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The Discovery of Time Travel as an Idea for a Stage Musical
The year was 1979, and while living in New York City, I first saw the science
fiction movie classic, The Time Machine, on late night TV. I had written scores
(music and lyrics) for amateur musical theater and was always looking for new stories
to adapt for the stage, with the hopes of moving from amateur to professional.
During the film I was struck by the possibility of a science fiction musical.
Most musicals are based on previous novels or plays. So, in keeping with that
tradition, I obtained a copy of the novel by H.G. Wells. I was astounded to discover
the novel was written in 1895, a time when there were no cars yet alone time
machines. The idea of traveling through time was mesmerizing, especially traveling
into the future. For me personally, the future was at once a place of happiness and
mystery…and anxiety. My anxiety stemmed from the entertainment industry—a
risky business forever plagued by uncertainty.
With some theatrical background and being a self-taught keyboardist and
songwriter, I had the confidence to tackle the art and craft of playwriting. Faced with
the challenge to write a musical in its entirety, I immersed myself in a self-learning
program on musical theater and playwriting, studying and analyzing well known
works by Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and many others.
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The First Draft
Meanwhile, I began writing the first draft. Imagining a futuristic world with
the 21st century as a starting point where time travel was possible was the first
inspiration for updating the original story. I thought modern audiences would marvel
at how nearly a century later after Wells wrote his novel, no one had yet invented a
time machine. To make the idea of a time machine seem more real, I decided to use
the Kennedy Space Center as a home base for the development and launch of the time
machine, as opposed to an eccentric inventor building one in his backyard. It seemed
natural to me that if a time machine were to ever be realized, it would most likely be a
project of the space program.
In the original novel, only one person launches the time machine from his
home and travels into the future. To avoid an endless stream of monologs and solo
songs, I needed more characters.
The underlying themes of science fiction, the future, time travel, global
destruction and altruism were good background themes, but too ethereal by
themselves. I needed more intimacy. Besides the lone time traveler, Wells had only
one character in the future, a female, who related to the time traveler. There was
some hint at romance in both the novel and movie, but I decided to make romantic
love the dominant theme.
I settled on four principal travelers: the inventor of the time travel vehicle (as
it was now called), the inventor’s partner and best friend, a reporter, and a female
social activist. I added two primary characters from the future, a male and female.
This gave me six main characters. I now had plenty of opportunity for romantic
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interplay and a chance to write a variety of love songs, an integral component of
romantic comedy storylines in musical theater and film.
As I learned more about dramatic writing, I often heard and read the phrase,
“Drama is conflict.” There is a protagonist and antogonist both competing for the
same goal. The inventor was obviously the protagonist for the story, and a female
social activist served as not only a great antagonist, but also a tension-filled love
interest for the protagonist.
In screenwriting, protagonists almost always have a “sidekick” of sorts, along
with other supporting friends. Often, a subplot is created around this sidekick role,
who must face his/her own set of obstacles. The inventor’s best friend and partner
became the perfect sidekick.
A jaded and suspicious reporter would also play an antagonistic role.
However, since journalists are to remain essentially neutral, he would be antagonistic
to both the inventor and social activist, thereby increasing dramatic tension.
Once I became more familiar with my characters, the story began to take
shape. I now had the activist strongly opposed to technology in general, and the idea
of a time travel vehicle in particular. To reveal this in the story, I decided to have her
lead a demonstration during the NASA press conference announcing the launch of the
time travel vehicle. The demonstration turns to chaos. The inventor and his partner
escape to the Time Travel Vehicle Assembly Room, followed by the social activist
and reporter, who both manage to slip past guards and employees.
Seizing the opportunity to persuade both the activist and the reporter that the
time travel vehicle was not designed for evil intentions, the inventor proceeds to
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demonstrate how the machine works. Mistakenly, the reporter hits the “on” switch
and suddenly the travelers find themselves whirling into the future. Somewhere far in
the future they finally stop, only to find a futuristic Kennedy Space Center in ruins.
They encounter a small band of fragile, yet beautiful people, apparently the
last remaining survivors of what appears to be something akin to a war. Just as the
travelers are getting to know the people of the future, a second tribe of ape-like
mutants suddenly attacks them. The travelers survive the attack but one of the people
of the future is taken away. The travelers find themselves faced with a dual conflict:
First, they must wrestle with the “future of the future.” How will they help the people
of the future build a new world? Second, their lives are now in immediate danger.
During the night the social activist disappears, kidnapped by the ape-like
mutants. The travelers realize the people of the future are divided into the Haves and
Have-nots (a vision taken directly from the novel). The Haves are the people above
ground and the Have-nots dwell in the “underground waste deposal system” below. I
very much liked the idea the Haves did not know about the Have-nots, believing they
lived in a perfect world of beautiful people. In the novel, Wells called the Haves the
“Eloi.” The Have-nots—or underground dwellers—were called the “Morlock.” How
and why these names were chosen was never explained in the book, so I dropped both
Eloi and Morlock.
As I learned more about dramatic writing, I learned movies and plays have
themes that tell the story, and that themes are not the same as plot. In Time Travelers,
the characters, the demonstration, traveling through time, encountering the people of
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the future, etc., were all elements of the plot—the sequence of events as they unfold.
But, the plot itself, did not tell what the story was about.
I knew the inventor and the activist would fall in love. Now, the inventor had
an even more critical mission beyond saving the future of humankind: rescuing his
love interest. The theme of Time Travelers began to take shape. The primary theme
became the conflict between technology and Mother Nature. Having the inventor of a
time machine fall in love with a social activist and naturalist was a way to show not
only the conflict between technology and Mother Nature, but also how the two forces
could work in unity.
This conflict—or paradox—between technology and Mother Nature was the
driving force behind my writing Time Travelers. Technology is perceived to be both
a threat and a solution to humankind’s problems. I wanted to be proactive and show
how technology can also be a positive force.
Of course, solving the world’s problems was not the only driving force behind
the writing of Time Travelers. I wanted to entertain. Time Travelers, once produced,
would be a sci-fi action/adventure musical. It would also be a romantic comedy. In
addition to the inventor falling in love with the social activist, I decided to add the
subplot of the inventor’s partner falling in love with the female lead from the future.
Unfortunately, this was as far as I could take the first draft. I could not figure
out how to ultimately resolve the conflict between the two tribes of the future. I also
found myself struggling with how I would imagine the world to be like thousands of
years into the future. It seemed too surreal. In 1980 I copyrighted the work and
didn’t touch it again until 2000, after entering the MLS program.
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Entering MLS
When I entered the MLS program in 1998, I was still a songwriter, but the
markets I now targeted for my songs switched from theater to film and pop music.
Theater simply was not a viable market for new songs but the film and pop music
industries were huge markets. I hadn’t worked in theater since the 70s, with the
exception of having performed on hundreds of stages across the country with various
coverbands and showbands.
Still, musical theater proved to be my initial exposure to cross-disciplinary
study. Both theater and film are cross-disciplinary in nature, combining poetry,
storytelling, dance, music, set design, costuming and other arts and skills. Knowing
this set the stage for a greater understanding of cross-disciplinary study through the
MLS program.
