New Musical AFTERMATH Will Receive Staged Reading With Piper Theatre Next Month

Piper Theatre will present an upcoming staged reading of a new musical, "Aftermath," as part of their Spotlight Series. "Aftermath," with music and lyrics by Daniel McKamey, lyrics by Pance Pony and book by James Clements, will be directed by frequent Piper Theatre collaborator, Bailey Nassetta, and presented at the Old Stone House in Washington Park, 336 3rd St., Brooklyn, NY, 11215 on November 10th 2023 at 7pm. Free tickets can be reserved here.

"Aftermath," which has been in development since 2017, is a pop musical that follows the aftermath of a school shooting. Four survivors arrive at group therapy and, while bonding over their grief, they discover the shooter left a diary behind. Now, they must each make a choice - what will they do next? Do they read it, burn it or turn it in? What would you do? Moving, powerful and prescient, "Aftermath" is a testament to survival, community and the winding road of healing. Based on a real experience McKamey had, the musical is a searing examination of the impact of what has become an everyday American tragedy. The project was recently recognized with a grant from IndieSpace's Urgent Opportunities Program.

Joining McKamey, Pony, Clements and Nassetta is a cast including Adelynn Tourondel, Anna DeNoia, Chris Cheng and RJ Christian. This creative team comprises artists from various underrepresented communities including BIPOC, queer, non-binary and immigrant artists. Their collaboration reflects a commitment to diversity and authentic storytelling, as well as the universal message of the musical.

Piper Theatre Artistic Director John P. McEneny described himself as "very excited" about the staging of "Aftermath," stating that "Daniel McKamey is an exciting new composer who has dedicated years to creating this powerful story. With a modern electro-pop score and elements of rap and hip-hop, McKamey, Pony and new book writer James Clements have developed a powerful tale that explores school violence and how students respond to how these stories are told. I have followed this play and its various incarnations for the past three years and am so excited to share it with our Piper community."

Piper's Spotlight Series commissions playwrights to develop their work with a director, a cast, and a line producer. The culmination of this workshop is a staged reading, performed in front of a live audience.

Programming for Piper's Spotlight Series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Piper Theatre Productions is dedicated to producing innovative and accessible theater, introducing young people to the theatrical arts and providing opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their talent.

Since 2000, under the artistic direction of John P. McEneny, Piper has produced more than 40 plays including Bomba and the Coqui, Prospect Hill, Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Not Dead, Splitfoot, Island of Doctor Moreau, We Should have Seen the Lights Already (Matei Visniec North American Premiere), Mother Sauvage (toured to University of Malta), Wendy Darling, Nocturnes, Lincoln Dress, Priscilla Queen of Desert, Hedwig and Angry Inch, Sweeney Todd, Xanadu, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Book of Liz, Miser, Frankenstein, Prospect Hill, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, Tempest, Taming of Shrew, Midsummer, Twelfth Night, and produced the short films, Cold April and Come Zoom with Me.

Piper has also showcased new work by Matt Barbot, Chadwick Boseman, Timothy Braun, Christin Cato, Jane Elias, Emily Feldman, Meredith Hackett, Modesto Flako Jimenez, Melanie Jones, Annie Meek Montgomery, Garret Kim, Nikkole Salter, Lindsey Sproul, Lily Ali Oschatz, Mark A. Galinovsky, Gaven Trinidad, Diana Ly, Carolina Đỗ, Rohana Elias Reyes, Catherine Weingarten, Patti Veconi and residency collaborations with Off the Page, TYA's ReImagine Festival, Siena College, Theater in Asylum and Un Teatru.

Daniel McKamey (he/him) is an award-winning playwright, composer and lyricist based in NYC. Throughout his career, McKamey has been a winner at theatre festivals around the country, earning recognition for his unique voice and his ability to tell stories that resonate with audiences of all ages. He is particularly known for his ability to infuse his plays with humor, heart and a deep understanding of the human condition. His work has been presented at a variety of festivals including the Soop to Nuts Theatre Festival and the QMT New Musical Production, where his work won best "New Musical Selection."

Pance Pony (they/them) is a composer, songwriter, cellist and performer based in New York, New York. Attending Ithaca College, they got their start as a cellist and educator. Pance performed and recorded for NBC, Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y and Alice Tully Hall. They also founded the first record label operating out of a public school, Wolverine Studios. In their spare time, they wrote and recorded songs over cello. In 2017, their song "American Millennial Salvation" won the Global Music Awards for Best Songwriter. Pance attended NYU as the National Songwriters Hall of Fame Scholar in the studios of Broadway Music Director Joseph Church and Grammy-Winning Songwriter David "Swagg" Arcelious Harris. There, they learned to blend their classical training with hip-hop and EDM beats to create a versatile and unique sound. Pance wrote for major-label artists such as Tone Stith, Leo the Kind, JAGMAC and American Idol's Di and Chi. They're now bringing her classical and pop training into the world of musical theatre.

James Clements (he/him) is a Scottish writer, performer, theatermaker and arts educator based between New York and Scotland. Clements has performed at venues including La Mama E.T.C., BRIC, HERE and MITU580, and has been on the creative team for projects at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Lincoln Centre LCT3 and the 92nd Street Y. His source-based experimental plays include "The Diana Tapes" (2016), "Four Sisters" (2017), "Beauty Freak" (2018), "MEDEA/BRITNEY" (2019), "Ellis Island" (2021), "The Aliens Make Thanksgiving Dinner" (2022), "TRACES" (2023) and "Brothers in Arms" (2023). These plays have been described by critics as "magnifying" (TimeOut), "intricate" (BroadwayWorld), "compelling" (The Guardian), "affecting" (Playbill) and "intellectual" (Theatre is Easy), and have been performed in cities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. He has taught at CUNY Queens College and the Wuhan Institute of Design and Science and is an Affiliated Instructor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is Co-Founding Artistic Director of What Will the Neighbours Say? and Teaching Artist-in-Residence and Entrepreneurship Fellow with the NYU Production Lab and the Brookyln Arts Council. Previous residencies include The Cell, Culture Lab and BRIClab. His work has been recognised by the Queens Council for the Arts, DCLA, NYFA, A.R.T./NY and Creatives Rebuild New York, amongst others. He is repped for film and television by WSM Talent, and recent credits include voicing a national commercial for the 2022 Super Bowl.

Bailey Nassetta (she/her) is a queer, Brooklyn-based artist at the intersection of theatre, research and education. She develops and directs new works with emerging and established playwrights and multi-hyphenate artists from varying social locations, including folks with trauma, without housing and with varying abilities. The projects she works on are informed by the unique fabric of the ensemble, the questions they ask and the ways in which they make meaning. Aesthetics emerge from a mission to make theatre that's accessible, affordable, leaves a low carbon footprint and can be packed into one car and performed anywhere. Past projects have taken the form of banana burlesque, immersive bouffant and drive-in vaudeville. Bailey is a teaching artist for Queens Theatre and Irondale Ensemble Project. She teaches theatre and playwriting residencies at public, private and D-75 schools across Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Bailey also teaches STEM to STEAM residencies at the American Natural History Museum and RISE.

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