Writers of Color to Stand in the Spotlight in Musical Theatre Factory's LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

Musical Theatre Factory has announced that it will present "LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING"on April 12th at 9:30PM as the next offering in its lineup of Joe's Pub Concert Series.

The concert is bringing exciting musical theatre writers of color from the margins to centerstage and will consist of new musical theatre songs ranging from pop/rock to hip hop to jazz in a concert unlike any other-- as every single thrilling song has been written by a person of color.

Featuring writers such as Troy Anthony, David Davila, David Gomez, Edison Hong, Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones, John-Michael Lyles, Douglas Lyons, Michael R. Jackson, Brett Macias, Cheeyang Ng, Janet Noh, Ronve O'Daniel, Jerome Parker, Noemi de la Puente, Lauren F. Walker and more! The evening is music directed by Darius Smith and Tamilla Woodard. Each number was curated by Natasha Sinha and Sukari Jones, from MTF's People of Color Roundtable. The evening is being line produced by MTF Outreach Coordinator Aaron Salley.

Musical Theatre Factory's People of Color Representation Roundtable exists as a one-of-a-kind experiment wherein a room of artists of all disciplines may share work with a group that is 100% exclusively comprised of people of color. Part writers circle, part discussionforum and part low-key performance salon. By founding the POC Roundtable, Musical Theatre Factory aims to decenter whiteness and to ask the question of what musical theatre could be made, would be made, if the room where it happens happened to be a room comprised of a diverse group of people of color.

Director Tamilla Woodard is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, an alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab and founder of PopUp Theatrics, a partnership creating site impacting theatrical events in collaboration with theatre artists working around the globe. Most recent work: Long Distanace Affair: BA Edition, (Bienal Arte Joven Buenos Aires and PopUP Theatrics, Buenos Aires) INSIDE (PopUP Theatrics, Madrid, Spain;) La Ruta, by Ed Cardona Jr (Working Theater, NYC) With PopUP Theatrics: Long Distance Affair, an international collaboration for live Skype performance; Hotel Project, Co-Creator, world premiere in Querétaro Mexico in July 2011, American premiere at Washington Jefferson Hotel and the Summit Grand Hotel in January 2012; Other recent work includes, 3 Editions of Long Distance Affair, Edinburgh, Scotland, Querétaro, Mexico, New York, USA; DramaTour in Querétaro Mexico (Sabandijas del Palacio) Valiant by Lanna Joffrey at InterAct Theatre (Philadelphia, PA); Nightlands by Sylvan Oswald (New Georges,NYC) and the development and direction of Saviana Stanescu's Polanski Polanski (Teatrul Odeon, Bucharest; The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Sibiu, TIFF International Festival, Cluj; PS122/SoloNOVA festival, HERE, NYC and The Chain, LIC, New York). She has directed for the Working Theater, HERE, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, PS122, DR 2, The Culture Project, Urban Stages, Dance Theatre Workshop, The Kitchen Theatre and for festivals around the US and internationally. She a recipient of The Charles Bowden Award from New Dramatists, The Josephine Abady Award from The League of Professional Theatre Women, New York Theatre Workshop Director Fellowship, New Georges Audrey Residency and a TCG On The Road Grant.

Darius Smith OFF-BROADWAY: Futurity, Three Little Birds. DC AREA: Signature Theater: Jelly's Last Jam, ?La Cage aux Folles, Soon, Dreamgirls (Associate Music Director); Olney Theatre Center: The Producers, Disney's The Little Mermaid, Once on this Island; Studio Theatre: Choir Boy, Carrie: The Musical; MetroStage: Glimpses of the Moon; Adventure Theater-MTC: Petit Rouge, Go, Dog, Go; Charlie and the Purple Crayon, Big; and many others in the DC area. ORIGINAL WORKS: Marcus Nate is Alive and Great and Living in Detroit (workshop), The Snowy Day (Best TYA Production Helen Hayes nomination); U.G.L.Y. (Signature Theater SigWorks MT Lab, Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage); Songs in the Key of Chocolate (Signature Theatre Summer Cabaret Series). CABARETS: with Helen Hayes Award winners, Nova Y. Payton and Natascia Diaz. AWARDS: 2017 Helen Hayes Award Nomination - Outstanding Music Direction (Jelly's Last Jam), 2016 San Francisco Theatre Critics Award - Outstanding Music Direction (Choir Boy), 2015 Signature Theatre Young Artist Citation, 2015 Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Competition Finalist. UPCOMING: Raisin (Astoria Performing Arts Center), The Wiz (Ford's Theatre).

Musical Theatre Factory was founded by Artistic Director Shakina Nayfack in January 2014 as a collective for early-career musicaltheatre makers interested in changing the way new musicals are developed in New York City. The mission of the Factory is to develop and present new Musical Theatre Works in a collaborative environment free from the pressures of critical or commercial success. With a focus on peer-evaluation and process-driven volunteer support, MTF's assembly line of development programming directly addresses the needs of today's musical theatre artists and is intended to nurture new work from initial concepts to full drafts and, occasionally, first productions.

In its first two years MTF has assisted in the development of over 90 new musicals with more than 900 volunteers contributing over 16,000 combined hours of service. The organization has partnered with a number of other theatre companies throughout NYC, including Joe's Pub at The Public Theatre, The People's Improv Theatre, Poetic Theatre Productions, and Playwrights Horizons, where they will begin a three-year residency this coming fall.

MTF members include some of today's most exciting composers, lyricists, book writers, directors, choreographers, music directors, dramaturgs, performers, and arts administrators. The organization is overseen by General Managers Frankie Dailey and Joey Monda, with Creative Producer Aaron Glick serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

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