Omaha Natives and writers of "Heaven Come Home" and "Little Brown Boy" share their experiences writing about grief, focusing on love, and sharing their unique voices.
HOLLY REED is the owner and Creative Director of Reed Creative Group, an award-winning design studio, and CEO of MusicalWriters.com, a resource to encourage and equip new musical theatre writers. In addition to bringing over 20 years experience in creative direction, marketing and brand consulting for the non-profit, startup, and entertainment industries, she is also a speaker, writer, and coach to aspiring entrepreneurs and dreamers of all sorts.
Anant Das (“un-nunth”) (He/Him) is a two-time Tony Nominated theatre and film creative producer and CEO of Broadway Boxed Up, the longest-running theatre-themed subscription box with a focus on elevating BIPOC, Deaf, and disabled theatrical voices, connecting fans with the Broadway world, and reimagining theatregoers’ relationship with merchandise. He is a Co-Executive Producer of “Summoning the Spirit” which made its film premiere at the Miami Film Festival in March 2023. He is a co-producer of NEW YORK, NEW YORK, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL, and THE PIANO LESSON on Broadway, KINKY BOOTS Off-Broadway, as well as Associate Producer of WINDFALL Off-West End. In addition, Anant has experience as an investor with A STRANGE LOOP (Tony Award Winner for Best Musical), FAIRYCAKES, the Museum of Broadway, and the Broadway Makers Marketplace (the first Broadway Pop-Up Shop for fans, by fans). With a background in financial valuation, computer science, and as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Anant is passionate about the intersection of theatre, tech, and finance, as well as energized to increase access to both theatrical opportunities and theatre education. Recognized as one of the “Class of 2019’s Best & Brightest” by Poets&Quants, Anant’s interest in exploring how innovation can disrupt the arts began when he attended the top ranked public high school in the US. He is a 2022 member of both the TEDxBroadway Young Professionals cohort and the Theatre Producers of Color and serves as a Board Member of the New York Theatre Workshop’s 4th Street Bar Association.
Melissa Leilani Larson (she/her) is a mixed-race Filipino playwright based in Salt Lake City. Her adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE sold out its entire run at the Hale Center Theater Orem earlier this year; it will appear at the Texas Shakespeare Festival in July and at a number of theatres across the country next season, and will be published by StagePartners. Mel wrote the book for the new musical RELATIVE SPACE, featuring songs by rising music star Kjersti Long. Other recent productions include THE POST OFFICE and THE ORPHANAGE at Liahona Prep; MESTIZA, OR MIXED at Plan-B Theatre; GIN MUMMY at Mesa Community College; PERSUASION at Utah Valley University; SWEETHEART, COME at Tabor College; LITTLE HAPPY SECRETS at InHouse Theatre; BITTER LEMON at Adobe Theatre. Other plays include PILOT PROGRAM, MOUNTAIN LAW, LADY IN WAITING, and MARTRS’ CROSSING. Mel’s film work includes: JANE AND EMMA and FREETOWN and the shorts “Patience” and “Iscariot.” Accolades include: 2022 AATE Distinguished Play award, the IRAM Best New Play award, two Salt Lake City Weekly Arty awards, four AML drama awards and the Mayhew award. Mel is a Bay Area Playwrights Festival finalist (2023 Honorable Mention), a Portland Center Stage finalist, and an O’Neill semi-finalist. She is a member of the Plan-B Theatre Lab, Honor Roll!, and the Dramatists Guild. MFA, Iowa Playwrights Workshop. melissaleilanilarson.com
Two of their shows, Parcel from America and Allie Kazan premiered last year.
Their 11 musicals include Chaps! and Dogpark: the Musical (Concord Theatricals); Holmes and Watson Save the Empire (Ovation Award for "Best Small-Cast Musical"); Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin's The Doll People; and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical (Broadway Licensing), which has been produced by more than 200 theaters since its premiere in 2016.
