From Workshop to Broadway: Inside the World of New Musicals
What musical theatre actors should know about the new works scene.
What does it take to act in a new musical? Most actors are accustomed to performing in existing works, the kinds of shows with cast recordings and locked scripts that don’t change the night before the performance. But in New York City, actors can set foot into a thriving new works scene, where original shows are getting written and performed every day on stages large and small.
The new musical scene has its own landscape and industry dynamics, so what should performers know before jumping in? This guide offers a quick introduction to acting in new musicals, from an overview of the basic landscape to specific skills that can set actors up for success.
What are “new works” in the musical theatre industry?
The new works scene in New York City is diverse, and original musicals come to life at every scale, from informal living room readings to Broadway-bound new shows. At a piece’s earliest development stages, writers might host an invite-only table read to get a sense of how a draft lands in front of a small audience. Other times, musicals are first presented publicly at cabarets or festivals. Well-funded shows with the backing of experienced producers often stage an industry-standard 29-hour reading. These readings follow specific Actors’ Equity rules, like a 29-hour maximum for all rehearsals and performances combined (hence the name), plus no ticket sales or video recordings.
“New works can take a lot of different shapes and entail different commitment levels. But if you are somebody who is excited about new works, there's probably a doorway into that for you,” says Melody Munitz, an actor and producer who co-founded the new-works-focused Virtual Stage Lab. For early career actors, “maybe it’s not a 29-hour reading, and it’s a friend of yours who’s been working on a script. You can figure out what it’s like to read for a character who hasn’t gotten to exist yet.” Although she’s played well-established characters (touring for a year as Wednesday in The Addams Family), Munitz values working on new musicals as opportunities for creative fulfillment and professional growth.
Because new works are constantly being created and performed at so many different levels, original musicals provide a valuable place for actors to break into the musical theatre industry and build a professional network. Sometimes, new works are first presented as single songs at a cabaret or workshop. So, if you’re an actor looking to dip your toe into original musicals without committing to a full-length show, cabarets featuring new musical theatre songs can be a great place to start.
How can actors find roles in new works?
If you’re looking to act in new works, it helps to understand how writers and producers cast early-stage musicals. Before shows reach the stage in the development process where casting directors come on board, creatives often reach out directly to actors, which makes networking and building a good professional reputation especially important.
“Doing concerts at The Green Room 42 or 54 Below, you’ll connect with performers and think, ‘Oh, they’ll be perfect for this project,’” says Yael Karoly, an actor and composer in the BMI Lehman Engel Workshop whose original musical theatre songs have millions of views on social media. “But I also am a true believer in giving everyone the opportunity to get seen, because not everyone is just able to get in the room, be at these musical theater colleges, or get into these networks.” When she’s writing a show and the project makes sense for open calls, Karoly posts auditions publicly to get the broadest pool of talent.
To find opportunities with open auditions, actors can look for new musicals on sites like BroadwayWorld’s equity and non-equity listings, and they can submit directly for roles through sites like Actors Access. For actors with representation, auditions often come from an agent who can open doors to higher-profile projects where casting directors aren’t working directly with actors.
Still, for many new works, roles aren’t cast by audition. In particular, 29-hour readings “are usually big projects, maybe with some A-listers attached,” says Munitz. “That’s not to say you have to have a robust resume of new works experience to be in those rooms, but you probably need a real connection to be there in those spaces.” Even at smaller scales, writers often like to work with actors they know or whose artistry they’ve admired from other shows. So, for acting in new musicals, building a good reputation for yourself in the industry becomes especially important.
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What skills are most crucial for new musicals?
If you plan to regularly perform in new works, you’ll want to be excellent at reading music. “One of the best skills to have is the ability to pick up music quickly and sight-read,” says Karoly. Often, new works begin as performances at music stands, with very limited rehearsal time. “The notes on the page should be the least important thing, because you need to create a character. You need to be a part of this world and get invested in the story.” For actors still in school, Karoly recommends taking music theory classes whenever possible to make sight-reading more natural.
It’s also important to be able to interpret a wide variety of directorial styles, especially as you’re finding new moments in a show. “We always know what the moment of ‘Defying Gravity’ is, but here, we don’t know what it is yet,” Munitz says. Creating new moments requires interpreting what the director and writers are trying to find in a given scene without being able to fall back on any blueprint from a classic production.
Being organized is also a vital piece of the equation. “You’ve got to be an actor who comes up with a sensible system,” says Munitz. “What if all your blocking is written on one page, and then half that page’s dialogue gets completely reworked? What’s your method going to be?” If you’re doing an off-book workshop, actors need a strategy to be word-perfect on a tight timeline, even if creatives are making changes during the rehearsal process. Taking good notes of all the changes is one simple but meaningful step actors can take to stay on top of their work when the show itself is still shifting.
