Ty Defoe News

Musical Theatre Factory (MTF), under the leadership of founding Artistic Director Shakina Nayfack, has announced its fall 2015 season which will support the development of over 15 new shows.

On Tuesday, September 22nd Joe's Pub and Musical Theatre Factory will present the highly anticipated premiere of Shakina Nayfack's sophomore solo show, POST-OP. This performance is a companion piece to Nayfack's autobiographical ONE WOMAN SHOW, which premiered at Joe's Pub in 2013, and subsequently played 54 Below, Sophie's @ Broadway, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Barrington Stage Company, and Musical Theatre Factory (MTF).

The Civilians (Steve Cosson, Artistic Director), the Obie award-winning theatre company, announces the members of its 2015-16 Research and Development (R&D) Group, comprised of writers, composers, and directors who are creating new works of investigative theater.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre (Betsy King Militello, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce the lineup for the SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE and the SONGWRITERS CABARET at the 27th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16. Both events take place at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Registration for Industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival. (Please note the admission process for each event in the individual descriptions.)

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is proud to announce the launch of artEquity, a facilitator training initiative for theatre companies nationwide. Supported by a $145,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, artEquity will provide facilitation skills and capacity building in the areas of diversity, inclusion and equity.

The American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University and The Johnny Mercer Foundation will celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project with 15 emerging professional songwriters from across the country, three award-winning master teachers and Mercer Songwriters Project alumni guests.

Musical Theater Factory will be hosting a party to celebrate the success of its first year. Since its founding in May 2104, the non profit organization has assisted in the development of more than sixty new musicals, with the help of seven hundred volunteers. 

Poetic Theater Productions is thrilled to announce the line up for POETIC LICENSE 2015: subconscious, their annual festival of new poetic theater. POETIC LICENSE 2015: subconscious kicks off today, February 5 and runs through Sunday, February 22. Performances are at the wild project (195 E. 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B).

Poetic Theater Productions is thrilled to announce the line up for POETIC LICENSE 2015: subconscious, their annual festival of new poetic theater. POETIC LICENSE 2015: subconscious kicks off on Thursday, February 5 and runs through Sunday, February 22. Performances are at the wild project (195 E. 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B).

The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project and ReImagined World Entertainment will present 'Arriving In Asian America,' a song cycle collectively written by members of the project with original words and music by Adam Gwon, Timothy Huang, Christine Toy Johnson, Ming Aldrich-Gan, Hyeyoung Kim (with Michael Cooper), Leon Ko, Robert Lee, Yoonmi Lee (with Gaby Gold & Zhu Yi), Yan Li, Jason Ma, J. Oconer Navarro, Kamala Sankaram, Tidtaya Sinutoke (with Ty Defoe) and Jeff Tang.

The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project and ReImagined World Entertainment will present 'Arriving In Asian America,' a song cycle collectively written by members of the project with original words and music by Adam Gwon, Timothy Huang, Christine Toy Johnson, Ming Aldrich-Gan, Hyeyoung Kim (with Michael Cooper), Leon Ko, Robert Lee, Yoonmi Lee (with Gaby Gold & Zhu Yi), Yan Li, Jason Ma, J. Oconer Navarro, Kamala Sankaram, Tidtaya Sinutoke (with Ty Defoe) and Jeff Tang.

Musical Theatre Factory (MTF) will host their monthly Factory Salon, an informal new works open mic night, on Thursday, November 6th, from 8pm to Midnight. Musical Theatre Writers are invited to showcase new songs, and singers are invited to perform songs by new writers.

BC Beat, the bi-annual choreography showcase established to support, explore and experience innovative theatrical dance, announces a line up for Monday November 10th featuring eight choreographers with work performed by a company of 40 artists from Broadway's biggest hits. The evening kicks off with 7pm at Cielo (18 Little W. 12th Street).

The Eagle Project presents its Harvest Moon Gala to support the upcoming production of Vicki Lynn Mooney's play 'Broken Heart Land' to be produced this fall in New York by the Eagle Project.

The Eagle Project presents its Harvest Moon Gala to support the upcoming production of Vicki Lynn Mooney's play "Broken Heart Land" to be produced this fall in New York by the Eagle Project.

The fourth annual Broadway Sings for PKD, a concert benefiting the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, will be offered Friday, August 15th at 9:30 pm at Joe's Pub.

The Yale Institute for Music Theatre announces the creative teams and casting for the two original book musicals, Afterland, music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and book and lyrics by Kathryn Hathaway, and Clouds are Pillows for the Moon, music by Tidtaya Sinutoke and book and lyrics by Ty Defoe, which will be developed in an intensive lab setting in New Haven, June 3-15. The Institute culminates with open rehearsal readings of each project, presented as part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, on June 14 and 15.

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas today announced complete details for Festival 2014, taking place from June 14 to 28 in New Haven, Connecticut. The theme for the Festival's 19th annual event is Transformation & Tradition, gathering together artists and thinkers who have drawn from the past in order to imagine the future in ways that are startling, bold, and exciting.

The Yale Institute for Music Theatre announces the creative teams and casting for the two original book musicals, Afterland, music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and book and lyrics by Kathryn Hathaway, and Clouds are Pillows for the Moon, music by Tidtaya Sinutoke and book and lyrics by Ty Defoe, which will be developed in an intensive lab setting in New Haven, June 3-15. The Institute culminates with open rehearsal readings of each project, presented as part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, on June 14 and 15.

Rachel Kunstadt and Quintessence of Dust Productions present Sing Away the Stigma, a benefit concert working towards erasing the stigma of mental illness, which will be held tonight, May 21st at 9:30 pm at 54 Below.