The Rhythm of Seoul: Exploring the K-Musical Market with Betsy
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Here are words I never thought I’d say: I spent a week in Seoul focused on musical theatre. At both a public and a private level, South Korea is ardently committed to developing musicals. Similar to NAMT’s Annual Festival of New Musicals which is designed to be a catalyst for the participating writers and works, Korea’s K-Musical Market is also intended to jumpstart the development process, though the format is significantly different. Just completing its third year, this year’s Market featured a large group of Korean producers, each with a portfolio of work they were interested in promoting to Korean theatres throughout the country, as well as to the Japanese, Chinese and western (U.S. and U.K.) delegations who came to learn and share, support, critique and collaborate.
Hosted and run by NAMT member Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS), the Market consisted of several different components, beginning with a day-long pitching session for both in-progress and completed works. I’ll admit that an afternoon of nine pitches after a delicious-but-unexpectedly-huge bibimbap lunch generously spiked with jet lag was a lot to digest, but it was fascinating all the same. The following morning leaned more Conference than Festival, with presentations by representatives from each of the participating countries about their theatre industry. I then offered a talk on “Exploring the U.S. Musical Theatre Landscape” with the major goal of broadening the Korean view of U.S. theatre beyond Broadway. It was basically an introduction to the breadth, depth and tremendous scope of our regional theatre scene.
Next up, spanning two afternoons: four readings/workshops, each running ~80-90 minutes, of new works looking for productions throughout the world, and the final major piece was 1:1 business meetings between the foreign delegates and Korean producers.
We had a packed schedule! It was equal parts enlightening, valuable, inspiring and tiring. And fun. Geonbae (cheers) and gamsahamnida (thank you) to all who made it an amazing, unforgettable week!
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Betsy King Militello
NAMT Executive Director
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In the weeks leading up to NAMT’s "Songs of Summer" concert at Joe’s Pub, we caught up with Olivier Award-nominated Music Director, Arranger, Composer and NAMT Festival artist Andrea Grody as she mused about music.
NAMT:
Describe your earliest memories of music.
Andrea Grody:
I’ve always been a storyteller through music. I spent my childhood with my twin brother making up songs—the game was that one of us would give the other a word and we would have to create a song based on whatever that was. I remember doing one, you know, “The Wart Blues,” because the word was “wart,” which was very funny to a six-year-old. I started piano at age five, shout out to my piano teacher Sima Brodsky, who was my teacher from then through the end of high school and is responsible for much of where I am now considering what I do. Read More.
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The Call Board is brought to you in partnership with NAMT Member New Musicals Inc. Create a free account at NMI's Musical Theatre Resource Center and check out more contests, submission opportunities and professional development resources. Look below for a selection of their upcoming submission deadlines.
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Want to add to this listing? Spot an error or old info? Reach out to us at newworks@namt.org.
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Step into the creative minds of NAMT Festival Alumni: Jacinta Clusellas, Andrea Daly, Robi Hager, Martin Storrow and Melvin Tunstall III. Each of these writers has paved their own paths, captivating audiences with their unique voices. Their work gives us a glimpse into the ever-evolving world of musical theatre. Choose a writer below to delve deeper into the journeys of these extraordinary talents and discover more about their contributions to the world of musical theatre.
Get to know a little more about these fabulous writers and join us at Joe's Pub on July 31st!
Read more.
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Pearl Studios is the official rehearsal studio for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and we're excited to partner with them again this year for our 35th Anniversary. Pearl Studios is conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan on 8th Avenue between 35th & 36th Streets, and offers two floors of clean, bright and flexible rooms fit for all your rehearsal needs. For bookings, call 212-904-1850 or email contactus@pearlstudiosnyc.com.
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Check out last month's edition of The Table Read at namt.org!
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Want to contribute to the Table Read? Send in your idea.
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The stories in this newsletter are by and about our readers. If you have an idea for a piece or are about to engage in a writing/reading/planning/production process, let us know.
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