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Ludovic Alexandre Vidal is working as an author, adapter, and performer in Paris, France, mainly in the field of musical theatre. He's the author of two epic musicals with Julien Salvia as a composer, Revolution, an original creation, and The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, in which he performed the role of Barkilphedro. Both of them were staged during Paris Musicals Festival. He also created with Julien The Prince & The Pauper, an adaptation of Mark Twain's novel, which was awarded with the Marius (French musical awards) for the best family musical in 2008. In October 2007, he recorded the concept album (Ensemble) of Orpheo Song (M. Frantz / I. Bernart), which he performed on stage during Paris Musicals Festival in 2008. Meanwhile, he was the lyricist of the musical project The Shawshank Redemption, with Guillaume Fortineau as composer and Fabrice Todaro as lyricist, an adaptation of Stephen King's short story. In addition, he was the author in 2008 and 2009 of the Marius Ceremony, working on these shows with Raphael Bancou as composer and Samuel Sene as director. In 2009, he recorded the roles of Falstaff and Friar Lawrence for the concept album of Hello Mr. Shakespeare (M. Frantz). Ludovic-Alexandre is presently completing the writing of several new musicals with Julien Salvia as composer as well as the adaptation of several musicals. He's also writing songs for various artists.
Julien Salvia is a composer and musical performer, based in Paris, France. Julien has been following his artistic education in piano and singing for several years in France, notably at the International Musicals Academy, directed by P.Y Duchesne, in Paris. In May 2005, he composed (on a libretto of Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal) his first staged musical, Revolution, in which he played the role of Paul. In 2006, he also created with Ludovic-Alexandre The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel; in which he performed the role of Gwynplaine. These two creations were staged (respectively in 2007 and 2008) during Paris Musicals Festival. In 2007, he created with Ludovic-Alexandre The Prince & The Pauper, an adaptation of Mark Twain's novel, in which he's still playing the role of Gustave. The Prince & The Pauper was awarded in 2008 with the Marius (French musicals awards) for the best family musical. As a performer, Julien also worked as Jerome in Gigolo, a musical by Michel Frantz, as Peter in Ann Frank, a musical diary (J.P. Hadida / I. Huchet), as Aurelio in Orpheo Song (M. Frantz / I. Bernart) or Matteo in the operetta Méditerranée. He also performed the famous roles of Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (S. Sondheim / H. Wheeler) in Geneva (Adaptation and direction: Alain Perroux) and he was recently seen on stage as Marius understudy in the recent Swiss production of Les Misérables (C.M. Schönberg / A. Boublil) in Lausanne. Julien is currently working on other projects, either musicals or pop songs, notably with Ludovic-Alexandre as lyricist.
Nigel Osner is a writer, lyricist, film maker and performer. He is a professional writer associate of Mercury Musical Developments. Author of a children's book called 'Magic in Ravenswood' (published by Heinemann). He helped turn this into a musical, writing the book and lyrics, with music by BB Cooper. This was performed at the New End Theatre in 2002/3 and in Delaware USA in 2008. He has performed his character based cabaret act in various London venues including the Jermyn Street Theatre, the King's Head Theatre and Pizza on the Park. In 2005 he began developing some of his cabaret pieces into award winning short films, appearing in them as a vampire, an actress and a Welsh vicar! He has acted in several other short films. He has written a feature film script called 'The Road to Transylvania'. It is now in pre-production. See www.nigelosner.com
Jon Bartlett trained at the Royal College of Music where he gained a diploma in performance and composition. He is a writer of various musical styles and spent 5 years with MCA Music as a writer and session player. In 1999, Jon set up his own company Melodies Music where with the support of his team he teaches and trains young musicians and adults on keyboard and piano in classical and jazz styles. Jon also runs regular and successful courses in media composition. Jon has also composed original music for media, TV and film projects including campaigns for Audi
