A Tale of Two Weekends

Project Footlight had a smashing inaugural performance Monday night.  After brainstorming and writing over a single weekend in February, eighteen musical theater writers created a full-length musical in three perspectives on a theme.   Each act of the musical (Mei Yu, Dead Man Blogging,  Office Babe) describes the journey of the lonely and unfulfilled American finding a kind of instant fame on the Internet that reinvents the landscape of their personal relationships.  This past weekend, the Project Footlight company and crew collaborated with the writers to learn and interpret the material.  After a marathon rehearsal period of two and a half days, the company performed the musical in a staged reading format for an audience of friends, family, and Project Footlight fans.  Thanks to an extremely talented cast, two awesome stage managers, the wonderful writers, a superb pianist, and of course Dixon Place for making this improbable and exhilarating experiment in musical theater possible.

Read more about this year's show, learn about the writers, cast, and production team, and get to know the venue.  Stay tuned to the blog for upcoming events and Project Footlight participant news.  If you are a producer, director, or musical director with an interest in developing new musical writers and their work, let's chat.  And last but not least, help us continue to grow by contributing to Dixon Place!

Putting It Together & How: First Draft Reading!

Late this afternoon, the entire writing crew gathered at 161 Chrystie and got their creative groove on.  The musical mojo was on display as all nine teams presented their scenes and songs, written in only two mad-cap, sleep-deprived days.  Without getting into detail, we will venture to say that with eighteen voices like these, this show will offer a lot of something to everyone.  With only two chances to see this totally unique musical event, don't dawdle, dither, or dilly dally - buy your tickets to Project Footlight today!

Writers Get Writing

On Friday night, the Project Footlight team announced the theme to this year's writers and their roles and pairings.  On Saturday morning, we all came together to collectively brainstorm (and freak out!).  Then we figured out how much creative talent had gathered in the room and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  We did some yoga poses (and by "do" we mean "eat," and by "yoga poses" we mean "donuts") and got to work. On Monday night, the writers will share their first drafts with the directors, and then we'll be off to the races.

And (prototypical drumroll please), this year's Project Footlight teams are...

• Will Aronson : David Hilder
• Melissa Li : Leslie Kramer
• Mitch Kess : Pia Wilson
• Ken McCarthy : Scott Ritter
• Alan Cancelino : Owen Robertson
• Mark Weiser : Michael Maiello
• Jeffrey Smith : Rachel Rubin Ladutke
• Brad Howell-Houghton : Daria Polatin
• Adam Cohen : Noel Katz
  
  

The Project Gets Moving: Our Choreographer

Project Footlight is bursting with enthusiasm for Luis Salgado who joins the festival as our choreographer.  Luis is the Latin assistant choreographer and cast member of the Tony Award-winning In the Heights.  He has performed in and choreographed for many other shows and films, including The Mambo Kings, Enchanted, and the new musical Shakira the White Girl.  Luis is also the founder/director of R.Evolucion Latina, a non-profit arts organization. Alison Solomon, who has performed in Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story, and Serenade, and choreographed SWING!, will work with Luis as the assistant choreographer.

In the Details: Our Stage Managers

Project Footlight is very pleased to announce that Emily Andres has joined the festival as our production stage manager.  Emily has worked on Broadway as a production assistant and script supervisor for Billy Elliot and Young Frankenstein, among other productions.  David Steriti, is musical theater performer and was a stage manager for Galveston Island Musicals, will be the assistant stage manager.

You're in Good Company: the 2009 Cast

The Project Footlight Team is oh so psyched about our killer cast for the 2009 festival.  Keep an eye on the Actors page for their updated bios and pictures.

• Whit Baldwin
• Ryan Bauer-Walsh
• Fiona Choi
• Diana DiMarzio
• Nehal Joshi
• Soara Joye-Ross
• Willie Lee-Williams
• Jordan Leeds
• Allison Linker 
• Erica Robinson
• Kelly Sullivan
• Lauren Worsham
• Richard True
  

The Keys to the Kingdom: Our Pianist

Project Footlight welcomes Christopher Chung to the 2009 festival as the company pianist.  Christopher recently graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with degrees in piano performance and has worked with many Broadway performers in the last six months.  In March, Christopher will join the Wicked national tour as a keyboardist.