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— L-R: Barbara Tomasic, Erin Palm, Damon Jang. Photo credit: Emily Cooper IN TUNE CONFERENCE Touchstone Theatre and the Arts Club Theatre Company are proud to announce the return of the In Tune Conference June 20 – 28 2013 Following the success of the 2011 In Tune Conference, the event returns to Granville Island in late June 2013, animating Granville Island with a full palate of events that explore and celebrate the creation of original Canadian musicals and music theatre. Co-Curated by Touchstone’s Artistic Director Katrina Dunn and the Arts Club’s Literary Manager Rachel Ditor, In Tune’s nine action-filled days combine the discussion and networking of an industry conference with the excitement and innovation of a development event. The many public offerings allow audience members a great glimpse into the newest Canadian musicals in development, and the ideas that are moving the form forward. In Tune’s programming includes Masterclasses, Workshops of new works, Showcases, and Panel Discussions. 2013’s Masterclasses feature multiple Tony nominated, award-winning composer, lyricist and librettist, Michael John LaChiusa, teaching a combined composition and book writing intensive with playwright, lyricist, librettist and Tony Award nominee Sybille Pearson. Titled “In The Works” this class is an amazing opportunity to learn from two of American musical theatre’s most important and successful innovators. The other two Masterclasses are led by two of Canada’s leading musical theatre practitioners: freelance director Robert McQueen teaching vocal performance and Artistic Director of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre Kelly Robinson teaching direction. Showcase highlights include the Canadian Songbook Cabaret, curated by Musical TheatreWorks’ Barbara Tomasic and hosted by Jay Brazeau, featuring rarely heard treasures from the Canadian songbook performed by Vancouver luminaries. Also of note is In Tune’s Feature Presentation: Tom Pinkerton; The Ballad of Butterfly’s Son, with book and lyrics by Hiro Kanagawa and music and lyrics by David MacIntyre. Come and experience 30 minutes of this in-progress stunning new work, which follows on from the events of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly. Robert McQueen directs this excerpt, sung by some of Vancouver’s finest, and followed by audience feedback. Not to be missed is Peter Jorgensen leading Michael John Lachiusa and Sybille Pearson through a comprehensive public interview, delving into their career highlights, their creative process, and the business aspects of writing musicals. And capping off In Tune are several sessions shared with the overlapping conference of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, which include Live Action Case Studies of 10 new musicals in development and a panel discussion on the emerging field of musical theatre dramaturgy from a cross-border perspective. Full information and registration details: http://www.touchstonetheatre.com/productions/in-tune
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE PUBLIC EVENTS Saturday June 22 INFORMATION SESSION – Mapping The Country; New Musical Opportunities In Canada An overview of some of the great new initiatives and opportunities for the commissioning, development, premiering and disseminating of new musicals in Canada. A groundswell of interest is giving rise to exciting new programs all across the country that will be detailed in a session led by In Tune Co-Curator Katrina Dunn and featuring leading practitioners from around the country. Sunday June 23 KEYNOTE AND CABARET – Canadian Songbook Cabaret Hosted by Jay Brazeau A local musical theatre luminary leads the Conference charge with a short Keynote address reflecting on the past, present and future of original Canadian musicals. Directly following, Jay Brazeau hosts an evening of songs from the Canadian songbook. An amazing and rare opportunity to hear songs from Canadian musicals, both well-known and hidden gems, sung by some of the local scene’s most dynamic performers. Curated and directed by Musical TheatreWorks’ Barbara Tomasic. Thursday June 27 RESEARCH PRESENTATION - The In Tune Papers; New Critical Thinking On The Musical Theatre Genre From Writers And Researchers Four short presentations, detailing some of the newest ideas in musical theatre theory and some of the most innovative methods in current practice, from leading scholars and writers. Dynamic and lively, this session promises to push the envelope and stimulate thought. THE INTERVIEW (Part 3 of the “In The Works” Masterclass) Peter Jorgensen leads Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson through a comprehensive interview delving into their career highlights, their creative process, and the business aspects of writing musicals. Followed by an open Q and A. MICHAEL JOHN LACHIUSA A composer, lyricist and librettist, Michael John LaChiusa was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2000 for his score and book for both MARIE CHRISTINE and THE WILD PARTY and received another nomination in 1996 for his libretto for CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD. In 1993 he won an Obie Award for his musicals FIRST LADY SUITE and HELLO, AGAIN. He was the recipient of the first Stephen Sondheim Award (1989), the