I already had a self-designed B.S. degree in Songwriting and Popular Music
from the University of Minnesota. Now, I wanted to expand on this knowledge and
learn more about the many other areas of the entertainment industry. It was in an
MLS seminar by Dr. Arthur Harkins on Strategic Thinking that Time Travelers found
a new life.
The Strategic Thinking seminar was the first in a series of seminars
unofficially entitled Innovation Studies. Harkins introduced me to futures-based
studies. Through Harkins and the course I began to see the future not as an enigma,
but a place defined and shaped by technological, social and personal innovation.
Science fiction was also a frequent subject of discussion, considered by some to be a
seedbed for technological innovation. It was during one of these class discussions I
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was reminded of H.G. Wells, his novel, The Time Machine… and the musical I had
abandoned years ago.
Through the Strategic Thinking seminar I learned about the various tools and
techniques of forecasting the future such as Storytelling, Scenario Creation, Myth,
and Role Playing. Ironically, these tools turned out to be the same tools used in
creating works in theater, film and fiction. In revisiting the novel, I noticed how
Wells used the tools of forecasting—primarily storytelling—to warn humankind of
the dangers in the misuse of technology and science. I realized a time machine serves
as an excellent forecasting device—a time travel machine that exists metaphorically
in our imaginations. Each new outlook, technological development or social change I
learned about became potential new fodder for the Time Travelers storyline,
development of the characters and the shaping of dialog.
During the course, I traveled back in the past as well and gained a sense of the
history of Innovation. Once again—as I did in 1979—I marveled at how H.G. Wells
conceived The Time Machine long before Ford drove his first car, the Wright brothers
first put wings on a machine or a rocket would sail to Mars.
In the context of the art and science of forecasting, I saw how science fiction
could have a far greater purpose than mere entertainment. It could set the stage for
Innovation. I secretly began to hope that a production of Time Travelers would serve
as a launch pad for the invention of time travel. Not being an inventor or
mathematician, or really having the slightest clue if time travel was actually feasible,
the notion I could contribute to the advancement of technologically was terribly
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idealistic. But, as a writer of fiction, I at least had the opportunity to stimulate others
who had the abilities to turn idea into practice.
Alien invasions, inter-dimensional travel and technology gone awry are topics
normally found in comic books and science fiction movies, not in university
classrooms. But advances in interstellar travel, cloning and Nano-robotics became a
reality during my MLS program, bringing science fiction much closer to reality than
ever imagined before. Because of this, it is quite possible that science fiction as a
genre in fiction or film could become a thing of the past. It is now exceedingly
difficult for sci-fi writers to come up with something that isn’t already developing in a
research lab. Well, there is one exception... a time machine.
Dramatics aside, Innovation Seminar discussions about social and
technological change inspired me to believe time travel is not just a sci-fi fantasy.
My awareness of new technologies in areas outside my own field of interest increased
dramatically. The benefit of having class discussions with instructors and students
from computer science, physics, medicine, business administration and other
academic arenas contributed greatly to expanding my knowledge and
awareness…and my imagination. As I proceeded through my coursework, I began to
believe time travel was a reality just waiting around the New Millennium corner.
I realized the best way to express these feelings and beliefs was to revive Time
Travelers. Since my interests in theater had switched to film, I decided to convert the
stageplay into a screenplay. I also felt this would allow me to reach a wider audience
and an audience more attuned to science fiction than current Broadway audiences.
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Still, I had to face the challenge of defining the future in the story and
resolving both the story and the characters’ conflicts. To the best of my knowledge,
no book on screenwriting ever used strategic thinking as a way to solve script
problems. Dr. Harkin’s seminars gave me a whole new set of tools for artistic
creation.
Creating a character, for instance, involves both problem solving and creating.
Creating, of course, can mean anything from creating a painting to designing one’s
future. In dramatic writing, creating a character is born from a writer’s imagination.
It is in the context of a story and its subsequent plot where character is revealed, and
ultimately changed. Overcoming conflict is how a character changes and grows.
Interweaving story, plot, theme and character involves complex creative
decision-making. Plus, writing for film had its own set of complex obstacles to
overcome. Screenplays are written much differently than stageplays. They are
structured and presented in entirely different ways. So the quest to convert my stage
musical into a film musical became a daunting task. I realized that by using the skills
and methods of Strategic Thinking, I could tackle the complex task that lied before
me.
How will the character change and grow? What obstacles must the
protagonist overcome? How does overcoming these obstacles tell a story? When
does a song work better than dialog in advancing the plot? And, what is that story
about? Strategic Thinking offered solutions to these questions.
Most writers experience some form of writer’s block at one time or another.
Writer’s block is usually a combination of problems in the script and the writer’s own
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personal problems. Strategic thinking helps overcome these problems by not only
offering alternative solutions but principally by empowering the writer with the
ability to create—to design their own future…or a character’s future in a story. The
decision-making process becomes one of not only choosing between alternatives, but
creating alternatives as well.
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Choices
Another Innovation Studies seminar taught by Dr. Harkins called “Designing
Professional Futures” proved critical in showing how the fate of the world is in the
hands of the individual. Clearly, “no man is an island.” So it is within the context of
culture and society the individual makes his/her choices. But, being empowered with
the skills and abilities to design ones own future—personal and/or professional—can
have tremendous impact on the how culture and society as a whole is shaped in the
future.
Some people believe we are shaped by the society and culture we live in.
Such a belief seems to portray people as victims of fate. In terms of being
empowered with the ability to design our own futures, it is more the other way
around, where people individually and collectively shape society and culture.
When I turned my new Strategic Thinking lens on writing fiction, I suddenly
saw the creating of characters in a whole new light. I discovered how characters in a
story come alive by the choices they make in overcoming obstacles. The parallel in
real life was uncanny. An individual’s character in real life is revealed by the choices
and decisions he/she makes. So it is for fictitious characters, where their characters
are likewise revealed by the choices they make. And in turn, real life contains
elements of fiction, as we design or create our own futures.
My characters in Time Travelers became more real. They had a responsibility
for shaping the future of humankind and they would do this by the choices and
decisions they made.
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Through the Professional Futures course an important theory I learned was
Decision Theory. More importantly, I learned how Decision Theory was equally
applicable to characters in fiction as it is to people in real life. Characters in a story—
whether in the form of a novel, play, film or song—make decisions and choices. The
decisions and choices they make determine the outcome of the story and reveal
character.
In the Time Machine novel, H.G. Wells alluded to the choices the human race
makes as a whole and the potential for calamity because of our warring, violent ways.
He also focused on the time traveler as one person with the responsibility to inform
his contemporaries what he discovered about the future. One individual had the
power to shape the future for all humankind.
The characters in Time Travelers were no longer just cartoons or superficial,
but were now motivated individuals with choices, decisions and actions to make. It is
ironic—or perhaps a matter of fate—that despite previous knowledge about theater
and playwriting, I did not really know how to breathe life into my characters.
