Luke Di Somma from Christchurch received a 2008 Fulbright
New Zealand General Graduate Award to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree
in Musical Theatre Writing, specialising in composition of musical theatre
and opera, at New York University.
Luke Di Somma
Being a writing student in any city means fairly regular trips to your
local coffee shop. In New York this is called Starbucks. While at my local
a few days back I was distracted by two New Yorkers who were complaining
about a guy next to them who had been muttering obscenities under his
breath and disturbing the peace. Seemingly unaware that he was in fact
doing the same thing, one of the two gesticulated wildly and exclaimed
“You have to pull a knife on someone to get attention in New York
City.”
In one moment the spirit of New York was captured. The only thing more
common than weird people making a scene is people complaining about weird
people making a scene. Such is the drive in this city; the drive to be
noticed, the drive not to be homeless, the drive to succeed, the drive
to keep your job, and the drive to get my work done and sip my latte in
peace.
This is the love/hate relationship people have with New York. Thankfully,
from my end it’s all love. Aside from occasionally feeling like a
sardine in the massive tin that is Time Square, I love New York, and I
especially love studying musical theatre writing in New York.
I am coming to the end of my first year as a composer at the Graduate
Musical Theatre Writing Programme at the Tisch School of the Arts at New
York University. It is an MFA programme where composers collaborate with
lyricists and book-writers to write original musical theatre and opera.
The first year has been an incredibly busy, productive, challenging and
joyous experience where we have each worked with around 16 different writing
partners to produce over 40 songs. We also write short plays, and attend
a whole variety of classes including musical theatre history, show structure,
and ‘the life of an artist’ amongst others.
Studying musical theatre in New York is akin to studying political science
in Washington, DC - the subject and the city are inextricably linked.
New York has a throbbing and pulsing theatrical heart; obviously it’s
home to the bright lights of Broadway - the 39 theatres which comprise
the world’s most famous theatre district. However Broadway is only
the tip of the iceberg, there are thousands of theatres and performance
spaces all over city. New York is home to writers writing until 4am; actors
waiting tables and auditioning all day; and directors producing shows
in dingy basements in the East Village.
Throughout the year we have been lucky to have various high profile guests
come and speak to us. These include many leading producers and administrators
in the Broadway world, an historian who was friends with Ira and George
Gershwin, Lin Manuel Miranda the composer/lyricist of the Tony Award winning
musical In The Heights, and Elton John, who as well as a glittering pop
career has written several Broadway musicals including The Lion King,
Aida and currently Billy Elliot. We are often given free
tickets to shows, an egregious misuse of our precious time.
It’s a thoroughly stimulating environment. New York is a great city
for a writer. It’s not just the inspiration gleaned from Broadway,
the Metropolitan Opera or the New York Philharmonic, but the whole place.
There are characters everywhere in New York. From crazy drugged up homeless
people to WASPish Manhattan elites; Wall Street tycoons to snooty women
in Starbucks, everyone is a character with a story, and story telling
is the business we writers are in.
One of our guest teachers told us that the MFA is the new MBA. Now while
our teacher may have had tongue in cheek, and friends of mine doing MBAs
at Harvard may scoff at the comparison, the MFA does teach us to work
collaboratively, to find creative solutions to problems, to learn to accept
constructive criticism, to use both sides of our brain and to negotiate
and find middle ground. These are skills for life which go beyond the
arts.
Needless to say it is an honour to be a Fulbrighter, but I am especially
proud to be in, and be an advocate for, the performing arts. Next week
I am going to a production by New Zealand playwright and Fulbright scholar
Susana Lei’ataua with music by fellow New Zealand Fulbrighter Gareth
Farr. It will be inspiring to see the work of these two artists who saw
studying in the US as a chance to find their voice, to tell their stories
and to make their art their life. New Zealand has a rich history of international
success in the arts, and learning in this wonderful animal of a city is
giving me my chance to follow in Susana and Gareth’s footsteps. I’m
looking forward to catching up with them and the other New Zealanders
in attendance. It should be excellent company, or at the very least, the
chance for a latte in peace.
