 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 Pat Valera, director and writer of the Filipino musical Mula sa Buwan (From the Moon), a re-telling of Cyrano de Bergerac set in 1940s Manila.
Pat shares his insights into the history of musical theatre in the Philippines, his journey to being a director, and the story behind the creation of Mula sa Buwan! Mula Sa Buwan will be available to stream on demand with English subtitles March 24-26, 2023. For more info and tickets, visit www.mulasabuwan.com. Pat Valera is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and producer for the stage currently based in the Philippines. He is a recipient of the Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature, Aliw Awards, Asian TV Awards, among others. In 2022, he staged his musical ‘Mula sa Buwan’ (From the Moon) under Barefoot Theatre Collaborative — an adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac now set in World War 2 Philippines among young misfits, fools, and dreamers. That same year, the production embarked to create a proshot of the film which is now available for a global release. Follow Mula Sa Buwan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
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? Become 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 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. 
In part two of our special on Metro Theater Company, I chat about the brand new musical Spells of the Sea with director Julia Flood and composer Guinevere Govera.
Discover how the magical new musical transformed from a dorm room quarantine project to a podcast and then became a fully fledged state musical! Hear how the University of Texas facilitated the project, the challenges of creating new work in the age of covid, and how actor-musos helped to solve a tricky problem! The world premier of Spells of the Sea opens at the Metro Theater Company in St Louis on February 10, 2023. Streaming details will be announced soon. Purchase tickets here! Julia Flood has directed Digging Up Dessa, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus, The Hundred Dresses, Frida Libre, Bud, Not Buddy, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, Out of the Box, Talkin’ Trash, Afflicted: Daughters of Salem, Unsorted, and Say Something, Do Something! for Metro Theater Company since she moved to St. Louis to become artistic director in February 2014. Julia served on the national board of directors of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA from 2011 to 2019, and brings more than 40 years of experience to her role as artistic director of Metro Theater Company. Learn more at MTC. Guinevere Govea is an award-winning actress, writer, and composer from Austin, Texas. She is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and dance as well as a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Guinevere’s first musical, Trash! The Musical, was a semi-finalist for the O’Neil National Musical Theatre Conference in 2021. Her second, Spells of the Sea, won Best Original Script at the B. Iden Payne Awards in Austin. Learn more at www.guineveregovea.com and follow on Instagram. 
In the first of two episodes featuring Metro Theater Company in St Louis, host Luisa Lyons chats with Joe Gfaller, MTC's Managing Director.
Tune in to this fun and informative chat to discover:
Purchase tickets to Spells of the Sea here. Joe Gfaller joined the Metro Theater Company team in 2019. During his tenure to date, Metro Theater Company has seen dramatic growth in both its audience base and its donor base. In partnership with Artistic Director Julia Flood, he has co-led the company through its recent evolutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, from its virtual programming to its safe return to live performances. Prior to joining the MTC team, Joe received national recognition for his work in building young, diverse, and national audiences for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis during his tenure as director of marketing and public relations – and for expanding OTSL’s civic footprint as the producer of the company’s Opera Tastings series, through artist community tours, and the creation and growth of its Engagement + Inclusion Task Force. His career has also included roles with the American Repertory Theater, the Alliance Theater, and 7 Stages, and consulting projects for the National Blues Museum, the Utah Symphony, and the documentary film Flint: The Poisoning of an American City. He has directed over two dozen professional or university productions, including regional premieres by David Mamet, Caryl Churchill, and others. A graduate of Harvard University, he also serves as adjunct faculty at Webster University in the Arts Management and Leadership MFA program. Show Links: Metro Theater Company
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 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 artistic director, writer, and director Sheldon Epps. Mr. Epps shares what it took to film his musicals Play On! and Blues in the Night, how theatre on television influenced his own career, and why we must continue to film live theatre for television.