Faced with conflict and uncertainty about the future, the characters had to
make decisions. These decisions both defined and revealed their character. Survival
depended on these choices and decisions. And, the audience can identify with the
characters because they too are faced with conflict and uncertainty about the future.
Now, my characters had life. Strategic Thinking helped breath life into my
characters.
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Why Love Remains the Dominant Theme
Twenty years ago-when Time Travelers was first conceived I had envisioned a
future where love was the answer to all of humankind’s problems. I still feel the
same way now (2004) as I did in 1980. Even Wells alluded to love as an ultimate
solution without using the word. In the last line of the novel, “gratitude and a mutual
tenderness still lived on in the heart of man.” The significance of this is that despite
the promises of a better life through technological innovation in the Digital Age,
technology alone will not solve all our problems. In a world still divided into the
Haves and Have-nots, it will take much more than technology to find a balance.
Learning how to systematically study the future in Innovation studies was also
a reaffirmation of the past—it reaffirmed who I am. It’s true that the future is now
more “seeable” thanks to Dr. Harkins and future-based studies. By “seeable” I mean
being able to see advances across many disciplines, and how these advances will
influence the future of society and culture on a global scale.
However, believing love is the ultimate solution for both personal and global
problems has never changed for me. Love is often seen as something ethereal,
intangible or nearly impossible to define. But it’s really not that hard to know what
love is. It’s a choice: a choice between caring for others and hurting others.
Paradoxically, wars are sometimes fought or justified in the name of love.
Time Travelers would be the vehicle for me to explore this paradox. In the Time
Travelers story, the conclusion is that war is not an answer to world peace, no matter
how it’s justified. I have yet to figure out if such a conclusion holds true in real life.
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Reaffirmation of prior knowledge is just as critical to personal development or
well being as new knowledge. Innovation Studies is not just about technological
innovation but also, more importantly, about personal innovation. Negotiating
change is contingent upon something that needs to change, to ensure survivability
either in life or the marketplace. But not everything has to change or will change.
Some things remain the same because they are good and they work. I’ve yet to
discover a better innovation than love as the ultimate solution for whatever ails us.
I gained a renewed enthusiasm and belief in the commerciality of Time
Travelers and the positive message it had for audiences of all ages. Love always has
been, still is, and I believe will always be the antidote to global destruction,
destruction motivated by greed, selfishness and ignorance.
The new millennium is no less plagued by poverty, disease, war and crime, as
it was during H.G. Wells’s time, or at any point in history, for that matter. At first it
seems far-fetched to imagine technology as tools of love. But, it is up to us (“us”
meaning everyone on the planet) to decide if we will use technology for good or evil.
We can use technology to build bridges or destroy them. We can use
technology to unite or divide. In the Time Travelers story, a time machine
(technology) is used to bridge the past and future in a way that saves all humankind
and the planet (nature), and not destroy it.
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Defining the Future in the Time Travelers Story: The Celestial Age
In 1980 the stageplay was originally entitled, Time Travelers. In 2000, it
became Time Travelers in the Celestial Age. Creating an “age” was born out of the
many discussions of the Digital Age and/or Information Age, as well as the Industrial
and Agricultural Ages. The Digital Age became my reference point for my own
vision. The Celestial Age was born from the Digital Age.
In the Digital Age, emotion and spirituality still lagged behind knowledge and
information in terms of importance to human survival and happiness. The computer
was a symbol of the brain not the heart. The Celestial Age became an imaginary time
where spirituality, emotion, alchemy, magic, telepathy, astrology and other mystical
realms of human endeavor become the new tools of the future. Traditional arts and
sciences failed to solve the problem of world peace. Learning about technological
convergence in Innovation Studies was key to taking convergence to a new level—a
convergence of heart, soul and mind.
However, the human drive for precision and perfection that governed the
Industrial and Digital Ages was still a major driving force of the Celestial Age; only
now the force had reached Nano-speed. In the Time Travelers story, the technomachine raced into the future and, once the digital cloud of dust had cleared, the
people of the future found themselves on the verge of extinction.
But it wasn’t technology that turned out to be the problem. It was how
humans used that technology. They used it for evil purposes and not for the good of
humankind. In the Time Travelers story, the destruction the travelers found around
them revealed a world still divided by the Haves and Have-nots, and worse yet, a
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world divided by hate. The Celestial Age turned out to be not so utopian after all.
What was missing was a universal love shared by all of humankind.
I would like to believe there is some truth in the Time Travelers story
paralleling real life. What has become blazingly apparent yet indelibly ignored is that
with each technological leap forward humankind emotionally falls backward. We
continue to live in a world of terrorism, war, poverty, hunger, disease and crime. It
would seem that after centuries of discussion, from great philosophers to the
“common man,” we would learn war is never a solution to world peace. The folly or
hope of humankind lies in our hearts. Perhaps in the Age after the Celestial Age
we’ll learn how to do things right.
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The Revision Becomes a Final Draft
Futures-based studies was rewarding because it showed that large, idealistic
questions about the fate of humankind is not just coffee table chatter for sci-fi writers.
Such questions demand concrete, viable and active solutions, solutions that all fields
of endeavor must conspire to answer, from medicine to physics, politics to the
workplace.
Time Travelers in the Celestial Age was no longer just a fanciful journey in
fantasy and philosophy but now a concrete forecasting tool. The future I found
confusing in 1979 now had definition and shape. The future I now envisioned was
called The Celestial Age.
The characters in the story now had purpose and were motivated by the
choices and decisions they made depending on the situations and conflicts they faced.
But they also had desire. They wanted to save the future of humankind. The inventor
was no longer just a cardboard cut-out from the original novel but a man of
innovation now sincerely concerned about human destiny. The activist now became
an ecologist, representing sustainability as a contrasting solution to techno-advance.
The reporter’s mission was one of revealing the truths behind the myths of a perfect
world—a world only experienced by the Haves.
The inventor’s friend now represented and revealed how friendship is an
affirmation of love, and by falling in love with a woman of the future, showed how
love is an ultimate solution for humankind’s problems—across the span of time.
Another character created was a single man of the future, a man who never
knew the meaning of responsibility. This man took his world for granted, but through
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his relationship with the time travelers, learned to see how individual responsibility
plays a role in the overall well being and the future of society.
In lieu of a production, the new-found strengths of the characters will
hopefully inspire audiences to want to face the future with enthusiasm and hope, not
dread and fear. Time Travelers in the Celestial Age is a way for people to see the role
they play in designing the future. It offers a positive vision of the future. While
formulating this vision during the rewrite I felt, as a songwriter, such a vision called
for new songs and a new kind of music.
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Music as a Forecasting Tool and Integral Component of the Story
New characters and a renewed story line called for new songs. Through
Innovation Studies, I was inspired to imagine what music, dance, and other arts and
sciences would be like far in the future. Imagining the future of music inspired me to
explore styles beyond pop and rock and the music of traditional musicals. Thinking
globally about the future meant thinking globally about music as well.
