Ferguson Center New Musicals Lab Sponsorship Packet

THE NEW MUSICALS LAB

The New Musicals Lab at the Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts is designed to elevate emerging artists and the development of new musicals in a supportive artistic haven outside of New York. Ilana Ransom Toeplitz (Violet, Reefer Madness, The Prom) will serve as Director-in-Residence for this summer’s lab.

This season’s new musicals include ?????: The Improvised Broadway Musical, cocreated by Ali Reed, Adrien Pellerin and Ilana Ransom Toeplitz; True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical, by Holly Reed and Kelvin Reed; Madame President: An Optimistic Musical, by Jessie Field, Lucy O’Brien and Gabrielle Mirabella, and Untitled Clara Schumann Musical (working title), by Shoshana Shattenkirk and Ilana Ransom Toeplitz.

The Ferguson Center at Christopher Newport University (CNU) is uniquely positioned to provide space, time, support, talent and resources from its state-of-the-art facilities. From the moment you walk through its expansive colonnade, it is evident that this place is dedicated to showcasing and supporting artists. Additionally, the musical theatre program at CNU is emerging at rocket speed under the leadership of Colin Ruffer.

Our company of actors was selected through a rigorous audition process and is comprised of 18 hand-selected students or recent alumni of CNU. Honoring our commitment to supporting emerging artists and new works, all participating artists are paid, receive a travel stipend and housing.

If additional funding is secured, the summer will culminate in a Writers Colony, an incubator for experienced writers to develop their new musical projects with talent and resources outside of the “Tri-State Bubble.” During this 10-day development process, each Artist-in-Residence will receive a stipend, housing, travel, studio and rehearsal space, with the option to showcase material and record demos.

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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz - Broadway: The Prom (2018, Tony Nomination), Violet (2014, Tony Nomination). Lincoln Center: Crazy For You 25th Anniversary (2017). National Tours: A Christmas Story!, Dirty Dancing. Favorite regional & offBroadway director and/choreographer credits: Refer Madness (f/Alan Cumming), Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Rocky Horror Show (Park Square Theatre), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (ACT OF CT), Singin’ In The Rain, Sondheim on Sondheim (The Boston Pops), Mary Poppins and Seussical!. Direction of world premieres with: The Drama League, Berkshire Theatre Group, Lincoln Center - Library, 54 Below, NYMF, Adrienne Arsht Center (Miami, FL), Museum of Sex, York Theatre Company, Keen Company & the world premiere of Drew Gasparini’s We Aren’t Kids Anymore. Ilana is a proud native of Pittsburgh, PA, a SDC Foundation Mike Ockrent Fellow and Drama League Directors Project Alum (Leo Schull New Musicals Directing Fellow). Ilana is the Artistic Director of Musical Theatre & Dance of Musical Mentors Collaborative.

IG: @IlanaRansom ilanadirects.com

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MY DIRECTING RESIDENCY THIS SUMMER WITH THE FERGUSON CENTER AND CNU IS A DREAM COME TRUE; IT’S HANDS-DOWN ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME IN MY CAREER, TO DATE. THIS KIND OF THING IS TOTALLY UNHEARD OF, IN THE BEST KIND OF WAY; AND THAT’S BECAUSE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, SOMEONE HAS CALLED A DIRECTOR AND ASKED, “WHICH SHOWS WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?” -ILANA RANSOM TOEPLITZ

Colin Ruffer, Assistant Professor of Music Theater at CNU, specializes in Musical Theatre singing. He received his MFA in Voice Pedagogy for Musical Theatre from Penn State University, where he trained with Mary Saunders-Barton. Ruffer also holds an MM in Voice Performance from The Boston Conservatory of Music. Primary voice teachers include Mary Saunders-Barton, Rebecca Folsom and Jerry Helton. Recently Colin has performed with the Virginia Symphony and appeared as Albert Lennox in the Virginia Stage Company’s production of The Secret Garden. Equally comfortable in musical theatre, opera and concert work, Colin strongly believes in the importance of vocal cross-training.

