STARSONG By Andrew Strano And Erika Ji Now Available To Stream

STARSONG, which debuted Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre as a part of the 2021 Global Forms Theatre Festival is now available to stream.

A play with music, STARSONG is based on the true story ofS5-HVS1, the fastest moving star yet observed by humans. When the astronomers in the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey observed it hurtling through the galaxy they traced it back to the centre of the Milky Way, eventually hypothesizing that a black hole had separated it from its twin.

Using the magic of light in the dark, and the joy of puppetry, STARSONG tells us the story of those twin stars, exploring how deeply we care for the people we love, how painful it can feel to lose them, and how, through togetherness, we might just find a way to continue our story.

Written and directed by Australian Fulbright Scholar Andrew Strano STARSONG features an original score and musical direction by Erika Ji. The debut production, now available to stream, features Shan Y Chuang as the Littler Star, Sinan Usta as the Bigger Star, and Anna Cherkezishvili, Emile Aslan Lacheny, Earl Marrows, and Sneha Sakhare in the ensemble.

The recording itself features Kurt Sneddon as the director of photography, video editing by Bridget McGuigan, Audio Engineering by Nori Hung, and Ali Regan's work as technician.

The soundtrack features narration by Andrew Strano, piano by Erika Ji and vocals by Alex Becker (bigger star), Clare Fuyuko Bierman, Earl Marrows, Erika Ji (littler star), Joe Badore, Katie Hazdovac and Spencer Kaniela Grubbe.

Since its debut, STARSONG has played Off-Off Broadway after its selection for the Chain Theatre's Summer One Act Festival, where it featured Dani Koenig as the bigger star, Alia Cuadros as the littler star, and Hannah Bailey, TuĂąnminh A Đỗ, Jessie Field, Sara James, and Heather Sawyer in the ensemble, and Andrew Strano was selected for a talk back hosted by the Chain's managing director Rick Hamilton.

ABOUT THE CREATIVES

Andrew Strano (they/them) is an Australian Fulbright scholar, lyricist, playwright, director and performer living and working in New York.

Their debut show, "Nailed It!" won the Greenroom Award for Best Original Songs, and toured globally to 5-star reviews including a sold out run at the Edinburgh fringe's own Assembly Halls.

Other full length works include: 'SKIN' (Off Broadway: Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Selection: Global Forms Theatre Festival), 'Voyagers' (Winner: City Of Melbourne 2020 Arts Grant, Commissioned by Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre), 'Jack Of Two Trades' (Winner: Jeanne Pratt Artists in Residence Program), and the Songs of Mackenzie-Spencer & Strano (5 stars, the Australia Times).

Short works include: 'STARSONG' (Off-Broadway: Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Off-Off Broadway: Chain Theatre Festival 2022), Chicken/Egg (American Opera Project), 'Anticipation' (Off Broadway: Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre), and 'Space' (Lincoln Centre's 'Future Broadway Songbook').

Andrew is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts M.A. (Writing for Performance) and the NYU Tisch graduate musical theatre writing MFA program.

Awards include: the 2019 Victorian Fulbright Scholarship, the 2020 Schubert foundation scholarship, the 2021 Peerce Scholarship, a major Mike Walsh Fellowship, a PPCA performer's trust foundation grant, an American Australian Association Arts Grant, and the George Fairfax Memorial Award.

Andrew has taught for New York University, Melbourne University, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Stage School Australia, The Improv Conspiracy (Australia), ABC theatre (Scotland) and Base Jump theatre (New Zealand), in high schools as a singing teacher and drama teacher, and works as a corporate trainer specialising in negotiation techniques and teamwork. | andrewstrano.com | @andrewstrano on all platforms.

Erika Ji is a cross-genre composer-storyteller who loves soaring melodies, dream worlds, and stories that challenge our preconceptions about what is true, good, right, or worth wanting. Her work has been featured Off-Broadway and around the world at Lincoln Center, the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, the Nadia Boulanger Institute, and the Public Theater via the Musical Theater Factory.

Current & recent projects include VISARE (concept album for an immersive circus experience, winner of the 2021 New Voices Project), Yoko's Husband's Killer's Japanese Wife, Gloria (new musical commissioned by The 5th Avenue Theatre), [untitled hat project] (tiny immersive experience at an eclectic hatmaker's studio, NYFA grant recipient), and music directing for new works like Scarlet Night (Virgin Voyages's inaugural ship-wide immersive experience). As a conductor, pianist, and vocalist, Erika has performed on national TV for CBS Sunday Morning and at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
Erika was a Tisch Fellow at the NYU TIsch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. The proud daughter of Chinese immigrants, Erika grew up in California, studied computer science and philosophy at Stanford University, organized the Viennese Ball in San Francisco, and built products at Dropbox before deciding to follow the music.
https://www.erikaji.com/