Sheldon Epps has directed major productions on and off Broadway, in London and at many theatres across America. In addition, he has had an active television career helming some of the classic shows of recent years. He was the artistic director of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse for two decades, and currently serves as senior artistic advisor at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Mr. Epps new book, My Own Directions: A Black Man’s Journey in the American Theatre recounts his rollercoaster ride of a life in the theatre, with all the excitement and occasional anguish that come with the highs and lows. The author’s journey in the American theatre has been amplified by his experience as a Black man who has frequently been “one of the few,” “the first” or even “the only.” My Own Directions is available from Amazon and Bookshop.org (as an associate I may earn from qualifying purchases made through these links). Watch Blues in the Night and Play On!.
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.
Host Luisa Lyons chats with Sean Pollock, director, executive producer, and designer of the upcoming production of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant LIVE!
Sean shares what it was like being a child actor, working with ego driven directors, and the challenges of working with children. He also speaks candidly about prohibitive union rules, as well as the the difficulties of self-producing a TV LIVE production. A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant LIVE! was filmed over two performances at The 14th St Y in early November 2022. Watch A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant - LIVE! on IFT Network. Sean Pollock is an NYC based multidisciplinary writer, director, designer, and teaching artist. Select directing/playwriting credits include: UP IN FLAMES (Annoyance Theatre Chicago), COWL GIRL (LIU Brooklyn), THIS IS A PLAY ABOUT NEWSCASTERS (Austin College, TX), THE BED SHOW (Philly Theatre Week), AMERICAN JUGGALO (Here Arts Center). Off-Broadway: A VERY…SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT LIVE! (14th St. Y), TRUMP RALLY (Theatre Row). TV/Film: A VERY…SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT LIVE! (IFT Network), THE OMEGA-3! A CLIMATE CHANGE MUSICAL ADVENTURE (Museum Of Natural History), WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU ABOUT YOUR CAR’S EXTENDED WARRANTY (NomadTV Festival, Global Shorts Festival), PROTECT THE PIGEONS FROM EATING USED CONDOMS (Absurd Film Festival, Red Film Festival, Global Shorts Festival). Training: Ithaca College, NTI, Directors Lab North, Directors Lab Chicago, Directors Lab West. He is currently a Norman Steinberg Scholar pursuing his MFA in Writing and Producing for Television at Long Island University Brooklyn/Steiner Studios, and the current Artistic Director/Co-Founder of Unattended Baggage. pollocksean.com, insta @seanp_yo. Learn more about Unattended Baggage. Follow Unattended Baggage on Instagram. Financially support A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant LIVE! here. Watch the Feinstein’s/54 Below Concert on Vimeo. The Filmed Live Musicals podcast is available on all leading podcast apps and on YouTube.
Want to stay updated on upcoming musicals? Join us here!
Filmed Live Musicals is where musicals come home. Use the searchable database to find musicals filmed on stage to watch from the comfort of your living room! Visit www.filmedlivemusicals.com to learn more. Let's get social! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Follow Filmed Live Musicals on . 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, 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. 
On the 50th episode of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with Alex Borovenskiy, the founder and executive director of the ProEnglish Theatre and Drama School in Kyiv, the only English-language theatre in the Ukraine.
Alex shares his experience of creating theatre in the middle of a war, how ProEnglish Theatre has adapted and continued to make new work, as well as collaborate with artists and theatres from around the world. ProEnglish Theatre is an independent theatre based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Following the Russian invasion into the Ukraine in February 2022, ProEnglish Theatre has served as a bomb shelter, a volunteer center, and a theatre. Despite the ever present threat of war, the company has continued to create new work, collaborated with theatres and artists in Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, performed at Prague Fest with an adaptation of The Book Thief, staged Pro.Act Fest — an international festival, and continued to teach theatre. Watch the 2022 Pro.Act Fest for free on Scenesaver. Support ProEnglish Theatre at Patreon, or make a donation via PayPal to [email protected]. Visit ProEnglishTheatre.com, and follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. |
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