Bøger af Scott Miller

It's the early 1980s and a bunch of Harvard freshmen are trying desperately to make it through to June. Scott Miller (Harvard Class of 1986) wrote Topsiders after his freshman year. The show eavesdrops on six Harvard freshman, as they navigate their first year away from home, surrounded by nothing but other over-achievers - other "topsiders." A full academic year goes by, from freshman orientation through to summer break, with papers, finals, drinking, Hostess snack cakes, all-nighters, more drinking, dating, homesickness, and the legendary final episode of M*A*S*H.

If you thought that one day you would start preparing your own distillates such as whiskey, rum, moonshine and more and finally decided - this book is for you. No more boring theories, only the most necessary knowledge and practicalrecommendations.Complete guide of home distillation, without any special difficulties andsuitable even for those who have just begun to be interested in home distilling.Try to surprise your guests with your own "cuisine". Now you will have something new to taketo your visit as a compliment.In this book you will know:

ASTROturf is a twenty-minute one-act musical written as a special project for a history of astronomy class at Harvard University in 1984. Five major astronomers, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler, come together and present in song their views on the physics of motion and the heavens.

Topsiders eavesdrops on six Harvard freshman, as they navigate their first year away from home, surrounded by nothing but other over-achievers - other "topsiders." A full academic year goes by, from freshman orientation through to summer break, with papers, finals, drinking, Hostess snack cakes, all-nighters, more drinking, dating, homesickness, and the legendary final episode of M*A*S*H.

It's 1959 and there's pot in the Christmas cookies. What could go wrong? "What if Seth Rogen, Charles Dickens, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cheech and Chong, Christopher Hitchens, Hunter S. Thompson, and John Waters decided to have a baby?" - KDHX "A pot-laced, Dickensian, Cheech & Chong-esque holiday spoof that is reminiscent of when Saturday Night Live was in its heyday." - BroadwayWorld "Surreal nostalgic fun... a hilarious and upbeat musical for mature audiences." - The Riverfront Times "A wacky, if pungent, new look... a snarky (and oddly charming) holiday event." - TalkinBroadway "A fun-filled lampoon of Christianity, middle America and the straight-laced culture of the 1950s." - Ladue News "Resembles the audacious dark comedy material that John Waters and Charles Busch specialize in." - PopLifeSTL So what happens when a family's secrets are all revealed on one outrageous, pot-fueled Christmas Eve in 1959? Poor Harry Goodson is about to find out, as he's visited overnight by his dead brother Jerry, Jesus Christ, Sandra Dee, and Johnny Appleweed, and he finally learns what his family already knows, that the answer to all his problems is marijuana! A wacky companion piece to the unintentionally hilarious 1936 scare film Reefer Madness, this new musical is a tongue-in-cheek response to the War on Drugs and the Culture Wars, a comic look at what a little pot and a little truth can do to a normal, average, Midwestern, American family at mid-century, just as America plunges into the chaos of the 1960s. This volume contains all the songs from the adult, stoner, Christmas musical.

No matter how you approach it, Cats is so much more than a silly dance revue based on some silly poems, so much more than a punchline. Why has Cats been such a huge, longstanding commercial success around the world? Why do people see it over and over? Cats is literally about life and death. Cats is about us. "One of Eliot's great tricks with these poems, and one of the reasons they work so well as a theatre piece, is that they all sound like nursery rhymes, but they all deal in adult themes, like death, social class, community, ego, reputation, irony, fear, desire, sexuality, empathy, memory, death. These poems and these songs are wacky enough for kids, subtextual enough for adults..." - Scott Miller, Rescuing Cats "You must remember what the greatest power in the theatre is. It has nothing to do with sets and special effects. It's what's going on in your minds, and how that affects the minds of the audience." - director Trevor Nunn, to the original Broadway cast If you already love Cats, you'll find even more to love.If you hate Cats, this might just change your mind.