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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE CONT. Jessie Field is an award-winning queer NYC playwright and director. She has written book and lyrics for many projects, including La Maupin (WINNER 2018 International MUT Competition, WINNER Audience Favorite – 2017 Fresh Fruit Festival) and Rachel (2018 JDT Lab Selection, WINNER Outstanding Musical – 2015 Fresh Fruit Festival, 2013 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Prize for Best Original Play). Her TYA play, To The West, was a finalist in the Growing Stage’s New Play Reading Festival and the school play at Randolph High in 2018. Jessie served as the 2015-’16 Directing Apprentice at Capital Stage and has directed numerous shows in the Boston and NYC areas. She is a co-creator of the YouTube musical webseries Is This Art Now? A Musical in the Time of Corona and a co-founder of Root Beer Occasion Theatre Company. Jessie recently earned her MFA at NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. jessiefield.com Gabrielle Mirabella is a musical theatre actor and writer. Graduate of the NYU Musical Theatre Writing Program, writing credits include: Finalist for the 2020 Theater Now 10-Minute Musical Festival at Merkin Hall with her musical RISE and Co-Creator of the Musical Women’s History Podcast What Will She Do Next?

Both in collaboration with Ernie Bird. Currently, TNNY National Musical Writers Group with collaborators Bird and Field, workshopping their new musical Ren Faire. As an actor: Mamma Mia! and Elf the Musical (National Tours) Regional Premiere of First Date (Straz Center) Professional Premiere of Bubble Boy & World Premiere of Stranger Sings! A Musical Parody by Cinco Paul of Despicable Me (Wolfbane Pro.) As a producer: Anything You Can Do: Concert Series celebrating new works for women (Laurie Beechman Theatre & Dixon Place, NYC) Graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. Proud member of Actors Equity & Dramatists Guild. gabriellemirabella.com Lucy O’Brien is a composer, music director, & pianist from Melbourne, Australia. In 2020, she completed the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU, with assistance from the Australia Council and the American Australian Association. Her numerous music direction credits include national and regional tours, with highlights such as Watch This’ Company (fortyfivedownstairs & Victorian tour), Room8’s Godspell, (Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Arts Centre) and Tony Bartuccio’s Menopause the Musical (national tour). Her credits as a composer include Madame President with Gabrielle Burch and Jessie Field, Adventurers!, with Alex Higgin-Houser (2020, Underscore Theatre, Chicago), mini-musical The Fox, with Jamie Buxton (The Ceiling Project, London, 2019), Jack of Two Trades with Andrew Strano, (Pratt Foundation’s Artist in Residence program, Monash University, 2017), and A Sharp Intake of Breath (Melbourne Fringe Festival 2018, Grassroots Initiative, 2017). She is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, completed the Music Direction Intensive with Goodspeed Musicals (Connecticut, USA), and was awarded a Besen Placement with Malthouse Theatre. lucy-obrien-music.squarespace.com/ 4

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE CONT. Adrien Pellerin is a musical comedian based in NYC. He has music-directed numerous improvised musicals all over the world, including Baby Wants Candy at the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, and Blank! The Musical at Green Room 42. His digital series, Night Crew, was released by Comedy Central in 2019, and Adult Swim released his short, STAYDIUM, in 2020. He’s written and performed in multiple musical sketch comedy shows, and created Stupid Music Videos, a Rizzle Original Series. His work has also been featured by Funny Or Die, Vulture, Mashable, UCB, The PIT, and NYC Public Access TV. IG: @adrienpellerin adrienpellerin.com

Ali Reed is an actor/improviser/singer who has performed Off-Broadway, regionally, and at the acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe and Adelaide Fringe Festivals.

Favorite acting credits include Princess #12 in Transport Group’s Once Upon a Mattress and Sally in Refer Madness. Ali performs musical improv with Baby Wants Candy (UCB), Premiere: The Improvised Musical (The Magnet), and Blank! The Musical (Green Room 42). Next up, Ali will be playing Dr. Madeline Owens in a choose-your-own-adventure, interactive, dating musical called Just Between The All Of Us, which is 75% scripted and 25% improvised.

IG: @alisreed

Holly Reed wrote music and lyrics for “That’s What Friends Do” (along with husband/composer Kelvin Reed) for Girlhood The Musical (CPA Theatricals).

