Winter 2019 Update

Dear Friends of Roswitha:

Lots of updates below, including Café 939, progress on submissions, an appeal to director/producers, and a chance to make your opinion count….

PERFORMING…

Thanks to those of you who were able to attend our reading at Berklee’s Cafe939 on December 14.  Although the evening is a blur, we both remember looking back to a nearly full house (and that was before the late-arriving students took their seats). So satisfying to present the whole show to a real audience!

Thanks also to Kevin’s awesome Berklee students for bringing the show to life. Especially Gabriela Manuell Barrera, who played the huge title role and truly made it her own.

Photo of Gabriela Manuell Barrera

Photo of Gabriela Manuell Barrera

APPLYING…

Want to enter your musical in a contest or get your it produced in a reading for industry professionals? Fall and winter are the big submissions seasons. We’ve put in a number of applications recently.  The problem is: we have to wait months and months to learn the results.  Yes, we’ve had a couple of early rejections, but the good news is that we are progressing steadily through the rounds toward several great opportunities! “Semifinalist” and “Finalist” are wonderful words to read.  Let’s hope the good news continues.

WRITING…

After a successful reading, how tempting it is to jump right back into re-writing!  December 14thwas the first time we saw Act 2 on its feet, and some scenes and songs might benefit from a 2nddraft.  But two things have held us back: 1) we’re still “applying” (see paragraph above) and that process takes a lot of time! And 2) We are still hoping a (female?) producer/director will come on board and give us a fresh opinion on the piece. (Thanks to Berklee’s Kristin Bohr for some of that!)  No sense re-writing until we have a clear objective.  So…thanks for continuing to talk up our show to your theater friends…especially directors and producers!

YOUR OPINION COUNTS…(give us 3 minutes of your time?)

At the end of Act 1, Father Urban, an expert in liturgical drama, has arrived at Gandersheim Abbey, supposedly to help Roswitha hone her playwriting skills. As it turns out, though, Urban has no desire to collaborate with Roswitha.  He sings the song “Leave It To Me,” which contains A LOT OF LYRICS.   We love how energetic the song feels at a fast tempo, but we want the audience to grasp most of what he says.  Can you please listen to a few seconds of each version and vote on which tempo you prefer?  We would be grateful for your input.  Please leave your vote on the contact page and, if you are not getting our emails already, indicate if you want to be added to our email list.  Here is the link: https://roswithamusical.com/contact/

Quarter note = 116

Quarter note = 108

Quarter note = 96

Quarter note = 88

Thanks so much for reading!