Scarlett Deva Antaloczy is a singer, pianist, composer, songwriter, arranger, actress and presenter. ARCT classical piano; MA film scoring; BA(hons) in history and theory. Stage appearances in the UK, US and Canada. Parts include Carmen in Carmen; the witch in Chastity Belt, a prize winning musical in Los Angeles; the lead in several short films including Mistaken Identity. Voice-overs include The Simpsons cartoon The Wonder Years, Government information films and commercials The lead solo artist in La Cage Aux Folles in Los Angeles. Has performed her successful one woman show on both sides of the Atlantic. Has produced, sung on or composed music for commercials. Was commissioned to arrange a contemporary and official version of the Canadian national anthem (A&M). Formed LifeSoundz - events, workshops and indie recordings. Scarlett is also a musician/ healer, (Dr. TCM/DNM, Hons. BA)
Anna Hurkmans, writer, translator and singer was born in Haarlem (Netherlands). She graduated at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and became a teacher of German in secondary schools in Rome. In addition, she wrote and performed recitals with songs of Bertolt Brecht, Marlene Dietrich, with Yiddish and Sephardic songs and with French chansons. Performances took place in the most important Italian towns and in many European countries. She was awarded several prizes for theatre plays, for short stories, song lyrics and film scripts for short films. She played roles in Italian theatre plays and in short films and designed costumes for theatre and films. She recorded the CD with French songs: "Chansons d'amour". With composer Raffaele Paglione she wrote the musical "Vincent" on the life of the Dutch painter van Gogh. It has been performed in the Netherlands by the "Nederlands musical Ensemble" and published in German by Whale Songs Hamburg. Their second work was "Don't cry Butterfly" about an impossible love story between Puccini and Mata Hari. This play was a finalist in "Stages" (Chicago) and Tru-Series (New York), has been workshopped by the Royal Academy of Music and the Central School of Speech and Drama (London) and has had 2 readings in the Midtown Festival (New York) in 2008. Their third work is a musical comedy, "Love's Masquerade", a modern version of Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte". Anna is a Member of SIAE (The Italian Association of Authors), SNAD (National Union of Dramatic Authors Rome) and Mercury Musical Development (London).
Raffaele Paglione was born in Rome in 1964. After obtaining a diploma in pianoforte in 1987 he also studied composition. His interests include chamber music and choir conduction. He has accompanied many interpreters of classical music, opera singers and modern singers. While continuing his studies in Vienna ( 1991-1993) he discovered a great passion for musicals. As well as writing music and songs for many events , he has worked as a composer in musical contests, school concerts and theatre performances. With the collaboration of two opera singers he recorded the CD "L'Amore in musica" (2001) with famous operatic arias and own compositions. His song "Quatrains sans temps" was awarded the Prize "La canzone che non c'è"-(Genoa) and "Too much" the first prize at the International Songwriting Expo (Benelux). At present he teaches music at the "Scuola Media Don Bosco", is engaged in theatre projects and is the conductor of the Choir "Gaudete" in Rome. He has written the music of many musicals: "Il Signore delle Ombre", "Sabbie del tempo", "Don Bosco" and "Maledetti architetti" (in Italian). He wrote the music for the musical "Vincent" (about the life of van Gogh) from a libretto by Anna Hurkmans. The work was performed in Dutch theatres in 2005 by the "Nederlands Musical Ensemble" and published in Germany by "Whale Songs". "Vincent" was a finalist in the competition "Stages 2007" of the Theatre Building Chicago" and in "TRU-Series 2007" New York. The second collaboration with Anna Hurkmans produced the musical "Don't cry, Butterfly - Puccini's Unwritten Opera" , a project they worked on during the Writers' Residency in Belfast and workshops with the Royal Academy of Music and the Central School of Speech and Drama" in London. It had 2 staged readings during the International Midtown Festival in New York (July 2008). Thereafter he wrote the music for the songs of the musical comedy "Love's Masquerade" based on Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte". He is a member of SIAE (Italian Association of Authors) and Mercury Musical Development.
