Music Theatre International is calling on theatres and schools across the world to get involved in a special weekend-long celebration of local theatre.
Developed by the theatrical licensing agency with the support of authors, the musical revue-style event All Together Now!: A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre will be scheduled to mark the return of live performance.
Unveiling details of the ambitious project, MTI Europe’s managing director Seán Gray said: “Since March, despite enormous challenges, theatres across Europe have tried valiantly to continue performing whenever and however they can.
“Shows have taken place in pub gardens, makeshift outdoor venues and theatres with greatly reduced capacity during the latter half of 2020 and into 2021. MTI’s All Together Now! will be a powerful way for theatre folk everywhere to celebrate the ‘great reopening’ while raising funding for theatre companies as they recover from the financial impact of the pandemic, and plan for a more hopeful future.”
MTI’s chief operating officer and director of education and development, John Prignano added: “We wanted to find a way for everyone in the theatrical community to come together and connect through our shared love of theatre. We knew that with MTI’s reach and resources, we could help affect positive change.
“We worked together with our authors, global offices and business partners to offer schools and theatres across the world the opportunity to kickstart their programs with an exclusive musical revue of MTI songs.
“MTI’s All Together Now! is our way to say ‘thank you’ and give back to all of the hard-working directors and teachers who give so much of themselves to this art form every day.”
The songs featured in the revue will be made available free-of-charge with none of the usual rental or royalty fees attached. Participating organisations will be able to license MTI’s All Together Now! as a fundraiser for their own theatre and will be able to perform it live, streamed or as a combination of both.
Commenting on the project MTI’s president and CEO, Drew Cohen said. “Now, as we are hopefully on a more discernible path to the return of live theatre, they (authors and rightsholders) are contributing material from their beloved (and valuable) shows for our customers to perform in their own venues.
“While we are realistic and sensitive to the fact that the pandemic remains a reality and unpredictable, we couldn’t be more proud or more excited to plan MTI’s All Together Now! as a way to signal to the world that theatre is coming back.”
Paying tribute the writers whose work will feature in the revue, Carol Edelson, MTI’s senior vice president for professional licensing, said: “The theatre industry is essentially like one big family. We are grateful to the authors who are helping us create an entirely new show for theatres to present to their patrons.
“We hope that by offering this stellar new revue on a complimentary basis, theatres can use MTI’s All Together Now! as a way to generate funds for their programs. We’ve never done anything like this before, and we can’t wait to see how our customers embrace this brand new work.”
Further details on the date and instructions on how groups can participate in the event will be announced at a later date. Groups can sign up to the event mailing list at www.alltogethernowmti.co.uk.
Angela Thomas
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