it...life is fun, messy and dramatic
and the club life is exactly that.
In a way I feel club-life is just a
microcosim of society as a whole
- an evolution from primitive
drum circles where all the magic
happened - and what better way
to create magic than writing an
immersive musical set in the
iconic Studio 54?
So, I began writing, despite
myself, beginning with one-act
plays in the lab of my mentor,
Curt Dempster, who founded
the famous Ensemble Studio
Theatre in New York City. Curt in-
stilled in us a desire to work col-
laboratively and cohesively with
like (and not-so like) minded art-
ists who shared a vision of free
flowing creativity through sev-
eral different mediums – writing,
directing, music and choreogra-
phy. He encouraged us to reach
beyond our personal definitions
of artistry and to challenge our-
selves across all these mediums.
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 7
54 – The Musical is a chance to
revisit a brief, but revolutionary
period of popular music and cul-
ture - the disco era – as we fol-
low two couples exploring and
celebrating history being made.
The story begins in a recording
studio in September 1976 and
ends a few months later in the
high profile discotheque, Studio
54. My vision for the piece is to
present it as a living installation
where the audience can viscer-
ally connect with the excitement
of the era and identify with the
stories of the songwriters as
they are re-imagined through
the characters these songs have
compelled me to create.
Much of my work is inspired
by my strong relationship with
music and the study of human
nature and is developed through
both traditional and experimen-
tal methodology. I incorporate
not only traditional playwriting
devices but I also use more non-
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