Caden Jones is 28 years old and works as a Programme Officer for a Community Music Scheme in Birmingham. He gained a B.A. Hons. degree in Popular Music at the University of Wolverhampton and is a published songwriter, having successfully placed a song with Sony Music Europe in 2003. He is currently engaged in composing the music and collaborating on writing the book and lyrics for the new pop/rock musical "After the Turn". He has done session work as a guitarist, drummer and backing vocalist with Albert Lee and shared stages with Pete Docherty & Paul Young. His musical theatre credits include: performing extracts from The Rocky Horror Show and Jesus Christ Superstar in 2001 and playing the role of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady in Worcester in 2002. He has also created lead roles in two brand new musicals: Bukharin in "Kuba, Man of Steel" (by Thomas de Keyser) at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham in 2001; and Jonathon in "Rose" (by Kris Byrne and Chris Davis) at the Arden Hall, Birmingham in July 2006. He is now focussing on a career in songwriting for existing artists and for TV & Film placements.
Robert Gould is a graduate of the University of Wales, Swansea, a former teacher and author of history books for schools. Collaborating with composer Ty Kroll, he has written the book and lyrics for the musicals, "Lovers", "Alone" and "Vocalize!". Concerts of songs from "Lovers" and "Vocalize!" were presented at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2002 and 2003 and "Alone" received its world premiere staging in Madison, Wisconsin in April 2003. With co-writer Jimmy Granstrom, he has written the book & lyrics for the musical "The Dying Game", a musical that speaks for the victims of HIV/AIDS in Africa (with music by Filip von Uexkull, Ty Kroll & Tristan Bons) - which received a showcase production at the Greenwich Musical Futures season in 2005. In collaboration with composer Christopher J. Orton, Bob has co-written the book & lyrics for the musical "My Land's Shore", which received its world concert premiere in Cardiff in 2007 directed by Craig Revel Horwood. Bob is currently developing the musicals "Elephant Juice", "B.O.A.T.S.", "Grace Notes" and "Flop! The World's Worst Ever Musical" with Christopher J. Orton as well as "After the Turn" with composer/lyricist Caden Jones. Mark Kelser studied at the Gordon Boys School where his first love, football became the focus of his life until injury curtailed a career at Southampton F.C. Left school at Sixteen and after learning a few chords on Guitar formed a band and started playing clubs and Pubs before eventually heading across the ocean to L.A. where after a varied couple of years and little success, Mark returned to London. He started writing songs and eventually landed a job in a top
Tony Osborne was born in Slough, UK, in 1947, and studied at Royal Academy of Music. Elected Associate 2001. Juror for British Composer Awards 2003 and 2006. member of the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters. Works, performed worldwide, include: the musical 'A Fine Time For Wine' (Book/Lyrics Jonathan Posner), Community Opera, Norden Farm, Maidenhead, 2004, Requiem. Works for Strings include 'Spinning Reels' for 2000 Southwark Festival, Jazz Contrasts; many publications for Faber Music, Recital Music and Boosey & Hawkes; Chaconne Syncopations for Brass Quintet; Whistle Bop Tour for 2008 Carl Nielsen Masterclass, Assens, Denmark; works for Double Bass included in major UK and Australian Graded examination syllabi; others commissioned by Barry Green (Author: Inner Game of Music): Jazz Suite, Klezmer Suite (Ludwin Music), Gershwin Fantasy, Shir Ha-Neshamah. Many Vocal, String and Double Bass works commissioned and published by David Heyes (Recital Music). Lecturer in Composition and Improvisation, University of Reading, Institute of Education. Freelance bassist with BBC Symphony & Concert Orchestras, Royal Ballet, D'Oyly Carte, Theatre Royal Windsor 1966-95, West End Theatres and many local productions; Cabaret with Frankie Vaughan, Faith Brown, Harry Secombe, Lucie Skeaping & The Burning Bush, London School of Jewish Song, Jazz, Recepton music at The Ritz and many London and UK venues. Please visit him online here.