Jahnna is co-author with Malcolm of more than 130 books for young adults (www.jahnnanmalcolm.com). She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors Equity. Malcolm is an award-winning narrator of nearly 300 audiobooks (www.malcolmhillgartner.com) member, SAG-SFTRA, ASCAP, AEA).
Please see:
www.ParcelFromAmericaMusical.com
www.alliekazan.com
www.bestchristmaspageantevermusical.com
www.jahnnanmalcolm.com
www.malcolmhillgartner.com
Facebook: ParcelFromAmerica
Michael J. Sinder, Esq. is a theater and entertainment lawyer. He opened The Law Office of Michael J. Sinder in October 2014. His professional career, spanning more than twenty years, includes serving clients in a variety of roles, including working as an in‐house lawyer and Director of Business Affairs, outside legal counsel, an agent, as well as other positions in the theater industry. His diverse experiences allows him to not only offer clients advice on legal matters, negotiations and contract drafting, but also provide helpful guidance on business decisions and customary practices. He takes a personal, detailed and thorough approach to his work and serves as a trusted advisor to his clients.
This episode does not contain any legal advice, all content is for entertainment purposes only.
This week's episode feature four amazing writers!
Judy Pancoast - "Girl on the Moon"
Wayne Morris and Glenn Freedman - "Bound! The Musical"
https://www.boundthemusical.com/
Ruth Broyde Sharone - "Interfaith: The Musical"
https://www.interfaiththemusical.com/about-ruth
About Jennie
Writer/performer of solo comedy Under The Jello Mold (2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival winner: Best Solo Performance, Producer’s Encore and Pick of the Fringe). You Mutha! A One-Mother Show (2-year run in Los Angeles/2005 N.Y. Fringe Festival). Other playwriting credits: Broads! The Musical (book – El Portal Theater), Does It Make A Sound?(One of the Four Tree Plays – Hollywood Fringe), 12 Items or Less (Friends and Artists Theater, LA), and Cracker Jack Day(Friends and Artists Theater). Screenwriting credits: web-series 5-Star Weekend, and short films Jerry, Break, and Tea With Grandma (in which Jennie co-starred along with Tippi Hedren). Currently in development: As Long As You’re Happy (full-length play; co-written with Maxine Rosenberg); and Bris Amiss! The Musical (librettist).
Season 2 is full of AMAZING writers who give insight into the process of turning an idea into a script! Here is a sample of just a few.
This week, we're coming at you from Cancun to share some knowledge about how you can maximize that "in-between" time of production.
Tony Howell is a business coach and digital designer for Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, and Olivier award-winning artists. His work has been featured by Google, Squarespace, SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and more. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he was an actor for 20+ years — performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tours, and beyond. In addition to 24/7 free content and scholarships to his quarterly programs, Tony donates a percentage of profits to the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway for Racial Justice, Entertainment Community Fund, and 100% of all the profits from his book, Artists to Artist to the ACLU. Learn more at TonyHowell.co.
Join the Email Excellence 1: Pro Operations course now for the early bird promo!
With season 1 officially wrapped, Megan takes us through everything she learned - using her recently produced Spells of the Sea as a deep dive case study!
Jason Turchin is an accomplished attorney, producer and entrepreneur. As an attorney, he has handled over 6,500 accident, injury and wrongful death cases and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a # 1 Best Selling Author on Amazon.com/Kindle in the area of Personal Injury Law, and inventor of the first ever app for lawyers in 2009 called the My Attorney App.
Jason is also a huge supporter of the arts. He is founder of The Broadway Investor’s Club, a large group of investors who invest in Broadway, entertainment start ups, cast albums, national tours and more. Some of his investments include the 8 time Tony Award winning musical Hadestown, Kinky Boots, Sweeney Todd, Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical, Secret Garden, When Playwrights Kill, Be More Chill, On Your Feet UK and Rock of Ages UK. Jason is also an Advisor to start up Stellar Tickets, one of the leading ticketing platforms for live-streaming theatrical productions.
