Teaching Young Actors Presents SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, Opening Today

Tickets are now on sale for Songs for a New World at Drama Learning Center in Columbia. This re-imagining by director Stephanie Lynn Williams and the TYA company turns the conventional interpretations of Jason Robert Brown's song cycle upside down by setting the piece in a future where Earth is on the verge of being destroyed and its history lost. Groups of people from various walks of life are selected for a mission to find a new world in the event that the planet is annihilated. Audiences will join them as they explore, remember, question, and move forward.

With music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, 13, Parade), Songs for a New World is a story told eponymously through a series of songs running the scope of today's popular musical styles from folk rock to gospel. Noteworthy songs include "Stars and the Moon," "The River Won't Flow," and "Flying Home." "Without a traditional book, we have been given the opportunity to really make this show our own-to tell a story on our own terms," states director Stephanie Lynn Williams. "The piece is filled with water and air imagery in the musical themes that are woven throughout the work. There's no explanation for the drastic jumps in time, and there are rarely transitions to get you from one place to another. So we decided to try a completely different approach with this show. We don't want to throw it in the face of our audience members, though," Williams continues. "We still want to give the audience a chance to come to their own conclusions about why these characters are here and making this music." As a part of the educational component of the class, TYA students have collaborated on the development of the concept for this production in every aspect, including character study and costume design.

Songs for a New World is presented with permission through special agreement from Music Theatre International.

Drama Learning Center's Teen Professional Company, TYA (Teaching Young Actors), presents its spring production ofSongs for a New World from June 14-21, 2013 at Drama Learning Center in Columbia. Available by audition only, the TYA program allows students to work in a professional theatre environment as they learn about all aspects of theatrical work.

Show Dates & Times:

June 14-15, 20-22 @ 7:30 PM

June 16, 22 @ 2:00 pm

Production Staff:

Director: Stephanie Lynn Williams

Music Director: Tiffany Underwood Holmes

Lighting Design: Cory Jones

Stage Managed by: Nick Mercer

Starring TYA Company Members:

Meredith Beisel, Katie Bogdan, Claire Cerand, Lila Cooper, Seth Fallon, Bobby Grady, Carter Grove, Hailey Ibberson, Alaina Kahn, Chris Niccolini, Austin Pearsall, Emily Reiss, Alexander Rothfield, Emma Rothfield, Christina Schumacher, Sophie Smith, Tori Stroud, Laura Taylor, Amanda Updegrove, Anna Wehr

Featuring TYA Alums:

Nick Mercer and Brady Stevens

Special Guest Artist:

Troy D. Hopper

Tickets:

On sale now at www.dramalearningcenter.com or by calling 410-997-9392.

$16 in advance

$17 at the door

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