The curve is fascinating. I wonder if it works for any creative process, even on a personal level. What limited experience I've had as a creator is to go from confident enthusiasm ("Hey, this is a great idea!") to mild despair ("Ugh, this was the worst idea!") to somewhere inbetween ("Well, it's not completely awful and I suppose it'll have to do..."). There's a good Ben Folds song, "A Working Day", that describes it well. So, maybe even folks like him go through something similar.
As far as developing new musicals goes, I can't help wondering why the bottom of the curve comes at the workshop stage, the point at which more and more people are involved. I'm guessing that it would be easier to get through that stage with fewer people. I often hear writers say, "Well, we didn't know if it would work until it was on its feet". Ideally, what's needed is the kind of expertise that knows what works before a show gets on its feet, so that you can get through the bottom of the curve with the least number of people involved. I don't know if such expertise exists or is even possible. But it feels as if that early stage development is key.
Anyway, great article and best of luck with the new venture.
The curve is fascinating. I wonder if it works for any creative process, even on a personal level. What limited experience I've had as a creator is to go from confident enthusiasm ("Hey, this is a great idea!") to mild despair ("Ugh, this was the worst idea!") to somewhere inbetween ("Well, it's not completely awful and I suppose it'll have to do..."). There's a good Ben Folds song, "A Working Day", that describes it well. So, maybe even folks like him go through something similar.
As far as developing new musicals goes, I can't help wondering why the bottom of the curve comes at the workshop stage, the point at which more and more people are involved. I'm guessing that it would be easier to get through that stage with fewer people. I often hear writers say, "Well, we didn't know if it would work until it was on its feet". Ideally, what's needed is the kind of expertise that knows what works before a show gets on its feet, so that you can get through the bottom of the curve with the least number of people involved. I don't know if such expertise exists or is even possible. But it feels as if that early stage development is key.
Anyway, great article and best of luck with the new venture.
Superbly perceptive. As usual.
This one cut deep! Appreciate your reflections and hope you'll check out my own #NPCmusical :D