SPARK Individual Event Registration Now Open

Admission to individual SPARK events April 6-8 is now available online at pittsburghCLO.org/SPARK. For a small donation to Pittsburgh CLO's Audience Development and Education programs, members of the public are invited to peek behind the scenes of a musical in the making as 10 writing teams from across the country converge in Pittsburgh to showcase their work through a series of public presentations featuring local and national actors. Performances will take place at venues throughout the Cultural District.

Admission to SPARK readings is available for a $5 donation and may be reserved. The workshop of THE DOUBLE-THREAT TRIO is available for a $10 donation. Click here to reserve individual passes. All-access Premier Passes, including admission to all presentations, parties and special events are also available online. Advanced registration is required.

Pittsburgh CLO is committed to supporting emerging and established writers, composers and lyricists by providing the resources necessary for their work to achieve the next step. Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, SPARK teams were provided with dedicated rehearsal space, a crew of veteran directors and music directors, professional stage managers and production assistants, dramaturgs and a cast of talented artists. Now, their experience will offer multiple public performances and talkback sessions with audiences. By providing valuable time and tools, Pittsburgh CLO is taking part in helping to secure the future of the musical theater canon with the creation of exciting new work.

THE DOUBLE-THREAT TRIO
Workshop Presentation Starring Broadway's Beth Leavel
Saturday, April 7 at 12:30pm | 937 Liberty Avenue, 1st Floor
Sunday, April 8 at 12:30pm | 937 Liberty Avenue, 1st Floor

An actor who can't dance, a dancer who can't sing and a singer who can't act are all struggling to become the stars they long to be. They join forces with Millicent Masterson, an eccentric writer-director-producer-designer-choreographer-stage manager who has been waiting to vault her once-storied career back onto Broadway. Millicent creates a new show that will highlight the cast's talents while hiding their flaws. But as the actors rehearse "Oed!" Millicent's three-character musical adaptation of Oedipus Rex, they begin to fear that their big break might actually be a big disaster. THE DOUBLE-THREAT TRIO is underwritten by The Benter Foundation.

Writing Team: Adam Overett
Cast: Beth Leavel, J. ALEX NOBLE, Jerreme Rodriguez and DREW LEIGH WILLIAMS.

POOL BOY
Reading
Saturday, April 7, 12:30pm | 937 Liberty Avenue, 3rd Floor
Sunday, April 8, 12:30pm | 937 Liberty Avenue, 3rd Floor

Nick came to Los Angeles with dreams of making it in music. Down on his luck in LA, he gets a job at the Hotel Bel-Air. What ensues is the best/worst summer ever, as Nick interacts with Hollywood's prime elite, gets a taste of fame, and finds unlikely soul connections, all the while finally facing his own complicated demons. Inspired by the true story of composer Niko's time as a pool boy at the Hotel Bel-Air, this concert-cabaret-musical explores ambition, love, seeking the truth in all the fake, and ultimately finding your voice. Developed by Pittsburgh CLO through the EQT Commissioning Fund.

Writing Team: Niko Tsakalakos and Janet Allard
Cast: Robyne Parrish, KEVIN William Paul, RICARDO VILA-ROGER, CHRISTIAN STRANGE and OLIVIA VADNAIS

JUST BETWEEN THE ALL OF US
Reading
Friday, April 6, 4:30pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 4th Floor
Sunday, April 8, 10:00am | 719 Liberty Avenue, 2nd Floor

This interactive musical comedy follows Madeline Owens, an ER doctor who suddenly finds herself interested in four different men from the online dating site Alrighty Aphrodite. She calls upon members of the audience to play the various advice-givers in her life (mom, therapist, barista, etc.) and eventually narrows down her prospects in the style of a grown-up "choose-your-own-adventure" story. Will Madeline's "friends and family" lead her to her perfect match, or will their collective decisions result in one of several possible romantic dead ends? Commissioned by Pittsburgh CLO through the EQT Commissioning Fund.

Writing Team: Kellen Blair, Sarah Ziegler BLAIR and David Christensen
Cast: Chris Bell, KYLE DECKER, CHRISTOPHER J. ESSEX, MICHAEL R. PETYAK and Ali Reed

THESE GIRLS HAVE DEMONS
Reading
Saturday, April 7, 3:00pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 4th Floor
Sunday, April 8, 3:00pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 4th Floor

After an ill-advised slumber party foray into the dark arts, teenagers Daisy, Hayley, Sophie and Morgan find themselves possessed by demons. Like, actual demons. They quickly realize their "nice girl" tactics aren't going to cut it; these raging demons begin wreaking havoc on the girls' lives-or do they? While terrorizing the town, the girls are finally getting what they want! As the demons grow more powerful, the girls must decide-will they give in to the anger that might destroy them, or fight to somehow become good again?

