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Meet the Eyes Wide Open musical (plus media course), and protagonist: Ruby Ravenswood. She is a villain in training. And her "I Want" song explains why she responded to a newspaper ad about revenge and joined master villain Ira Spornova's army of malcontents.

Scene Combing is a strategy for working through trouble spots like you would comb through stubborn knots in your hair. It isn’t usually applied to the entire play, but to scenes that aren’t quite landing, or becoming mechanical, or maybe just not living up to their potential. Done well, scene combing can enliven performance, create authentic emotion that arises out of the action, and foster dynamic performances that are responsive rather than planned and mechanical.

Fred Rogers was one of the outstanding courageous citizens of his day. He taught three generations of Americans what a beloved community looked like and why you would want to live there. The model community he offered us was Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

For good and for ill, the news cycle this week has been compelling, starting April 1st, when the Artemis II moon mission launched into space, on its first try. On board the Orion was a team of four astronauts, three from the US and one from Canada. They brought together a wealth of differing experiences and a profound respect for what each other had to offer.

Between the Lines, is a delightfully funny and charming musical, with surprising relevance to an emerging issue. What issue? The risk of young people entering into deeply emotional and real-seeming relationships with fictional characters created by chatbots that groom them into abusive relationships with catastrophic consequences.

Mary and Terry O'Neill Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Terry O’Neill, not just because he has been with Summit Stages since its second month of publication, but also because it is largely to his credit that Summit Stages exists and is readable. Terry was my mentor who taught me how to be a journalist in 1990. It was from him that I learned how to craft a story, how to confidently interview people with way more credentials than mine, and how to tackle controversial subj

Peacebuilding should be fun. Warfare is serious business, whether it’s military or metaphorical; it’s characterized by anger, fear, and a cold sense of profound superiority. Peacebuilding can often be affected by those energies. But what if we treated it like play?

Walk and Talk rehearsals allow movement to emerge naturally from emotion, intention, and interaction. Movement must be discovered, not imposed.

The workshop is on navigating modern media, because media has long been one of the forces that’s contributed to the polarization of our society. Lately, as we’ve retreated into information silos, it’s gotten worse. This is broadly understood. And it is also generally believed that it’s our neighbour’s media, not our own, that’s the problem. But what if that’s not an accurate reflection of reality? What if our media is also less than trustworthy? How would we know?

It was supposed to be a Pinterest-perfect party, where we were all dressed like Seuss characters, sipping herbal tea and conversing in rhymes, with an awe-inspiring cake in the center of a well-set table in a pristine dining room. It was not. Instead, it was something truly Seussian. And we did still speak in rhymes. In the words of Julia Cameron, “Serious art is born from serious play.”

This week, we’re returning to a Save the Cat analysis of Newsies, with a little bit of Jack Viertel’s framework for a musical thrown in. Last week’s post took us through the 9 beats of Act I, closing with Jack Kelly, disillusioned, broken and alone, on the rooftop he called home. He’d just seen the strike he organized devolve into disaster, the buddies who trusted him get beaten up by Pulitzer’s goons and the police, and his best friend, Crutchy, brutalized and taken into cus

By his own estimation, Jack would be the last guy to go up against a wealthy and powerful man like Joseph Pulitzer. And he knows he wouldn’t stand a chance. But Jack has qualities of character that he doesn’t yet recognize himself. And the discovery of those qualities are going to transform him into a powerful leader who creates a better life, not only for himself, but also for the rest of the exploited kids of New York City.

Superbowl Sunday offered us two attempts to impact society with musical performances. Nonviolence gives us the tools to examine those in a way that can lead to deeper compassion instead of alienation.

What do you do when your nation is thrashing in the grip of a partisan divide so entrenched that it's tearing communities apart? When conversations about the issues seem loaded with landmines, and people no longer feel safe going to school or their houses of worship? For composer, director and screenwriter Ross Boothe, the answer is clear. You write a musical. You turn a crucial, timely and peacemaking concept into a full screenplay and score over the course of just 6 weeks.

“As actors engage in this process, they come to understand that each reply from another character causes a subtle emotional shift within themselves. These changes may be small, but they awaken new feelings and insights that deepen the scene. Over time, this work translates into greater sincerity and emotional continuity when the lines are eventually run without pauses in later rehearsals.”

I want to use AI intentionally, whether in music or in art, in a way that draws people toward deeper understanding and connection with themselves and with each other. I don't ever want the tool to obscure the goal, which is building people and the beloved community. I am grateful for a team and readers who share those priorities, and can help light the path ahead.

People gather in a theater for a transcendent, community, corporeal experience. by Paul Anderson, Summit Stages Council Part 1 of this article ( Being a Creator in the Age of AI ) discussed the history of technology and AI generally and looked at how we as individual creators can use technological tools as agents to act and foster creativity, rather than be acted upon or provide a crutch in place of creativity. Now in Part 2, we will examine what some growing audience needs

Abundance and Happiness: An AI paintbrush amplifies the voice of a refugee artist Rebecca Burnham : If you've been here awhile, you may already read about Paul Anderson when I wrote about his production philosophy that prioritizes people. Today, he returns not as a guest, but as part of the team that is building Summit Stages into an exciting business. You'll have an opportunity to meet team member Michelle Linford in the near future. Paul Anderson: When Rebecca first invite

The 1/2 Hour Circle of Truth sets the stage for organic rehearsals Happy New Year! We're taking another look this week at organic rehearsals, with input from Manuel Leybas (Manny), who learned the principles of organic acting under the mentorship Dr. Jerry L. Crawford, who gave the method its name. Mr. Leybas put those principles into practice for decades as drama director at Casa Grande Union High School in Arizona. He shows up by name in two of Crawford's books about the ar

Once a stranger, fleeing the danger of soldiers with swords everywhere Today, I'm sending you my warmest wishes for a beautiful season of goodwill. My family and I are celebrating Christmas, so I'm going to keep this short. This evening, instead of a interview, a review, or a deep dive into the craft of writing musicals, I'm sharing a song about some things that have been weighing on my mind and entering into my prayers, especially at this season. I'd like to share just a lit