The score for Time Travelers in the Celestial Age now incorporates ethnic
rhythms and sounds, unusual song structures and what hopefully will prove to be
innovative lyrics—lyrics that not only sing of love but also forecast the future. The
script also calls for new forms of dance to express joy, celebration and conflict. Of
course, because the production of Time Travelers in the Celestial Age is a
collaborative effort, contributions of a visionary choreographer will prove critical in
how dance is used interpretively to forecast the future, express emotion and enhance
the story, all at the same time.
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The Future of Music
Thinking about the future of music as it applied to the Time Travelers
storyline stimulated thinking about where the music industry was headed in 5 or 10
years into the future. The Internet was proving to be the vehicle for change. Music
from around the world became far more accessible to a global audience than it did
through traditional means of distribution like CD’s and radio airplay.
Also, major record labels—all owned by major entertainment
conglomerates—no longer dominated the market. Independently produced and
distributed music began to share the same level of exposure as that of the majors.
Major record labels were—and still are--notorious for overlooking artists and songs
considered not commercial enough for music audiences. Independent artists,
producers, and labels—meaning, those not affiliated with major record labels—are
proving there is a market for new music that might not necessarily fit the mainstream
category. This is proving even truer in 2004 than even 4 or 5 years prior.
Behind the Internet, of course, is the computer. Starting in the 1990’s,
composers and musicians began proving digitally generated music to be as viable as
traditional music generated by acoustic instruments. Computer generated music will
not replace acoustic instruments, as some doomsayers feared in the past. However,
an entire orchestral work can be created on a single electronic keyboard (synthesizer).
With further processing in a recording studio, not even the most astute acoustic
instrument followers would be able to tell the difference between acoustic generated
music and digitally generated music.
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The synthesizer is not only capable of reproducing acoustic sounds, but a
whole new palette of sounds never before heard in the history of music. Just as
musical instruments evolved through the centuries, so to will digitally generated
sounds evolve. In the new millennium, the traditional piano is rarely used in
performance, although the sound of the piano is still generated by digital keyboards.
The piano is disappearing, but the sound isn’t.
In song writing, recording, production, marketing and distribution, all phases
of music creation now take place mostly in the digital realm, a trend started during
my involvement in the MLS program and the rewrite of Time Travelers. This has
become a unique combination of two disciplines: technology and music. The same
interplay takes place in film, where digital film is increasingly replacing traditional
35mm film. Even the script for Time Travelers In the Celestial Age was written on
the computer, using a software program for writing screenplays. This is a true
example of convergence, where technology meets art.
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Resolving the Major Conflict in the Storyline
Back in 1979, I thought the only way to resolve the conflict between the two
different tribes—or peoples—of the future was to have one destroy the other.
Through Innovation Studies and learning how to think in new ways, I could see that
the strategy of one group winning and one group losing created an endless cycle of
war and violence. In 1979, love was a ethereal idea for me—a youthful and fanciful
flight in poetic musings. In 2004, I began to see love as something very real and
tangible. I learned love is something expressed through the decisions and actions of
people relating to each other.
I began to see love is the ultimate strategy—a strategy designed as much by
the heart as by the mind. Such a strategy applies to resolving conflicts on a global
scale as much as it does in resolving the conflicts we have with each other—one on
one. In Time Travelers In the Celestial Age, as in real life, the future depends on the
choices we make. A story pitting Haves against Have-nots is also a story about Love
versus Hate. It is painfully obvious what the future holds when we choose hate over
love and that dominance inevitably leads to revolt.
I was not able to think this way—to think strategically about the future—until
after experiencing the new art and science of Strategic Thinking, taught to me by Dr.
Harkins through his Innovation Studies seminars. I now have the confidence to
design my own future. I had also gained the confidence to write a screenplay that
offered a positive vision of the future for others.
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Conclusion
The needs to communicate, express myself, share a vision and gain
recognition are the underlying motivations behind the creation of Time Travelers in
the Celestial Age. Music, theater, film and the Internet are the media I use to carry
out my efforts. Futures-based studies within the MLS program motivated me to
rewrite Time Travelers in the Celestial Age with new projections of the future using
the Digital Age and the New Millennium as a springboard for inspiration.
What I learned, most importantly, was that the future is a matter of
convergence. Convergence is just another way of describing how it takes a multidisciplinary approach to solving world problems and paving the way towards peace in
the future.
In the creation of Time Travelers In the Celestial Age, it is the combined
disciplines of music, storytelling, dance, costuming, set design, photography and
other disciplines that collectively tell the story. As for the future, it will collectively
take medicine, technology, politics, environmentalism, psychology and nearly all
other disciplines to effectively ensure a harmonious effort towards securing peace in
the world.
To tell the story and reveal the theme of how love conquers all—I couldn’t do
it with song alone. Well, I certainly could write a song entitled, “Love Conquers
All.” But if my message was that it takes unity to save the planet, then a
collaborative effort of all the arts seemed more appropriate in telling the Time
Travelers In the Celestial Age story.
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And in that story is the telling of how we will shape the future of humankind.
Medicine alone won’t do it. Politics plays a critical role in how medicine is
distributed equally to young and old, rich and poor. And it does little good to cure the
sick when the environment is being destroyed. Likewise, it takes the arts and media
to get the message (information and knowledge) through on a global scale, so that all
can benefit from advances regardless of discipline or area of human endeavor.
Politicians must consult both environmentalists and technologists. Computer
experts must understand the needs of business in designing programs that will help
develop products and services for the betterment of humankind. Religion and science
must find a common ground.
Most assuredly, it will take a multi-disciplinary effort—a convergence—to
solve world problems and ensure survival and peace for the entire planet.
In creating Time Travelers in the Celestial Age, I wanted to create a single
work that informs, entertains and lifts the human spirit. Hopefully, the screenplay
reflects the importance of fantasy (imagination and art), new ways of thinking/feeling
and love as strategic tools in the construction of personal and social realities and how
we shape the future.
Writing a screenplay is an experiment in uncertainty. Learning how to design
one’s own future through MLS and future-based studies taught me that despite the
odds the ultimate success of Time Travelers In the Celestial Age depends on me. It is
my vision and one I must convince the entertainment community is worthy of
production. In essence, designing Time Travelers Iin the Celestial Age is a quest in
designing my own future.
25
Despite the grandeur—with its sweeping portrayals of the future and larger
than life characters—the work remains intensely personal. The learning achieved
through MLS and in the creation of Time Travelers Iin the Celestial Age is
immeasurable and reaches beyond commercial success or failure. I am designing my
own future, just as the characters in Time Travelers designed theirs.
The future remains unpredictable no matter what choices we make or how
well we strategize. There are forces beyond our control—forces controlled by God,
fate or perhaps even alien life forms! Still, humans will be better prepared to meet
such uncertainty by choosing unity and love. Survival of humanity is a shared
experience.
Unity and love, of course, is not a new discovery. The irony of Time
Travelers in the Celestial Age is that throughout the ages we’ve had the answers all
along. Whether technology was in the form of a club or stick or became weapons of
mass destruction, technology seems incidental to human happiness. Religious
leaders, soothsayers, poets, philosophers, artists and scientists have long predicted
that peace on earth depends on choosing to love one another.
