BWW Previews: CALL IT IN THE AIR COMPETES IN TAMPA BAY THEATRE FESTIVAL at HCC Ybor City Mainstage Theater

With a personal motto of "don't suck," Tampa native Gabriel Flores wears many hats ­­­­- special education high school teacher, husband, new daddy to a baby daughter, and playwright. While his wife and daughter sleep until early morning, Gabriel sits at his computer with his notepad and composes. His recent co-creation earned a spot in Tampa International Fringe Festival and will compete in the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival this Labor Day Weekend.

An original rock musical co-written with Taryn Alexander, Call It In The Air is a new musical that will be presented in its entirety in HCC Ybor City Mainstage theatre about a young man who likes to leave his life up to chance.

"Owen always flips a coin when he makes a decision," Gabriel said. "When we meet him, he is coming back to a small town in California after trying to make it in Los Angeles. He's the hometown hero and he comes back as a failure."

When Owen's on-and-off-again girlfriend Penny ends their relationship and moves away, Owen rebounds with Morgan, settling into the life of a musician. A few months later Penny returns with news that Owen can't flip a coin over.

Gabriel's wife is credited for being the sounding board for his productions. She said, "OK, I think this is actually something," which encourage Gabriel to submit his and Taryn's musical to a festival in New York.

From a young age, Gabriel was passionate about writing and music. It wasn't until he auditioned to be a drummer for a play about Buddy Holly that his interest shifted from screenwriting to playwriting.

"From there, it was like Pandora's Box opened up. It became an obsession and it's been one for about 10 years now. In live theatre, I really enjoy the dialogue, the character development and setting up a scene with just words. Everything happens with just dialogue. I found that much more challenging than writing a screenplay."
Having written short one-act plays, Gabriel fell in love with shows like Rent, In The Heights, Next to Normal, Avenue Q and his goal became to write a musical.

Over a period of two years, Gabriel transformed a handful of songs, written when he was in a band, into what would eventually become Call It In The Air. Taking the task of writing a musical more seriously, Gabriel teamed up with Taryn Alexander to bring their strengths together to create an original show from the ground up. Gabriel and Taryn met three times a week, five to six hours per night to refine the musical over the course of about a year. Validation came about when Call It In The Air was accepted into the New York Summerfest Theater Festival in August 2017. "New York was the opportunity to look ourselves in the mirror and say, we can do this. It's not just me hoping anymore," he said.

The successful debut led a second production in October 2017 at New York New Works Theater Festival, followed by acceptance into 2018 Tampa International Fringe Festival for six-nights in a one-act format due to time constraints.

For the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival this September, which will be directed by Gabriel, Call It In The Air once again features the talents of Zach Finley, Hannah Hockman, Rachel Rodriguez, Bethany S. Moore, Emma Hurlburt, Brittany Clark, and Devan Kelty with the addition of Erin Johnson. The show will be complemented by a live band on stage with Gabriel playing piano and guitar, along with Justin Cary on guitar and bass, with Matt Sabo on drums.

"Most of my writing is meant for a solitary reader. I'm so grateful to see something I helped create come alive with the talents of our cast and be enjoyed by an audience," said Alexander. "Every laugh and gasp from the audience makes the work we put in worth it."

Gabriel said, "Growing up as a kid who wanted to be a musician, the first thing they teach you in writing is 'write what you know.' I enjoy listening to the soundtrack. I wanted to write a show with music I enjoyed listening to and, hopefully, other people will enjoy listening to, as well."

After the theater festival, Gabriel and Taryn hope to have more opportunities to see their show on the stage either in Florida or throughout the U.S.

Gabriel said that having a writing partner in Taryn, who had a background in poetry and copy editing, helped to make the creation process a much smoother one.

"We were able to combine our writing strengths and this is the story we created. When it's over and they walk away, we want the audience to feel satisfied. Maybe it will make them even question some of the choices they made in their own lives. If they made a different choice, how would their life turn out?"

Call It In The Air is Saturday, September 1st at 2:00 p.m. at HCC Ybor City Mainstage Theater. To learn more, visit bit.ly/callitintheair or www.tampabaytheatrefestival.com.

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