With book, music and lyrics by Scott Miller, IN THE BLOOD is part romance, part Gothic horror, part comedy, exploring the unlikely romance between the vampire Zachary Church and Adam Graham, a hematologist with HIV, in the early years of the AIDS pandemic. If vampires are the only ones who can't be affected by the AIDS virus, do they have some responsibility to pass on their immunity? And for someone with AIDS, what price is too high for acquiring that immunity? When Adam asks Zach to turn him to vampirism so he won't die, Zach is torn. He has vowed never to make another vampire, never to subject anyone else to the horrific loneliness he has known for so long. Ultimately, Zach has to choose between condemning Adam to the tormented life of a vampire or watching him die, knowing he could've saved him.

"Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional." - Chili DavisDate With The Prostate is episode 2 of 8 of the Bumpin' Uglies series, written in an entertaining script format by creators Brandon Wilkinson and S.E. Miller.Marshall behaves inappropriately at Elvis's funeral. Yo-Yo Knickers is paranoid her part in his death will be revealed. The boys have a dilemma over their upcoming prostate exams with their male doctor with the large fingers, until Yo-Yo Knickers throws them a tempting alternative.

Your Heart is Calling takes you through a straightforward process of ensuring that your time, talents and treasures are being channeled into the direction that your heart wants you to go.This book will: -Inspire you to articulate a personal vision for social change-Equip you with a practical plan to contribute your unique gifts to the change you want to see happen-Provide you with a map for transforming your own life in ways that also change the world around you-Show you how to build a powerful team of allies to help you achieve your vision-Validate what your heart is telling you to do to create a world that works for everyone*Formerly titled Transformational Heart

Songs from nine stage musicals, including Adam's Apple (1981), Musical (1983), Topsiders (1984), AstroTurf (1984), The Line (1985), Attempting the Absurd (1992), Breaking Out in Harmony (1994), In the Blood (1995), and Johnny Appleweed (2006).Songs include "Give Me My Cap'n Crunch," "The Children of Izod," "Pushers and Dealers Are People Too," "Zit," "Cupcakes at Seven," "Get Screwed," "Aristotle," "Married or Gay," "Cannabis Dei," "Fucking Up America," "I Tapped That Ass," "Crime is Beauty," "The Christmas Tree Fell Over and Our House is Burning Down," and lots more.

White, a blank page or canvas. So many possibilities. Graphic design for the theatre is a unique art form. It has to communicate a lot of information, much of it subliminal; it has to be attractive and eye-catching; and it has to make the viewer want to know more. That's a lot to ask of a single image. But Kris Wright's poster for New Line Theatre's Anyone Can Whistle in 2001 and Matt Reedy's poster for The Wild Party in 2010, both tell you so much about those shows, and both are really intriguing and enticing. That's what a great theatre poster can do. After all these years, it seems like we should celebrate and preserve the outstanding poster art of New Line Theatre, from 1992 to the present, and the great artists who've designed for us: Tracy Collins, Kris Wright, Matt Reedy, Steve Kutheis, Laura Beard Aeling, Scott Hunt, and Alissa Umansky. New Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the region in the exploration and creation of provocative, adult, alternative, socially and politically relevant work in the musical theatre. New Line was founded in 1991.

The full script and lyrics to JOHNNY APPLEWEED, the 2006 stoner political satire, the first musical ever to make a serious case for the spiritual, existential, and psychological properties of marijuana. Through the lens of this pot-friendly worldview, the show takes aim at issues like American party politics, the War on Terror, the (undeclared) war on America's poor, the American culture of violence, gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana, sexual oppression, and increasingly rabid American religious fanaticism, all through the eyes of the laidback, neo-mythic purveyor of pot, Johnny Appleweed, an itinerant philosopher-stoner, who argues that only through the mind-expanding properties of marijuana can we truly see the Larger Truths, so that we can finally solve our problems and move our civilization forward. A heady mix of Hair, The Daily Show, the films of Kevin Smith, Waiting for Godot, and The Wizard of Oz.Songs include "The Ballad of Johnny Appleweed," "The Scheme of Things," "Fucking Up America," "Cannabis Dei," "Weird Isn't Weird," "Jesus On the Tube," "I Tapped That Ass," "What Would Jesus Do?", "A Great Big Cloud of Smoke," and more...

