Songwriting is hard enough. Songwriting with a partner can be brutal. But it can also be one of the most exhilarating adventures you’ll ever have. So many songwriters working in music-theatre wonder all the time: Why is it so hard to find the ideal songwriting partner? Maybe it has less to do with who you’re choosing and more to do with how. How you’re choosing a partner and, even more important, how you’re attempting to collaborate.
My fascination with the marriage of words and music began in the 1990s when I was Artistic Director of New Opera Theatre Ensemble, an experimental opera company that developed each new work through a collaborative process using improvisation and months of rehearsal time. Ever since, I’ve been offering workshops every now and then to address the marriage of words and music. Two weeks ago, I led an all-day intensive, the Tec Music-Theatre Challenge for members of Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh. Here’s some video of the the work that occurred that day.
In March of this year, I launched the first National Songwriting Circle for the Dramatists Guild Institute, in which lyricists and composers from all across the country are being paired up for songwriting assignments which they complete using the Zoom video conferencing platform. And I have to admit to being quite delighted and astonished at some of the discoveries we’re making together. Specifically, it seems there may be a number of ways in which collaboration on songwriting is actually helped by the architecture of the online video conferencing platform. I’m eager to start a conversation with songwriters across the country about how collaborating online in this way may be a far more significant development than we can imagine for the future of songwriting.
On Monday June 16th, I invite any curious lyricists and composers and singer-songwriters to join me for a free discussion about songwriting collaboration in general and songwriting collaboration online. In June I’ll be offering a second online songwriting workshop and am currently accepting song submissions from interested composers and lyricists across the country.
Bring your questions, doubts, fears, hopes and war stories to this free informal conversation. Find out what others have found most useful. Share your wisdom. Meet some talented creative artists. All you need to participate is a laptop or a smartphone with WiFi. Email me here [rolandtec@pinkplot.com] and I’ll respond with the private link to join the meeting Monday April 16th at 6:30PM. We’ll go for 30-45 min. tops. Space is extremely limited and will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis.
Roland Tec, former Artistic Director of Boston’s New Opera Theater Ensemble, has lectured and taught at dozens of theatres, film festivals, and universities, including Harvard, Brandeis, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, E.S.P.A., Center for Contemporary Opera at The 92nd Street Y, The Institute of Contemporary Art, George Mason University, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) and The United Nations General Assembly. He also wrote, directed, and produced two American Indie feature films, All the Rage and We Pedal Uphill and served as Co-Producer of Defiance, a film by Edward Zwick. As Director of Membership (2008 – 2016) for the Dramatists Guild of America, Roland conceived, designed and implemented some of the Guild’s most popular workshops to date, including: Self-Production Boot Camp, Synopsis Clinic, Talking Music and most recently the National Songwriting Circle Online. www.rolandtec.com