Nine musicals in development and their creative teams have been announced for the 2019 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, which kicks off with its first week-long residency June 30 in Rhinebeck, New York.
Selected artists include The Cake playwright and This Is Us writer Bekah Brunstetter, Despicable Me screenwriter Cinco Paul, and Oliver House, who was recently named the inaugural recipient of the Dramatists Guild Foundation's Stephen Schwartz Award for promising talent.
The complete 2019 slate includes Borders (written by Janine McGuire and Arri Lawton Simon); Sean’s Story: Part 1 The Awakening (written by Khiyon Hursey); Almost Heaven (written by Hunter Bird and Oliver Houser); Operation Mincemeat (written by Zoe Roberts, Natasha Hodgson, David Cumming, and Felix Hagan); In a Sunshine State (written by Derek Gregor, Phoebe Kreutz, and T. C. Lind; TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix (written by Brandon James Gwinn, EllaRose Chary, and Sherri Eden Barber); The Golden Spike (written by Don Nguyen and The Lobbyists - Tony Aidan Vo, Tommy Crawford, Eloïse Eonnet, Alex Grubbs, Will Turner, and Douglas Waterbury-Tieman); Narcolepsy (written by Brian Crawley and Heather Christian); and AD 16 (written by Cinco Paul, Bekah Brunstetter, and Stephen Brackett).
The musicals were selected by the retreat’s “Sounding Board,” which includes Tory Bailey, Executive Director of the Theatre Development Fund; composer Neil Bartram; Kent Nicholson, Associate Producer of Musical Theatre, Playwrights Horizons; Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director, TheatreWorks USA; Natasha Sinha, Director of Artistic Programs, Signature Theatre; and Steve Stettler, former Producing Artistic Director, Weston Playhouse.
Established in 2011 by former National Alliance for Musical Theatre Executive Director Kathy Evans, the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat does not claim any stake in future royalties from participating musicals.
Selected writers pay nothing and receive a $500 stipend during their individual week-long stay. All expenses are covered, including travel costs up to $750 per writer. Writers with children or other care-giving responsibilities are eligible and, if they are selected, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat will work with them to accommodate their housing needs.
Visit RhinebeckWriters.org.
