McGuire & Simon's BORDERS And Zak Sandler's INSIDE MY HEAD Headline New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series

The eleventh season of New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series continues on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 with pre-premieres of two new musicals: Borders and Inside My Head.

The new musical Borders has book, music and lyrics by Janine McGuire and Arri Lawton Simon. Borders tells the story of two men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who fall in love during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. Based upon the motion picture The Bubble written by Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky, directed by Eytan Fox, this daring new musical examines the borders we construct within society and within ourselves. Romantic and provocative, Borders pulses with energy, urgency, and hope for a more peaceful world. The show is currently in development at the Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship program.

Inside My Head, with book, music, and lyrics by Zak Sandler, takes us inside the brain of aspiring musician Marc, as the various guiding voices we all have in our heads help him navigate life. When a new voice appears and sends Marc spiraling out of control, he must decide whether to push it away or embrace it as part of who he is. This original musical takes an unprecedented look at mental conditions, creativity, and how we learn to accept the most vulnerable parts of ourselves. The presentation is directed by Matt Cowart and dramaturgy by Alexa Clint. Line producers for for both Inside My Head and Borders are Sam Strum and Heather DiPietro.

McGuire & Simon (Janine McGuire and Arri Lawton Simon) are a NYC-based musical theatre writing team, 2017-2018 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows, and members of the BMI Advanced Workshop. Their immersive musical Express premiered at the New York Transit Museum in 2015, was re-mounted in 2017, and was recently expanded at New York Film Academy. Their commissioned TYA musical Kibby The Space Dog premiered in March 2018 at Wichita Children's Theatre & Dance Center.

Zak Sandler plays piano on Broadway for Wicked, and has played on Broadway for Motown and The Color Purple. He composed music at the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, and won the Fenno Heath Award for writing a new Yale song. His work has appeared at Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, and Signature Theater (DC). He has created a docu-series that explores the link between creativity and mental conditions, called "Insanely Talented". Zak often speaks publicly about his own bipolar, having presented at the 2017 NAMI National Convention in Washington, D.C. He hopes that being open will help destigmatize mental health.

The September 4 installment includes presentations of both new musicals at 7PM and 9PM at The Cell, located at 338 West 23rd Street in New York City. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and can be purchased on New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

Through an education initiative sponsored by Theatre Barn's board of directors, a limited amount of complimentary tickets are available to high school students. To request a student ticket, email Education Director Tim Aumiller: tim@nytheatrebarn.org. To sponsor a student ticket, visit Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

Under the artistic direction of Joe Barros, New York Theatre Barn is a Manhattan-based non-profit theatre company, founded in 2007, dedicated to incubating and producing new musicals that tell untold stories. Our stories are inspired by the lives of real people and actual events that challenge our preconceived ideas, and promote inclusion and positive social change. Theatre Barn's core program is the New Works Series which presents bi-monthly "pre-premieres" of new musicals in the early stages of development. With each installment, 2 new musicals are showcased before a live audience and a worldwide virtual audience. Since the series' inception, we have presented more than 400 writers in 100 pre-premieres, and have amassed a catalogue of nearly 2,000 videos with a million views. For more information: www.nytheatrebarn.org.