Such idealism is difficult to express in the real world, a world full of painful
realities and daily decision making that leaves little time left for altruism. Perhaps
this helps explain why so many people turn to fiction—theater, film, poetry, music
and dance—as a way to explore higher levels of the self.
Time Travelers In the Celestial Age is written for general audiences. The
desired effect is to help people realize they are not victims of fate and that our destiny
is a shared destiny on a global scale. The story is an expression of what I learned
26
through MLS, Innovation Studies and Dr. Harkins in particular, that the world is not
really about Haves and Have-nots but about each individual living life to its fullest
potential. Will there ever really be a balance between the Haves and Have-nots? In
Time Travelers In the Celestial Age…it’s possible.
27
References
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells served as the basis for Time Travelers In the
Celestial Age and as a launching pad for understanding change and the future. The
book was originally published in 1895 in London, England but has since fallen into
public domain in the United States and other parts of the world. Numerous publishers
have printed it and the full text is available through many online sources. Wells is
considered by some to be the father of science fiction, an honor he might share with
Jules Verne. Still, his influence on science fiction is never underestimated and he was
in the truest sense, an innovator. He was also a sociologist, historian and
humanitarian.
Wells, H.G. (The) Time machine. 1976. Bantam, New York. Bantam is
part of the Random House Publishing Group, New York.
The first full length movie adaptation of the novel was made in 1960, directed
by George Pal, starring Yvette Mimeaux and Rod Taylor. The film was released by
MGM.
Warner Brothers released a more recent feature film adaptation of the story in
2002, directed by Simon Wells, great-grandson of H.G. Wells. The film starred Guy
Pearce, Jeremy Irons and Samantha Mumba.
The William Heinmann Publishing Company allegedly first published The
Time Machine in London in 1895. Henry Holt and Company, New York, published
28
the American first edition in the same year. The most reliable source to date for this
information is the United States Library of Congress.
The Time Machine is considered to be a literature classic with numerous
editions and reprints by nearly every major publisher since its first date of original
publication (and many smaller publishers as well).
For the rewrite of my musical/film adaptation, I used online versions of the
book, found on numerous websites. The two websites I used most frequently were:
http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/timemachine/
http://wells.thefreelibrary.com/Time-Machine
The Internet
The Internet was a major source of information and communication tool in
both my academic pursuits and professional endeavors. Literally thousands of
websites were bookmarked and organized in directories covering a wide range of
subjects. Websites included companies engaged in designing entertainment,
entertainment and music technology sites, technology and entertainment news sites,
sites devoted to sociology, psychology, information sciences, other academic
disciplines and writing and music sites. Most notably was the Internet Movie
Database or IMDB, because of its wealth of information on films and film history.
Dr. Arthur Harkins
Dr. Harkins was the most influential instructor I had throughout my entire
academic career. While others did their best to fill my head with facts, figures and
29
dates, Dr. Harkins taught me how to think critically, the ultimate goal, I believe, of
higher education.
But he accomplished more than that by upping the intellectual ante and
instead of just learning how to think critically, he taught me how to think
strategically. Amazingly, he took the fear out of the future and put responsibility for
a better world in the hands of the individual. I became fully accountable for all that
has happened in my life, give or take a twist of fate or two.
At the world level, even the ethereal and unbelievable now seems
manageable, stuff most people once thought was the domain of science fiction.
Innovation was the key. We have within our grasp the ability to thwart off alien
invasions, meteor showers and even reversal of our destructive and exploitive ways.
It’s all in the choices we make and where technology is concerned, how we choose to
use that technology.
Dr. Harkins showed me how innovation is not just for inventors, but that we
are all innovators—designers of our own futures. Everyday we invent new thoughts,
ideas and actions. We have the ability to create new roles to help us navigate
uncertainty. I became an actor in my own movie...perhaps the most important
screenplay I’ll ever write.
Wells, Stuart. 1998. Choosing the Future. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
In his book, Choosing the Future, Stuart Wells presents a blueprint for
strategic thinking. As the title implies, Wells reflected Dr. Harkins’s premise of how
the future is contingent upon making choices. Although the book was is intended
30
more so for corporate and organizational audiences, the underlying themes were
equally beneficial to any individual.
For me, one of the most important strategic thinking tools presented by Wells
was the Strategic Thinking Cycle. This cycle consists of three phases: Perceiving,
Understanding and Reasoning. Within these phases are three important questions:
“What seems to be happening? What possibilities do we face? And, What are we
going to do about it?”
The Strategic Thinking Cycle was instrumental in showing me how to think in
a non-linear fashion, a way of thinking that greatly appealed to my creative instincts.
The cycle reveals the symbiotic link between thought and action. The book also
ehcoes the use of visualization and storytelling as strategic thinking tools in the quest
to navigate the future.
Egri, Lajos. 1977. The Art of Dramatic Writing. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Lajos Egri’s book, The Art of Dramatic Writing, is considered to be a must
read for dramatic writers as Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is for all
writers. Egri covers all the basics of dramatic writing, placing much emphasis on
developing an idea into a story, creating dynamic characters and understanding the
critical role conflict plays in dramatic stories. Although the emphasis is on
playwriting, the principles presented apply to novels, short stories and screenplays as
well.
31
My Major MLS/Innovation Studies Papers
“Convergence and the Entertainment Society” — The paper provides an
extensive argument on how the Information Age is morphing into the Entertainment
Age. This argument draws on the combination of my own experience in the
entertainment industry, experience as a performing artist, musician and writer, and
from research in communications, technology and online entertainment conducted
through my MLS studies.
“Performer and Venue: The Morphing of Knowledge Worker to Performer
and Knowledge Platform to Venue” — This paper was a reaction to such concepts as
the knowledge management, knowledge workers and the Information Age in general.
The premise was that information/knowledge alone is insufficient in creating
or negotiating change and that ultimately knowledge must be transformed into action
or performance. A knowledge platform is more like a blueprint or schematic whereas
a “venue” is all inclusive of environment and audience.
I learned through MLS studies that carrying out the future depends on
converting decisions into actions. Vision alone is but a dream not yet realized. The
premise is that Performance is more important than Information and that Theory
exists in a vacuum without Practice.
“The PolyActive Self: A Personality Model for Negotiating Change and
Creating the Future.” — This paper started out as a research paper on the subject of
designing personal futures but has since become a book for publication. It set the
stage for what I termed Personal Strategic Enterprise, a concept later developed in
another paper.
32
The PolyActive Self sets forth new theories of the self, based on established
theories in psychology and sociology, and original theories born from the book itself.
The PA was strongly influenced by discussions and research in theories explored in
Innovation Studies, i.e., Decision theory, Game Theory and others. The PA is also
generated from my experience in theater and music as a performer and writer and
connects at the points of futures-based research and role-playing as tools for
navigating the future.