Graham Brown was born just outside Glasgow, Scotland. He joined the Army as a musician, serving in the Gulf War and attending the military school of music, Kneller Hall, where he studied trumpet, piano, bass guitar, and instrumentation. A Master of Arts in film composition followed, having studied at Kingston University. He has always had a keen interest in musicals, playing parts such as Wild Bill Hickok in 'Calamity Jane' and Frank Butler in 'Annie Get Your Gun' and has been a member of operatic societies on both sides of the border. His true passion lies in composition and Frankenstein has been a labour of love for over 7 years. He has been Musical Director for a number of companies including the Camcit Players, the resident light operatic group at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, the Campaign Amateur Theatre Company in Ely, and the Witchford Amateur Dramatic Society. He still plays regularly in the pit across Cambridgeshire. Please visit him online here.
Geoff Meads hails from Cambridge, Geoff started his musical career aged eight, studying guitar and then a number of brass instruments. As a brass soloist in several contest bands he quickly scaled the musical grades and played in many prestigious venues, including appearances at the National Brass Band Championships. Later his interest turned back to guitar, composing and performing contemporary music in the fields of Pop, Folk and Blues. As well as his musical undertakings, Geoff's is a lifetime scholar of audio and video systems. He spent several years as a full time recording & mastering engineer working on projects in many genres. He recorded and mixed the CD of 'Frankenstein' a musical he co-wrote with fellow composer and friend, Graham Brown. Geoff now mixes his time between musical and lyrical composition and as a popular music performer. He also teaches calibration of audio and video systems and is a member of the HAA (Home Acoustics Alliance) and the ISF (Imaging Science Foundation). He regularly sits on audio industry listening panels and is the 'golden ears' for a successful audio company and several audio magazines.
Michael Gordon Shapiro lives in Los Angeles, where he writes music for film, television, and computer games in order to finance his musical theatre habit. Though he has several full length musicals in development, most of his produced work to date has been short form. Fortunately, he's had a good run so far: His ten-minute musical 'The Alleged Adventures of Blenderman' won Best Production, Audience Choice, and Best Actor (for lead James Millar) at the 2008 Short, Sweet, and Song ten-minute musical festival in Sydney, Australia; co-won first place prize at the 2007 Actoberfest Ten Minute Play Festival in North Hollywood; and was included in the recent Los Angeles Festival of New American Musicals. Michael's short musicals 'The Charmed Life' and 'Climb the Smallest Mountain' were both finalists at the 2006 and 2008 Actoberfest competitions respectively, with the latter show also winning the vote for audience favourite. Other works for stage include 'Gideon and the Blundersnorp', a fantasy story for orchestra and narrator. Michael has scored seven feature films including 'Against Time', starring Robert Loggia and Craig T. Nelson, and 'Home Room', starring Victor Garber and Erika Christensen. Recent video game scoring projects include 'Star Trek Conquest' for Bethesda Softworks and 'Empire Earth 3' for Vivendi. Michael obtained his masters in music composition from New York University, and is a graduate of the film scoring program at the University of Southern California, as well as the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop. Please visit him online here.
