GO Wales Training Officer Allyson Summerhayes has co-produced a musical called ‘The Musician’ which premieres next April at the Taliesin Centre in Swansea.
When she’s not supporting students and graduates with the GO Wales Professional Development Award Allyson is a Musician, Songwriter and Lyricist who has been involved in musical theatre for many years as a performer and Musical Director. She has also co-written music for a number of films.
The Musician is a hybrid of musical genres, infusing rock, folk and pop into musical theatre. It is a full scale musical within a live rock/indie setting and deals with many issues that are relevant and identifiable to a modern audience. The Musician charts the highs and lows, as well as everything in between, of ‘Jeff Scott and The Moths’, as they adjust to a ‘rock n roll lifestyle’.
Speaking about the musical Allyson said;
“I am a co-writer of music and lyrics with Dai Smith of the Storys, for all the songs and music for The Musician a new musical set to make its Premiere in the Taliesin centre, Swansea in April 2013. Dai and I have collaborated on a couple of films together, one of which was a short film by Tom Wadlow, where the original concept was born.”
“Having completed that, we discussed the possibility of making it into a Music Theatre show with a new gritty edge featuring music of rock/pop genres and a story that is current. The music has been made into a concept album. We hope to make a fresh new contribution to music in Wales combining music theatre with a modern story line including current issues and with music to appeal to a wide ranging audience of all ages.”
“Having put the music together, we then looked for scriptwriters to work with us and this is when Stefan Pejic , Richard Burman (script), director Anthony Argyle, producer Rebecca Francis- Jones and co-producer Claire Gwynn - Brennan, came on board with their fantastic talents . This has really grown into an excellent creative collaboration and now also, our company - Gr8 Scott! Productions Ltd.”
“We have auditioned some amazing people for the principle roles and we were bowled over by the talent! We are also looking forward to more auditions in September for the remaining cast and to the show finally taking to the stage – a definite dream to reality!”
“This really is a very exciting time indeed! We are at present looking for sponsors, funders and supporters for the show and we are currently looking at grants to support the show. We hope that after April we can take the show and tour it to several theatres but this part is only in its initial stages.”
One of the most unique aspects of this musical is the climax of the show, which breaks theatre convention and invites the audience to decide the outcome. This is an unusual and innovative twist which the team hope will make the production a memorable experience for the audience, inviting them to reflect upon the plot and its issues, making it a more tangible theatre encounter that will stay with them long after the curtain has fallen!"
"This unique idea brings together the best of musical theatre traditions with modern celebrity obsessed themes and the popularity and public appetite for reality shows. It is a potent combination affording The Musician to take a unique place in contemporary musical theatre."
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