Something Better Productions Announces 2024 Fellowship Winners

At the 2nd annual Something Better Productions' Winter Gala, partners, Samantha Roberts and Christian Cantrell, announced the first round of recipients of the In the Room Fellowship, Kaleb Sells and Meghan Krencicki.

In the Room aims to open collaborative opportunities for young and emerging artists to work with the team on Here I Am, a new musical set to open Off-Broadway this March.

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The first ever Bontemps Directing Fellow, Kaleb Sells, shared, “I am beyond excited to be working with SBP on the show as the Directing Fellow! “Here I Am” tackles so many of the struggles of our modern social media age head-on, from the need of instant gratification in the form of social media interaction to the way social media impacts our mental and social health. To be able to lend my visions and experiences to Sam Roberts' direction and bring life to this narrative will be a great honor, as I know this work will not only be revolutionary in the theatre community, but also leave a lasting impact on every audience member who gets to experience “Here I Am” in all of its beautiful yet painful glory.” Koval Stage Management Fellow, Meghan, adds “I am so excited to be getting the opportunity to work on Here I Am! This fellowship is presenting me with an awesome opportunity that I never thought I would get to do. I am being presented with the opportunity to gain knowledge in an area of theatre I have always wanted to be a part of. Just to add to that I get to explore these things in a safe and welcoming space. I cannot wait to be a part of this process and see the amazing things this show does! Thank you to the whole team for giving me this opportunity!!”

MORE ABOUT SAMANTHA ROBERTS, CHRISTIAN CANTRELL + SOMETHING BETTER PRODUCTIONS

Samantha Roberts (She/They) is a Composer, Lyricist, Book Writer, Arranger, Choreographer, Director and Performer who received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Temple University. Her directing credits include: Here I Am, Mirror, Mirror, Forget I Said Anything, Just Getting Started, The Quartet, Betrayal, Seussicial, and Godspell. She is incredibly passionate about musical theatre and strives to create non-conforming theatre that can be told by any person and remain universal. They are also a second degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do karate and a proudly certified Covid Compliance Officer. www.samantharoseroberts.com IG: @sammirose_r

Christian Cantrell (He/They) is a Queer, Filipino-American Composer, Lyricist, Book Writer, Orchestrator, Music Director and Conductor who received a BA in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. Their original works include Here I Am (2022), Color Your World (2021), Golden Gate Dreams (2020), and The Waiting Room (2018). Other music direction and orchestration credits include Forget I Said Anything (2021) and Just Getting Started (2021). He is influenced by pop and contemporary musical styles, and strives to write stories for the underrepresented. IG: @christianwritesmusic

In April 2019, Something Better Productions was founded by Samantha Roberts to support new works, beginning with Forget I Said Anything. Something Better Productions aims to produce works by young collaborators looking to bring… something better to the world. In the past year, Something Better Productions has produced 12 shows at 54 below, The Green Room 42, Don't Tell Mama, The New York Theatre Festival and Open Jar Studios, giving countless opportunities to young performers, musicians, directors and designers.
 

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