Allyson defines the word multi-passionate creative. She is an Author, Playwright, Composer, Lyricist, Singer, Actor, Producer, and mom to two teenage boys. Allyson is deeply passionate about telling stories that highlight and uplift women’s voices. Ballad of Dreams, a novel with music was published in January 2022 through New Degree Press and is an Amazon #1 Best Seller and a new release in Musicals. It can also be found at Barnes and Noble, Indigo, and The Drama Book Shop in New York. In March of 2022, she appeared on the Tamron Hall Show to discuss her book, Ballad of Dreams, a novel with music, and performed one of her original songs from the show “It’s Never Too Late”. She has performed at the acclaimed Apollo Theater with Tony award-winning Director George Faison and toured with the Gospel musical “If This Hat Could Talk” in the role of Miss Tilly and understudied for the principal role of Eleanor Roosevelt. She is a proud member of Actors Equity and ASCAP. She has a BFA in Musical Theater from Syracuse University. A concept album of Ballad of Dreams is available on all music streaming platforms and the Audiobook on Audible will be released in early 2023. Her debut EP, Soul Stories, can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. Allyson is also the Founder and President of AH Coaching Group that specializes in Leadership Development and Coaching for Women Executives.
Highly driven by unconventional storytelling and informed by stylized art forms and surrealism. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Scenic Design from Utah Valley University, where she earned the Outstanding Student Award from the School of the Arts.
Her work has been featured in Utah’s iconic theatre scene, including the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Sundance Summer Theatre, The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, Utah Renaissance Faire, and The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts to name a few. She has designed for theatre, opera, and dance.
Janice believes that human connection in storytelling is everything. Her passion for non-traditional designs offers a fresh and unique perspective in every project she pursues. She draws inspiration from her day-to-day life, her natural surroundings, and food. Heaps of food.
Janice has a background in administration in academic settings and social media marketing. She enjoys interior design and aesthetics, really good graphic design, lo-fi beats, smoked gouda on every occasion, and planning her trips solely around eating and museumgoing.
Janice serves as the Director of Scenic and Props at An Other Theater Company, a non-profit that serves to uplift and inspire the local LGBTQIA+ community. As a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia, she is committed to projects that serve and centre the voices of marginalised communities, and supports safe and accessible entertainment practices during the pandemic and beyond.
https://janicechan.design/
Miranda Gohh is a producer originally from Providence, RI. She is currently the Associate Producer at Davenport Theatrical Enterprises (A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL). Previously, she served as the Company Manager at New York City Center with MTC from 2019-2021 and the Producing Fellow from 2018-2019. Miranda has also worked with companies such as Arena Stage, The Playwrights Realm, Goodspeed Musicals, and Trinity Repertory Company.
She is the founder of Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC), an educational program for BIPOC producers, and a co-founding member of The Industry Standard Group (TISG), the first BIPOC commercial theatre investment and producing organization. She is an Associate Member of The Broadway League and is a recipient of the 2022 Gatchell & Neufeld Award and 2019-2020 Rising Star Fellowship.
She is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute and an alumna of Wesleyan University.
Anant Das (“un-nunth”) (He/Him) is a theatre and film creative producer and CEO of Broadway Boxed Up, the longest-running theatre-themed subscription box with a focus on elevating BIPOC, Deaf, and disabled theatrical voices, connecting fans with the Broadway world, and reimagining theatregoers’ relationship with merchandise. He is a co-producer of A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL and THE PIANO LESSON on Broadway as well as KINKY BOOTS Off-Broadway. In addition, Anant has experience as an investor with A STRANGE LOOP (2022 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical), FAIRYCAKES, the Museum of Broadway, and the Broadway Makers Marketplace (the first Broadway Pop-Up Shop for fans, by fans) as well as various theatre and film projects in early development. With a background in financial valuation, computer science, and as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Anant is passionate about the intersection of theatre, tech, and finance, as well as energized to increase access to both theatrical opportunities and theatre education. He was a panelist on “The Get Together Live” weekly web show exploring the latest on theatre, technology, and accessibility. Recognized as one of the “Class of 2019’s Best & Brightest” by Poets&Quants, Anant’s interest in exploring how innovation can disrupt the arts began when he attended the top ranked public high school in the US. He is a 2022 member of both the TEDxBroadway Young Professionals cohort and the Theatre Producers of Color cohort and serves as a Board Member of the New York Theatre Workshop’s 4th Street Bar Association.
