Musicals have been the backbone of community entertainment for generations. Ever since music was first added to theatre followed by song, audiences have clamored for more. Musicals fueled the golden age of Hollywood and despite the development of film, television, and the Internet, musicals have remained the most celebrated form of classic entertainment. The number of musicals running on Broadway and in movie theaters had waned for a number of years, but after several huge box office successes in recent years including Chicago and High School Musical, musicals are back on the rise.
Aspiring actors are now seeking experience in musical theatre with renewed vigor. However, it is one thing to attend a class, and another to give an actual performance. Like every other form of popular entertainment, licenses for shows are not cheap and usually too much for a small troupe to afford. The troupe is left with few options other than writing their own material which requires a set of skills artists early in their musical theatre careers might not possess. Fortunately, there are sources of free musical scripts available.
If an acting troupe does not include a member with a sense for composition, then that troupe must look for someone who does. Colleges and professional art schools are a great source for composers interested in seeing their play come to life before they try to sell the composition. Unfortunately, some colleges and schools lay claim to the creations of their students when it comes to class assignments and will only allow performance rights for the composition to other students of the institution. Another potential issue is that because the composers are themselves still students, availability of quality productions is low. Quality scripts can be produced by students, but it would be unusual for students to give for free musical scripts that could be sold to established professionals.
An alternate source of musical scripts for less than professional prices is the Internet. The Internet is both infamous and generous as a source for information and free stuff. The search begins with a search engine which will give the user a number of relevant websites containing musical scripts or information on how to acquire royalty free productions. The dangers with searching for musical scripts include using a script from a website that did not have the legal right to make the production available. It is best to only deal with websites that can verify the licenses and intellectual rights involved in using one of their free musical scripts.
Acquiring scripts for a small troupe that cannot afford the licenses of established productions is difficult. Colleges and art schools could be sources for interesting musicals as could the Internet and a website dealing in royalty free scripts. If the troupe or the one person chosen to lead the search is diligent and careful, a gem of a script can be found that will both challenge the actors and give them the opportunity to experience putting together a full musical production.
Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about free musical scripts [http://musicalcreationsonline.info/free-musical-scripts-musical-performances/], please visit Musical Creations Online [http://musicalcreationsonline.info/] for current articles and discussions.
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