 This week I had the pleasure of attending “What is Reality?” - a Musical Theatre Factory salon hosted by XR Creative Producer Brandon Powers and MTF Artistic Director Brisa Areli Muñoz. The salon explored the world of XR, or Extended Reality, which encompasses virtual reality and augmented reality. Lena Wolfe was also in attendance demonstrating work combining dance, 3D depth scanning, and body tracking. Brandon Powers and Lena Wolfe have both shared their insights into the ever-growing world of virtual and augmented reality and musical theatre on the podcast.  The evening featured short excerpts from new musicals in development that are incorporating XR — including a musical created entirely in the world of The Sims — and a thoughtful and inspiring panel with digital creators. I tried a virtual headset for the first time, the Oculus Quest 2, and experienced the beautiful short musical From Sea to Rising Sea by Mary John Frank and Sigin Ojulu. The piece was filmed in the gorgeous Channel Islands off the coast of California, and I truly felt like I was swimming in the ocean. From Sea to Rising Sea is being toured to schools and providing workshops focused on climate change, theatre making, and taking actionable steps to mitigate rising sea levels. From Sea to Rising Sea is available for free here, and you can enjoy the film even if you don't have access to a VR headset. The evening was exciting, fun, diverse, and a wonderful showcase of the possibilities of combining technology with musical theatre. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Want to experience more musicals in 360º? Check out this earlier blog post to watch clips from Come From Away, Waitress, Aladdin, and more!
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Host Luisa Lyons chats with playwright, actor, musician, and teacher Jack Canfora all about the creation of New Normal Rep, making online theatre, the importance of democratizing theatre, and more!
John Lawrence "Jack" Canfora is an Award-Winning American playwright, actor, musician and teacher. After receiving his dramatic training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he began his career as an actor in regional theater, working mostly in Shakespearean roles such as Mercutio and Macbeth. He’s been hailed by the Associated Press as “White-hot Entertainment” for his off-Broadway plays including Poetic License, Place Setting, and Jericho, a New York Times “Critics Pick.” He was nominated along with Edward Albee, Elaine May, and Teresa Rebeck for The Newark Star Ledger’s Best Play, 2007. Jack is the recipient of two Edgerton Playwriting Awards, for Jericho (2010) and The Source (2018). He won the 2016 Webby Award for Best Writing in a Web Series. Jack is also the Artistic Director of New Normal Rep. Bonus Content! Access New Normal Rep’s virtual production of Jericho by Jack Canfora for free with code NNR2022 at www.newnormalrep.org/bonus. Learn more about Jack Canfora: https://www.jackcanforawriter.com/ Facebook, Instagram Learn more about New Normal Rep: https://www.newnormalrep.org/ Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
The Filmed Live Musicals podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on YouTube. Listen elsewhere? Find the show on your favorite podcast app here.
Want to stay updated on upcoming musicals? Join us here! Let's get social! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Become a patron to get early access to the podcast and site content no matter how much you pledge. Become a patron today! Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons, an Australian actor, writer, and musician. Luisa holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 
Host Luisa Lyons chats with choreographer, director, producer, and digital theatre artist Brandon Powers. Brandon shares his journey to becoming a choreographer/director, and his fascinating insights into the integration of VR and live theatre, Musical Theatre Factory’s XR initiative, TikTok, and the future of filmed theatre.
Brandon Powers is a creative director + choreographer who creates experiences across physical and virtual space. His work focuses on capturing liveness in the digital, building interdisciplinary communities, and shifting culture towards a more embodied future. His key projects include VR saga Queerskins: ARK (Venice International Film Festival), Frankenstein AI (Sundance Film Festival), and Duet (New York Live Arts). On TikTok, Brandon has grown a community of over 70,000 inviting audiences into the process of creating theatre and dance. He founded Constellation, an immersive strategy and production studio building engaged digital communities for theatrical properties. Brandon is a Creative Producer at Musical Theatre Factory, where he leads MTFxR, a program supporting XR musical theatre experiences. He has spoken on the intersection of arts and technology at the TCG National Conference, Verizon’s 5G Lab, Lincoln Center and more. Show Links: Learn more about Brandon: https://www.brandon-powers.com/ Musical Theatre Factory MTFxR 5th Wall Forum Constellation "The Future of Musical Theatre on Tiktok" Medium Article Follow Brandon on social media: Tiktok YouTube
The Filmed Live Musicals podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on YouTube. Listen elsewhere? Find the show on your favorite podcast app here.