Meta before meta was cool. With book, music and lyrics by Scott Miller, ATTEMPTING THE ABSURD is one of the first truly postmodern meta-musicals (written 1986-1992, debuted 1992), about a young man named Jason who has figured out that he's only a character in a musical and doesn't actually exist; and his special knowledge has persuaded those around him that he's off his nut. Jason is a fictional character in the real world, but all the people around him are real people in a fictional world. So he sets off on a quest to find The Answers To It All, with his musical comedy sidekick, Chaz. Along the way the two find love (both gay and straight), community theatre friends, a little jail time, and ultimately irrefutable proof that Jason is right after all. Love and a copy of the script to Attempting the Absurd conquer all, and all ends as it should, with a happy, full company reprise.Songs include "I Love You," "Being in a Musical," "The City," "Waltz for Chaz," "Worse Things," "The Optimistic Song," "Old-Fashioned Musicals," "The Big Finish," and lots more.

The family and friends of successful businessman Preston Seaborn have gathered for a benefit dinner for his upcoming political campaign, but barely five minutes into dinner, Preston falls dead into his food, barely noticed by his high-maintenance wife and kids. Seaborn's beleaguered campaign manager Sam Gaines tries to control the ensuing chaos, but when Detective Coffee shows up with some uncomfortable secrets from the Seaborns' past, their only escape may be to serve dessert...

Meta before meta was cool. With book, music and lyrics by Scott Miller, ATTEMPTING THE ABSURD is one of the first truly postmodern meta-musicals (written 1986-1992, debuted 1992), about a young man named Jason who has figured out that he's only a character in a musical and doesn't actually exist; and his special knowledge has persuaded those around him that he's off his nut. Jason is a fictional character in the real world, but all the people around him are real people in a fictional world. So he sets off on a quest to find The Answers To It All, with his musical comedy sidekick, Chaz. Along the way the two find love (both gay and straight), community theatre friends, a little jail time, and ultimately irrefutable proof that Jason is right after all. Love and a copy of the script to Attempting the Absurd conquer all, and all ends as it should, with a happy, full company reprise.Songs include "I Love You," "Being in a Musical," "The City," "Waltz for Chaz," "Worse Things," "The Optimistic Song," "Old-Fashioned Musicals," "The Big Finish," and lots more.

With book, music and lyrics by Scott Miller, ASTRO TURF is a twenty-minute one-act musical written as a special project for a history of astronomy class at Harvard University in 1984. Five major astronomers, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler, come together and present in song their views on the nature of motion and the creation of the heavens.

Have you ever dreamed of being an amazing guitarist? Now at last-the guitar book you've been waiting for! In this new book series you will learn how easy it is to get the results you want in playing the guitar. Discover how to play chords, rhythms (strumming), and the most common chord progressions in guitar music today!

One of the most successful, most iconic, most influential musicals of all time is so much cooler than you think it is! Most people underestimate the intelligence and authenticity of Grease, even those who love the show. So it's time to set the record straight. Originally a rowdy, rebellious, vulgar, and insightful piece of alternative theatre, written by two guys who lived it, Grease was inspired by the rule-busting success of Hair, rejecting the happy trappings of other Broadway musicals for a more authentic, more visceral, more radical theatre experience. It's an authentic snapshot of our country's tumultuous crossing over from the 1950s to the 1960s, throwing over repression and tradition for freedom and adventure and cultural chaos, a moment when the styles and culture of the disengaged and disenfranchised became overpowering symbols of teenage power and independence. But even the show's biggest fans can misunderstand it, for example, accepting the widespread belief that Sandy "becomes a slut" to win Danny at the end of Grease, even though the opposite is true. Sandy rejects the cultural oppression of the Fifties, and for the first time, she claims her own body, her curves, her sexuality. Though it might not be obvious, Sandy is the protagonist of Grease, and the story ends not with her submission, but with her newfound freedom and self-possession, with strength. Take another deep dive with musical theatre scholar and historian Scott Miller, to see how Grease was created, what makes it tick, what we can learn from it, how it's changed over time, and so much more. Haven't you ever wondered...What actual 1950s songs inspired the songs in Grease?Why is Sandra Dee such a potent metaphor?Why is "All Choked Up" a better finale than "You're the One That I Want"?What is the end of the show really about?Why is Grease 2 so bad?

