How to Work with a Music Director
Make it Sparkle Video with Kim Grigsby
Broadway Music Director
3:28 (runtime)
Director’s Notes
In this insightful video, Broadway Music Director Kim Grigsby (FLYING OVER SUNSET, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) shares her expert tips on collaborating with a music director for a theater production. She emphasizes the importance of clear communication, flexibility, and an openness to new ideas in achieving the director's vision.
Kim identifies as a "dramaturgical music director," focusing on the scene's emotion and storyline rather than a more technical approach to music.
She notes that different music directors have varying preferences, with some liking specific musical references, while others, like herself, prefer a more thematic approach.
Clarity in communication is key. Directors don't need to be musically trained, but they should be specific about what they want to achieve emotionally or contextually in a scene.
Long-term collaborations, like the one between James Lapine and Michael Starobin, often result in a "shorthand" that enhances the musical elements of a production.
A successful collaboration requires an abundance of ideas and the willingness to adapt or discard them as needed to fit the overall vision of the show.
About Kim Grigsby
Kimberly is a music director and conductor based in New York City. Her Broadway career spans 24 years, enjoying collaborations with composers Jeanine Tesori, Adam Guettel, Tom Kitt, Daniel Messe, Duncan Sheik, Michael Friedman, David Byrne and directors George C. Wolfe, Michael Mayer, Bartlett Sher, James Lapine, Alex Timbers, Pam MacKinnon, Kathleen Marshall, Leigh Silverman and Julie Taymor. Her credits include the original productions of To Kill A Mockingbird; Caroline, or Change; Spring Awakening; The Light in the Piazza; Head Over Heels; The Full Monty; Amélie; Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; The Fortress of Solitude; Here Lies Love; and this season’s Flying Over Sunset.
Other collaborations include The Light In The Piazza with Renée Fleming, for The Royal Festival Hall in London, LA Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera; and the premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s The Lion, The Unicorn and Me for Washington National Opera.