Let's get social! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Want early access to site content? Becoming a patron! Your financial support will help preserve the history of filmed stage musicals and the curation of one easy place to find them all. Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons, an Australian actor, writer, and musician. Luisa holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 
Host Luisa Lyons chats with Nick Corston, founder of STEAM Co., a British non-profit that aims to connect kids with their art, and communities with their schools. In this inspiring and energetic chat, Nick shares what sparked his journey, creating the first online videos, and how he kept creativity alive during the lockdown.
Nick Corston was recently chosen as one of the BBC's #100Londoners in their 100th year, for his work with children, creativity and community. Inspired by Sir Ken Robinson's life, work, and No.1 TED talk, Nick co-founded non-profit STEAM Co. that inspires and ignites creativity in children and school communities by helping them run creativity days. Lockdown saw Nick reinvent STEAM Co's innovative school community engagement model by live streaming events from a green screen studio he built in his family home. If you can spare a quid (pound) or a few dollars to help him 'Raise a Million Quids to Inspire a Million Kids’ do chip in here. Links: STEAM Co. Raise a Million Quids to Inspire a Million Kids Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk: “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” Short film: Tayo’s Road Awesome
The Filmed Live Musicals podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on YouTube. Listen elsewhere? Find the show on your favorite podcast app here.
Let's get social! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Become a patron to get early access to content! You’ll also be helping to preserve the history of filmed stage musicals, and contribute to the curation of a one easy place to find them all. Become a patron today! Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons, an Australian actor, writer, and musician. Luisa holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.  Host Luisa Lyons chats with Jim McCarthy, CEO of Stellar and author of the new book Beyond the Back Row: The Breakthrough Potential of Digital Live Entertainment and Arts, which explains the why, how, and what of online events.
In this lively conversation, McCarthy shares the value of an English degree, how working in e-commerce led him to the creation of Goldstar, how the company changed course in March 2020, the creation of theatre streaming platform Stellar, how the NBA can be a model for streaming theatre, the current theatre business model and how streaming can make it better, re-thinking bootlegs, and accessibility. Beyond the Back Row is available via Amazon and Bookshop.org (these are affiliate links and Filmed Live Musicals may earn income from purchases made through these links). Jim McCarthy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stellar, the only full-service livestream partner for professional live entertainment organizers, committed to delivering premium interactive online shows to paying audiences around the world. For nearly 20 years, Jim was the CEO/Co-Founder of Goldstar helping 10 million people go to Goldstar to discover live events nationwide for 5,000 live entertainment organizers. When the COVID-19 crisis shut down the live entertainment industry in March 2020, Jim led the charge to develop Stellar, to help producers create and sell high quality-live streaming events. In August 2020, Stellar started welcoming creators and audiences in beta. Since then, millions of people have live streamed a variety of shows available on the platform. In July of 2022, his new book, Beyond the Back Row: The Breakthrough Potential of Digital Live Entertainment and Arts, was released to help break down the why, how, and what of online, streaming, and hybrid live events. For more info and a full length bio visit Stellar. Filmed Live Musicals is the most comprehensive online searchable database for musicals that have been filmed live on stage. Visit www.filmedlivemusicals.com to learn more. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to content, bonus content in the weekly newsletter, and exclusive access to the streaming calendar, no matter how much you pledge. Become a Patron today! Filmed Live Musicals is created by Luisa Lyons. Luisa is an Australian actor, writer, and musician. She holds a Masters in Music Theatre from London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and now lives, works, and plays in New York. Learn more at www.luisalyons.com or follow on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 
Host Luisa Lyons chats with writer, director, and filmmaker Bartek Podkowa. Topics include how Bartek started out in STEM and became a filmmaker, the difference between filming a short film and filming live theatre, and some of the technical aspects of filming live theatre including lighting, sound, and filming with an audience!
Bartek Podkowa almost became a scientist but ended up making film things instead. He’s the managing director of Seven Hills Films and works as a videographer, writer, film director, editor and livestream producer. Bartek has worked with The Bishopsgate Institute, Southwark Playhouse, Watermill Theatre, MMD & MTN, Maria Friedman, Daisy Chute, and many more. His filmed and livestreamed production credits include Before After, Poltergeist, You Are Here, Fiver, On Hostile Ground, The Wicker Husband and many more. Watch Bartek’s directing showreel on Vimeo and follow on Twitter.
Filmed Live Musicals is the most comprehensive online searchable database for musicals that have been filmed live on stage. Visit www.filmedlivemusicals.com to learn more. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to content, bonus content in the weekly newsletter, and exclusive access to the streaming calendar, no matter how much you pledge. Become a Patron today!
Host Luisa Lyons chats with Tralen Doler, the Vice President of Partnerships & Brand Engagement at Broadway Licensing.
