From Inspiration To Stage

In this first of a new series for "From Inspiration To Stage", Inside Information takes you behind the scenes of new musicals and their creators.  Drew interviews two of the creatives behind City Theatre's Project Interlude new venture; Sarah Campbell (book) and Jo Elizabeth Finnis (Direction).  Their aim? To create a musical in just seven days.   "In defiance of the decimation of the musical theatre industry, City Theatre from Sydney will create a brand new, fully staged short musical from idea to performance in just one week.  The creative team has exactly 7 days to devise, write, compose, cast, rehearse, stage and perform an entirely new work from ideation to curtain call. In this time, the broader team works to create all the costumes, props, set, lighting and sound design you would expect from a traditional production.     The finished work will be performed to a live audience at the Flight Path Theatre and streamed online at citytheatre.com.au on Saturday the 8th of August, 2020 at 7:30pm.  This is a free live stream experience featuring talent from WAAPA, Belvoir Street Theatre and Enmore Theatre.   The production features an all-female creative team, featuring Sarah Campbell (Book), Renae Goodman (Music), Emma Young (Music/Lyrics) and Jo Elizabeth Finnis (Direction)."

In our fourth Composer Spotlight, Drew interviews the wonderful Vicki Larnach whose musical based on the Sir Terry Pratchett book "Good Omens" has been receiving much attention.  Vicki shares her insight on the process of gaining permission to adapt the book, how collaboration works, and more.  She also shares two songs, one from "Good Omens" and another from her brand new project! 

Many new writers of musical theatre struggle with where a song should go in regards to their book or script.  It can be quite a challenge, and a misplaced song can ruin the entire flow of a scene, or indeed, the whole Act.  So, how do you know if you need a song, and where do you put it?  In this episode, Drew explores the purpose of your songs in a show, and where to put them!  Featuring songs from his musicals "Electric Dreams", "The Impossible Princess", "Final Words" and "The Tree Of Life".

This third edition of the COVID Concert showcases more exemplary talent from all around the world.  Featuring songs by Athos Kyriakides, Molly Lankford, Steven Bergman, Jeff Eisenberg and Bruce J Robinson, Miriam Kook, Neal Learner, Jamie Burgess and Drew Lane, COVID #3 is guaranteed to delight the ears and introduce you to a plethora of new composers and new musicals.

No fanfare, just a heartfelt thank you from Drew to all the listeners out there.  It's because of YOU that  "From Inspiration To Stage" has hit its first milestone!

The battle lines are drawn as Drew asks one of the big questions surrounding lyric writing.  From all over the world, lyricists have had their say on whether rhymes should be perfect, or if imperfect rhymes are now the norm.  What's the answer?  Join Drew along with a very distinguished group of artists including Noel Katz, Cailtlyn Burt, Cal Silbertstein, Krishna Alexandra, Millicent Sarre and Makayla Ryan as they tackle this fascinating topic.  This episode also features an array of songs from new musicals including tracks by Cal Silberstein and Jinhee Kim, Krishna Alexandra and Lorien Patton, Caitlin Burt and Amir Shoenfeld, and Drew Lane himself.  Get ready for a passionate debate!

In this third Composer Spotlight, Drew interviews Millicent Sarre; South-Australian singer and songwriter, cabaret artist, music theatre performer and vocal coach.  We learn about about how she got into writing musicals and cabarets, and the lessons she has learned along the way.  Millicent also talks about her hugely successful run of "Friendly Feminism For The Mild Mannered", as well as sharing several songs from the show.  You can find out more about her at www.millicentsarra.com   

After the success of the first COVID presentation, it returns with another selection of songs from musical composers from around the world!  There really is something for everyone in this second concert, including songs by Molly Lankford (US), Jye Bryant (Aus), Sally Whitwell and Emma Gray (Aus), Anthony Orme (Great Britain) and Dries Janssens (Belgium) and Günther Fiala (Austria), Caitlin Burt and Shauna Carrick (UK), Cal Silbertsten and Patrick Thomas (US/Aus), Robby Allten (US), Adil Jain (Aus), Cally Castell (UK/NZ/Aus), and Drew Lane himself.  So, settle into a chair, grab a good brew, and enjoy this new selection of songs from the latest in new musical theatre!

Welcome to the first Concert of Very Industrious Dramatists - or COVID for short.  (See what we did there?).  Yes, in this time of quarantine, the arts has been forced to close its doors and leave the ghost light on for when we return.  So, Drew decided to reach out across the globe and bring together composers and performers from around the world for the first FITS COVID presentation.  The concert features songs by Sally Whitwell and Emma Grey (Aus), Steffi Rubin and Miriam Kook (USA), Günther Fiala with Elisabeth Victoria Reisenhofer and Julian Holzer (Germany), Robby Allten (USA), Cally Castell (UK/NZ/Aus), and Drew Lane (Aus).  So sit back, relax, and enjoy this first concert.

In this revealing podcast, Drew talks about the inspiration and journey he took as a young budding musician and how he started writing musicals.  The episode features previously unheard songs from Drew's earliest years, including his first attempts at songwriting and for composing for the stage.  It's "warts and all" - but after all, we all started somewhere, and that somewhere is part of who you are as a creative person today.