What exactly is Broadway Unscripted?

Broadway Unscripted is an after-school musical theatre experience for students in grades 6–8 who want to explore Broadway beyond simply putting on a show.

 

We'll sing, act, create, analyze, discuss, design, experiment, and occasionally get wonderfully nerdy about musical theatre. Students will explore everything from music, lyrics, scripts, and performance to choreography, scenic design, costumes, lighting, history, representation, and the business and future of Broadway.

 

Think of it as getting access to the whole theatre, not just the stage.

 

 

Is Broadway Unscripted putting on a musical?

No, and that's very intentional.

 

Traditional theatre programs often spend nearly all of their time preparing for one final production. That's a wonderful experience, but it's not what we're doing here.

 

Instead, we'll use the term to explore many different musicals, styles, artists, theatrical disciplines, and ideas. There will be plenty of opportunities to perform, but no looming opening night dictating everything we do.

 

The goal isn't to put on a musical. It's to understand one, appreciate one, and discover all the different ways you might participate in making one extraordinary.

 

 

Does my child need theatre or musical experience?

Not at all.

 

Broadway devotees, choir kids, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, artists, technicians, curious beginners, and kids who simply think musicals are cool are all welcome.

 

No audition is required, and students don't need to arrive with a particular skill set. Curiosity and a willingness to participate are far more important.

 

 

My child loves theatre but doesn't necessarily want to perform. Is this for them?

Very much so.

 

One of the ideas behind Broadway Unscripted is that theatre needs far more people than the ones standing underneath the spotlight.

 

We'll explore directing, writing, composing, choreography, scenic design, costumes, lighting, sound, producing, and other aspects of creating theatre alongside acting and singing.

 

A student who arrives saying, "I love Broadway, but I don't want to be onstage," belongs here just as much as the student who can't wait to grab the microphone.

 

 

Will there still be opportunities to perform?

Absolutely.

 

We'll sing songs, explore scenes, read material, experiment with characters, present ideas, and create plenty of opportunities for students who enjoy performing to do so.

 

Performance here is a laboratory rather than a destination. Students can try something, take a creative risk, discover what works, laugh when something doesn't, and try again without everything being judged by how it will look on opening night.

 

 

How will you decide which musicals you study?

The students will help me.

 

At the beginning of the term, everyone will have an opportunity to share the musicals, songs, performers, composers, characters, and theatrical experiences that have captured their imagination.

 

I'll bring plenty of Broadway to the table, including important works students may never have encountered, but I also want each group to influence where we go. If six students walk in passionately wanting to talk about a particular show, I'm certainly not going to ignore that.

 

No two sessions of Broadway Unscripted should ever be exactly alike.

 

 

Is this actually educational, or is it primarily a social club?

It's both, which I think is important.

 

Musical theatre gives us an extraordinary doorway into music, literature, history, design, technology, culture, collaboration, storytelling, and human behavior.

 

We'll learn how songs function dramatically, why lyrics work, how design changes storytelling, how Broadway has evolved, who has historically been given a voice, and where the art form might go next.

 

But they're also middle schoolers. Friendship, laughter, belonging, and finding people who light up about the same things you do matter enormously.

 

I want Broadway Unscripted to have intellectual substance without ever losing the joy that made them interested in theatre in the first place.

 

 

How do you approach the more mature material that sometimes appears in musical theatre?

Thoughtfully.

 

Broadway encompasses more than a century of storytelling, and some extraordinary works engage with complicated history, identity, relationships, injustice, loss, and other mature subjects.

 

Everything we explore will be selected with middle-school students in mind. When meaningful subjects arise, we'll approach them with curiosity, context, respect, and age-appropriate conversation.

 

I want students to discover that great theatre can be enormous fun while also helping us understand people and experiences beyond our own.

 

 

My middle schooler is shy, anxious about joining a new group, or still figuring out where they fit. Will they be comfortable?

I certainly hope so, and creating that kind of environment is one of my priorities.

 

Middle school is an extraordinary age. Students are becoming increasingly independent while simultaneously figuring out who they are, what they're good at, and where they belong.

 

Nobody will be expected to become the loudest person in the room. There are many ways to contribute, and I want students to have room to observe, participate, experiment, and grow.

 

The standard I care about most is simple: we are kind to one another. Broadway Unscripted should be a place where enthusiasm isn't embarrassing, creativity isn't something to apologize for, and caring deeply about something is considered an asset.

 

 

What do you hope students take away from Broadway Unscripted?

Of course, I hope they leave knowing far more about musical theatre than when they arrived.

 

But I also hope they become better listeners, collaborators, storytellers, artists, thinkers, and friends.

 

I hope someone discovers a composer they've never heard before. Someone else realizes they're fascinated by lighting design. Another student sings in front of people for the first time. Someone who thought they "weren't a theatre kid" discovers that they're actually a writer. And maybe a few students simply find other people who understand why they can talk about the same cast recording for an hour.

 

Broadway is collaborative by its very nature. Hundreds of people with wildly different talents come together to create something none of them could make alone.

 

If students leave Broadway Unscripted understanding a little more about how that happens, a little more confident in what they bring to the room, and even more excited about the arts than when they arrived, we've done exactly what I hoped we would.