“Strategic Entertainment Enterprise” — This research paper was an
exploration in the design of an enterprise and website designed to market my own
artistic works called SoulStar Galaxy. Much research focused on current trends in
entertainment and technology and traced innovations and companies producing new
forms of entertainment.
The virtual realm was explored in-depth as a means of delivery for new forms
of entertainment with an emphasis on various forms of information management and
media assets management. Enterprise resource planning and other information-age
based strategies were discussed with the goal of applying such strategies at the
personal level.
“ICC Versus the Enterprise” — This paper elaborated on previous research
papers and served as a blueprint for creating, producing and marketing original
creative works independently in competition with the enterprise. I used the term
“Independent Content Creator” as a reference to new enterprise strategies in content
management. Chaos and complexity theories were explored. This work was born
33
from Innovation, Strategic and Futures-based Studies with an emphasis on “personal
development.”
34
Bibliography
For
"In The Celestial Age,"
A Process Paper written in support of my final project,
Time Travelers In the Celestial Age
A Screenplay and Musical
Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota
By
Jerry Flattum
November 2004
Books
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35
Bloom, Allan. 1987. The Closing of the American Mind. N.Y.: Simon & Schuster.
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Cahn, Sammy. 1986. Sammy Cahn Songbook, with a forward by Sammy Cahn.
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Citron, Stephen. 1990. Songwriting: A Complete Guide to the Craft. N.Y.:
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Courlander, Harold. 1979. Negro Folk Music. New York & London: Columbia
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Crane, Diane. 1992. The Production of Culture. Newbury Park, Ca.: Sage Publ.
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Chapter 2: The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media by Stuart
Hall.
Chapter 55: A Post-Modernist Moment: 1980s Commercial Culture and the
Founding
of MTV by John Pettegrew.
36
Chapter 56: Form and Female Authorship in Music Video by Lisa A. Lewis.
Chapter 57: The Effects of Race, Gender, and Fandom on Audience Interpretations
of
Madonna’s Music. Videos by Jane D. Brown and Laurie Schulze.
Chapter 58: Reconstructions of Nationalist Thought in Black Music and Culture
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Kristal B. Zook.
Downing, John, Ali Mohammadi, Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammad. 1995.
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Sage Publications, Inc.
Preface:
A Letter From the Editors to the Beginning Student.
Chapter 1: Culture and Communication by Alan O’Connor and John Downing.
Chapter 2: Forms of Media as Ways of Knowing by Annabelle SrebernyMohammadi.
Chapter 3: Mediating Communication: What Happens? By Joshua Meyrowitz
Chapter 4: How Are Media Born and Developed? By Brian Winston
Chapter 12: The Nature of the Audience by Ien Ang.
Chapter 22: Popular Music: Between Celebration and Despair by Keith Negus.
Egri, Lajos. 1977. The Art of Dramatic Writing. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Ewen, David. 1966. American Popular Songs: From The Revolutionary War To
The Present. New York: Random House.
Ewen, David. 1977. All The Years of Popular Music: A Comprehensive History.
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Feuer, Jane. 1993. The Hollywood Musical. 2nd ed. Bloomington: Indiana
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Flanagan, Bill. 1986. Written In My Soul. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc.
Forte, Allen. 1979, 1974, 1962. Tonal Harmony In Concept and Practice. 3rd ed.
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Franklin, Wayne and Michael Steiner, eds. 1992. Mapping American Culture. Iowa
City: University of Iowa Press. Three essays were used for this paper: Place and
Culture: Analeptic for Individuality and the World’s Indifference by Yi-Fu Tuan;
Place-on-the-Move: Space and Place for the Migrant by Clarence Mondale; “Roots,
Aren’t They Supposed to Be Buried?” The Experience of Place in Midwestern
Women’s Autobiographies by Kathleen R. Wallace.
Fremont, Robert A. 1973. Favorite Songs of the Nineties. N.Y.: Dover
Publications.
37
Furia, Philip. 1990. The Poets of Tin Pan Alley. New York: Oxford University
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the book, Popular Culture and High Culture (bibliographic info n.a.).
George, Nelson. 1992. Buppies, B-Boyes, Baps & Bohos. N.Y.: Harper Collins,
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Green, Stanley. 1990. Hollywood Musical: Year By Year. Milwaukee, Wisc.: Hal
Leonard.
Hall, Tom T. 1976. How I Write songs, Why You Can. N.Y.: Chappell Music Co.
Hamm, Charles. 1979. Yesterdays, Popular Song in America. N.Y.: W.W. Norton.
Hill, Brad. 1994. Midi for Musicians. Chicago: A Capella Books, imprint of
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Jancik, Wayne. 1990. One Hit Wonders. N.Y.: Billboard Books.
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Kottak, Conrad Phillip. 1994. Cultural Anthropology. 6th ed. N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.
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38
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40
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Websites
NOTE: Many of the following websites do not include the homepage from which
the link originated. Also, many of these websites are from the mid-1990’s, and no
longer exist. However, the Entertainment Cyberscope, a guide to entertainment
online, provides more updated URL’s. I created the Entertainment Cyberscope for
the Musesmuse.com website, located at: http://www.musesmuse.com.
Aardvark’s Master Index: http://www.stl-music.com/gen1.shtml#index
A Basic Bibliography for Sonic Studies:
http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/FC/WFAECurriculum/bibsonic
A Business Researcher’s Interests: http://www.pitt.edu/~malhotra/interest.html
41
A Business Researcher’s Interests: A Business Researcher’s Jumpstation:
http://www.pitt.edu/~malhotra/Sites.html
American Recording Industry Guide: http://www.goodnet.com/~amisg/rlm.html
American Studies Web: Performance and Broadcasting:
http://pantheon.cis.yale.edu/~davidp/perform.thml
ASCAP’S Guide To Resources in the Music Business:
http://www.ascap.com: 80/about/resource/resource-guide-toc.html
Audio Links (Gavin): http://www.gavin.com:80/hotlinks/audio.html
Bibliography on synthesizers, MIDI, Computer and Electronic Music:
ftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/DOC/bibliography.html
Bitstream Underground - Music: http://www.bitstream.net/bsu/art/music/
[See Bitstream Underground Recording Company and Virtual Underground]
Bitstream Underground Recording Company: http://www.bitstream.net/bsu/records/
[See Bitstream Underground - Music and Virtual Underground]
BMI: http://bmi.com/
BMI Archive Photos and History - http://bmi.com/photonav.html
Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://stats.bls.gov/
Business Information Sources on the Internet: Statistical, economic and market
information: http://www.dis.strath.ac.uk/business/market.html
Business Information Sources on the WWW (a 7-page listing of business sources and
Website addresses printed by the Business Section of Wilson Library, University of
Minnesota.
