Making McBride
Developing a new musical from idea to stage is challenging under the best of circumstances, and doing it during a pandemic has proven to be a mountainous project. The idea itself must germinate and take shape over months and even years. Then the team forms, and the writing and composing begin. Over weeks and months and years, the story comes together!
,Our journey started in 2017, when Beth Kenniv began to explore the idea of bringing the Biblical Joseph into Victorian Ireland and England. With little more than a cool concept real research began to see if it could actually work. In the fall of 2018, she abandoned the other script she was working on and committed to this unformed Irish story. Script writing began, character names chosen... more research, dozens upon dozens (okay, 100's) of rewrites in script and lyrics . By late summer 2019 the team had formed, and we started writing music, pushing toward a stage premier of the yet unnamed musical for the following summer.
In November 2019, Beth introduced the script to a group of actors for a read through and feedback. As more lyrics and music were written an actual musical was taking shape! We released this trailer to share our progress with the world! |
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And then, there was a virus... well, you know THAT story.
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In some ways, the extra time during quarantine was a blessing for the team. We embraced online meetings and document sharing, and kept moving forward.
We shared this video with the world to let people know that McBride's Call was still in development, and we were still moving forward. No virus was going to stop this team! |
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The continuation of COVID19 restrictions brought our summer 2020 production plans to a screeching halt, and we began to discuss how we could use our time effectively and safely.
The writing team partnered with Inspiring Arts, the Cincinnati area community theater company that will premiere McBride onstage, to audition and develop a recording cast of talented Inspiring Arts actors and singers. Safely distanced and following protocols, our recording cast learned the music and began to record some of the McBride music, while a small group of Inspiring Arts actors workshopped the script, giving suggestions and feedback to the writing team. By the end of the summer, McBride's Call was really starting to take on a life of its own! |
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Work continued at a slow but steady pace through the fall of 2020, and we took a brief hiatus to write, direct, and produce a Christmas musical called Legacy to reduced audiences in a COVID-friendly setting. But by early 2021, the McBride team was back in gear with their sights set on summer 2021...
