Daystreamer: a physically distant musical
So, if you’re a friend of mine who the algorithm allows to see my social media posts, you’re probably aware that I’m working on a musical. The title is temporary, and likely to change several times. I’ll probably post bits and pieces of ideas and updates here, as it goes. So here are the basics!
Musical theatre was my first love in the performing arts. Before I knew about jazz, or even Billy Joel, I was obsessed with Cats. My first CD was the Toronto cast recording of The Phantom of the Opera. The last time I was involved in writing a musical, I was in highschool, and had no idea what I was doing. My songwriting and composing experience were miniscule. My father wrote the book, and did a solid job, but the music was something that I wasn’t proud of.
After acting in a bunch of shows in my teens, I went down the more standard path of playing in bands, and writing solo songs. The gigging musician. Since that first attempt at creating musical theatre, I’ve started to write some much better songs, and the most common comment I hear is “It’s very theatrical. It sounds like it should be in a musical!”. So recently, I’ve been going back to my roots, and watching and listening to lot more musical theatre. And damn, do I ever still love it! While traditional musicals are probably not feasible for me to try to get produced right now, examples like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Galavant, and Doctor Horrible’s Sing-along Blog show that there’s a place for musicals that aren’t meant to be performed on stage, in 3 hour events.
Covid happened, and I was left without any gigs whatsoever. Despite having a full time middle class job, I’d still been a working professional musician this whole time; but that was now all on hold. So I figured, why not? Screw it, Imma try to write a musical! But what to write it about? Many artists will tell you that the most important thing in creating art that people might be interested in, is “you have to have something to say”. So I decided it set the show during the early 2020 lockdowns, and theme it around the topics most near and dear to my heart: a musician’s personal relationship with their craft.
I’ve spent years thinking and sometimes babbling about my personal relationship with music. Sometimes it’s the best thing in my life, but it can also be quite toxic. How musicians deal with their relationship with music is definitely an area where I’ve got thoughts that I want to yell from rooftops! I want to talk about craftsmanship, imposter syndrome, ego bruising, external validation, and the satisfaction of doing something for its own sake. So these are the themes that I’ve been working into this show - not me lecturing out my opinions, but having discussions between characters, as I try to sort out many of these conflicting ideas in my head. I also get to make stupid jokes, and write a group of people as organically as I can. I miss hanging out with my friends, so I’ve been writing the conversations I wish I was having.
Is this all egocentric escapism? Probably!
Have I been enjoying doing it? Absolutely!
I guess I’ll keep you posted, as I progress!
-cullam