Business Researcher’s Interests: A Business Researcher’s Jumpstation:
http://www.pitt.edu/~malhotra/Sites.html
Copyright Abuses - Keyboard, June 1993: http://www.higgs.org/midi/midikeyboard.html
Directory of Music Publishers: http://www.mpa.org/publist.html
. Dot Music (U.K. Industry Guide - Songplugger; other publications):
http://www.dotmusic.com/songpluggerhome.html
Enhanced CD Home Page: http://www.enw.com/enhancedCD/
42
Gavin: http://www.gavin.com/
[See Audio Links and Video Links]
Gopher Menu (Copyright):
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/copyright/circs
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/copyright/carp.lic
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/copyright/carp.lic/general
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/copyright/fedreg/fed95
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/copyright/fedreg/fed96
General Resources: http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/resource.html
GPO Access (Government Printing Office):
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces001.html
HISTRYTC: http://bmi.com/CONTENTS.html
[See BMI]
Important Library Catalogs for Music (LOCIS, RLIN, OCLC:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/~fenske/libcat.html
Industrial Prehistory: New Musical Technology:
http://www.hyperreal.com/zines/est/articles/prehist4/html
Industry Stats Menu (The Music Trades):
http://www.musictrades.com/statmenu.html
Infoseek Guide: Indicators:
...guidep.infoseek.com/DB?tis=852&tid=499&db=101&sv=N1&lk=noframes&col=WW
Internet Movie Database or IMDB
Internet Music Network (Hollywood Music Network):
http://www.screenwriters.com/hn/music/index.html
IUMA in the Press:
http://iuma.southern.com/IUMA/html/news/press.html#rolling_stone
Keyboard Magazine on IUMA:
http://iuma.southern.com/IUMA/html/news/Keyboard.article.html
Kohn on Music Licensing: http://www.kohnmusic.com/
K-Tel: http://www.k-tel.com/
Library of Musical Links: http://www.wco.com/~jrush/music/text/
43
Library of Musical Links: WWW Sites:
http://www.wco.com/~jrush/music/text/www_txt.html
Library of Musical Links: WWW Sites: Resources and Lists of Links:
http://www.wco.com/~jrush/music/text/resources_txt.html
Library of Musical Links: WWW Sites: Record Labels and Music Publishing:
http://www.wco.com/~jrush/music/text/labels_txt.html
Major music links: http://american.recordings.com/WWWoM/mlinks/resources.html
Media Central - Site Source: http://www.mediacentral.com/index/Site
Miscellaneous Resources: http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/misc.html
Muse’s Muse (Songwriting links): Songwriting Articles:
http://www.interlog.com/~elysium/muse/articles.thml
Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association:
http://www.ecnet.net/users/mimusba/meiea/
Music Database: http://kzsu.stanford.edu/eklein/index.html
Music Education Resource Base: http://www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/merb/
Music Links: http://bmi.com/links.html
[See BMI]
Music Network USA: http://www.mnusa.com/mnusa.html
Music Publishers: http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/publ.html
Music Publishers’ Association: http://www.mpa.org/
Music Publisher’s Association: Music Information Resources:
http://www.mpa.org/mir.html
Music USA: http://electriciti.com/namm/music_usa.html
Music Webliography: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/music/music.html
Musicland Stores Corp.:
http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/special/st100/61.html
[See Star Tribune]
Nashville Songwriters Assn. International: http://www.edge.net/nsai/
Net.radio: http://www.netradio.net
AudioNet, http://www.audionet.com
Newsgroup: rec.music.makers.songwriting: news: rec.music.makers.songwriting
44
NMPA’s Music Links Page: http://nmpa.org/links.html
Operating Dynamics (Performing Rights Societies: http://www.nlcbnc.ca/documents/infopol/copyright/massarsk.txt
PAN Network Foyer: http://www.pan.com/pan/
Record Labels, Record Producers, Recording Studios:
http://www.music.indiana.ed/music_resources/recind.html
Record Labels on the Web: http://www.goodnet.com/~amisg/label.html
RE/Search Publications: http://www.postfun.com/research/welcome.html
Rolling Stone: http://www.altculture.com/site/entries-text/rollingxst.html
Songs about the Moon: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/music/moonsong.html
Songwriter’s Guild of America: http//www.gibson.net/fog/sga/index.html
Songwriting Major: http://www.berklee.edu/pages/majors/songwrit.html
Soundwave Directory: http://soundwave.com./directories/directindex.html
Star Tribune 100: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/special/st100/index.html
Star Tribune 100 Rankings:
http://www.startribune.com/stonline/ghml/special/st100/st100cht.html
STAT-USA/Internet Economic Statistical Releases: http://www.statusa.gov/BEN/newsrel.html
tt.net master list of label home pages: http://www.twintone.com/others.html
Twin/Tone Records: http://www.twintone.com/twintone/index.html
[See tt.net master list of label home pages]
Uffda! (Mn. Regional Network):
Uffda! - Arts & Entertainment: Music: Performers:
http://www.mnonline.org/uffda/artsentertainment/music/performers.html
Uffda! - Business & Finance: Companies: Music:
http://www.mnonline.org/uffda/businessfinance/companies/music.html
Uffda! - Business & Finance: Companies: Radio:
http://www.mnonline.org/uffda/businessfinance/companies/radio.html
U.S. Copyright Office Home Page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
45
Video Links: http://www.gavin.com:80/hotlinks/video.html
Virtual Underground (Bitstream Underground Recording): http://www.infonation.com/revo.html
[See Bitstream Underground - Music and Bitstream Underground Recording
Company]
Web Wide World of Music: http://ubl.com/ubl/resource.html
Worldwide Internet Music Resources:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Journals:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/journals.html
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Music Industry:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/industry.html
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Research and Study:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/res.html
WWW Virtual Library: Music: http://syy.oulu.fi/music/
Yahoo! - Entertainment: Music: http://www.yahoo.com/yahoo/Entertainment/Music/
Entertainment: Music:Indices:
http:www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Indices/
Music References
Boardman, Gerald. 1978. American Musical Theater: A Chronicle. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Bloom, Ken. 1985. American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion.
New York: Facts on File Publications.
Dann, Allen and John Underwood. 1985. How To Succeed In the Music Business.
London: Wise Publ.
Fishman, Stephen. 1992. The Copyright Handbook--How To Protect and Use
Written Works. Berkeley, CA: Nolo Press.
Green, Stanley. 1985. Broadway Musicals Show By Show. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard
Books.
46
Halloran, Mark, Esq. 1991. The Musician’s Business and Legal Guide. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Hitchcock, Wiley H. and Stanley Sadie, eds. 1986. The New Grove Dictionary of
American Music. New York: Grove's Dictionaries of Music Inc.
Iossa, Lauren and Ruth Dreier. Composers In The Marketplace: How To Earn A
Living Writing Music. 1989. New York: Meet the Composer.
Karlin, Fred and Rayburn Wright. 1990. On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary
Film Scoring. New York: Macmillan, Inc.
Karmen, Steve. 1989. Through the Jingle Jungle. New York: Billboard Books.
Korman, Bernard and I. Fred Koenigsberg. 1986. “Performing Rights in Music and
Performing Rights Societies”. Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA. Vol. 33,
No. 4, July 1986.
Lax, Roger and Frederick Smith. 1984. The Great Song Thesaurus: Songs and
Where They Come From. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lissauer, Robert. 1991. Lissauer’s Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America 1888
to the Present. New York: Paragon House.
