Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: Princeton University

Title of entry: Princeton Atelier Students Help Create Original Rock Musical, “Athens, Georgia”

About this entry: In a spring 2022 Princeton Atelier course, “Athens, Georgia,” students had the opportunity to collaborate with Tony Award-winning composer Stew and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon on a rock musical based on the Greek play “The Frogs” that these faculty were developing. The Princeton Atelier prides itself on offering courses "that will happen only once" and Athens was no exception. The communications team wanted to go inside the classroom and capture the process of creating a rock musical with a focus on Princeton students helping to shape a project that could one day move to Broadway.

To create this video, having access to the students and faculty was key. Throughout the semester we joined the class at intervals and filmed students using their multitude of talents to provide dramaturgical input, refine lyrics and music, and present a staged reading before a live audience. Student involvement was high and our camera captured the action.

The documentary was anchored by interviews with students and their instructors who told the story of the musical’s evolution from the first day of class to the final staged reading.The video was enhanced by cinema verite video clips and a rock music soundtrack provided by the musical’s original score performed by the students.

The primary goal was to show—not just tell—the story of how a musical is made, to get behind the scenes (which our audiences love), to highlight the extraordinary opportunities our students have, and tell the story of the Princeton Atelier.