Here's a collection of fifteen fresh, original wedding songs, perfect for before or during your ceremony, or at the reception, specially tailored to what you want to express on your special day. No need to go hunting for pop songs that don't quite capture the singular emotions of your wedding day. Here, all in one book, are all the songs you could need, including songs that will speak to your unique circumstances. And several of them can be performed as solos or duets!"Our Friends" is a heartfelt thank-you from the happy couple to the friends and family who are a part of this special day and whose love and support will be an important part of this new future together."Only Us" celebrates the special magic that comes only from this utterly unique couple."Sometimes" (solo or duet) is about that rare moment when you find someone truly special and you realize how right it is."For Love" offers up the only cure for the madness of everyday life - real human connection."Here We Are" (solo or duet) celebrates the glorious certainty of love in the midst of all of life's uncertainty."You" is about the great good fortune and gratitude you feel when you finally find The One."You Make Me the Best Me" expresses the understanding that your loved one makes you so much more than you could ever be alone. As the lyric says, "You make me the best me that I could ever hope for.""You Saved Me" overflows with joy and gratitude for making each other's lives so much richer."We Are These Rings" (solo or duet) celebrates the powerful symbolism of the wedding rings."Beside You" celebrates the Unity Candle and the way two lives - two "lights" - blend together into one."You're My Miracle" (solo or duet) is the rare song specially written for the dance with the groom and his mother at the reception, about the joys and tears of watching your son grow into an adult."A Perfect Work of Art" is for the dance with the bride and her father at the reception, about the strong, smart, powerful woman his little girl has become."This Time's the Charm" is a clear-eyed anthem for those second (or third) marriages, when you've learned from your past mistakes and finally found The Real Thing."I Wish You Could Be Here" remembers the loved ones who can't be there for this special day. The lyric says it all: "I wish you could be here, but I know you are.""They Were Wrong" is a gently funny song about all the people who were sure this would never work.

How Could Christmas Get Even Better?By Adding Broadway Musicals to The Holidays! Here are 25 well-loved Christmas carols refashioned for the hard-core fan of Broadway musicals, in new vocal arrangements with all-new lyrics related to musical theatre - funny, serious, smartass, cynical, reverent, poignant songs that will make you laugh, that will make you think, that will remind you why you love musicals so much. Some of the songs include "O Little Shop of Bethlehem," "God Rest Ye, Mad Thenardiers," "Away in a Mame Tour," "I Heard You Screlt On Christmas Day," "What Squip Is This," "Here We Come A-Chorusing," "O Come, All Ye Rent Heads," "Jolly Old Steve Sondheim," "Carol of the Flops," "Shrek, the Herald Angel, Sings," "O Hamilton," "O Holy Stage," and other gems.

