I have more than a dozen copyrighted Musical Theater projects for which I have written libretti (books & lyrics) for which I am seeking composers who are willing/able to temporarily ON SPEC (WITHOUT COMPENSATION) since I am currently on a limited income from Social Security. If I were able to pay my collaborators, I would do so willingly, but then--like Disney--I would own ALL RIGHTS in the music. The best deal I can offer is, if and when a project is optioned for commercial production, we would--in most instances--split the Author's Advance (option money) and ALL ROYALTIES EQUALLY. Where my libretto is based on/adapted from material copyrighted by a third party, the split would be one-third (2% of the show's gross income) to each of us.
I try always to write from a directorial perspective, with one eye on the practicalities of staging--though the list of characters tends to be lengthy, with each actor performing multiple roles under the Actors' Equity "Favored Nations" Agreement--and the other eye on the bottom line of the production budget.
My writing style has been described as quasi-operatic, interweaving dialogue and dance almost inextricably with standard 64-bar songs, recitative, aria and extended musical scenes. Samples of my work as a lyricist may be found on my personal page at Number One Music.
For additional information, including a list of my current projects with capsule descriptions of each, my directing resume' and other support material, please contact me privately with either a link to your website with samples of your original compositions for real, LIVE human voices, or your email address.
Thanks, and best wishes for the holidays and the coming year.
Great to see you, Robert D. Carver! Have you scrolled through the Composing Lounge and chatted up any of the composers there? https://www.stage32.com/lounge/composing
Also, have you put together a pitch for your musical as well? I would highly recommend using Stage 32's free Pitching Guidebook to help you structure your pitch, whether it is a 2-page pitch document, a 5-minute verbal pitch, or a 15-30page pitch deck: https://www.stage32.com/sites/stage32.com/themes/two/pdfs/happy-writers/...
You can also post a job listing in the Jobs Section, but consider mapping out the time commitment that you are requesting "pro bono" before you make the ask: https://www.stage32.com/find-jobs/add
Best of luck on your project!
Kay, thank you again. I've contacted several composers on Stage 32 and have had several respond to previous postings, none of whom, it turns out, were willing/able to collaborate "on spec" despite my having stated that very clearly in each posting. I just had another composer respond to the latest posting and explained it again to be certain that he understood the terms clearly.
Again, best wishes for the holidays and the coming year,
Robert
Pitching a film is very different to pitching a musical for the stage. While a film may open in a thousand or more markets simultaneously, a musical opens in only one--Broadway or London, for example--and thrives or dies in a single performance, depending on critical and audience response.
The musical version of "Ragtime" bombed twice on Broadway and though there have been a few amateur productions since, it is still considered a flop. "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" was the biggest failure in Broadway history, losing its entire investment of $185 million (the published figure) with numerous injuries to performers.
I have more than a dozen projects and cannot pitch any of them to producers without at least a partially completed vocal score and at least 6 to 8 songs recorded with LIVE SINGERS.