Noel Katz's wedding was an original musical, getting raves in The New York Times, Dramatics and Theatermania. His Gilbertian mystery, 'Murder at the Savoy', sold out at the 50th Edinburgh Festival, got five stars from The Scotsman, and has been produced four times in Great Britain. His first produced musical was also in Great Britain, 'Through the Wardrobe'. His latest musical, 'Such Good Friends', wowed critics at the 2007 New York Musical Theater Festival, winning awards for lyrics, direction, lead performance, and best musical of the season. In between, he wrote Area 51, On the Brink, Popsicle Palace, The Christmas Bride, The Pirate Captains, The Heavenly Theatre and many others: fourteen produced musicals in all. In the world of improvisation: He's done the scores for a variety of Second City (NY) improv-based revues, including 'We Built This City on Rent Control', 'A Time For Heroes and Hoagies' and 'Generation F'd'. He's utilized song improvisation teaching at Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Circle-in-the-Square and National Dance Institute. Now playing at The People's Improv Theatre is M.C. Hammerstein, an all-improvised musical utilizing structures he created. His professional career began as musical director of Hollywood's 'Off the Wall', accompanying the then-undiscovered Robin Williams. Noel Katz's songs are often heard in cabarets and at auditions. He set music in a wide array of styles to Shakespeare's words for the play, Couplets, and scored productions of La Ronde, Thieves' Carnival and Cloud Nine. His music for Diary of a Scoundrel accompanied the 2006 production at Julliard. Please visit his wedding musical online here.
Michael Colby is the librettist/lyricist of such musicals as 'Charlotte Sweet' (Drama Desk Award nomination),'Tales of Tinseltown', 'Mrs. McThing', 'Slay It With Music', 'North Atlantic' (Show Business award), 'Ludlow Ladd' (various regional productions), 'The Human Heart' (Billy Rose Foundation grant), and 'They Chose Me!' (various productions). 'Quel Fromage', a retrospective of his songs, was presented by Amas Musical Theatre. He began his theatre career as producing assistant at the Stuart Ostrow/St. Clement's Musical Theatre Lab (NY), an early not-for-profit company devoted to the development of new musicals. He's been musical theatre consultant at the Berkshire Theatre Festival and researcher for Dorothy Hart's biography of her brother -in-law, 'Thou Swell, Thou Witty: the Life and Lyrics of Lorenz Hart'. Michael was chief writer for The New Amsterdam Theatre Company, winner of a special NY Drama Desk Award. He's written for The Theatre By the Blind, The NY Festival of Song, and The 92nd Street Y. Among the personalities for whom Colby has created special material are: Angela Lansbury, Michael Feinstein, Sheldon Harnick, Tony Randall, Savion Glover, Cicely Tyson, Ben Vereen, Susan Stroman, Cliff Robertson, Jack Gilford, Paul Shaffer, Linda Lavin, Lainie Kazan, Jane Powell, and Julie Wilson. Current projects include lyrics for: Boynton Beach Club based on Susan Seidelman's film; and Meester Amerika, a musical about 1920s' Yiddish Theatre. Colby is a B.A. from Northwestern and an M.A. from New York University. A member of BMI and the Dramatists Guild, he lives with his wife Andrea and son Steven in New Jersey. Please visit him online here.
Jonathan Posner first became interested in musical theatre in 1984, as ASM in 'Tutankhamun' by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter. His first show (book and lyrics) was 'Spirit of History'; a time-travel romantic adventure, which was premiered by The Riverside Players in Old Windsor, June 1993. He then joined up with Mary McAdam (recently MD of Blood Brothers) to write book and lyrics for 'Hot, Mean & Green' - a modern-day re-working of 'The Wind in the Willows'. It was produced by Chameleon Productions at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre in Woking, June 1999. His most recently-performed musical was 'A Fine Time For Wine' - a musical comedy of manners and romance set in the 1920's and centred on the world of wine - performed by The Riverside Players in Old Windsor, June 2001. The score was written by professional composer Tony Osborne. Two songs from 'A Fine Time For Wine' ('What Right Have I?' and 'The Clock Slows Down') have also been widely performed: at the Great Notley Bowl, Braintree, sung by Sarah Poole with the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, conducted by Iain Sutherland, and by Sarah Poole with Gershwin & Co at the Royal Festival Hall. He is currently presenting a weekly show called 'The Sound of Musicals' on MarlowFM. He also owns Positickets (through his marketing agency), a website which exists to help amateur and small professional productions have access to a full-service box-office system and to sell tickets online by credit card.