With book, music and lyrics by Scott Miller, JOHNNY APPLEWEED is a stoner political satire, the first musical ever to make a serious case for the spiritual, existential, and psychological properties of marijuana. Through the lens of this pot-friendly worldview, the show takes aim at issues like American party politics, the War on Terror, the American culture of violence, gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana, sexual oppression, and increasingly rabid American religious fanaticism, all through the eyes of the laidback, neo-mythic purveyor of pot, Johnny Appleweed, an itinerant philosopher-stoner, who argues that only through the mind-expanding properties of marijuana can we truly see the Larger Truths, so that we can finally solve our problems and move our civilization forward. A heady mix of Hair, The Daily Show, the films of Kevin Smith, Waiting for Godot, and The Wizard of Oz, the show debuted in 2006. Songs include "The Ballad of Johnny Appleweed," "The Scheme of Things," "Fucking Up America," "Cannabis Dei," "Weird Isn't Weird," "Going to See the President," "Jesus On the Tube," "A Prayer for Harvard," "Barney," "Fannie Mae's Lament," "Use Your Brain," "Comes a Time," "Holy Fucking Shit," "Here's President Birch," "It's a Leader's Job," "A Prayer for Wal-Mart," "I Tapped That Ass," "It's Up to Us," "I'm a Real Man," "You May Be a Good Man," "What Would Jesus Do?", and "A Great Big Cloud of Smoke."

It's Michael's thirty-fifth birthday, and his friends are coming over to celebrate, for better or worse, as he grieves over his advancing age in a youth-obsessed culture, and also over his inability to find a smart gay comedy with nudity to fill his small theatre company's bank account. And his late-arriving surprise birthday present will just make it all worse. Much worse.Head Games takes pot shots at pop culture at the turn of the new century and at itself, and it doubles back on itself structurally, playing the story out of chronology - so that as Act II opens, you realize that much of what you thought happened in Act I isn't what it appeared...

Part romance, part Gothic horror, part comedy, the vampire musical In the Blood explores the unlikely romance between the vampire Zachary Church and Adam Graham, a hematologist with HIV, in the early years of the AIDS pandemic. If vampires are the only ones who can't be affected by the AIDS virus, do they have some responsibility to pass on their immunity? And for someone with AIDS, what price is too high for acquiring that immunity? When Adam asks Zach to turn him to vampirism so he won't die, Zach is torn. He has vowed never to make another vampire, never to subject anyone else to the horrific loneliness he has known for so long. Ultimately, Zach has to choose between condemning Adam to the tormented life of a vampire or watching him die, knowing he could've saved him.

ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.This book is entertaining, informative, and really easy to read and understand. It's short enough to read in one sitting or you can flip open to any page and find something worth thinking about. The second in writer-director Scott Miller's ABCs series, The ABCs of Acting in Musicals: A Civilian's Guide is a fun, easy-to-read, totally non-intimidating way to get a basic understanding of the very difficult craft of creating a solid performance in a stage musical, including a brief history of musicals, a brief survey of acting methods, myths about musicals and about acting, useful musical theatre terms, good books and documentaries, plus a wide array of other related topics, like using silence and stillness, the Fourth Wall, realism and naturalism, playing funny, playing sexy, acting traps, audition tips, the nature of "reality" onstage, and lots more. Even trained, experienced musical theatre actors may learn something from this little book! What exactly is musical theatre acting? How is acting in a musical different from acting in a play? Is acting in a musical harder than acting in a play? What are the acting "methods" actors talk about? How do you navigate the "reality" inside the story and the reality of being onstage in front of an audience, all while singing and dancing? What really makes a musical tick? What kind of work goes into it?

This book is filled with about 400 questions designed to make the serious musical theatre fanboy and fangirl think about musicals, how they operate, how they interact with each other and with the Real World, how they are related, how they have and haven't changed over the years, what they have been and what they are becoming in this new Golden Age of the American Musical Theatre.You can flip through this book, land on any page, read a question, and test yourself on your knowledge, insights, and opinions about musicals. Or you can make it a game with your similarly obsessed friends. Or you can use it to humiliate posers who only pretend to know our beloved art form. Your choice. But wield your power carefully.The primary purpose here is just for serious, hardcore, musical theatre fans to have lots of musical theatre fun with other serious, hardcore, musical theatre fans. Or with themselves. But remember - alone is alone, not alive.

