Marketing your new musical: How to sell it
So, you’ve written your musical. Now you’re ready to perform your musical.
“Wait! What do I do next?”
The Difficult Beginning
Writing is difficult because we aren’t able to write effectively. Writing what we feel is right for us, rather than what we should be writing, can lead to unsightly and unproducible results. Truth is that any high-quality piece of work, no matter the subject or its “marketability”, will find a home. It may take many years of hard work and patience, but any piece of musical theatre writing will find a home.
To sell your musical, you must first vet it. If you’re writing by yourself, ask a trusted director to review your story, characters, and songs. To get an objective opinion on your music, you can present it to friends and trusted peers. Playing a song in front of an objective audience will always show you if it is successful. While getting my professional wooden flute a task, it is whole other task to get it to the audiencc. You can tell the difference between a song that captures your audience and one that makes them feel detached and disinterested. Writing musical theater is all about keeping them engaged. A sound rule of thumb is to ensure that the spoken and sung words of your characters align with their goals. Also, that each character is unique, distinct, and larger than life.
Devil lies in the Details
If you are lucky enough to have a musical of high quality, there are some things you can do that will help it find a home faster. Asking yourself “What’s my show about?” is the most important thing. This is the same as when you start a business. An elevator pitch is what you need. Imagine that you’re in an elevator at a New York City hotel and you find yourself next to a Broadway producer. It takes you all of the time to go from the Lobby to the 30th floor to greet him and tell him about your show. He will probably be interested for about 30 seconds. What would your elevator pitch be? The elevator pitch will help you clarify your show’s purpose and may even lead to many changes in the show. This is how you should feel!
Your online presence is also important. The elevator pitch can be used as a guideline to help you build a Facebook page, website, teaser videos, and demo tracks. A great teaser video will tell your story and a well-designed website will establish a brand for you show. Both of these must be compatible with your elevator pitch. Finally: submit, submit, submit. Find out which theatre companies and producers might be interested in your work and send them professional demos, photos, scripts, and so on.
The best way to market your show to others is to first promote it to yourself. You can inspect your work and determine its quality. Then, you can codify your elevator pitch and get it online. Never lose heart. Be patient. You will find your home.
