillips
Akiva Romer-Segal
Adam Sakiyama
Kevin Wong
Maria Aragon
Alaska B
Maddie Bautista
Varman Navaratnam
Hal Wesley Rogers
Jake Runeckles
Chris Tsujiuchi

Bookwriters/Composers/Lyricists:

Makram Ayache
Joseph Aragon
Jewelle Blackman
Nicole Brooks
Ahmed Moneka
Renae Morriseau
Riel Reddick-Stevens

Taran Kootenhayoo, a 27-year-old Indigenous artist, actor, advocate, poet, playwright, and would-be NoteWorthy 2020-21 participant — passed away suddenly on December 31, 2020. Taran was Denesuliné and Stoney Nakoda. Born in Cold Lake Alberta, he was a member of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation. The Musical Stage Company is deeply saddened by this news and sends love and support to all that knew and loved him.

The NoteWorthy Program

OBJECTIVES

Co-facilitated by Robert McQueen and Kevin Wong, NoteWorthy explores what the component parts of writing a musical are.  The program presents an opportunity to meet like minded creative artists, learn from experts in the field, and partake in conversations that allow you to explore the form and your capacity to innovate within it.  Participants can expect to unpack 

  • why a musical is different from a play
  • how musical theatre songs differ from opera, pop, and other musical forms.
  • How music can support the compelling worlds they are creating, (and how compelling theatrical worlds can support music & music making)

In all of our work we aim to bring voices into the world of music theatre creation who wouldn’t otherwise have considered it & those who have felt actively excluded. To foster the development and growth of writers who are steeped in a variety of cultural traditions. 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Artists  will alternate participating in masterclasses and writing assignment presentations. For each assignment, participants are paired with a new collaborator.

Masterclasses will be taught by international experts in the field.

At the conclusion of each masterclass  instructions for the following week’s writing assignment will be given. The weekly writing assignments may include:

  • Assignment 1 – Adaptation; How to Determine which Story to Tell
  • Assignment 2 – Scene into Song
  • Assignment 3 – Story Outline, Scene into Song for One Event
  • Assignment 4 – Write a 10-Minute Musical

Participant outcomes upon completion of the NOTEWORTHY program include:

  • Several work samples (written work, and audio recordings)
  • An understanding of the adaptation process
  • An understanding of the collaborative processes in musical theatre writing
  • Foundational knowledge including:
  • Use of music to heighten storytelling
  • Use of melody and lyric juxtaposed against harmony in the service of storytelling
  • Use of lyric to support melody and vice versa
  • Understanding of the narrative structure in the book to house the music and lyrics.

Important Dates

INTENSIVE DATES

  • February 12 & 13
  • February 19 & 20
  • February 25
  • March 11 & 12
  • March 18 & 19
  • March 28 & 29

Please note that the intensive program will be taking place in-person.