Gilman-Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award (1995) and the Kleban Foundation Award (1999). His work has been produced by the Williamstown Theater Festival, Lincoln Center Theater Company, The Public Theater, Second Stage, and The Mark Taper Forum, prior to subsequent productions across the United States, and in London, Budapest, Melbourne, Stockholm, Seoul and other international cities. Recent projects include GIANT, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, with a libretto by Sybille Pearson, and QUEEN OF THE MIST, which won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical in 2012, and was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards. SYBILLE PEARSONSybille Pearson wrote the book for the musical BABY, with a score by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She collaborated with Michael John LaChiusa on the musical GIANT which opened in May 2009 at the Signature Theatre in Washington DC, and has had subsequent runs at the Dallas Theater Center in 2012, and The Public Theater in New York City in 2012. With Mr. LaChiusa, she recently completed a new opera commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Company. As a playwright her plays have been commissioned and performed at the Manhattan Theater Company, The Vineyard Theater, The New York Theater Workshop, the Mark Taper Forum as well as in London, Europe and Australia. She is a founding member of The Playwrights Circle at New York Theatre Workshop. She is a Professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, teaching musical theater writing and has been a panelist for the O’Neill Center Musical Theater Conference. Friday June 28 SHOWCASE - Live Action Case Studies
Get a taste of the most current and innovative work in the genre with this showcase featuring short excerpts from 12 new Canadian musicals, including works currently in development or musicals that have been recently premiered. Along with each excerpt are short descriptions of the unique creation process that led to each work. A live action consideration of how musicals are being created in this country. In conjunction with the LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas) Annual Conference PANEL DISCUSSION - New Musical Developments: Dramaturgy, Workshopping and Showcasing on Both Sides of The Border An international panel on new musical development and dissemination featuring leading figures from the US and Canada. Led by renowned Canadian dramaturg Paula Dankert, this debate is designed to spark conversation leading to new opportunities for composers and book writers in Canada. FEATURE PRESENTATION – Tom Pinkerton; The Ballad of Butterfly’s Son At the end of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, the 3-year-old child of Cio-Cio and B.F. Pinkerton is whisked away to America to be raised by Pinkerton and his American wife, Kate. Set 20 years after these events, Tom Pinkerton finds the child struggling to become a man and searching for the mother he never knew. We travel with the youth, now called Tom, as he revisits the Nagasaki of his birth to find love and self-realization. But is he fated to repeat the sins of his father? After a workshop as part of In Tune, our Feature Presentation shows 30 minutes of this stunning new work in staged reading form, sung by some of Vancouver’s finest and directed by Robert McQueen. Audience feedback to follow. MASTERCLASSES Saturday June 22 MASTERCLASS – Song Interpretation Re-Charge; A one-day Masterclass for Musical Theatre Performers with Robert McQueen This class will give students a chance to dig into song interpretation using the skills and coaching that have made Robert a renowned and sought-after teacher. The material can be something that is new to you, or a song that you have had in your back pocket for awhile - or a song that you used to do, it went stale, but you still love it and want to revitalize it. Robert’s dynamic classes are famous for helping performers progress by leaps and bounds and create truly compelling songs. Students should bring a couple of selections as, time allowing, they may be able to do more than one song. ROBERT MCQUEEN Canadian director, dramaturge and teacher, Robert McQueen, has worked across the United States, Canada and internationally. Notable productions include William Finn & James Lapine’s FALSETTOS, Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, for which he was nominated for a 2012 Dora Mavor Moore Award, and Adam Guettel’s THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, all for Toronto’s Acting Upstage. Recent opera productions include Vancouver Opera’s THE MAGIC FLUTE for which Robert served as director and dramaturge as well as creating the libretto adaptation. He dramaturged and directed the new music theatre work WHERE ELEPHANTS WEEP, which premiered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and featured an orchestra of Cambodian traditional and contemporary musicians. In the commercial theatre Robert was the Associate Director for the Broadway and national touring productions of MAMMA MIA. He has taught Masterclasses with The Canadian Opera Company, The Shanghai Academy, and Teatro Mejor of Mexico City among many others. Tuesday June 25 MASTERCLASS – Directing Lyric Theatre; A one-day Masterclass in Directing for Opera and Musical