Behind the Curtain: QuaverEd’s Writing a Musical!
Dr. David Mastran, Co-Founder and President of QuaverEd, is leading a team of Quaver employees and theater-experienced professionals to develop a family-style, Broadway-ready musical. The musical’s purpose is to entertain and show how programs like QuaverReady can help schools become thriving communities.
QuaverEd is a leader in elementary and middle school education, offering curricula in general music, student success skills, health, and physical education. As such, the organization has the expertise to explain how school cultures transform when embracing both students and teachers.
In what follows, we will be tracking the story of the musical. The journey will give a “behind the curtain” look at what it takes to make a successful musical.
QuaverEd is a leader in elementary and middle school education, offering curricula in general music, student success skills, health, and physical education. As such, the organization has the expertise to explain how school cultures transform when embracing both students and teachers.
In what follows, we will be tracking the story of the musical. The journey will give a “behind the curtain” look at what it takes to make a successful musical.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
The story of the musical starts in the Fall of 2021. David Mastran was looking for a way to differentiate the QuaverReady program from countless other competitive offerings. QuaverReady is a standards-aligned PreK–8 curriculum that provides songs, lessons, and activities for educators to teach students the skills for success in school and beyond. Professional development is also included for teachers and administrators.
Dr. Mastran reported, “I originally got the idea for a musical to show how our QuaverReady program could change entire school cultures. Why not explain it with songs in a musical?”
After reading several books on writing musicals, he selected 25 songs from the QuaverReady curriculum and crafted a plot, revising lyrics to fit the storyline.
Having no formal training in the arts, he sought feedback from Quaver staff, family, and friends. He showed the first drafts of the script to Graham Hepburn (VP of Content), Jonathan Nesta (VP of Production), and Cliff Bond (Director of Audio). The team was cautiously optimistic, knowing this would be a considerable undertaking, but excited to see what could come from it.
Over the next two years, the musical One Step at a Time slowly began taking shape. The story revolves around Mrs. Jackson, a school counselor determined to transform her children’s school culture.
Song Preview: Change
“The initial reviews were harsh but constructive and necessary,” he said. At this point, he hired a theatrical consultant in Los Angeles to review the script and songs. Elise Dewsberry reviewed the musical three times about six months apart. Each time, Dr. Mastran revised the musical based on her suggestions while Cliff Bond’s team edited, recorded, and produced revisions of the songs.
Mr. Bond said, “Some songs are on version 20 now.” There is no end to untangling the complexity of a two-hour musical.
Table Read from March 2023
In March 2023, a Table Read took place, where Quaver employees read the script. The exercise yielded over 40 additional improvement suggestions. The team continued to refine dialogue and ensure logical flow, emphasizing the importance of “showing, not telling.”
After all these revisions, Dr. Mastran had exhausted his ability to make further improvements and decided to seek additional help. In Chapter 2, we’ll see what he did.
To be continued…
In August 2024, Broadway director Matt Lenz was hired to critique the musical. Matt has directed Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast, and many others on Broadway. He was faithful to the characters and plot but removed three songs and asked for two new ones to be added.
Matt also introduced Wendy Bobbitt Cravet to the project as a Musical Director. Her background includes being the Musical Director for the Off-Broadway plays Hamilton, Mamma Mia, A Tale of Two Cities, and many more. She collaborated with Cliff to develop piano scores for the songs and immediately felt connected.
“I appreciate the two-fold purpose of the play, which is that it is meant to support and work as a capstone to the curriculum and be an entertaining and meaningful piece of theatre,” said Wendy Bobby Cravet.
In November 2024, David and Cliff flew to New York City, NY, to host a 5-day workshop with rehearsals and a table read featuring professional actors.
“This was the best part of this whole musical process,” said Cliff.
David agreed: “The reading in NYC was extremely valuable.”
While feedback was positive, more adjustments were needed. In January, the team started planning the next steps, including choreography, stage design, and other elements.
At this time, David is exploring venues to test the musical with a live audience. David estimates over 200 people will need to be involved in the final production.
“My biggest takeaway was the attention to detail in this industry. I’m now seeing musicals differently for how much thought has been put into it,” said Cliff.
David shares, “There is no guarantee this will ever be successful—the odds of that are pretty slim—but persistence is the key to success, and there is no shortage of it at QuaverEd.”
Though the road to success is uncertain, follow along for more updates on our journey!
“The show’s themes are important. The story itself is a universal issue. If even one person is inspired, it’s worth it,” said Brian Hull, the director of QuaverEd’s new musical.
More than ever, students, educators, and school administrators need support in their social and emotional well-being. One Step at a Time will combine strong storytelling and creative songs to communicate how a program like QuaverReady can transform the entire school culture.
“We’re excited to share that we recently hired two key members to the musical team: a director and a producer,” said David Mastran, President.
Meet Brian Hull and Holly Shepherd, a collaborative team with a strong background in theater.
Holly has been involved in theater her whole life, performing Off Broadway, producing shows in Germany, and directing in Nashville theaters.
“I loved the vibe at Quaver; it felt very collaborative and creative,” said Holly.
After hiring Holly as the producer, she championed Brian Hull as the director. The pair originally met at Opryland, where they were both performers, and have worked together on many shows over the years.
Brian has also been involved in musical theater his whole life. He worked on the first General Jackson Showboat show at the Opryland, reinvented the puppet program at the Nashville Public Library, and wrote and directed Dollywood’s Imagination Library shows.
Since starting in June, both have hit the ground running.
“My overall role is to manage the people, the places, and the money,” said Holly. “I ensure everyone speaks the same language.”
At this point in the process, Brian works closely with the script to create storyboards and bring the scenes to life.
The team is excited to embark on this journey, especially because it differs from their other projects.
“The great thing is that it’s a brand new show, so it’s an incredible opportunity to create something no one has seen before,” said Brian
Holly adds: “Every time I walk into a meeting, everybody’s excited to plan!”
With the company’s background in music education, the team has dedicated much time to the songs. “The songs are really good and very different from traditional musicals. It’s less Les Mis and more Rocketman,” said Brian. “The songs are shorter, which helps drive toward the direction where the songs comment on the story.”
Although QuaverEd is an expert in music, the team is learning countless lessons, most notably about the many details and roles involved in a production like this.
“From mics to lights, most people don’t think about these things, and we don’t want them to!” said Holly.
The Marvelous (and small) World of Quaver
Interestingly, both have a connection to the company before these roles.
Brian created the composter bust puppets from the Quaver episodes, which are now featured in the Quaver Headquarters.
Holly knew multiple QuaverEd employees from former roles and even directed one of QuaverEd’s employees’ children (who also appear in the Quaver Essentials Episodes) in a show.
The Roadmap