Steven Silverstein has for the last twenty years, worked in New York City and the surrounding area as a pianist, music director, arranger, vocal coach, voice over artist & speaker, composer and teacher. He has tinkled the ivories for celebrities such as Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally, Harry Connick, Jr., John Raitt, Deborah Gibson and Carole King. Steven appeared as an onstage piano player in the hit TV show 'The Gossip Girls'. He provided background music for the premiere broadcast of 'At Martha's Table' with Martha Stewart at Sirius Radio. Steven's Broadway credits include 'Blood Brothers' and 'Swinging On A Star'. Off Broadway, he was music director for 'A Naughty Night'. Other Off Broadway credits include 'The Jazz Singer', 'When Pigs Fly, 'The Green Heart' and 'Annie Warbucks'. He was the music director for Neva Small's one woman show entitled 'Not Just An Ingenue'. He has written original music for Kevin Allison's one man show at the People's Improv Theater. On November 1, Steven accompanied Will and Anthony Nunziata at the 19th Annual Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention. He is the composer of the musical 'The Human Heart' (Lyrics by Michael Colby), which received a grant from the Billy Rose foundation. His song The Path You Choose (Lyrics by Ruth Williamson) is featured on John Treacy Egan's CD, Count The Stars. He wrote music for The Boss In The Satin Kimono' which was part of the 2008 Fringe Festival (book by Blake Hackler, additional music by Paul Ford). He composed music for the children's musical The Adventures of The Christmas Elf (lyrics by Barbara Campbell) which was performed by Actors Conservatory Theater. Mr. Silverstein has an ongoing seminar, called 'The Fearless Audition' which he has toured to Washington and Arizona, and has been heard on a radio podcast for the website MusicalTalk. Steven is on the faculty of American Dramatic and Musical Academy in NYC, as well as the Neighborhood Playhouse. He has an MA in Music Education from NYU. Please visit him online here.
Peter Millrose, with close to twenty years as a full time music man, has engineered, produced and/or composed for music for everyone from Chaka Khan, Ben Stiller, Michael Feinstein and Conan O'Brien to Saturday Night Live, PBS and Coke-A-Cola. He caught the music bug from his father Victor Millrose, a pro-songwriter in the 60's/70's, who's hits include Dusty Springfield's, "I'll Try Anything". Please visit him online here.
Terry Hicks is a pianist and composer based on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. He has an extensive background as a solo pianist, having played for many years at major hotels, entertainment centres and weddings. He has also led dance bands and performed in concert with a jazz trio. In addition to his live playing, Terry has a longstanding interest in composition and was commissioned to write the theme song for a feature film. The resulting song was well received but unfortunately the film did not reach completion. A long-held wish to write a full-scale musical was realised in 2003 when Terry teamed up with lyricist Mike Hallett to work on a stage show based around the Art Deco Weekend, an international festival held in the small New Zealand city of Napier, which was rebuilt in the Art Deco style following a devastating earthquake in 1931. The ability to frame the music, dress and décor of the 1930s within a modern context created the opportunity for a fresh and exciting stage show; the wide range of traditional and contemporary musical genres included in A Weekend of Art Deco required Terry to draw on all his abilities as a pianist and composer.
Mike Hallett is a writer, lyricist and film-maker based in Buckinghamshire, England. He has been writing song lyrics since penning them as a form of journaling at high school. Previously resident in Napier, New Zealand, Mike was the lyricist in the highly melodic late 1980s garage band The Glow Babies. After some years in America, Mike returned to Napier where he was involved in its vibrant original music scene. This culminated in the 2001 release of 'Fruitflies in Eden', a CD of original songs influenced by the Boston folk/rock scene. Mike then focused exclusively on writing - as opposed to song-writing - and furnished lyrics to several composers. In this time his lyrical range broadened from its folk and rock origins to include more sophisticated pop styles. He joined forces with Auckland composer Terry Hicks in 2003 to work on a stage show which eventually became 'A Weekend of Art Deco'. On moving to the UK in 2006 Mike became involved in independent film-making. This did not signify a complete departure from song lyrics: two of his short films to date feature songs for which he wrote the lyrics. His short 'My Favourite Time of the Day' was a finalist at the 2008 Jersey International Film Festival, while the title song from his film 'Grand Union Canal' is scheduled to air on BBC Radio Northampton on Christmas Day 2008. For more information on Mike's film work, visit him online here.