Why is flexibility so important?
Since the new works process is far less standardized and structured than a usual production for an existing musical, flexibility is critical. “If you’re an actor who primarily works in regional houses, or primarily worked on preexisting musicals, and you're expecting that same structure—to rehearsals, to the process, to the function of the team—you might be in for a bit of a surprise,” says Munitz. Acting in a new work means collaborating on a piece that’s in flux, embracing (and enjoying) the process, along with all the bumps in the road along the way.
Even the materials actors receive to learn an original musical vary from show to show. In most new works, actors get sheet music, along with a demo or a plunk track that has their melody line played on a piano. But both Munitz and Karoly have experienced situations where they’ve been asked to learn newly written songs with only lyric sheets and difficult-to-decipher demos. Even with no sheet music at all, they’ve made it work. Being adaptable and willing to jump right in is what sets actors up for success.
How can you be the actor creatives want to keep working with?
Because many new works aren’t cast by audition, it helps to develop a reliable reputation as an actor who writers and directors trust with their own work and also recommend to other creatives. Often, that begins with being a genuine, authentic person who’s enthusiastic about the collaborative process itself.
The next step is becoming a value-add in the collaborative process. Munitz says creatives look for actors “who are able to have conversations about the work in an appropriate way, an actor who can have an opinion about something.” Multi-hyphenate performers who can bring in additional perspectives while also honoring the creative team’s intention are especially valuable in a workshop process.
Bringing your own creative stamp to a new musical can be a gift to the creative team. Karoly appreciates a “strong but wrong” approach, when actors make a strong choice to bring the work to life but can pivot when a first instinct isn’t matching the creative team’s vision. For writers who are open to the collaborative process, it’s a gift when actors take the bold approach that opens the door to new possibilities. “There are people that are able to take your songs, and then they actually sing it in a way that you never imagined,” says Karoly. “And that’s so exciting as a writer, to see a different take on your song.”
The downsides of new musicals
Acting in a new musical can be creatively rewarding, but it isn’t for everyone. “Some actors want to do months of script work, and they want to be word perfect, and they aren’t interested in things being live and evolving,” said Munitz. To thrive in new works, you want to be someone who finds the fluidity and openness exciting, not distracting. If openness to changing material isn’t part of your process, you may find more fulfillment in existing works.
It’s also important to consider that, from a financial standpoint, working on new musicals alone is not a practical way to build an acting career. It’s hard work for lower (or no) pay, with small stipends even for Equity 29-hour readings. “I think there can also become a point for a lot of actors, even who love new works, where they can no longer afford them,” said Munitz. Working actors might need to turn down a reading to take a higher-paying role or simply work a day job.
While taking a role in a new show can pay off down the line in terms of connections for future work, actors unfortunately shouldn’t expect developing a new work to pay off financially. Of course, there are highly publicized exceptions (like the original cast of Hamilton successfully fighting for 1% of the Broadway net). But most new works never reach an Off-Broadway or regional try-out stage, much less Broadway. And actors who develop new works should be realistic about the small chance that any single new musical is a ticket to success.
Finding your “why” for acting in new works
Acting in a new musical certainly takes a high level of musicality, acting skill, and collaborative instinct. So why pour your heart and soul into new shows? For actors who love the creative process, developing new works is a chance to become part of a vibrant, collaborative community. The joy is in the journey of crafting the show, and the development process itself.
As an actor, creating a new work allows you an additional layer of ownership over a character. When you’re playing a well-known character, “there can be real pressure as an actor, either directly from the creative team, the director, or from audiences,” says Munitz. “But when you're the person who is setting that standard, there's a lot more opportunity for play and to bring your own artistry to life.”
For actors who are able to work on new shows, you get a reward that you can’t find in existing works: You’re helping shape the future of musical theatre, even if it’s only in a small way. “Something that you’re gaining is being a part of musical theater history,” said Karoly. “Every new work is evolving and shaping what musical theater is going to be.”
The future of Broadway is informed by the creatives actively bringing musicals to life in much smaller New York City theatres. “So many exciting friendships and collaborations can be built by knowing the other people who are building the industry alongside you, day by day,” says Munitz. “Because the pieces that they're writing now will be the Oklahoma’s and the Footloose’s of twenty years, forty years from now.”
When you’re willing to take the leap into the new works scene, you’re able to become a part of how musical theatre is evolving and take an active role in creating the future of the art form.
