Directory of Contemporary Theatre Writers Launches with Concert at Second Stage Theatre, Today

David Sisco (Founder/Curator) and Lorene Phillips (Contributing Editor) will celebrate the launch of THE DIRECTORY OF Contemporary Theatre WRITERS in a star-studded concert on Monday, January 21 at Second Stage Theatre (305 West 43 Street).

The concert will feature the music of 19 of the Directory's remarkable contemporary writers whose work will be sung by Broadway’s most acclaimed musical artists. (The concert’s host and line-up will be announced shortly.)

THE DIRECTORY OF Contemporary Theatre WRITERS is a first. It is an exhaustive resource for anyone interested in our current musical theatre’s vast wealth of contemporary composers and lyricists.

Vetted by respected veterans, vocal coaches, music professors and teachers, the DIRECTORY offers direct access to 150 composers and lyricists whose mostly unpublished or self-published songs are an incalculable treasure of opportunity for theatre professionals, voice teachers, students and anyone auditioning for a Broadway show who are interested in presenting themselves with a song written exactly for their needs.

The Directory's 150 writers have, to date, contributed over 360 songs that are catalogued into 25 different categories from light soprano, high belt, and dramatic up-tempo to pop/rock ballad, story song and comedic funk. This is a bank of creativity that will push the audition process into the next millennium.

When Mr. Sisco and Ms. Phillips started posting about their idea and the process of putting the Directory together, they garnered over 22,000 hits on their blog (www.contemporarymusicaltheatre.wordpress.com).

For a long time, Mr. Sisco and Ms. Phillips had been frustrated by the lack of published contemporary musical theatre songs available to them as voice teachers. If it wasn’t yet on Broadway, it almost never got published. Living in New York, they knew there was so much more out there.

For the past seven years, David has been a member of the prestigious BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, where he’s been witness to some of the best new writers and songs. David brought the idea to Lorene: what if they created a directory of writers and songs to help other teachers find good material and get writers paid for their work?

That question led to the development of THE DIRECTORY OF CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL THEATRE WRITERS. They began creating a database and interactive web platform, which currently holds over 150 writers and 360 songs (all searchable by voice and song type).

Each page of the Directory features a writer or writing team’s head shot, bio, contact information and five of their best songs with links to listen/view the songs and information on how to purchase them directly from the writers.

The Directory was first presented as a poster paper at the 2012 NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Convention in Orlando.

The online Directory holds a host of other information beyond its ever-growing database such as range, tessitura and accompaniment difficulty. Keep track of what writers are up to by visiting the Directory's regularly updated news feed and subscribing to writer’s social media page.

An Annual Subscription to THE DIRECTORY OF Contemporary Theatre WRITERS costs $49.95. All songs are sold directly by the writers themselves. The DIRECTORY does not take a penny from the writer’s sales. This is an unparalleled model of publishing, especially in the wake of Colony and other sheet music stores closing.

David Sisco (Founder/Curator) is the author of HERE I AM: A MUSICAL PERSONAL AD, VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF YOU, SOPRANOS BAIT n' SWISH and with Tom Gualtieri FALLING TO EARTH and I'M AFRAID, YOU'RE AFRAID: 448 THINGS TO FEAR AND WHY. A winner of the 2010 NATS Composition Award, David’s art songs have been heard at concerts produced by Friends & Enemies of New Music, New Music New York, Joy in Singing, Lyricfest and Songfest. Forthcoming commissions include works for Manhattan Girls Chorus and Mirari Brass Quintet. For over twelve years David has been a member of the Marble Collegiate Church Sanctuary Choir. He has sung on all three of their CDs, including their forthcoming recording, which will feature his piece “Awake, My Heart.” David has taught voice at Northeastern and Suffolk University, and currently teaches at Marymount Manhattan College. He also leads masterclasses around the country on preparing contemporary art song.

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