In his free time, you can find him screening films for the Washington West Film Festival, taking an American Sign Language class, belting a Sara Bareilles album or his one-man show of WAITRESS, trying that restaurant he saw once on Instagram, or convincing himself that he will wake up at dawn for a yoga or rowing class.
@Anant_garde @BroadwayBoxedUp
Mark Rubinsky
It started by sorting screws and bolts as an apprentice at a Summer Stock Theater in Rhode Island. By High School Mark was designing and turning coffee cans into spotlights, scrounging junkyards for lumber, and building scenery. College brought a paid gig in the Theater Department and work as a carpenter at Trinity Square Repertory Company and finally an escape to NY! First as a stage carpenter, electrician, sometimes handyman and dozens of Showcases. One Showcase paid off when “What’s A Nice Country Like You Doing in A State Like This” opened off-Broadway and a PA job became a Stage Management job. Harry Chapin’s “Cotton Patch Gospel” was up next, and Stage Management became a career. Other favorites include Kander and Ebb’s “2 By 5” at the Village Gate, On Your Toes on the road and “Agnes of God.” “Tap Dance Kid” and “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway to name a few. (The list is long and that is what LinkedIn is for).
In the gaps between shows, Mark worked in “Business Theater” when an AEA Stage Manager was required, and the steady work and large budget became irresistible. Before long, Makr was producing the Business Theater events. As an Executive Producer Mark produced shows and meetings that motivated thousands of franchise owners, sales associates, and business executives to sell hamburgers, planes, bulldozers, computers, TVs, cars, hair dye, candy, and lots and lots of pills. It was a blast! Worked with mad scientists at Bell Labs and took Toyota Engineers on a 25,000-mile caravan across North America stopping at manufacturing plants, dealerships, and scenic byways, to hold events. Over 15 years he produced Canon’s Expo and Digital Solutions Forums, which included multiple stages and performances alongside copy machines, cameras, and medical imaging equipment. He supervised the building and installation of Media Labs and Briefing Centers for AT&T and Cisco Systems and Lucent in NY and London.
Asked by a friend to produce a commission he had written, Mark jumped at the chance and hired the perfect designer/collaborator for the job, Tony Castrigno. Combining multi-media with live performance, “Alexander Hamilton: In Worlds Unknown” ran for five months at the New York Historical Society in 2004. When a business colleague had an idea for a show with Ballroom Dancers interpreting Rock and Roll music and Mark had to be involved and went on to produce a workshop of Ballroom Rocks and a Tour of They Called it Rock. He currently chairs the Board of Directors of the not-for-profit Works In ProgressNYC.
And now with his colleague, friend and now business partner, Tony Castrigno, Mark is dedicating this next era to helping artists realize their work on the stage, and bringing it to audiences, everywhere.
Find Mark at mttmtheatrics.com
Dr. Elizabeth Nielson holds a PhD in instructional psychology from Brigham Young University. She creates course curriculum for multi-million dollar coaching clients. She is a consultant and frequent lecturer on parenting and self-government. She manages and maintains a diverse personal investment portfolio which includes manufacturing, real estate, tech start-ups, and the arts. Dr. Neilson is a collector and connector of beautiful people and powerful ideas. She has a gift for seeing potential and possibilities--in people and in business. She has traveled the world competing and teaching ballroom dance. She is mother to four.
