I wrote my first song in elementary school. I can still remember most of the words, although the melody line was not very original. But it was a start.
A few years later, in high school, I wrote more songs. Most were love songs about girls I knew, but I developed some techniques and style. In college and beyond, I continued writing songs and even recorded and self-produced an album (this was long before CDs) that had a very modest life, but did generate some interest.
Anyway, a few years later, I began writing plays. And for quite a while, the plays were all non-musical, which I later thought was kind of odd. I mean, I had written several dozen songs, but none had found their way into a script. And not that I was purposely avoiding music in my scripts; it's just the way things turned out.
Then I worked with a theatre group last year, where we produced a spoof of The Valley of the Dolls, which required a couple of musical numbers. Pulling out my Yamaha keyboard and dusting off the keys and my keyboard skills, I composed and recorded a couple tunes for the show.
Then I wrote a Christmas play, including traditional carols, and wrote a couple of new songs. Now I am in rehearsals, mounting a second production of the Christmas play, along with a version of Hansel and Gretel, written by Jeannette Jaquish.
These productions, which I have been doing for almost a decade, are staged at the school my daughters attend. My wife and I present shows in an annual production that allows the students, parents, and neighbors to become involved, allows me to produce a new script of mine and show off someone else's work, and raises money for the school. A definite win/win.
The Hansel and Gretel show was originally written for a cast of 14. We had over 50 people audition for the shows, and we always try to include everyone. Fortunately, Jeannette allows for changes to be made to her scripts, so Hansel and Gretel was expanded to a cast of more than 30. With the additional characters came the need for something for them to do. Adding a couple of songs and dances seemed natural, so I worked from her original dialogue, and was able to create songs and retain the original intent of the script.
Dave Brandl - I began writing my first play in 1988. It was produced in 1989, and published in 1991. At that point I said, "Hey, this is easy." If only ...
