Yale Institute for Music Theatre Names 2015 Selections

The YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE (Mark Brokaw, Artistic Director) has selected two original book musicals to be developed in an intensive lab setting in New Haven, June 13-28: gilgamesh & the mosquito, music by Bob Kelly and book and lyrics by Sam Chanse; and Horizons, music by Ben Wexler and book and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick. The Institute culminates with open rehearsal readings of each project, presented as a part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, on June 26 and 27.

ABOUT THE 2015 SELECTIONS

gilgamesh & the mosquito
Music by Bob Kelly
Book and Lyrics by Sam Chanse

Paolo is a very special mosquito. His bioengineer creator, Toni, and her classics professor husband, Kamil, lose themselves in work to avoid a conversation that will definitely change their lives. Together with help of Paolo and the legendary Gilgamesh, together they will confront their destiny.

BOB KELLY (MUSIC) is a New York-based composer, pianist, and music director. He is from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and is a graduate of St. Olaf College and the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. gilgamesh & the mosquito is his thesis musical, and will also be developed this summer at NYU Tisch as part of the Collaborative Development and Productions Series. Other works include lobsters live forever, a one-act musical also written with Sam Chanse, commissioned by Leviathan Lab in 2014; A Most Average Musical, a short film written with Jonathan Keebler and Talia Berger; and Waiting..., a song cycle written with Kelly Pomeroy, produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2013 by the World's Stage Theatre Company of Milwaukee. His songs have been performed at 54 Below, Joe's Pub, Barrington Stage Company, Ars Nova, and the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. He is active as an accompanist and music director, currently serving as the associate conductor of A Chorus Line at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport. Bob was the 2013 recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Max Dreyfus Scholarship, and is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. More info at bobkelly-music.com

SAM CHANSE (BOOK AND LYRICS) is a writer and theatre artist based in New York and California. A 2015 Sundance Ucross Playwright Fellow, 2014 nominee to The Kilroys List, and member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, her work has also been supported by the Lark Play Development Center, Labyrinth Theater Company, Leviathan Lab, the Actor's Studio Playwrights/ Directors Unit, Second Generation, Ars Nova, Bindlestiff Studio, Asian American Theater Company, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her plays, musicals, and theatre work include Fruiting Bodies, lobsters live forever (also with Bob Kelly), Correctional (with collaborator/composer Sean Havrilla), Marian Jean, About That Whole Dying Thing, Back to the Graveyard, and Lydia's Funeral Video (published in 2015 by Kaya Press). Sam received her MFA in playwriting from Columbia University, and in musical theatre writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Horizons
Music by Ben Wexler
Book and Lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick

Tom and Susanna's marriage is a sinking ship. The waters get even choppier when Tom's last-ditch effort to win back his wife's affection leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere on a luxury liner with a crew and passengers whose dreams have been capsized-and a smuggled baby white tiger loose on deck.

BEN WEXLER (MUSIC) is a composer, arranger, and teaching artist. His recent projects include composition and arrangements for Lucy Thurber's The Insurgents and Bob Glaudini's Boiling Point (both at Labyrinth Theater Company). He was the Associate Conductor for Jeanine Tesori's Fun Home (The Public Theater), and composed the music for Irene by Sarah Ruhl (New Dramatists). Ben was the music director and orchestrator for Independents (Soho Playhouse), which won "Best Overall Production" at FringeNYC in 2012. With Mark Sonnenblick, he received a Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award nomination for "Best Song" ("All I Saw Was You"). He was commissioned to compose an original song honoring Cynthia Nixon for her 2013 Artist for Equality Award, and is resident composer for A Broader Way, an arts-immersion program for girls from underserved communities founded by Idina Menzel and Jeanine Tesori. He is the recipient of the 2013 Jerry Harrington Award for Creative Excellence (through BMI), trained through the New Dramatists' Composer-Librettist studio, and is now a Dramatists Guild Fellow. Ben holds a BA in Music with a focus in composition from Yale University. benwexler.com

MARK SONNENBLICK (BOOK AND LYRICS) is a Dramatists Guild Fellow and a librettist for Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative. He has developed work with the Duffy Institute at the Virginia Arts Festival, the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, and Prospect's Music Theatre Lab. Mark was the lyricist for Independents (Soho Playhouse), which won "Best Overall Production" at FringeNYC in 2012. Other credits include Wheel of Misfortune (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), Stompcat in Lawndale (Ars Nova's Ant Fest), The Dinosaur Hunters (touring children's musical), and Bunkerville, which was the first student-written musical to be performed by Yale Dramat in more than 30 years. With Ben Wexler, he received a Manhattan Association of Cabaret award nomination for "Best Song" ("All I Saw Was You"), and Mark was a Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist in 2014. He holds a BA in American Studies from Yale College. marksonnenblick.com

Additional creative team and casting information, as well as the schedule for the open rehearsal readings, will be announced.

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