At the beginning of the year I directed and produced an industry reading of a new play by NC playwright Jonathan Fitts, a suspense/thriller based on the real life of Clark Rockefeller, a German man who moves to the US and takes on the persona of a Rockefeller, which he is able to maintain for years until he is accused of kidnapping and double homicide.
Following that reading, I took a General Management gig with a new musical premiering in one of the many festivals here in the city. It gave me a lot more experience on the management end and I learned a ton from the experience.
This month has been the biggest to date, however. Thank goodness for Cap's film class, because I am directing my first short film this month that starts filming next weekend. It's a simple situational comedy but it's great experience and a whole new world. I'm very fortunate that they have a knowledgable Director of Photography that will help me get through it alive! The filming will wrap at the end of the month, with editing continuing through August and ideally a final cut by September.
This July I also accepted the position of Co-Artistic Director at Musically Human Theatre Productions, a company founded in 2010 which "engages, inspires, entertains and challenges audiences with provocative, alternative, politically and socially relevant works of musical theatre: daring, intelligent theatre about contemporary issues." It's an awesome company with some incredibly talented and driven folks, and I'm very fortunate to have joined in for the ride. I think one of the coolest things about this company is we are actually developing and licensing new work that is smaller and more intimate, pieces that the bigger nonprofits aren't always able to bring in to their large houses. The second show of our upcoming season, Time Between Us, premiered in NYMF last year and moved to Serenbe Playhouse in GA for further development, and we are only the third company to produce this show. It is a gorgeous two-person musical: the score and book were fantastic even last year at NYMF and while I haven't seen the revised book/score, I am sure the piece has made several improvements since I was able to see it last. The rest of our season will include Next to Normal in the Fall, a developmental read and a benefit concert of new composers. Here's the website for the company in case you have the time to check it out: www.musicallyhuman.org.
I will certainly do my best to keep you updated on everything I'm up to here. It's a wild ride, but a lot of fun too!
