SO... How exactly do you write a musical???
Our journey started back in 2018, when Beth Kenniv, working on finishing up the final edits on Horizons of Gold, had the idea to bring the Biblical story Joseph into Victorian Ireland and England. Of course at this point, it was just an interesting concept-- one of the many others living on Beth's computer. But, intrigued, she started doing some research to see if it could work.
|
In the fall of 2018, she decided to commit to this "Irish show" and seriously dove into the writing process! Time periods were researched, character names chosen, plot arcs developed, and gradually the folder marked "New Show" began to fill with rough scenes and lyrics.
By late summer 2019, we had our AMAZING team in place, and started writing music, as we kept writing and rewriting (...and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting...) the whole show, pushing toward a stage premier of the yet unnamed musical for the following summer. In November 2019, we introduced the rough script to a group of actors for a read through and feedback. It was a little rough, but we were SO excited to see an ACTUAL musical starting to form!! |
|
And then, there was a virus... well, you know THAT story.
|
|
COVID obviously led to a COUPLE changes in our original plan to premiere in the summer of 2020.
But we kept pushing forward, and, looking back, the extra time during quarantine ended up to be an INCREDIBLE blessing for the team. Stuck at home with nothing to do, we embraced online meeting and shared Google Docs, 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! |
|
As COVID19 restrictions continued, ending any chance of a Summer 2020 premiere, we began to discuss how we could use our time effectively to keep developing the show, while also keeping everyone safe.
So, we partnered with Inspiring Arts, a Cincinnati area community theater company who we knew would be premiering McBride, to audition and cast a team of talented Inspiring Arts actors and singers to work on the show. Safely distanced and following protocols, our "recording cast" learned the music and began to record vocals for some of our music, while our "creative teams" workshopped the script, putting scenes on their feet and giving suggestions and feedback. We made a LOT of progress, and by the end of the summer, McBride's Call was really starting to take on a life of its own! |
|
Work continued at a slow but steady pace through the fall of 2020 (only breaking for a brief hiatus when Beth wrote, directed, and produced a Christmas musical called Legacy to reduced audiences in a COVID-friendly setting!).
|
|
As spring bloomed and virus numbers decreased, we started to ramp up for our premiere production! Inspiring Arts held their auditions in early May, and by the end of the month, rehearsals were well underway.
The cast-- featuring some incredibly talented actors, amazing Irish Dancers, and BEAUTIFUL singers-- is currently working hard to put the production together, while still perfecting and developing the show. Sometimes it's been a challenge, as we keep tweaking and perfecting scenes and songs-- sometimes right up until we hand them to our actors!! -- but it's definitely been an incredibly rewarding process. But we're excited with how the show is looking, and can't WAIT to share it with our audiences on July 30th!! |
