The PiTCH–For Writers

Since we don’t all live in the same city, we were looking forward to the opportunity to be in the same place, and focus on the show for a week. The work we accomplished far exceeded my expectations. The PiTCH was a gift because it gives teams permission to make bold and risky choices- learn from them in real time- and continue to hone the script. By allowing teams to work in an environment where risk is embraced, we made incredible strides forward.

Mary Kate BurkeDirector, MUSIC CITY, USA (2016)

The format of the PiTCH being a one-hour time limit, made us evaluate what was essential to tell the story. It was profoundly helpful, in ways I would never have anticipated. It made us articulate the spine of the show. It gave us a lens through which we could evaluate if the material forwarded the dramatic conflict or was filler….The audiences were smart, considerate and generous. I was really floored with how vulnerable a room full of strangers was with us and each other during the feedback sessions….Like everything else about our experience there, there was a real sense of safety and community that was empowering and touching.

Mark Kate BurkeDirector, MUSIC CITY, USA (2016)

The condensing of the piece was incredibly helpful. I made cuts that I thought were just for THE PITCH and learned that many of those cuts would survive the full length. Also, summarizing some of the scenes for the audience while performing others helped me in ways I hadn’t expected – this process gave me a unique perspective of the bones and structure of the play which was really helpful.

Peter ZinnBook, MUSIC CITY, USA (2016)

I was shocked at how constructive and attentive the audiences of the presentations were – I went in with no expectations and was blown away by how dramaturgically helpful the post-show conversations were.

Zack ZadekWriter, DEATHLESS (2016)

The PiTCH was most helpful for us because it allowed us to get extremely specific with the clarity of our work. As Elysium is a very new piece, we wanted to make sure that we were able to really get nitty gritty with details like plot linearity, character development, and character motivation through music. As daunting as the three-person setup was for us in the very beginning, it was actually through this setup that we were able to accomplish some of our best clarity work. This setup forced us to delineate the personas of ten characters with three bodies. It gave us an extremely helpful model to decipher what was muddy and what was clearly understood.

Ben ChavezComposer, ELYSIUM (2016)

We had a great week at The Pitch and I would recommend it to any musical theatre writer. Not only did it force us to look at the show through a different lens, but also it gave us the opportunity to try it out on an audience. In addition, since Kristen and I collaborate cross-country, it gave us time to work through the show in the same time zone.

Luanne RosenfeldBook/Lyrics, DIVIDED (2016)

We were so warmly welcomed by everyone at FLMTF and by our audiences; and given not only great feedback on this very new piece, but also a very early sense that this story might resonate with more people than we expected….We were grateful that so many people offered their perspectives and experiences, and simply thanked us for telling a story that in many cases, reflected their own lives….We are so grateful to The PiTCH for our first opportunity to share this work and to the Auburn audiences for more than we could have ever hoped for.

Irene Sankoff & David HeinWriters, MITZVAH (2013)