Musical Structure

Musicals, especially those that have traditionally originated on Broadway, are complex pieces of machinery that are designed to produce a variety of energies in the theater. When taken collectively, those energies constitute the aesthetic of the experience. As with plays, stage managers are charged with coordinating all of a musical’s production elements. However, stage managers should also be able to view a musical from every angle; that is, read it intelligently and analyze it dramatically so they can accurately gauge their contribution to the overall aesthetic. This course seeks to provide stage managers with a customized template to do that: in other words, how to connect what’s on the page and the stage to their own standard methodologies, cue calling, and the CEO/COO perspective. In the contemporary professional landscape, these are important tools that will help them optimize their work on musicals.