Theatre with Kelly Robinson Kelly’s class is an extensive overview of the skill sets of directing for opera and musical theatre. In this day-long seminar he will lead directors through a series of topics seminal to the directing challenges they face in lyric theatre. Areas to be discussed include the “meaning” of music, the transition between speech and song, song staging techniques, the function of the chorus, the challenge of acting through singing, and the unique design challenges of music theatre. Kelly's extensive experience and expertise make this class suitable for experienced directors, as well as acting as a great introduction to emerging artists or those new to the medium. KELLY ROBINSON With a career that spans theatre, opera, and film, Kelly Robinson’s award-winning work as a director and choreographer has been seen at the National Arts Centre, Canadian Stage, the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, the Palace Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Centre in New York, Theatre Royal Plymouth, and London’s West End in the United Kingdom. His work with opera includes the companies of Portland, Calgary, Dallas, Arizona, Québec City, Utah, and Minnesota, and the world premiere of LILLIAN ALLING at Vancouver Opera. Film and television credits include choreography for Columbia Pictures, CBC, NBC, and ABC Television. He has taught at The New School for Drama in NYC, in the opera schools at The University of Maryland and Michigan, and at Ryerson University in Toronto. Kelly is currently the director of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre, a position he has held since 2008. Wednesday June 26 & Thursday June 27 MASTERCLASS – In The Works: A two-day Masterclass in New Musical Creation with Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson An amazing opportunity to learn from two of American musical theatre’s most important and successful innovators. PART 1 The Learning - June 26: 10am to 1pm – A series of lectures on the components of a musical, including discussion of book, lyric, music, and dance. PART 2 The Mentoring - June 26: 2pm - 5pm & June 27th 10am to 1pm – A Critique Lab in which Sybille and Michael John will work through participants’ material and help them take it to the next stage. By application. PART 3 The Interview - June 27: 2pm - 5pm, Revue Stage (Open to the Public) Peter Jorgensen leads Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson through a comprehensive interview delving into their career highlights, creative process, and the business aspects of writing musicals. Followed by an open Q and A. MICHAEL JOHN LACHIUSA A composer, lyricist and librettist, Michael John LaChiusa was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2000 for his score and book for both MARIE CHRISTINE and THE WILD PARTY and received another nomination in 1996 for his libretto for CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD. In 1993 he won an Obie Award for his musicals FIRST LADY SUITE and HELLO, AGAIN. He was the recipient of the first Stephen Sondheim Award (1989), the Gilman-Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award (1995) and the Kleban Foundation Award (1999). His work has been produced by the Williamstown Theater Festival, Lincoln Center Theater Company, The Public Theater, Second Stage, and The Mark Taper Forum, prior to subsequent productions across the United States, and in London, Budapest, Melbourne, Stockholm, Seoul and other international cities. Recent projects include GIANT, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, with a libretto by Sybille Pearson, and QUEEN OF THE MIST, which won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical in 2012, and was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards. SYBILLE PEARSON Sybille Pearson wrote the book for the musical BABY, with a score by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She collaborated with Michael John LaChiusa on the musical GIANT which opened in May 2009 at the Signature Theatre in Washington DC, and has had subsequent runs at the Dallas Theater Center in 2012, and The Public Theater in New York City in 2012. With Mr. LaChiusa, she recently completed a new opera commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Company. As a playwright her plays have been commissioned and performed at the Manhattan Theater Company, The Vineyard Theater, The New York Theater Workshop, the Mark Taper Forum as well as in London, Europe and Australia. She is a founding member of The Playwrights Circle at New York Theatre Workshop. She is a Professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, teaching musical theater writing and has been a panelist for the O’Neill Center Musical Theater Conference. To register for Masterclasses contact Chelsea Haberlin – dramaturg@artsclubtheatre.com INDUSTRY EVENTS (NOT PUBLIC) Thursday June 20, Friday June 21 & Monday June 24 ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION – New Directions for Canadian Musical Directors An opportunity for local and visiting Musical Directors to converse about their artistic and professional development concerns, and how In Tune might serve those in the future. Led by Maritime composer and musical director Jonathan Monro. ABOUT THE PRODUCING COMPANIES
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