Miller, Fred. 1985. Music In Advertising. New York: Amsco Publications.
Musical Theatre International. 1988. Catalog. New York: MTI Enterprises, Inc.
Pilzer, Herbert R. Semi-Annual. Motion Picture, TV and Theatre Directory. New
York: Motion Picture Enterprises Publications, Inc.
Poe, Randy. 1990. Music Publishing: A Songwriter’s Guide. Cincinnati, Ohio:
Writer’s Digest.
Ruggeberg, Rand, ed. (Annual). Songwriter’s Market. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s
Digest.
Sadie, Stanley, ed. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 6th
Edition. Washington, D.C.: Grove's Dictionaries of Music Inc.
Shemel, Stanley and William Krasilovsky. 1990. This Business of Music: A
Practical Guide to the Industry for Publishers, Writers, Record Companies,
Producers, Artists, Agents. 6th Edition. New York: Billboard Books.
Shemel, Sidney and M. William Krasilovsky. 1989. More About This Business of
Music. New York: Billboard Books.
47
Siegel, Alan H. 1990. Breakin’ In--To The Music Business. Port Chester, NY:
Cherry Lane Books.
Stevenson, Isabelle, ed. 1984. The Tony Award: A Complete Listing with a History
of the American Theatre Wing. New York: The American Theatre Wing, Crown
Publishing, Inc.
Stone, Jr., Al. 1990. Jingles: How to Write, Produce and Sell Commercial Music.
Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest.
U.S. Copyright Office. 1989. Copyright Law of the United States of America--Title
17 Copyrights.
Usher, Nancy. 1990. Your Own Way In Music: A Career and Resource Guide. New
York: St. Martin's Press.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. 1993. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Guide to
Copyright for Musicians and Composers. New York: Volunteer Lawyers for the
Arts.
Wadhams, Wayne. 1990. Sound Advice: The Musicians Guide to the Record
Industry. New York: Schirmer Books.
Wadhams, Wayne. 1988. Terminology. New York: Schirmer Books.
Weisman, Dick. 1990. The Music Business: Career Opportunities and Self Defense.
New York: Cron Publishers, Inc.
Miscellaneous References
Advertising Age: 220 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 (General Info).
Adweek: 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. (212) 536-5336.
Backstage: 1515 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036. Tel: (212) 764-7300. Fax:
(212) 536-5318
Dramatists Guild Quarterly: The Dramatists Guild, Inc., 234 West 44th Street, New
York, New York 10036. Tel: (212) 398-9366. Fax: (212) 944-0420.
Dramalogue: 1456 North Gordon, Hollywood, CA 90028. (213) 464-5079.
N.A. 1993. Commissioning Music: A Basic Guide. New York: Meet the Composer.
48
The Score: Society of Composers and Lyricists, 400 South Beverly Drive, Suite 214,
Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 281-2812.
Theatrical Index: Price Berkley, Publisher, 888 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY
10019.
Screenwriting References
Argentini, Paul. Elements of Style for Screenwriters (Lone Eagle, 1998).
Armer, Alan A. Writing the Screenplay (second edition, Wadsworth, 1993).
Ballon, Rachel Friedman. Blueprint for Writing (1994).
Berman, Robert A. Fade In: The Screenwriting Process (second edition, Michael
Wiese Productions, 1988).
Blacker, Irwin R. The Elements of Screenwriting (Collier, 1988).
Brady, John. The Craft of the Screenwriter (Simon and Schuster, 1981).
Cole/Haag. The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats, Part I: The Screenplay
(CMC Publishing, 1980 [revised edition, 1983]).
Cowgill, Linda. Secrets of Screenplay Structure (Lone Eagle, 1998).
Dancyger, Ken and Jeff Rush. Alternative Screenwriting: Writing Beyond the Rules
(second edition, Focal Press, 1995).
Dmytryk, Edward. On Screenwriting (1985).
Engel, Joel. Screenwriters on Screenwriting (Hyperion, 1995).
Field, Syd. Screenplay (Dell, 1982).
Field, Syd. The Screenwriter's Problem Solver (Dell, 1998).
Field, Syd. The Screenwriter's Workbook (Dell, 1984).
Froug, William. The New Screenwriter Looks at the New Screenwriter (Silman-James
Press, 1992).
Geller, Stephen. Screenwriting (Bantam, 1985).
Goldman, William. Adventures in the Screen Trade (Warner, 1983).
49
Hollywood Creative Directory / Agents & Managers Directory (Lone Eagle
Publishing [updated regularly]).
Hollywood Creative Directory / Producers (Lone Eagle Publishing [updated yearly]).
Horton, Andrew. Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay (Univ. of California
Press, 1994).
Howard, David & Edward Mabley. The Tools of Screenwriting (St. Martin's Press,
1993).
King, Vicki. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method (Harper &
Row, 1988).
Kosberg, Robert with Mim Eichler, How To Sell Your Idea To Hollywood (Harper
Perennial, 1991).
Krevolin, Richard. Screenwriting From the Soul (Renaissance, 1998).
Lucey, Paul. Story Sense: Writing Story and Script for Feature Film and Television
(McGraw-Hill, 1996).
McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of
Screenwriting (Harpercollins, 1997)
Nash, Constance and Virginia Oakey. The Screenwriter's Handbook (Barnes &
Noble, 1978).
Packard, William. The Art of Screenwriting (Paragon House, 1987).
Reichman, Rick. Formatting Your Screenplay (Paragon House, 1992).
Root, Wells. Writing the Script (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979; Henry Holt, 1979).
Seger, Linda. The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film (Henry Holt,
1992).
Seger, Linda. Making a Good Script Great. 2nd Edition (Samuel French, 1994).
Straczynski, J. Michael. The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (revised edition, Writer's
Digest Books, 1996).
Stuart, Linda. Getting Your Script Through The Hollywood Maze (Acrobat Books,
1993).
Trottier, David. The Screenwriter's Bible (third edition, Silman-James, 1998).
50
Vale, Eugene. The Technique of Screen and Television Writing (Touchstone, 1982).
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers &
Screenwriters (Michael Wiese Productions, 1992).
Whiteside, Rich. The Screenwriting Life (Berkley Boulevard, 1998).
Wolff, Jurgen and Kerry Cox. Top Secrets: Screenwriting (Lone Eagle, 1993).
Screenwriting Websites
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- oscars.org
Done Deal -- scriptsales.com
Drew's Script-o-Rama -- script-o-rama.com
Hollywood Literary Sales -- hollywoodlitsales.com
Internet Movie Database -- imdb.com
Screenwriters Utopia -- screenwritersutopia.com
Word Play -- wordplayer.com
Writers Guild of America, West -- wga.org
Writers Guild of America, East -- wgaeast.org
Screenwriting Magazines
Creative Screenwriting
Fade In
Hollywood Scriptwriter
Written By (published by Writers Guild of America - wga.org).
Screenwriter
ScreenTalk
Script Magazine