Shane Saldivar

LOOKING AROUND / LOOKING BACK

| Sep 24, 2008 |

music and lyrics by Joel B. New
conceived by TJ Moss and Joel B. New
directed by Jessica Hutchinson

Looking Around / Looking Back is loosely based on the Greek myth of Orpheus' faithful attempt to walk his wife Eurydice out of the underworld and back to life.  In this contemporary interpretation, two walks occur simultaneously: the first walk is Orpheus walking his ex-girlfriend Eurydice home after a party; the second walk is Orpheus walking by himself some time after Eurydice's death.

AWAKENING

| Nov 12, 2006 |

music by J. Oconer Navarro
lyrics by Joel B. New
directed by Jen Bender

based on Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening

winner of the 2006 Margo Lion Award for Adaptation
and a 2008 NYU-Tisch Alumni Development Grant made possible by the Frederick Loewe Foundation

Set in 1899 Louisiana, Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young mother of two and the wife of a successful New Orleans businessman.  While the family is vacationing at a seaside resort, Edna becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun, a younger man who sparks feelings that Edna had forgotten.  When she returns to the city, Edna throws off the trappings of her old life -- devotion to family, attention to societal expectations, and adherence to tradition -- to explore her own wants, interests, and desires.  But her independence comes with a price.

STANDALONE

| Nov 12, 2006 |

music and lyrics by Joel B. New

Unified by the theme of isolation, Standalone is a song cycle that examines solitude, loneliness, and everything in between.

Cast: 2 Women, 2 Men