Holly and Kelvin also wrote the grade school musical Camp Mcauliffe and the new holiday musical True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical (The York Theatre Developmental Reading Series 2019, Theatre in the Circle Cocoon New Musicals 2019). Holly is also a vocalist, actor, music director and performance coach. She is a member of ASCAP, Maestra Music, and the Dramatists Guild. She is the owner and Creative Director of Reed Creative Group, a graphic and web design studio, and MusicalWriters.com, an online resource and community to equip and encourage musical theatre writers.

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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE CONT.

Kelvin Reed has served as a music and worship pastor for over 25 years. He is an avid pianist, composer and arranger and has produced and directed several choral recording projects. His choirs have performed in Chicago, New Orleans (with Lenny Kravitz), New York City, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. He has also been music director for numerous theatre productions. Kelvin was co-composer (along with wife Holly) for “That’s What Friends Do” for Girlhood The Musical by Larry Little, Camp Mcauliffe, and True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical.

Kyle Ronyecs is a stage manager operating in New York City, Northern VA, and DC. Kyle received his B.A. in Theatre from Christopher Newport University in 2019 and will be pursuing his M.F.A. in stage management this Fall at Columbia University. Past projects include ASM Apprentice on Wicked (Broadway), stage manager for Hazing U (NYTF), and production stage manager for We Aren’t Kids Anymore (Ferguson Workshops). Kyle is also the Producer and Co-Founder of Steadfast Theatre and the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Class Act Players Theatre Company. When not stage managing, Kyle is the operations manager for the Alexandria Drive-In Movie Theatre in Alexandria, VA. kyleronyecs.com.

Shoshana Yavneh Shattenkirk (Shoshi) is a composer, pianist, and former Wall Street stock analyst. Her music has been performed at venues including Lincoln Center, BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, Dramatists Guild Foundation, Musical Theatre Factory, US Mint, University of South Florida, Maison New Orleans, St Cecilia Music Society, Loyola University New Orleans, Times Square, and others.

She studied piano from age 4, along with harp, viola, and steel drums. Her first composition, written at age 6, placed in the Florida Reflections Competition.

By age 10, she had given hundreds of recitals and placed in several concerto competitions. Shoshana attended Interlochen Arts Camp for piano (won Interlochen division-wide piano award), dance, and theatre. Shoshi majored in languages and cultures at Loyola University New Orleans, attended Columbia University’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical program, and worked on Wall Street.

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June 8-17, 2021 CREATIVE TEAM

Adrien Pellerin

Ali Reed

Co-Creator, Performer and Writer

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz

Co-Creator, Composer and Music Director

Co-Creator, Direction and Choreography

The lights come down. The curtain rises. And the performers have no idea what will happen next. ????? The Improvised Broadway Musical has all of the heart and magic of a beloved Broadway musical with the raucous insanity of an underground comedy show. A night unlike any other filled with laughter and joy for both avid theatregoers and Broadway newcomers alike. Featuring a rotating cast of veteran improvisers, Broadway performers and special guest stars, we create a brand new, never-before-seen musical on the spot inspired by your suggestion of a title of a musical that doesn’t exist.

No script, no score, no choreography — only limitless possibilities.

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June 18-28, 2021 CREATIVE TEAM

Holly Reed

Kevin Reed

Book, Lyrics and Music

Music

Sue Gilad and Larry Rogowsky

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz

Producers

Direction and Choreography

True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical tells the story of young Benjamin Patterson, who finds the holiday season both joyful and challenging. When his widowed father is deployed on a top-secret mission just weeks before Christmas, Ben and his sister Kami’s already turbulent lives are shaken again. With a wish, a letter, and some unique seasonal help, the Patterson family discovers what just an ounce of belief can do. Told through the lens of a child on the spectrum, True North is a magical and insightful story about being authentic, accepting change and holding an unwavering hope in the magic of Christmas.

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June 29-July 11, 2021 CREATIVE TEAM

Gabriella Mirabella

Jess Fields Lyrics

Book

Lucy O’Brien

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz

Music

Direction and Choreography

Amy, author of the best-selling feminist coffee-table book, “Madame President,” loses faith in herself and her country following Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election. Her intense sorrow, mixed with a bit of bad weed, leads her into her very own book. While inside the pages, she meets the past women presidential candidates she so admires, such as Victoria Woodhull, Shirley Chisholm, Gracie Allen, LaDonna Harris, and yes, Hillary Clinton. Can Amy find her way back home? And, even if she does, will she want to return? Madame President: An Optimistic Musical is a celebration of those women who have blazed the trail, and those who are continuing the journey.

