Musical Theatre Factory's Fall Season to Include COMMITTED, THE CRAFT & More

The Musical Theatre Factory (MTF), under the leadership of founding Artistic Director Shakina Nayfack and Managing Director Danny Abosch, announces its fall season dedicated to the development of new musical theatre. Musical Theatre Factory operates as a volunteer-based cooperative of artists and arts administrators committed to a process of peer evaluation and the cultivation of new work, free from the pressures of critical or commercial success.

A series of Musical Theatre Factory readings, each culminating with a public showing of new material, will feature COMMITTED (September 21, Book Music, and Lyrics by Jerome Brooks Jr., Directed by Tonya Pinkins), THAT TIME WE FOUND A SASQUATCH IN THE WOODS (October 6 - Book by Nichole Jackson, Lyrics by Brandon Michael Lowden, Music by Scotty Arnold), THE CRAFT (October 31 - Book and Lyrics by Brandon Michael Lowden, Music and Lyrics by Kevin Michael Jones), SOAPSICLE (November 2 - Book, Music. And Lyrics by Gena Oppenheim), MILES & ME (November 24 - Book and Lyrics by Kendell Pinkney, Music by Danny Abosch), VESTIGE (December 10 - Book, Music, and Lyrics by Andrew Lynch), and UNVERSITY (December 21 - Book, Music, and Lyrics by Maude Burke, Directed by Tonya Pinkins).

The 4x15 program selects four new musicals and offers each writing team five hours of rehearsal space to stage fifteen-minute excerpts form their shows. The scenes are then presented together in one evening before a panel of industry guests and a public audience. The third 4x15 program (September 14) includes UNBOUND (Music by Amy Molewski, Book and Lyrics by Nick Luckenbaugh), THE LORELEI (Music by Micah Joel, Book and Lyrics by Chandra McClelland), THE GREENWOOD TREE (Music & Concept by Will Reynolds, text by Shakespeare), and TO HELL AND BACK (Music, Book and Lyrics by Joel B. New). The fourth 4x15 (October 13) presentations are set to include THREE TIMES FAST (Music by Teresa Lotz, Book and Lyrics by Naomi Matlow), REMISSION: A MUSICAL (Music, Book and Lyrics by Rebekah Allen), CLUBLAND: THE MOSTER POP PARTY (Music, Book and Lyrics by Andrea Barret Cox, Directed by Srda Vasiljevic), and MONSTERSONGS (Music, Book and Lyrics by Rob Rokicki). The programs for the fifth (November 16) and sixth (December 15), 4x15's will be announced on our website shortly.

Musical Theatre Factory educational programming features master classes from certified vocal instructor Chelsea Wilson Calder (September 20), and a joint class by Broadway Music Director Andy Einhorn and award winning Composer Zoe Sarnak (TBA).

The Musical Theatre Factory writers' group continues to meet biweekly in preparation for the MTF winter season, when each project will receive a reading, concert, or workshop. Participating writers include Julianne Wick Davis (THE WILLARD ASYLUM SUITCASES), Jahn Sood (IN A SEA OF FACES), Anna Jacobs (ECHO), Michael R. Jackson (A STRANGE LOOP), Nikko Benson and Benjamin Halstead (NIKOLA TESLA DROPS THE BEAT), Chris Staskel and Lisa Burns (SHADES OF WAYNE), and Niko Tsakalakos and Brandon Anderson (BE YOUNG AND SHUT UP).

Factory Salons, where new and established musical theatre writers are invited to share previously unheard songs, will be offered one monthly (September 18, October 16, November 6, December 18) from 8pm to midnight. The September Salon is hosted by Joe Iconis, and the October Salon by Jennifer Ashley Tepper.

The Musical Theatre Factory is located at 250 W. 40th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues, 4th floor, New York, NY. For more information or to get involved with Musical Theatre Factory as a volunteer, please visit www.mtf.nyc or call 347-871-4615.