Playwright's Spotlight with Michael Shapiro

In this episode, I speak to musical theatre composer and lyricist Michael Shapiro. Michael's insight into the genre is expansive. We discuss the method and elements of a musical, what functions songs play, and the traps to avoid. We also delve into compensation, publishing, and finding opportunities in the realm of musical theatre. I very much enjoyed recording this episode and hope you find it as informative as I did.

Michael Shapiro is an active composer for musical theatre. His children's show Super Sidekick: The Musical is published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals and has been performed in front of young audiences throughout the United States, including Off-Broadway in 2012. His family musicals Gideon and the Blundersnorp and The Bully Problem have won numerous awards and nominations, including (for Gideon) Best Musical at the 2021 Hollywood Fringe Festival. He is a graduate of the film-scoring program at USC and studied at the ASCAP Film Scoring Seminar.

The video version of this episode can be viewed in the link below -

Links to sites and resources discussed in this episode -

New Musicals, Inc. -
https://nmi.org/

ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop -
www.ascap.com

Concord Theatricals -
https://www.concordtheatricals.com/

Samual French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival -
https://oobfestival.com/

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop -
https://www.bmi.com/theatre_workshop

Tisch NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing -
https://www.bmi.com/theatre_workshop

Links to Michael Shapiro's Website and Musicals -

Michael Shapiro
www.mikemusic.com

Super Sidekick: The Musical
www.supersidekickmusical.com

Gideon and the Blundersnorp -
www.gideonmusical.com

The Bully Problem -
www.thebullyproblem.com

Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight

Punk Monkey Productions -
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com

PLAY Noir -
www.playnoir.com

PLAY Noir Anthology –
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html

James Elden -
Twitter - @jameseldensauer
IG - @alakardrake
FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer

Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -
Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods
- @playnoirla
IG - @punkmonkeyprods
- @playnoir_la

FB - fb.com/playnoir
- fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions

Playwright's Spotlight -
Twitter - @wrightlightpod
IG - @playwrights_spotlight

Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival
www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html