Sara Cooper News

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the sixth season of its acclaimed American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. All of the program's world premiere operas are presented during the American Opera Initiative Festival weekend,January 19 21, 2018, all in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. The festival begins with the world premiere of a new hour-long work by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, Proving Up, on January 19 and 21, 2018, directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by Christopher Rountree, both in their WNO debuts. Three new pairings of opera composers and librettists Nathan Fletcher and Megan Cohen, Gity Razaz and Sara Cooper, John Glover and Erin Bregman offer new, one-act operas during the festival. Two semi-staged concert performances of each 20-minute opera are presented on January 20, 2018.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood have selected six composers and three librettists to receive fellowships for its upcoming ninth season of Composers & the Voice. The 2017-2019 season will train, and present new works from, composers Matthew Browne, Scott Ordway, Frances Pollock, Pamela Stein Lynde, Liliya Ugay, and Amber Vistein and librettists Laura Barati, Kim Davies, and Sokunthary Svay. The primary focus of Composers & the Voice is to give emerging composers and librettists experience working collaboratively with singers on writing for the voice and contemporary opera stage.

AOP (American Opera Projects) and Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood have selected six composers and three librettists to receive fellowships for its upcoming ninth season of Composers & the Voice. The 2017-2019 season will train, and present new works from, composers Matthew Browne, Scott Ordway, Frances Pollock, Pamela Stein Lynde, Liliya Ugay, and Amber Vistein and librettists Laura Barati, Kim Davies, and Sokunthary Svay. The primary focus of Composers & the Voice is to give emerging composers and librettists experience working collaboratively with singers on writing for the voice and contemporary opera stage.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 16 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals.

Immigration, the development of Luna Park, and new adaptations of the films Bread and Roses and Teeth are among the subjects explored in this concert celebrating new works-in-process created or co-created by women writers.

Complete casting has been announced for the Good to Go Songwriters' Showcase.

The FUTURE IS FEMALE FESTIVAL kicks off with a Flagship Event in New York City at the University Settlement's Speyer Hall, 184 Eldridge St. (corner of Rivington), today, March 3rd at 7:30pm.

Two-time Tony Award nominee Mary Testa (Queen of the Mist, On the Town), Arielle Jacobs (Wicked, In the Heights), Krysta Rodriguez (The Addams Family, Smash) and Jason Gotay (Bring It On, Spider-Man; Turn Off the Dark) have joined the cast of the Good to Go Songwriters' Showcase.

The FUTURE IS FEMALE FESTIVAL kicks off with a Flagship Event in New York City at the University Settlement's Speyer Hall, 184 Eldridge St. (corner of Rivington), on Friday, March 3rd at 7:30pm.

Immigration, the development of Luna Park, and new adaptations of the films Bread and Roses and Teeth are among the subjects of Prospect Theater Company's upcoming Good to Go Songwriter's Showcase, a concert celebrating new works-in-process created or co-created by women writers.

This fall, contemporary opera producer AMERICAN OPERA PROJECTS (AOP) will present COMPOSERS & THE VOICE: SIX SCENES 2016, a concert of opera scenes from ten artists emerging in the world of contemporary opera. Audiences will get a first look at six wildly different new works that range from imagining moments in the lives of famous people such as Sigmund Freud and Mabel Dodge Luhan or events taking place in a spaceship, an asylum, and a uterus. The composers Matthew Barnson, Carlos R. Carrillo, Nell Shaw Cohen, Marc LeMay, Cecilia Livingston, and Sky Macklay and librettists Edward Einhorn, Duncan McFarlane, Emily Roller, and Mark Sonnenblick, were chosen by AOP to spend a year creating new works in its bi-annual fellowship program Composers & the Voice (C&V).

This fall, contemporary opera producer AMERICAN OPERA PROJECTS (AOP) will present COMPOSERS & THE VOICE: SIX SCENES 2016, a concert of opera scenes from ten artists emerging in the world of contemporary opera. Audiences will get a first look at six wildly different new works that range from imagining moments in the lives of famous people such as Sigmund Freud and Mabel Dodge Luhan or events taking place in a spaceship, an asylum, and a uterus. The composers Matthew Barnson, Carlos R. Carrillo, Nell Shaw Cohen, Marc LeMay, Cecilia Livingston, and Sky Macklay and librettists Edward Einhorn, Duncan McFarlane, Emily Roller, and Mark Sonnenblick, were chosen by AOP to spend a year creating new works in its bi-annual fellowship program Composers & the Voice (C&V).

Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced full programming details for the fifth season of the American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering the talents of rising American composers and librettists. For the first time, all of the program's world premiere operas will be presented during an American Opera Initiative Festival weekend, January 13-15, 2017 in the Kennedy Center Family Theater.

Supported by a grant from Queens Council on the Arts, Sara Cooper (The Memory Show, 2014 Jonathan Larson Grant winner), Amy Burgess (Show Me Real), and Julia Meinwald (Pregnancy Pact) will be presenting a concert of songs from their new musical ELEVATOR HEART.

More exciting casting has been announced for Transport Group's benefit concert celebrating the classic 1954 musical, Peter Pan.

The American Theatre Wing celebrates its 2016 Jonathan Larson Grants recipients: Cesar Alvarez (book, music and lyrics), Nikko Benson (music and lyrics), Carson Kreitzer (book and lyrics), and Sam Salmond (book, music, and lyrics).

? The American Theatre Wing announced today that the 2016 Jonathan Larson Grants recipients are Cesar Alvarez (book, music and lyrics), Nikko Benson (music and lyrics), Carson Kreitzer (book and lyrics), and Sam Salmond (book, music, and lyrics). Four prestigious grants of $10,000 each, totaling $40,000, will be presented on Monday, March 21, 2016 at a private event at the WNYC Greene Space. The event will feature special performances of the recipients' work.

Just in, multiple-time Tony and Drama Desk nominees Kate Baldwin, John Cariani, Marc Kudisch, Julia Murney, Mary Testa, Max von Essen, will be some of the performers at Transport Group's annual gala, 'Gimme a Break!' on March 7, 2016.

Transport Group, the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and OBIE Award-winning theatre company, has announced its annual gala Gimme a Break!, and will honor 5-Time Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa and TheaterMania.com and its CEO Gretchen Shugart, on Monday, March 7, 2016 at the New York Times Center, 242 West 41st Street with the Transporting American Theatre Award for their significant contributions to the American Theatre. 

Transport Group has announced that casting has been completed for its upcoming revival of Once Upon a Mattress, which stars Jackie Hoffman (On the Town, Difficult People, Hairspray) as Princess Winnifred and John "Lypsinka"Epperson (Lypsinka's The Boxed Set, The Passion of the Crawford) as Queen Aggravain.  The production, which is directed by five-time Drama Desk Award nominee Jack Cummings III, features Jessica Fontana (Cinderella) as Lady Larken, David Greenspan (The Patsy) as The King, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A Little Night Music) as The Minstrel, Cory Lingner(On the Town) as The Jester, Zak Resnick (Piece of My Heart) as Sir Harry, Jay Rogers (Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly) as The Wizard, and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Things to Ruin) as Prince Dauntless, with Vivienne Cleary, Richard Costa, Michael De Souza, Tim Dolan, Jack Donahue, Amy Griffin, Sarah Killough, Kristen Michelle, Ali Reed,and Doug Shapiro.