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Untitled Clara Schumann Musical (working title)

July 13-22, 2021 CREATIVE TEAM

Shoshana Yavneh Shattenkirk Music and Lyrics

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz Direction, Book and Lyrics

Clara Schumann was the Beyoncé of her day and a genius in her own right, so why do we only know about her as a rival to Liszt, and a Muse to Brahms and her husband, Robert?

On the brink of young adulthood, a young artist is hiding in the broom closet before her compositional debut. Through her lens, we navigate this story of chosen family, the power of a single note, and making the most of the hand we’re dealt -- the story of Clara Schumann. The future is female, but the past was female, too.

Designed to be a collaboration between a symphony and a theatre, the grandeur of an orchestra and the magic of Broadway blend together with original music, interwoven with melodies inspired by some of Clara’s most beautiful works. Symphony and theatre audiences will delight in the true story of this brilliant prodigy, boss virtuosa, artist and single mom.

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COMPANY

Sarah Allbrandt

Matthew Burgess

Alexis Holland

Diego Bly

John Byrd

Renee Kauffman

Amara Breisch

Charlie Grass

Alexandra Lagos

Kevin Brunette

Autumn Laverne 11

COMPANY CONT.

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Adam Lekang

Bryson Olivio

Matt Stevenson

Katie Murphy

Tanner Payne

Remy Thompson

Ty Norris

Madison Raef

Madeline Witmer

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WHEN YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH TALENTED AND PASSIONATE PEOPLE AND ASK THEM TO GIVE THEIR VERY BEST, YOU’LL BE AMAZED AT WHAT THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH.

-PAUL TRIBLE, PRESIDENT OF CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY

The inaugural season for Ferguson Center’s New Musicals Lab is going to be incredible!

Seven weeks.

Workshops lasting just 10 days.

Four new musicals.

Exciting, new writers and composers representing the future of musical theatre. Casts featuring the very best of Christopher Newport University’s musical theatre students augmented by established guest artists from New York, plus a two-week intensive writers colony where teams can work, incubating new musicals while collaborating with CNU’s young artists.

How much can our dedicated team of passionate artists accomplish in just two weeks?

We’re about to find out.

Your Tax-Deductible Gift Makes a Difference!

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SUPPORTING THE VISION GIVING OPPORTUNITIES $75 - pays for one additional musician per rehearsal $200 – pays the travel stipend for one guest artist $250 – pays for housing for one guest for one week $300 – pays an actor for one week $400 – pays a writer or composer for one week $500 – pays for a guest performer for three days $600 – pays for a guest music director for one week $1,500 – sponsors a creative team for a week $2,000 – underwrites the director for a week $2,500 – sponsors a team for the writers colony $5,000 – pays for the stage manager for the season $7,500 - underwrites the artistic producer $20,000 – sponsors the full writers colony $20,000 – sponsors one lab (one creative team and cast) for two weeks $40,000 – sponsors writers colony for two seasons $100,000 – sponsors the New Musicals Lab season

TO LE ARN MOR E A B OUT G IV I N G A N D T HE O P P O RT UN ITY TO N A ME T H E DIR E C TOR -IN-R E S I D E N C E C HA I R, P LE AS E C O NTACT B R U C E B R ONST E IN AT B RUC E . B RO NST E I N @ C N U. E D U.

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THE CENTER Designed by renowned architects I.M. Pei and Henry Cobb, Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts provides a world-class facility for CNU’s theater and music programs. Students and audiences from throughout Virginia and beyond enjoy year-round attractions featuring the finest artists in the world.

Performance spaces include a 1,700-seat Diamonstein Concert Hall, 500-seat Peebles Theatre and 250-seat Studio Theatre. It houses the Departments of Fine Art and Art History, Music, and Theater and Dance, and also includes art galleries, art studios, workshops and rehearsal spaces.

Since opening in 2005, the Ferguson Center has become an international force, with more than 2 million people having experienced hundreds of performances in its acoustically superb theatres.

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