National Alliance for Musical Theatre

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre is a national service organization specifically for the musical theatre industry. Their mission statement is to “advance musical theatre by nurturing the creation, development, production and presentation of new musicals, and to provide a forum for musical theatre professionals to share resources and exchange information”.  For the past 20-years, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre has been a major force in the production of new musicals

Founded in 1985, NAMT has assisted in the success of musical theatre all over the world.  In 1989, NAMT started the Festival of New Musicals.  The Festival of New Musicals is an annual festival held in New York City to showcase promising new musicals that have been produced around the country.  Since the start, the festival has showcased 288 musicals and 510 writers.  Many popular musicals debuted at this festival such as; Thoroughly Modern Millie, Honk!, Songs for a New World and I Love You Because. NAMT has employed over 22,000 people, staged over 20,000 performance, and provided educational programs for over 1.1 million students and teachers during last season alone.  NAMT hosts many conferences, workshops, and roundtable discussions for their members throughout the year for learning and networking purposes. 

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre is important to the musical theatre industry because it provides a stage for producers, writers, and composers to gain national exposure.  NAMT also provides networking opportunities for musical theatre professionals around the world.  New musicals and the people who create them have a very hard time breaking into this industry.  It is important to have an organization like this to help advance the artistic work of individuals who desire to work professionally in this industry.  This viddler video, “NAMTHistory”, is an amazing inside look of the history of the National Alliance for Musical Theater.  It truly captures the essence of the NAMT brand and what they stand for.   

What We Can Learn From Fear; A review of Karen Thompson’s Ted.com Speech

          Karen Thompson Walker is a writer from California.  On Ted.com she discusses what we can learn from frightening situations. She discusses that we are often told to look at fear as a weakness.  As something that we should discard and overcome.  She uses the American whale-ship, Essex, as an example for her speech. The Essex was attacked and wrecked by a sperm whale.  They were left with limited resources and they needed to quickly devise a plan. They had three options; travel to the Marquesas Islands, travel to Hawaii, or sail south in hopes to reach a certain band of winds to that would eventually push them to South America.  Every option came with a fearful consequence.  The men, afraid of the consequences of the first two options, chose to take the long and difficult route to South America.  After two months, the men ran out of food and almost half of them died from starvation.  The best option for the men was to travel to the Marquesas island, but the were too afraid that they would encounter cannibals. 

           

            Karen challenges the audience to look at fear as an act of the imagination. She goes on to describe how fears and stories have the same structure.  We have to consider our fears to be stories, and we are the authors and readers of those stories.

          Karen’s speech inspires me because I have oftentimes let fear get in the way of my decision-making.  I am a very practical person, and like the men of the Essex, I try to take the least frightening route when making decisions.  When I feel fear, my logical senses shut down and I make a decision that seems easier to handle.  Karen’s speech made me realize I have to read my fears with a level head and not be swayed by what seems to be the least scary.  This speech is not specific to an industry or a business, but speaks to everyone no matter what the fear.  Her speech was very inspirational to me.  I can apply her speech to any fear I encounter in any situation.  Here is the link for this speech; http://www.ted.com/talks/karen_thompson_walker_what_fear_can_teach_us.html