Writing Team: MEGHAN BROWN and Sarah Taylor Ellis
Cast: Myha'la Herrold, GRETA KLECKNER, ALEX MANALO, KATE MARGALITE and JORDAN PLUTZER

SKiNFoLK: AN AMERICAN SHOW
Reading
Saturday, April 7, 3:00pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 2nd Floor
Sunday, April 8, 3:00pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 2nd Floor

Powerhouse writer-performer Jillian Walker blends music, history and live storytelling into a cabaret experience unlike any other this festival season. This big-hearted and highly imaginative concert-play is a sensuous celebration of our bodies and the stories they carry. Through an intoxicating mix of memoir, movement and song, Walker asks: How well do we know the skin we live in?

Writing Team: Jillian Walker
Cast: Rayquila Durham, Jillian Walker and Jada Mayo

GAME ON
Reading
Friday, April 6, 4:30pm | 719 Liberty Avenue, 2nd Floor
Saturday, April 7, 10:00am | 719 Liberty Avenue, 2nd Floor

An ambitious group of contestants compete to win it all on everyone's favorite TV show, "Game On!" And at today's taping, with two exes facing off as contestants, there's more than just money on the line. Cheer the players on from the audience - or, if you're lucky, play against them onstage - in this high-stakes, high-fun musical comedy. Commissioned by Pittsburgh CLO through the EQT Commissioning Fund.

Writing Team: Marcus Stevens and David Dabbon
Cast: CHANTELLE GUIDO, RYAN Patrick Kearney, Christine Laitta, CONNOR McCANLUS, JASON SHAVERS and Sandy Zwier

BEYOND THE MOON (Gallery of Heroes Show)
Reading
Saturday, April 7, 5:30pm | 937 Liberty Avenue, 1st Floor

Through dramatic sketches and musical vignettes, Pittsburgh CLO's Gallery of Heroes program takes its 50-minute mini-musicals to area schools to educate and enlighten students about great historical figures such as Galileo Galilei, George Washington, Roberto Clemente, the Wright Brothers and Harriet Tubman. Highlighting the lives and accomplishments of significant historical figures, Gallery of Heroes offers an entertaining alternative to traditional lectures and books. BEYOND THE MOON, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's moonwalk, features a 16-year-old student with "astronaut-ical" dreams of being the first person to set foot on Mars.

Writing Team: JOSEPH DOMENCIC and CHRISTINA McCANN
Cast: BRETT CUDDY, GABE DeROSE, ALEX MANALO, RACHEL PARKER and DANIEL PIVOVAR

AN UNTITLED NEW PLAY BY Justin Timberlake
Reading
Saturday, April 7, 10:00am | 719 Liberty Avenue, 4th Floor
Sunday, April 8, 10:00am | 719 Liberty Avenue, 4th Floor

Beth, an ambitious literary manager at a prestigious nonprofit theater, is poised to promote the voice of a brilliant unknown playwright...until a certain superstar performer writes a play that changes the course of her career forever. AN UNTITLED NEW PLAY BY Justin Timberlake is a musical satire about the politics of celebrity, storytelling and fighting for one's ideas and ideals. AN UNTITLED NEW PLAY BY Justin Timberlake is presented in collaboration with City Theatre.

Writing Team: Matt Schatz
Cast: Julianne Avolio, Caroline Nicolian, Jeffrey Howell and Shelley Thomas

SUPPORT
Pittsburgh CLO gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following major SPARK donors through the Next Generation Campaign, including: Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Dan and Debby Booker, EQT Foundation, Joe and Kathy Guyaux, Pittsburgh CLO Guild, Eden Hall Foundation, Sandy and Bill Lambert, MSA Charitable Foundation, Ron and Patricia Violi, Bob and Janet McCartney, Mark and Diane Minnaugh, The Benter Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Blenko, Jr., Michael J. Brunner, Tony and Linda Bucci, Stephen and Helen Hanna Casey, George and Ada Davidson, Kim and Curt Fleming, Peoples Natural Gas, Dominic and Charlene Petrelli, Eric Schaffer and Michele Gray-Schaffer.

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