Katy Lipson of Aria Entertainment is currently producing the second annual From Page To Stage season of new musical theatre writing which begins at the Landor Theatre on Monday 10th February.
From Page To Stage is dedicated to the showcasing of work in development to an audience, to garner feedback and create new opportunities for the artistes involved. The 2014 season was selected from an open application process which saw 120 musicals submitted, and presents a mixed programme of work at various stages of development from rehearsed readings to fully staged productions, as well as a selection of platform and scratch events aimed at inspiring discussion about the future of musical theatre on a local, national and international level.
Following the success of last year’s inaugural festival, From Page To Stage has also been awarded an Arts Council grant to support the 2014 programme of work.
Katy, who has been recognised by the Stage One charity for new producers as one of the country’s most promising young producers, has produced countless productions since founding Aria Entertainment in 2011. Just a few of her producing credits include: the West End charity Gala performance of Children Of Eden (Prince Of Wales) starring Gareth Gates, Russell Grant and Kerry Ellis, the West End revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Arts Theatre) starring Wendi Peters, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (Union), The Secret Garden (King’s Head/UK Tour) and Sleeping Arrangements (Landor) based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella which was nominated for West End Frame’s ‘London Fringe Production Of The Year’ Award last month.
Katy, who has been recognised by the Stage One charity for new producers as one of the country’s most promising young producers, has produced countless productions since founding Aria Entertainment in 2011. Just a few of her producing credits include: the West End charity Gala performance of Children Of Eden (Prince Of Wales) starring Gareth Gates, Russell Grant and Kerry Ellis, the West End revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Arts Theatre) starring Wendi Peters, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (Union), The Secret Garden (King’s Head/UK Tour) and Sleeping Arrangements (Landor) based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella which was nominated for West End Frame’s ‘London Fringe Production Of The Year’ Award last month.
Katy chats to West End Frame about how she went about filtering through 120 musicals, how/why audiences can/should invest in From Page To Stage and what she thinks the future holds for London’s Fringe Theatre.
Last year’s From Page To Stage season was a huge success, but I believe this year the season is very different, much bigger and better. What’s new and what has changed? You must be very excited!
Last year we approached various composers and invited them to perform for one or two evenings. We had nights such as 3 composers and a piano, 3 composers 3 countries, Writers Block as well as Dougal Irvine and Richard Beadle and guests. Half the season was programmed and half was produced. There was no funding made and there were definitely more events and a wider breadth of material and type of event. This year the full season is produced in house; 3 readings, 3 showcases and 2 lead shows were chosen out of 120 submissions; creative teams were sorted, funding was found, shows were cast and a season was created!
120 musicals were submitted – how on earth did you filter through them?
It’s time-consuming – but it’s certainly a very pleasurable way to spend time! There is a huge amount of talent out there and I get the privilege of hearing it first. The ones I picked were ultimately the ones that ‘sparkled’. There was something about the story they told and the way they told it that stuck with me after listening to them. If a musical can have that kind of effect on a listener, you know it’s worth putting on. I would listen to the mp3's sent with lyric sheets and several scenes too.
Before The Night Is Through and The Mistress Cycle are the two musicals which are being fully staged. Why did you choose them and what can audiences expect?
I think they both offer something really new and exciting that stretches people’s perceptions of the genre. The ambition of The Mistress Cycle is breathtaking: it takes in 12th-century China, renaissance France and modern Manhattan in a single show, all whilst interrogating some really important issues about femininity and sexuality. Before the Night is Through is really different, set in a showbiz party in 1935. As the piece unfolds, we discover more about each character and the relationships they harbour. The show ultimately challenges what it means to relate to others, but in brilliantly comic and unexpected ways. One is American one is British, and I decided I was looking for that beforehand as I felt it important to showcase work from different parts of the world and the two largest theatrical communities in the world.
You’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign enabling anybody to back the season. Do you think it’s important that audiences are given the opportunity to invest in productions?
It is really important. One of the greatest things about theatre – and about the arts in general – is its ability to bring people together. Without money we couldn’t do that, and so giving the audiences the chance to invest empowers them to enrich and preserve the amazing breadth of material available for them to consume. I’ve been lucky enough to get some Arts Council funding for this project, but it is scarcer than ever. Audience investment is really helping some of our more beloved and progressive venues and companies to stay afloat in challenging times.
Why should people pledge money for From Page To Stage?
I think it’s a great project to invest in because it is in its very nature progressive. The festival presents the best in New Musical Theatre talent. All theatre talent was new once, so by investing in this project, you’re investing long-term in the future of British musicals by giving amazing writers excellent and much-needed opportunities and exposure.
New musicals are a risk for producers, but also for audiences. Why do you think it’s important that audiences take the risk and support new writing?
The biggest risks can often reap the biggest rewards! It follows that new writing is the future. These are the writers and perhaps even the very shows that will grace the West End’s biggest stages one day. Not only is there the amazing thrill of having been able to see it first, but in supporting new writing in its infancy you give writers the creative sounding board, the financial security and the performance opportunity they need to start the climb to the top. Supporting new writing, then, is the best way to get behind the future of London’s dynamic theatre scene. In terms of the bigger picture, audiences should relish the chance to hear new stories and hear old stories told in new ways. We must support the development of our art form.
Over the past couple of years London’s Fringe has really evolved and this is something you have been very much part of. How do you see the Fringe changing over the next few years, can you see off-West End becoming more like off-Broadway?
Thanks very much! Oddly, the recent rise in the London Fringe can perhaps be tied a little to the economy – with people tightening their belts, tickets for some of the better-known West End shows have been beyond reach. So they have turned to the Fringe, which is fantastic. It is also a great chance to see a show which either is new and not ready for the West End or wouldn't sustain a commercial run in the West End. Now that awareness of the London Fringe is growing, and now that technology makes it easier and cheaper to promote fringe venues, I see no reason why it won’t continue to bloom. And yes, perhaps that will mean that it becomes more like New York’s off-Broadway – but I don’t think that will have a detrimental effect upon some of the amazing new creative work that goes on. Now people have seen what there is out there, they want more of it. It’s a really positive time. Unfortunately our fringe theatres are too small to operate as commercial off-Broadway venues; many off-Broadway venues can be as large as some of our smaller West End Houses but it would be nice to see the demographic encompass tourists as well as the local theatrical community.
If you could produce any show tomorrow, forgetting rights, theatre logistics etc… what would it be?
Easy...The Light In The Piazza
Aria Entertainment has built up a very strong reputation. What is it like having so much support behind you?
I am thrilled by how far Aria Entertainment has come in the last 3 years. I love my job and I love the shows I put on. Having so much support is an amazing motivator and convinces me that Musical Theatre is only going to get better and better as time goes by. I’m so lucky to play a part in that. I’ve had the pleasure to work with some fantastic talent and their belief in my projects is really humbling – long may it continue! I have a clear vision for 2014/2015; watch this space…
Interview by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
From Page To Stage runs at the Landor Theatre in Clapham from 10th February until 9th March.
Please visit www.frompage2stage.com for further information and tickets.
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