Topics include how the pandemic has changed the game for theatre streaming, the importance of teachers in the early days of the pandemic, ShowShare, Tralen’s “yes and!” approach to digital theatre content and his genius idea for for filming Wicked live, how streaming sports can provide a model for theatre, the case for an abundance of theatre streaming and more! Tralen Doler Vice President of Partnerships & Brand Engagement at Broadway Licensing, previously served as the VP of Partnerships & Programming for Broadway On Demand. Before joining Broadway Licensing, he was the Content Manager at Music Theatre International and Artistic Director of The Little Theatre on the Square. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for New York Theatre Barn and produces the Night of a Thousand Genders gala, benefitting the Gender and Family Project. Visit www.broadwayondemand.com to find a wealth of theatre content from around the world! 
On episode 34 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with Jean-Paul Yovanoff, the artistic director of Musical Theatre Radio and co-founder of the new virtual theatre space, The Jill Edmund Theatre.
Learn about how Jean-Paul got a very early start in show business, career pivots and the creation of Musical Theatre Radio (currently available to stream across North America and the UK), being a musical recording collector in the digital age, and the development of the Jill Edmund Virtual Theatre. Jean-Paul Yovanoff is the founder of MusicalTheatreRadio.com an internet radio station, co-founder of the Jill Edmund Virtual Theatre, Assistant Producer of Vanier College Productions (York University), composer/lyricist/librettist (Paradise Island, Seven of Us), Directing Credits Include: Peter and the Starcatcher, Festival IV, Paradise Island, Secondary Wishes, Nose to Nose. Producing Credits: Ground Zero One Act Play Festival (1996 - 2002, 2018) Vanier College Productions (2017-2022) Education: Musical Theatre Performance (Sheridan College) Theatre Studies - Fine Arts (York University) Jean-Paul has been a Mobile DJ, Virtual Event Tech and owner of Performers Looking for Work, a mascot company. Learn more at www.musicaltheatreradio.com and www.jilledmund.com, and follow on Twitter and Instagram. 
Host Luisa Lyons chats with Ricky and Dana Young-Howze, also known as RnD, theatre critics who throughout the pandemic have reviewed over 200 digital theatre productions.
In this deeply informative discussion, RnD share wisdom about digital theatre, being critics, theatre and accessibility, and the impact of disability on audiences both in person and online. We chat about how chronic illnesses affected Ricky and Dana’s careers, how the pair became theatre critics, how a series of unfortunate events at the start of 2020 almost led to their quitting reviewing altogether and how the pivot to digital theatre opened up a whole new world of access to theatre. We discuss disability and theatre access, the role of critics in theatre, seeking out work by queer, Black, and disabled artists, why brick and mortar theatres have resisted digital theatre, and more! RnD also known as Ricky and Dana Young-Howze (they/them) are theatre critics from South Jersey. They have reviewed over 200 digital theatre reviews during the pandemic. They are vocal advocates for how digital theatre can be tool for indie, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and artists with disabilities. Besides reviewing they offer 1-on-1 Theatre Criticism classes, social media consulting, and dramaturgy. Talk to us at rndyounghowze@gmail.com. Find our articles at www.rndyounghowze.tumblr.com and www.howlround.com/two-hundred-digital-theatre-reviews-and-counting. Venmo: @rndyounghowze. Become a patron at www.patreon.com/rndyounghowze. 
Host Luisa Lyons chats with a leader in the world of digital theatre, Jared Mezzocchi.
Topics include the intersection of theatre and film, how Jared’s mom (who was also his 8th grade math teacher), helped him see the world through numbers and story-telling, we deep dive into the world of digital theatre - what it is, what should we do with it, and delve into Luisa’s favorite question “what should we call it?!” Jared Mezzocchi is an Obie award winning director and multimedia designer, playwright, and actor. Mezzocchi’s work spans the United States at notable theaters such as: The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Geffen Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth, Cornerstone, Portland Centerstage, South Coast Rep, HERE Arts, and 3LD. In 2016, he received The Lucille Lortel and Henry Hewes Award for his work in Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone at the Manhattan Theatre Club. In December of 2020, The New York Times highlighted Jared on a list of the top 5 national artists making an impact during the pandemic. His work on Sarah Gancher’s Russian Troll Farm, Caryl Churchill’s What If If Then and his own work Someone Else’s House was all praised for being some of the first digitally native successes for virtual theater. He is a two-time Macdowell Artist Fellow, a Princess Grace Award winner, Artistic Director of Andy’s Summer Playhouse, and an Associate Professor at The University of Maryland. Learn more at www.jaredmezzocchi.com and follow on Twitter.
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