March 8, 2020
In this revealing podcast, Drew talks about the inspiration and journey he took as a young budding musician and how he started writing musicals. The episode features previously unheard songs from Drew's earliest years, including his first attempts at songwriting and for composing for the stage. It's "warts and all" - but after all, we all started somewhere, and that somewhere is part of who you are as a creative person today.
January 26, 2020
In this second Composer Spotlight, Drew interviews Vidya Makan; Australian composer, writer, actor, and singer! Vidya talks about her journey as a musical theatre composer, and what inspires her to write. You'll also hear exclusive live recordings from her song-cycle "My Home Too", and the behind-the-scenes stories of her other works and stage performances.
December 17, 2019
It's Christmas, and Drew has broken out the festive cheer by looking at writing ... grinch songs? Yep, that's right: in this Christmas special of "From Inspiration To Stage", Drew talks about the process of writing an anti-Christmas song, complete with exclusive demos from the writer himself. So, get your eggnog and put your feet by the fire (or if you're in Australia, grab a cold one and start the BBQ) and enjoy this lighthearted delve into the Christmas spirit - Grinch-style!
November 13, 2019
It's the song that sits right at the end of the show, but before the finale: a trope of the "golden age" of musicals where shows began at 8.30pm. However, what is this mysterious convention and is it used today? Join Drew on a little journey into the heart of the 11 o'clock number, and hear several songs from his own shows, including "The Impossible Princess", "Marking Life", "Somewhere To Fight For", "Cafe Latte" and an exclusive new song from "Electric Dreams: The Musical".
June 28, 2019
It's the first big number that the audience sees and hears, so what should the Opening Number of a show actually do? In this podcast, Drew explores the purpose of the opening number and breaks it down into 5 key points. Listen in and you'll hear exclusive tracks from The Tree Of Life, A Different Normal, The Impossible Princess and his brand new musical Electric Dreams.
June 23, 2019
Welcome to a new branch of From Inspiration To Stage, where we get to meet some of the great up and coming/established composers of the Australian Musical Theatre scene! In this first "Composer Spotlight" podcast, Drew interviews Jye Bryant, a composer based in Sydney, who has found success with his musicals The Things I Could Never Tell Steven and The Velveteen Rabbit. Hear exclusive songs from Jye's shows and get behind the mind of this amazing Aussie theatre composer.
April 19, 2019
In a very honest and open episode "From Inspiration To Stage", Drew talks about the six key lessons he's learned about writing musicals from writing musicals and features some exclusive demos that have never been heard before. He reveals some of reasons his very early shows didn't work, while offering a little advice for all musical theatre composers based on his own failures and successes.
March 2, 2019
It's the age-old question: which comes first? In this episode, Drew calls on four of Australia's musical theatre composers to answer it, including Cal Siberstein, Caitlyn Burt, Peter J Casey and Jye Bryant. Together they explore the role of music and lyrics and the process in how a song comes to be created. The podcast also features songs from "Fairybread", "Ferdinand", "The Things I Could Never Tell Steven", "The Bubble", and an exclusive unreleased track from Drew.
February 9, 2019
In this episode, Drew explores the role of the classic "I Want" song in a musical and is joined by several special guests! The podcast features songs from several new Australian musicals including Staffroom, Melba, Stalker: The Musical, A Postcard From Coney Island, and Drew's own Electric Dreams: The Musical We also hear from some of their creators, writers and composers, as they give their perspective on writing the "I Want" song. So join Drew along with Sophie Loughran and Ned Dixon, Nicholas Christo, Alex Giles, and Cal Silberstein, as they explore this classic musical structure.
January 13, 2019
In this second episode, Drew explains a simple way to help flesh out your idea. After all, before you get writing, you need to know where you're going with your story! This episode also features songs from his youth musicals "A Different Normal" and "Disconnected", as well as tracks from "The Impossible Princess" and the award-winning "Marking Life".