Are you going to direct a musical?Are you thinking about directing a musical?Are you terrified of directing a musical?THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.This book is entertaining, informative, and really easy to read and understand. It's short enough to read in one sitting or you can flip open to any page and find something worth thinking about. The third volume in writer-director Scott Miller's ABCs series, The ABCs of Directing Musicals: A Civilian's Guide, is a fun, short, easy-to-digest, totally non-intimidating way to get a basic understanding of the very difficult craft of directing a stage musical, including a brief history of musicals, a brief survey of acting methods, useful musical theatre terms, good books and documentaries, plus a wide array of other related topics, like directing traps, creating expressionistic staging, film tricks for the stage, directing comedy, using stillness, the nature of time and reality in a musical, the Fourth Wall, realism and naturalism, escapism, protecting the actors, and lots more. Even trained, experienced musical theatre directors may learn something from this little book!

Get ready for a mind-blowing trip through the Broadway musicals of the most fearless and influential artist in the history of the American musical theatre, Stephen Sondheim. Enjoy this eye-opening journey through sixteen Sondheim musicals, in-depth explorations of West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Evening Primrose, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, and Passion; plus some brief stops at some of his other musical and non-musical projects over the years. Join musical theatre director, writer, scholar, and fanboy Scott Miller for his tenth collection of fascinating, insightful, deep dives into amazing Broadway musicals. See how these ground-breaking shows were created, what makes them tick, what we can learn from them, how Sondheim's work and the art form changed over his career, and so much more.

"What stops us from succeeding? Do we not believe in ourselves? The most critical part of achievement might be perspective. Creating self-confidence takes focus and determination. But accomplishing great ambitions is possible. We can become the people we want to be and have our dream careers. The first step is to embrace change. Next, is to examine our lives. What do we truly want? when you have answered this question, you have found your North Star. Follow it and you will evolve--personally and professionally--while you climb to the Summit. The Summit Mindset is based on insights the authors have acquired through experience and study. They developed a methodology to guide careers, grow revenues, exercise positive influence, and deliver happiness. In business, this increases productivity by improving the lives of employees, who become a part of something greater than themselves. The authors share stories of their experiences while providing examples of what makes companies and individuals excel when other falter. No matter who you are or what you do, you can increase performance by using the processes and perspectives outline in these pages"--

The way some histories portray the advent of musicals, youd think the genre emerged fully formed with Show Boat. Yet in truth, it took root decades earlier. In Strike Up the Band Scott Miller tells the whole story of musicals, pulling back the curtain on the amazing innovation and adventurousness of the art form, revealing its political and social conscience, and chronicling its incredibly rapid evolution over the last century. Strike Up the Band focuses not only on what happened on stage but also on how it happened and why it matters to us today. Its a different kind of history that explores the famous and, especially, the not-so famous productions to discover the lineage that paved the way to contemporary musicals. Digging into 150 shows, Miller offers a forward-looking perspective on treasures from each erasuch as Anything Goes, West Side Story, Hair, and Rentwhile also looking at fascinating, genre-busting, and often short-lived productions, including Bat Boy, Rocky Horror Show, Promenade, and The Capeman, to see how even obscure or commercially unsuccessful musicals defined and advanced the form. Moving decade by decade, Miller offers insight and inside information about the artistic approaches various composers, lyricists, bookwriters, and directors have taken, how those approaches have changed over time, and what social and historical forces continue to shape musical theatre today. He provides a strong sense of what groups have historically controlled the industry and how other groups hard work and vision continue to change the musical theatre landscape for the better. In fact, Strike Up the Band opens a new and vitally important discussion of the roles played in the musicals history by people of color, by gays and lesbians, by people with disabilities, and by women. It frames musical theatre as an important, irreplaceable piece of American history and demonstrates how it reflects the social and political conditions of its timeand how it changes them. On Broadway or off, Strike Up the Band is as adventuresome, detailed, and thoughtful in tracing the story behind the musical as it is in celebrating the forms diversity, vigor, innovation, and promise. Join Scott Miller not only in commemorating great moments on stage, but in gaining a powerful understanding of what the musical was, what it is today, and what it is becoming.