Gwendolyn Squires, Jessica Norton and Madeline Carter explore a young person’s enthusiastic idea for an innovative business through the upbeat, melodic solo number they crafted, titled “Designer Goldfish.”
You can enjoy “Designer Goldfish” among a wide variety of original musical theater works by Lesley undergraduate students at the debut of Cabaret Night, a two-night series of performances on May 6 and 7 in Washburn Auditorium.
The cabaret is the culmination of the Art and Craft of Musical Theater Writing class, a new, introductory three-credit course developed and taught by Associate Professor Liv Cummins.
“I wanted to offer Lesley students the chance to create and perform their own musical theater works,” says Cummins, who teaches drama and creative writing. “This follows the trend of many drama majors who start companies or collaboratives upon graduating to generate their own opportunities to perform.”
The Lesley students came up with songs and scenes that range from lighthearted reflections on college life, to more serious examinations of subjects such as mental health and parental illness, expressed with genuine coming-of-age pathos.
“Kazoo Love Song,” for example, is a trio in which a pianist, a guitar player and a kazoo player argue — through music — about whose instrument is best. Shaina Gilks, by contrast, wrote music and lyrics to a raw, first-person account of a college student’s struggles with depression and anxiety, performed by Emily Teevens.
Eva Bloche examines a child’s confusion and pain over a parent dying in the hospital through scene and song, using play therapy and the simple questioning of a child to convey conflicting emotions.
Nuno Pereira performs, along with an ensemble backing him up, a character’s urgent call for social justice in “Revolución.”
The Art and Craft of Musical Theater Writing
The course is composed of collaborative group projects and study of a variety of musical theater works and writers. Throughout the semester, students developed their craft of songwriting, scene writing and comedy song- and scene-writing, as well as singing and acting skills.
A new transfer student, Shaniah Bartlett found the Art and Craft of Musical Theater course to be transformative.
“I could have never predicted the exponential growth in confidence and stage performance that I would experience throughout,” Bartlett reflects. “When people of all different backgrounds work together to create art, amazing things happen.”
The students in the course are not just “theater geeks,” according to Cummins. They come from both the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Art and Design, and are majoring in areas including counseling and psychology, art therapy, English, creative writing and digital filmmaking.
The cabaret, which is the students’ final project, gives them an opportunity to showcase works-in-progress.
“I’m excited to do this cabaret because I feel so proud of every number that we have in it,” says student Katherine (Katy) Lum. “We really came together as a class and team to contribute to each other’s and our own work and make it the best it can be. I feel we’ve all really bonded as a class over the pieces we’re performing, as well as all the work we’re putting into making the cabaret night awesome.”
Cummins, who is a musical theater writer, director and performer, enjoys sharing her passion for musicals with students and fostering their growth.
“Our students have deep musical talents and stories to tell,” she says, “and it’s exciting to see them learning the skills to make their voices heard through musical theater.”
Adds Gilks, “This class has helped me rediscover my love for writing music, and I am so proud and excited to see my work and the work of my friends exhibited in our showcase.”
Cabaret Night will be held on Sunday, May 6 and Monday, May 7, from 7-9 p.m. in Washburn Auditorium.