A weekend of original musical theatre will take place this weekend at UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts.  Staged readings of two original musicals will launch the first of what will become an annual New Musical Theatre Festival.

        “It’s one thing to put on a tried-and-true Rogers & Hammerstein classic like Oklahoma or South Pacific. Just about everyone has seen them – they've been around for generations and have been staged from Broadway to almost every dinner theatre from Pittsburgh to Pasadena,” said Dr. Daniel Gary Busby, professor of UCI’s celebrated drama department.

        “It’s quite another to develop new musicals – originals, from the first word all the way through to full production – and that’s the journey the drama department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, CTSA, has embarked on,” he added.

        By forming an alliance with the Los Angeles-based Academy for New Musical Theatre (ANMT), a 30-year-old creative incubator, CTSA hopes to become the new spawning ground for the classic musicals of tomorrow.

        The plan, hatched by Busby and ANMT executive director Scott Guy after serving together on a professional panel, is to create new art and, by doing so, get the opportunity to sculpt what Broadway looks like five or 10 years down the road.

        “The University should be a place where this art form is being created,” said Busby.  “The goal is to raise CTSA’s profile by creating a niche for ourselves, which in turn results in attracting better drama students and building a larger and broader audience base for all of our performances.”

        The plays will be written by ANMT professional writers, composers, and lyricists.  They will be performed, designed and directed by CTSA students and faculty.

        “With a new bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theatre being offered through the drama department – and with our alumni starring in Broadway, off-Broadway and several national productions  – the UC Irvine drama department is uniquely positioned to impact the future of American musical theatre," said Busby.

        Two original musicals were selected earlier in the year and were put through table readings and the workshop process.  The months-long procedure will culminate with staged readings tonight, Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20 – a weekend-long celebration to launch what Busby hopes will become an annual event.

        The Festival will consist of staged readings of "e-$cape" and "Aging Out". e-$cape is a powerful, gripping rock musical about bloodthirsty virtual world gamers who have invested in cyber real estate and pursue a 19-year-old computer programmer seeking money, revenge and someone to blame. Aging Out, which is loosely based on the 2005 PBS documentary of the same name about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of several young people who have spent their lives in foster care and have aged out of the system with no emotional and financial support in a world that doesn't want them.

        Without costumes, scenery and lighting, the audiences will have a rare chance to see original works in their embryonic stages and provide feedback that will help determine which of the musicals will be selected to be fully produced during CTSA’s next season. 

        “It’s a rare opportunity to see how a show is built from the seed of an idea to full production, a part of research and pedagogy that students and audiences rarely get to be part of,” said Busby, who was responsible for developing the music portion of UCLA’s music theatre program before joining UCI’s faculty six years ago.  “In order to maximize our students’ potential, we need to look at where the marketplace will be, rather than where it is now.  Originating new works will allow us to do just that.”

        The public is invited to attend any of the shows, which will be performed in Winifred Smith Hall at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts on the UC Irvine campus.  e-$cape will be performed tonight, at 8:00 p. m. and Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8:00 p.m.  Aging Out will be performed on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:00 p. m. and Sunday, Sept. 20 at 5:00 p. m.  Tickets are $6.00 each or $10 to attend a performance of each play. 

        Because feedback is a crucial component of developing new work, the audiences are encouraged to stay for the discussions after each performance.

Call the Arts Box Office at (949) 824-2787 or click here to visit arts.uci.edu/events.