TRU to Present 'How To Write A Musical That Works Virtual Feedback Lab #2: Conflict And Obstacles'

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) will present How to Write a Musical That Works: Conflict and Obstacles, the second part of a 3-part virtual feedback lab. This one is set for Sunday, October 25, 2026 from noon through 6:30PM ET.

This workshop is dedicated to fostering a conversation about musical theater structure not only for writers but also for producers, directors and everyone involved in the creation and production of new works. Each workshop accepts up to 9 writing teams and/or producers who share works in progress and get feedback from a panel of expert evaluators. Sign up for the workshop here.

In "Part 2: Conflict and Obstacles" we will focus on three main aspects of your show: 1) Songs that express differing points of view, or conflict; 2) "Turnaround Songs" in which a character changes his course of action; 3) Plot complications that keep your characters from achieving their wants, and drive the action forward; in particular, the climactic moment (sometimes the first act finale) that drives us forward into the resolution.

• Due to the virtual issues of lag and latency, we need writers to record and edit any musical presentations that involve more than one singer. We have a team of tech advisors to help you: music directors and editors who will be available to play and record your tracks, and in some cases may be able to edit duets, trios and ensemble numbers.

• You may, of course, use your own music director, editor or other resources to help you produce a professional presentation.

• We do NOT need a recorded presentation when you submit, only when you are accepted.

• Writers and/or producers are invited to submit no more than the 25 pages of a show you are working on, plus mp3s of the songs within those pages that demonstrate conflict. These pages should be well after the opening number and the introduction of the main characters and their wants - think of it as the middle third of the show.

Click for application as a writable PDF: TRUBeginnings-HWMusical2-newapp3
fill it out, and email to TRUPlaySubmissions@gmail.com -
submission fee is $10 for TRU members, $20 for non-members.
Submission deadline Wednesday 10/07/25.
Our professional panel of producers, directors and writers will include:

• Cheryl Davis, Kleban and Larsen Award winning librettist and lyricist (Barnstormer), Audelco Award winning playwright (Maid's Door), general counsel for The Author's Guild;

• Skip Kennon, composer/lyricist (Herringbone, Don Juan DeMarco, Time and Again), former artistic coordinator of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and teacher for two decades;

• Tamra Pica, network and streaming TV, film and theater producer, producer and casting director of Write Act Repertory;

• John Sparks, founder/co-director of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, former artistic director of ANMT/NMI, founder WritersWorkshop at Theatre Building Chicago.

Bob Ost, playwright-composer-lyricist, producer and executive director of Theater Resources Unlimited will facilitate with TRU literary manager Owen Cahill.

Schedule (subject to change)

12:00-12:15 - check-in

12:15 pm to 12:45 pm - Discussion: How to musicalize conflict, and are certain actions better expressed by dialogue or by song? How a character's want, and the dramatic obstacle, become plot points that drive the story forward.

12:45 pm to 3:15 pm - Up to five writing teams will explain their work's overall concept and present up to 10 minutes of a scene and song that show one or more characters in conflict, including disagreements, shared wants and persuasion songs. Panelists will provide feedback.

LUNCH/ZOOM BREAK (Stretch, rest your eyes)

4:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Discussion: The dramatic journey of characters, including their "escalating want" and turnaround songs. Plus effective first act finales and engaging second act openers. Panelists will comment and invite additional audience feedback.

4:30 pm to 6:30 pm - Up to four writing teams will explain their work's overall concept and present up to 10 minutes that include one or more of the main characters' challenges, plus first act finales and second act openings. Panelists will provide feedback.

Panelist Bios

Cheryl L. Davis received the Kleban Award as a librettist for her musical Barnstormer, (written with Douglas J. Cohen) about Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman flyer. The show received a Jonathan Larson Award through the Lark Play Development Center. Her play Maid's Door received great reviews, won seven Audelco Awards, and was a finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize. Her play The Color of Justice (commissioned by Theatreworks/USA), received excellent reviews in the New York Times and Daily News, and tours regularly. Her musical Bridges, which was commissioned by the Berkeley Playhouse, received its world premiere in February 2016 to great reviews and three award nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. She received a Writers' Guild Award for her work on 'As the World Turns', and was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award. Her work has been read and performed internationally, including at the Cleveland Play House, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Kennedy Center. She is the General Counsel of the Authors Guild.

Skip Kennon was the overall Artistic Coordinator of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and the teacher of the first year there for two decades. He wrote the music for the one-man musical Herringbone(Playwrights Horizons - starring David Rounds, Hartford Stage - starring Joel Grey, Edinburgh Festival, Philadelphia's Prince Music Theater, Chicago's St. Nicholas Theater, 2007 season opener at Williamstown Theater Festival - starring B.D. Wong), the music for Here's Our Girl (workshopped at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater), and the music and lyrics for the musical version of The Last Starfighter (Storm Theatre, Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals - summer 2006, New York Musical Theatre Festival readings - fall 2006), Blanco (Goodspeed Opera House at Chester, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, National Music Theater Network), Feathertop (WPA Theater, Pennsylvania Stage Co.), and Time and Again (Manhattan Theatre Club, San Diego's Old Globe Theater, Eugene O'Neill Center National Music Theater Conference). Kennon also wrote the music and lyrics for the one-act musical Plaisir d'Amour (book by Terrence McNally), which was produced at New York's Triangle Theater and seen in workshop at Circle Rep, as well as the music for the one-act musical Afternoon Tea (book & lyrics by Eduardo Machado), which was performed at Theater Row Theaters in 2005 by Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. He was a classical music critic at the Hollywood Reporter for five years.

Tamra Pica producer and casting director for Write Act Repertory. Tamra's theater and television work spans 33 years and over 250 productions as a prop designer, AEA Stage Manager, producer and casting director of plays, musicals, dance and ice shows. She produces both Off Broadway, as well as, managing the Los Angeles theater presence for Write Act. Recent credits include the long-running Frankenstein, Wicked City Blues, and Swing. Other credits include: Lili Marlene, Caldwell's Bomb for the New York Venus/Adonis Theater Festival, Renewal, Your Name on My Lips at Theater for the New City and the long running musical Fabulous! Queen of the New Musicalswhere she served as a casting director and producer. Alongside theater, Tamra's work production, casting, and development television work can be seen for companies such as Disney, Sony, Cartoon Network, NBC Studios, TBS, CBS, MTV, ABC and FOX. She currently works on the animated Disney series Mira, Royal Detective.

John Sparks was the founder/co-director of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, Inc. (1979-2002) and has been the Artistic Director of ANMT/NMI from 2002 to the present. He founded the Writer 's Workshop at Theatre Building Chicago in 1987 and also served TBC as Artistic Director from 1999 through 2009. Between the two workshops, John has mentored the work of over 250 writers, including Mark Hollmann, composer/lyricist of Urinetown; George Gorham and Dan Sticco, A Change in the Heir; Susan DiLallo and Ken Stone, both Kleban Award winners; and several Richard Rodgers Award winners. Nearly 400 shows written by workshop members have been produced in theatres across the country. Musicals for which John wrote the music, lyrics or book have been produced in Los Angeles and Chicago, including Buddy's Plane Is Down; Babes in Barns, Hans Brinker, On the Brink and Wanting Miss Julie.

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