Alive at Ten in the Dramatists Guild Magazine

After the October 2007 ASCAP-CMU developmental workshop of Alive at Ten, the show and the Stephen Schwartz/Pittsburgh CLO collaboration were written up in the Jan-Feb 2008 issue of The Dramatist magazine.

A reprint of the article appears below.



Carnegie Mellon Musical Theatre Majors Develop Alive at Ten By Julie Tosh

During the week of October 15th – 20th, sixteen Carnegie Mellon Music Theatre majors were plucked from their regular classes to work on new musical development. Through a joint effort with ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and Carnegie Mellon University, bookwriter Kirsten Guenther and composer/lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver brought their new musical Alive at Ten to the Carnegie Mellon campus for a workshop, culminating in a reading and talkback on October 20th in the Helen Wayne Rauh Studio Theatre. Originally their thesis project at NYU, Alive at Ten received an earlier reading at the ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in New York and was selected by Carnegie Mellon alumnus and writer Stephen Schwartz for further development in Pittsburgh. Guenther said about the experience, “The thing about new musicals in development, like Alive at Ten, is that they are constantly evolving and are influenced by whoever is working on the material at the time. The Carnegie Mellon students were very generous with their talent and these roles will be forever changed because of what they brought to the table.”

Although this particular arm of the ASCAP Foundation/Disney Musical Theater Workshop originally found a home at the Kennedy Center, utilizing Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Mellon campus offered advantages to all involved in the project. Schwartz noted that Pittsburgh remains very accessible to New York, and both Carnegie Mellon and the Pittsburgh CLO have a joint history of developing new work for the professional stage. The Pittsburgh CLO/Carnegie Mellon University New Works Project began in 2001 and has utilized the strengths of both institutions to further refine new musicals. At times these may see full production in the CLO main season, and it provides an opportunity for Carnegie Mellon students to learn their role in the development of new work.

Alive at Ten was inspired by the true story of former media teacher Pamela Smart, who was involved in the 1990 teacher-student sex scandal which led to the murder of her husband. The musical tells the tale of Kimberly “Kimmie” Sharp who dreams of becoming the nation’s next media darling. Thwarted by her husband’s lack of support and his sabotage of her efforts, she finds a connection with her high school students which eventually leads to her husband’s demise. The reading, with director Ryan Mekenian and musical director Jason Coll, was an opportunity for Guenther and Oliver to assess how recent rewrites were affecting the overall drive of the story. “We made numerous changes and additions to the show, and generally, we discovered that many of our additions were more successful than our changes. As with most developing musicals, our second act is in need of more work than the first, and we are anxious to make that happen.”
The future for both Alive at Ten and the CLO/CMU New Works Project with the ASCAP Foundation and Stephen Schwartz looks promising. As rewrites continue, Oliver and Guenther are pleased with the future trajectory of the project. “Many things are up in the air,” Oliver said, “but for certain we’re honored to be recording a full cast album with the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at NYU, as well as participation in the Festival of New American Musicals (also headed by Stephen Schwartz) in Los Angeles in May-June 2008.” Carnegie Mellon Music Theatre Majors also hope the collaboration continues. Senior MT Emily Rossell , who read the role of McKensie, remarked, “It was such a special and exciting opportunity to not only be working on such a wonderful up and coming piece of theater, but also to have the opportunity to meet such amazingly kind and talented people. It was definitely a highlight being able to perform for the one and only Stephen Schwartz.” According to positive comments from Elizabeth Bradley, Head of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, and Jason Coll, Associate Artistic Director of the CLO, this fine association should continue, giving the opportunity for many other Carnegie Mellon Music Theatre majors to participate in the development process for new musicals.