
Rhinebeck, NY – For its thirteenth summer, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is hosting 21 award-winning musical theatre writers of nine new musicals for nine consecutive weeklong residencies between June 25 and August 27, 2023. Each writing team will live in a private home to focus solely on writing their musical for one week. Writers include DG members Adam Gwon and Michael Mitnick, Cheeyang Ng and Eric Sorrels, André McRae and Jae Broderick, Georgina Escobar, Thalia Ranjbar, Julian Hornik, Laura Zlatos, and Rheanna Atendido. Each writing team lives in a private home to focus solely on writing for one week.
Thanks to our generous donors, all the writers costs are covered - their home, stipend, food, pianos, and travel. They will work with a member of Rhinebeck Writers Retreat’s Sounding Board of artistic advisors for dramaturgical support.
The participants were selected from a record 210 applications representing 453 musical theatre writers, which were reviewed by 29 readers in the first round and six readers in the final round: Rebecca Aparicio, director and Rhinebeck alum; Brian Hill, bookwriter; Timothy Huang, writer and Rhinebeck alum; Khiyon Hursey, writer and Rhinebeck alum; Mara Isaacs, founder and executive producer, Octopus Theatricals; and Barbara Pasternack, artistic director, TheaterWorksUSA.
Writers selected for this summer and supporters underwriting each week are:
• Jun 25 - Jul 2: Robi Hager, Georgina Escobar, Little Duende, with lead support by Liz Armstrong
• Jul 2 - Jul 9: Thalia Ranjbar, Kat Cartusciello, Nima & The Jen, with underwriting support by Paul Feuerman & Bruce Grivetti
• Jul 9 - Jul 16: Adam Chanler-Berat, Julian Hornik, Assisted, with lead support by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund
• Jul 16 - Jul 23: Coyle Girelli, Ben Thornewill, Laura Zlatos, Reincarnation Blues, with lead support by Liz and Bill Mills
• Jul 23 - Jul 30: Arpita Mukherjee, Justin Halpin, Jeffrey James, A Song for What Could Be, with lead support by Molly McEneny
• Jul 30 - Aug 6 : Adam Gwon, Michael Mitnick, The Bozos, with lead support by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund
• Aug 6 - Aug 13: Jae Broderick, André McRae, Jenny & June, with lead support by The National Foundation for Musical Theatre
• Aug 13 - Aug 20: Justin Huertas, Rheanna Atendido, We've Battled Monsters Before, with lead support by Steve and Paula Reynolds
• Aug 20 - Aug 27: Cheeyang Ng, Eric Sorrels, Desdemona Chiang, The Phoenix, with lead support by The Noël Coward Foundation in honor of Geoffrey Johnson
More details on the writers and their musicals plus the list of finalists can be found at www.rhinebeckwriters.org. Our "Meet the Writers" events will be announced soon, happening on four Saturdays in July and August.
About Rhinebeck Writers Retreat
Created in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat provides weeklong residencies for musical theatre writers to develop their musicals in the Hudson Valley. Plus, Triple R gives one team two readings and a residency to compress a lot of development into a short time-frame. Musicals developed in Rhinebeck had productions at The Public Theater, Barrington Stage, Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, and Playwrights Horizons. All costs are covered by contributions including an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, Concord Theatricals, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, The Wilke Family Foundation, and The Noël Coward Foundation. Major individual support comes from Liz Armstrong, Rick Farrar and Jeff Zadroga, Liz and Bill Mills, Molly McEneny, Steve and Paula Reynolds, and Alex Robertson. www.rhinebeckwriters.org