Mark Brokaw, Artistic Director
2012
YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE
ANNOUNCES 2012 SELECTIONS:
MIGHTY FIVE’S INFINITE FUNK ODYSSEY AND MORTALITY PLAY
JUNE 4-17
The YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE (Mark Brokaw, Artistic Director) has selected two original book musicals, Mighty Five’s Infinite Funk Odyssey with music and lyrics by Zach Abramson and Derek Muro and book by Phil Aulie and Xaq Webb and Mortality Play with music by Scotty Arnold and book and lyrics by Alana Jacoby, to be developed in an intensive lab setting in New Haven, June 4-17.
ABOUT THE 2012 SELECTIONS
MIGHTY FIVE'S INFINITE FUNK ODYSSEY
Music and Lyrics by Zach Abramson and Derek Muro
Book by Phil Aulie and Xaq Webb
The time: the present. The setting: Dimension F, a spacey place powered by the Non-Stop Dance Party. Mighty Five’s Infinite Funk Odyssey follows the journey of FunkBot, a robotic dance instructor without a soul, whose sexy software inadvertently creates a love triangle that threatens to destroy the relationships and friendships around him. Colonel Bootyshaker must lead the audience to help reactivate FunkBot’s Soul Circuit. Only then can he save himself, his friends, and the greatest dance party in the universe.
Zach Abramson (Music and Lyrics) is a composer, arranger, and producer specializing in collaborative multimedia works. He has created music for short and feature films, television, new theatre works and produced and arranged music for bands and songwriters. Zach received his BM and MM degrees in composition from the Manhattan School of Music.
Derek Muro (Music and Lyrics) is a Los Angeles-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His concert music has been heard in the U.S. and Europe, and he has also written works for theatre, dance, and visual media. He has released music on several record labels, both in groups and as a solo artist. Derek received his BM from the Manhattan School of Music. derekmuro.com
Xaq Webb (Book) is greatly inspired by theatre that interacts with audiences in strange and exciting ways. Originally from Austin, Texas, he has worked as a producer and theatrical administrator across the U.S. He received his BA from the College of Santa Fe and is presently pursuing an MFA in Theater Management at Yale School of Drama. This is Xaq's first musical.
Phil Aulie, 1986-2012 (Book), will be remembered as a talented poet, actor, improviser, musician, and comedian. He produced multiple albums with groups such as Federal! State! Local! and SuperHouse. He was a frequent figure at the poetry slam in his hometown of Austin.
MORTALITY PLAY
Music by Scotty Arnold
Book and Lyrics by Alana Jacoby
Todd wants to be a rock star, but he's living in London in 1349, and the plague keeps getting in his way. With ultimatums from loved ones getting him down and the ghost of his former bandmate pressuring him to make a choice, Todd tries to navigate the dangers around him and to balance the forces of art and service in his life. Half rock show and half medieval morality play, this new musical follows a young man's struggle to decide between what he wants to do and what he thinks the world needs from him. Which comes first?
Scotty Arnold (Music) has written music for Mortality Play (Yale Institute for Music Theatre, AntFest), The Wonderful Visit (NYU's GMTWP), Sasquatch... (upcoming: The Pitch), Lost and Found (Silverman Scholarship), and The Veteran's Wife (Colony Theater, LA). He has studied at Santa Clara University (BA: Theatre, Music), ANMT: LA, NYU (MFA: Musical Theatre Writing), and New Dramatists (CLS).
Alana Jacoby (Book and Lyrics) has written book and lyrics for Mortality Play (Yale Institute for Music Theatre, ANTFest), Pandora's Paintbox (NYU), and Who Wants To Be Adopted? (4@15). Her songs have been featured at the Barrington Stage Company, Ars Nova, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and the Duplex. She holds a BA in Playwriting from Brown University and an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU. She is a teaching artist for the Roundabout Theatre Company.
YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE
Established in 2009, the Yale Institute for Music Theatre is a program of Yale School of Drama (James Bundy, Dean) that bridges the gap between training and the professional world for emerging composers, playwrights, lyricists, and librettists. The Yale Institute for Music Theatre seeks distinctive and original music theatre works by emerging composers and writers to be developed in an intensive lab setting. During a two-week summer residency in New Haven, the Institute matches the authors of the selected works with collaborators, including professional directors and music directors, as well as a company of actors and singers that includes professionals from NYC and current Yale students. The residency culminates with open rehearsal readings of each project, presented as part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
MARK BROKAW (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) Recent Broadway credits include The Lyons, After Miss Julie, Reckless, The Constant Wife, and the new musical Cry-Baby. New York premieres include works by David Auburn, Douglas Carter Beane, Eric Bogosian, Charles Busch, Julia Cho, Lisa Kron, Kenneth Lonergan, Craig Lucas, Nicky Silver, Paula Vogel, and Wendy Wasserstein. His regional credits include the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, the Guthrie, Center Theatre Group, Yale Rep, Steppenwolf, Seattle Rep, Hartford Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Sundance Theatre Lab, and O’Neill Theatre Conference. His work has also been seen at London’s Donmar Warehouse, Dublin’s Gate Theatre and the Sydney Opera House. He is the recipient of the Alan Schneider Award presented by TCG, a TCG-PEW Residency Grant, a Fosse Fellowship, the OBIE and Drama Desk, and the Drama League Fellowship. Mark is an associate artist of the Roundabout Theatre in New York and a Yale School of Drama graduate.
FRIENDS OF YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE
This group of industry artists, producers and generous patrons
support the Institute at Yale and serve as mentors for YIMT artists.
Debbie Bisno, Chair
Merritt Forrest Baer
Walter Bobbie
Michael DeSantis & Patrick Baugh
Ruth Hendel
Stacey Mindich
Janet Pailet
Eva Price & Avram Freedberg
Hal Prince
Susan Stroman
Kara Unterberg
Barry & Fran Weissler
