The show must go on(line): Licensing a school musical

For many, the school production is a highlight of the year. I regularly hear from teachers about the pride they have in their students and themselves for mounting professional-standard productions of the many musicals available for license. Over the past few months, teachers have found innovative ways to enable their students to perform and stay connected with each other, despite being unable to gather in the conventional way. These challenging times have been a breeding ground for inspirational blitz-spirit in that regard.

But it's not only the teachers, students and parent-audiences who've had to adapt: in order to put on a commercially available show, you have to buy a license, and the terms of that license are usually pretty firm about how and where you can perform the show you've paid for – particularly whether you can record or broadcast it. Licensing bodies such as Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), Broadway Licensing, Music Theatre International (MTI) and Concord Theatricals are adapting their products to create special licenses – and art – for these extraordinary times.

‘We have released rights for the first “Zoomsical” – a 20-minute musical designed to be performed via Zoom, with the performers in isolation,’ says Ryan Macaulay of MTI. ‘We're also preparing to launch a streaming platform which will allow a whole host of our shows to be streamed to at-home audiences.’

Broadway Licensing has a customised catalogue for young performers, which they call ‘school editions’. ‘We have streaming rights available for a number of our shows, and the list is ever-growing. You can livestream your production using Broadway On Demand's service,’ says Nik Sorocenski, adding that Broadway Licensing has developed ‘Safe on Stage Musicals’ – more details on their website (see below).

Macaulay and Sorocenski both spoke to me about updating, postponing and cancelling licenses at no additional cost in the light of the general lockdown in March, and Laura Manderson of TRW said the same thing: ‘As you can imagine, when the news broke that the schools would be closing imminently, we were inundated with emails and calls from teachers who had licenses with us for the Spring/Summer 2020 term – we were able to offer flexible options for postponement with a window of up to two years for these schools to reschedule their productions.’ Now that restrictions are lifting, however, Manderson explained that teachers are beginning once again to enquire about licensing shows: ‘Our Young@Part titles are popular at the moment as they do not require an interval and come with backing tracks as standard, meaning groups can avoid the interval drinks-and-toilets crush and can also get around the issues regarding social distancing in the pit.’

Caryl Crane Youth Theatre performs We Will Rock You (credit: Courtesy Caryl Crane Youth Theatre)

‘For older students and amateur societies,’ continues Manderson, ‘TRW is creating 90-minute socially distant concert versions of some of our popular titles. Spamalot Socially Distant Concert-ish Version is completed and available. The Addams Family Quarantined Concert, All Shook Up Concert at the Drive-In and Ring of Fire Concert Version will follow this summer.’ And for those teachers still looking at online performance, TRW, like other companies, has a streaming platform available in the form of BookTix Live.

At Concord Theatricals, Robert Hamilton (senior manager, Amateur Licensing) and Meg Schadl (amateur licensing coordinator) told me ‘a number of titles have been fully confirmed as available for virtual performances by amateur groups, including favourite musicals like The Wizard of Oz (RSC Version).’ Crucially, however, they also said ‘Looking to the future, we understand from our conversations with the teaching community that there is a strong sense of hope for 2021 and beyond.’

So with that in mind, let's look into some of the considerations tied up with mounting a musical at school under ‘normal’ or ‘nearly-normal’ circumstances. I asked all the experts what the main things are that a teacher should consider when applying for performance rights for a show: ‘Some questions to think about: what are the strengths of your performers? Will you perform with live music or do you require backing tracks? How long should your musical be? Are you trying to include other school departments? What is your budget?’ says Macaulay.

‘If you have a group comprising strong singers but maybe not the most competent dancers, then something like Les Miserables School Edition or The Hunchback of Notre Dame might be appropriate. For schools with more females than males, consider Sister Act or Legally Blonde. Little Shop of Horrors and Disney's The Lion King Jr./Kids can provide excellent backstage/creative art opportunities. Taking part in a musical (be it on stage, backstage or in the band) can be one of the most rewarding experiences a student can have: why not engage with your students to find out what shows they want to be in? Having a vote can really help students feel part of the whole process.’

In his TRW School Edition Director's Guide, Jim Hoare offers similar advice: ‘Select a show that suits the students in your group,’ and ‘You should not (and cannot) do it all on your own. Theatre is a collaborative art form. If your budget does not provide for production staff, build a team of volunteers (friends, alumni, parents) to share the many responsibilities involved in producing a musical.

‘Your enthusiasm is contagious. The best way to teach creativity is to be creative and invite your students to join you in the process. While the final decision is up to the director, the accumulated creativity of the assembled company will be more interesting than the creativity of one person alone. So welcome suggestions and invite input from everyone. Choosing a title that you and the students can get excited about is so important!’

All four companies have very simple application processes – as Ryan Macaulay says, ‘It's very easy to apply, just like ordering something on Amazon.’ In each case, you can browse the website of the company for shows, and then applying for a license is a simple case of filling out a form, after which staff will be in touch to help get you up and running as soon as possible. The experts in each company really do have encyclopaedic knowledge of their catalogue, so if you're stuck for ideas they will be very willing to help make suggestions based on your particular student group's strengths and needs. Many shows also come with director's guides, backing tracks and other practical resources to help you get the show on its feet. Much has been done to make it possible for the show to go on – so don't be daunted by government restrictions: there is always a way, and students will relish the opportunity.

Summary

• MTI

  Popular shows in 2019-20 included: Annie, Fame, Legally Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors, Our House, Oliver!, Les Miserables Schools Edition, Mary Poppins Jr, Sister Act, Aladdin Jr, Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical, and The Lion King Jr. Shrek the Musical will be available to schools from 1 January 2021.

  www.mtishows.com

• Broadway Licensing

  Polkadots, The Old Man and the Old Moon, Disenchanted High School Edition, and more.

  www.broadwaylicensing.co.uk

• TRW

  The Addams Family Young@Part, We Will Rock You Young@Part and The Wind in the Willows Young@Part, plus others.

  www.theatricalrights.co.uk

• Concord Theatricals

  In The Heights, The Sound of Music and The Wiz, and content-appropriate editions of musicals including 42nd Street, Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Oklahoma! and Rock of Ages.

  www.concordtheatricals.co.uk