Musical Theatre Incubator Program

What is the MT Incubator Program? How to Apply? How is it Funded? The Fox Sisters

What is the Musical Theatre Incubator Program?

The School of Performing Arts envisions the Musical Theatre Incubator Program as the leader in the creation of original (new) works. This niche provides unique and rare training to each Musical Theatre major and extends to the whole of the School of Performing Arts’ 103 students. Gaining recognition as a program that produces relevant, timely, thought-provoking musical theatre, the Incubator Program has many benefits:

•  It places Wichita State University on the cutting edge of innovation in Musical Theatre;
• It elevates student performing artists and technicians to professional applied learning experiences;
• It facilitates a growing a network of established musical theatre artists; 
• It brands the program as a destination for new works, embracing equity, diversity, access, and inclusion, and to create well-rounded theatre artists, including areas such as dramaturgy, theatre history, and other facets of theatre.

Each year, the School of Performing Arts will invite guest artists to campus with the end goal of performing a staged reading of a musical to be performed at the conclusion of their workshopping experience. Guest artists could be playwrights, composers, designers, choreographers, and other related professions. Each will interact with students in-person at least two weeks each year: one week prior to and the week of the production. 

 

How are we funded?

For our first project, the funding was generously provided by the Jo Zakas Legacy Foundation which enabled the School of Performing Arts to bring two of the writers to campus for two days. They visited two theatre classes and answered questions at talkbacks following the first two performances of the show. Funds were also used for artists fees, marketing, and the music director of the show.

 

The Creative Minds Behind The Fox Sisters

       The first performance to be put on through the MT Incubator Program was The Fox Sisters. Not only was this the first staged read-through of this piece, our cast and crew also got to work with the original creators of The Fox Sisters. This process was able to benefit not only our students, but also progress the ongoing development of the script and score. Follow the links below to find out more about the librettist, composer, and lyricist of The Fox Sisters!

Jessica Penzia

 

Anthony DeAngelis

 

Christyn Budzyna