New York Conservatory For Dramatic Arts NEW WORKS PROJECT Features Exploration of Six Original Musicals

The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts will present its annual New Works Project on Saturday, December 14th, 2024 at 1PM and 6PM at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre (10 West 64th Street, NYC) featuring excerpts from six original musicals in development.

A collaboration with New York Theatre Barn, an inclusive home for original culture-shifting musicals during incubation, this unique program offers conservatory students a performance opportunity while workshopping and learning about original musicals, living playwrights, and stories that represent them. With intention, all six of the new musicals lift up underrepresented communities. Musical Theatre Department Chair, Joe Barros, said “We hope to thoughtfully and articulately convey the power of original musicals while celebrating an extraordinary ensemble of student actors.”  

The six original musicals include: Rebel Genius (written by Matthew Puckett), Skin (with written by Andrew Strano and Yuriko Shibata), Winner (written by Nico Juber and Joe Barros), Female Complaints (written by Tina deVaron and Kate Mulley), Spectrum (written by Stephanie L. Carlin), and The Completely True Story of West High's 66th Annual Charity Lockdown, or…Steve (written by Molly Horan and Amy Engelhardt). The presentation is directed and choreographed by Joe Barros, with music direction by shawn gough. Héctor Flores Jr. is the stage manager, and Mike Walsh is the dialect coach.

The presentation features 2nd-Year Musical Theatre Students of The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts: Jesi Abney, Brady Hideaki Allen, Bethany Bell, Gabriella Boera, Ava Brown, Cheyenne Brown, Kaitlyn Canale, Dylan Collins, Bella Dunbar, Lafi Faletoese-Ma'u, Antonella Farinato, Caleb Ford, Sarah Freidline, Treasure Gay, Luca Grecco, Kayla Ham, Sol Hernandez,  Astaria Herring, Pandora Janeway, Ryan Meese, Rebecca Nason, Kaelia O'Connor, Kalani Perez, Jadyn Rainforth, Adrian Ramsey, Dominique Reneé, Ashytnn Rethinger, Stevie Rivers, Shannon Marie Ryan, Olivia Sartori, Evan Schmidlin, Liah Severino, Miranda Isabella Solis, Tylah Souffrant, Laura Ulerio Comas, Lilibeth Vasquez, Destiny Velez, Hannah Villanueva, Ayannah Ward, and India Wilkinson. 

Tickets are free, but seating is limited. If you'd like to attend, please email: jbarros@nycda.edu.

Over the past 5 years, the New Works Project has included dozens of original musicals, including: Little Miss Perfect, Mommie Dearest, Xena: Warrior Musical, My Pet Dragon, Sueños: Our American Musical, She Reached for Heaven, Saint Sebastian, Perpetual Sunshine and the Ghost Girls, and Andy, Keith and Jean-Michel. The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts is a two-year college conservatory offering collaborative programs in Film & Television Performance, Musical Theatre Performance, Theatre Performance, and Media Production for the Actor.