Lightning House Players Present World Premiere Of Original Musical THE GLASSBLOWER'S DAUGHTER

Lightning House Players, a new local theatre company, is producing an original two-act musical, "The Glassblower's Daughter: An American Fairy Tale," scheduled to premiere a live performance at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass., this October.

Lightning House Players had planned for "The Glassblower's Daughter" to be its inaugural production last year, but then the COVID pandemic struck.

"In retrospect, it seems that we picked the wrong year to launch a new theater company," said Lightning House founder and local playwright, Zareh Artinian, Jr. "However, we were committed to bringing this inspiring tale to our audience, and quickly switched gears over the summer to create a streamed reading with music. It was a great opportunity to introduce audiences to this new work."

The fledgling theatre company overcame many challenges over the past two years due to the pandemic. Normal processes involved with developing a show had to be modified. The producers took a hybrid approach to auditions, allowing potential performers to submit pre-recorded videos, schedule auditions over Zoom, or to audition live. Call backs for the second round of auditions were mostly held in person at the Regent Theatre. Flexibility became the name of the game.

Lightning House Players required all performers to either be vaccinated or to provide weekly proof of a negative COVID test. Masks were required for all rehearsals, and hand sanitizer, wipes, rubber gloves and disposable masks were plentiful.

The new work is an original, two-act musical for which Zareh wrote the book, with music and lyrics by local composer and musician Kelvyn Koning, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee School of Music, and original choreography by Katherine Encarnação.

The musical's story is "about fighting adversity," Kelvyn says. "It's an inspiring story, especially for people who feel they are up against insurmountable odds."

The cast boasts local actors, singers and dancers. Many of the cast members are either students or recent graduates of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music. According to their website, one of Lightning House Players' goals is to provide a space for new and emerging talent to apply their skills, as well as creating a space for lesser heard voices and points of view.

"Our mission focuses on producing works of theatre for social justice that uplift and inspire people," Zareh says.

Kelvyn adds that one of his personal goals is "to foster empathy, healing, and social justice for individuals and communities through music." "The Glassblower's Daughter," with its message about finding and using one's voice to speak out against injustice, is the perfect showcase to let people know what Lightning House Players is all about.

Lightning House Players has been posting updates about their production online. You can follow their activities at www.LightningHousePlayers.com.

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