David Reiser began picking out songs on the piano at age three and soon after he was composing his own melodies. In 1970 he wrote his first musical, based upon the legend of Robin Hood, which he and his students produced the following year. Soon after that he teamed up with Jack Sharkey to write nineteen musicals over a 15-year period. He has also written with Tim Kelly of Hollywood, Washington, DC, playwright, Bernie Myers, playwright John Chodes of New York City, Pennsylvanian playwrights Jules Tasca and Judy Wolfman and, most recently, with Chicago playwright David Alex. He has also written a series of children's musicals with former student, Don Leonard, who resides in Las Vegas. In all, Mr. Reiser has written music and lyrics for 48 musicals, 29 of which have been published (Samuel French, Pioneer Drama, Baker's Plays and Drama Source) and are in continuous production throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan; all but a few of his unpublished musicals have had at least one production. A complete listing of his musicals (with synopses) can be found here.
Christopher J. Orton hails from Chepstow in South Wales, and began his career as a composer/lyricist at the age of 18 whilst studying opera at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. His musical 'This Time Next Week' was performed in Newport to critical acclaim in 2003 and was work-shopped in London as part of the London New Musical Theatre Festival along with an early workshop of 'My Land's Shore'. In 2006 a concept CD of his musical 'Dracula' (co-written with librettist/lyricist Gareth Evans) was recorded with a cast of West End performers led by Michael McCarthy and received high critical acclaim. With c-writer, Robert Gould, he has written the musicals 'Elephant Juice', 'B.O.A.T.S'. and 'Grace Notes' as well as a major rewrite of the musical 'My Land's Shore', which received its world concert premiere in Cardiff in August 2007, directed by Craig Revel Horwood. He is also an accomplished professional singer, actor and violinist, having gained a post graduate diploma in Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music. His stage credits include 'The Hot Mikado' and 'Martin Guerre' at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury and Jason Robert Brown's 'Songs for a New World' in Freiburg in Germany. In 2008 he won the title of Young Welsh Musical theatre Singer of the Year at the Swansea Grand Theatre.
Mark Harvey Levine's award-winning plays have appeared everywhere from New York to Seoul to Sydney to London. Evenings of his work, such as "Cabfare For The Common Man", have played in Los Angeles, Boston, Indianapolis and Amsterdam. Another collection, "Aperitivos", played in Brazil (in Portuguese) from 2005 to 2007, ending with a National Tour. More info at www.markharveylevine.com. He lives in Pasadena with his lovely wife and son.
Paul Katz is a music producer, musical theater composer/lyricist and performer. Some of his produced works are Tales of Tinseltown and Slay It With Music (with Michael Colby), Seduction (music, lyrics) conceived by Chet Walker (Fosse), and the multi award winning Dirty Dreams of A Clean Cut Kid (Theater Rhino S.F., and The Bailiwick Theater, Chicago.) His songs have been sung by many Broadway and cabaret stars. A performer himself, Paul Katz is most often at the world famous Tavern on The Green, by himself or with his trio, where he specializes in performing theater songs and singing from the American popular songbook. In January 2009, Paul will be performing at a society party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and in February, at another private function in Las Vegas. He teaches voice on two faculties. Currently in development is his new musical, The American Beat.
Both Giles Howe and Katy Lipson also wrote music that featured in both 'Debut' and 'Encore'. You can read their biographical information in the section marked 'The Producers'.