• www.joelbnew.com

Member since: May 9, 2012

A Little About Me

JOEL B. NEW (Music & Lyrics) is an award-winning composer & lyricist. He is the proud recipient of a 2008 American Theatre Wing Jonathan Larson Grant, and has been praised as one of today’s “most exciting contemporary musical theatre writers.” (BroadwayWorld.com) 

Joel’s song cycle Standalone is being prepped for 2010-11 workshop productions at universities across the country. Standalone has received previous readings at Oklahoma City University and with Demos-Bizar Entertainment.  Joel’s other projects include Awakening (music: J. Oconer Navarro), Bus Driver of the Year (book: Mac Rogers), To Hell and Back, and RSVP. His work has been seen and developed at Cutting-Edge Composers, Broadway in South Africa, Primary Stages, Ars Nova, Margo Lion, Ltd., NYMF, Lincoln Center, and many others.

Joel holds a BM in Musical Theatre Performance from OCU’s Bass School of Music, an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and is a member of BMI and the Dramatists Guild of America.

CARA  WINTER  (Book) has been an actress, singer, director, and playwright for over 15 years.  Cara’s play Social Work – her first play for an adult audience – was produced by the Manhattan Repertory Theatre in 2007.  Plays in development include Poker Face, the story of an Iraq war veteran accused of a shocking crime, and a one-act entitled Alan Alda Sat Next To Me On a Park Bench.  Cara has also written numerous plays for family audiences, including the commissioned Club Clue (for The Great American Melodrama, with JOEL B. NEW) and The Real Little Red Riding Hood (for the New London Barn Playhouse). Cara is also an essayist, and writes on everything from cooking, to politics, to potty training.  Favorite acting gigs include the National Tour of A Christmas Carol (Ghost of Christmas Past), Hello, Dolly! (Mrs. Molloy), Steel Magnolias (Ouiser), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena).   Cara earned her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she attended CAP21 and the Classical Studio.  She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and an associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

LAURA BRANDEL  (Director) is the Associate Artistic Director of New York Theatre Barn, Executive Producer of concert series NYTB In the D-Lounge, and conceiver and Co-Director of NYTB’s Speargrove Presents.  Some credits include: director of new musical Mixtape, Neil Labute’s Autobahn , and concert The Collaboration Project, choreographer of Bellevue Sketches, ALBA, and Death of the Buddha.  Her concert dance choreography has been seen in the Danny Kaye Playhouse and Dance New Amsterdam.    She served as choreographer’s consultant to Larry Keigwin on Rent Off Broadway and assisted Keigwin on the creation of Vogue’s Fashion Night Out runway show.  She was creative assistant to director and casting director Jay Binder on AMAS’ Aesop and Company.  Laura participated in the 2011 Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and was invited back this summer.  Other upcoming projects include co-directing  and creating the devised work The American Mythology Project with The Accidentals (founding member), and new developing musical Mackenzie and the Missing Boy. 

About NEW YORK THEATRE BARN:

New York Theatre Barn (Joe Barros|Artistic Director, Jason Najjoum|Producing Director, and Barry Levine|Managing Director) is a non-profit theatre company founded in 2007 and dedicated to the investigation, development, and advancement of new musicals.  The company is attracted to new work that mirrors our society so that the world can better understand itself.  Productions include the all-female musical I Married Wyatt Earp (59E59 Theatres/Prospect Theater Co.) with Heather Mac Rae and Carolyn Mignini, the musical Wood (New York Musical Theatre Festival/Emily Miller) with Cady Huffman, and Bridget Bailey’s award winning solo play Child of Hungry Times.  New York Theatre Barn has been instrumental in the development of  Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days,  the musical parody Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make A Good Musical?, Cait Doyle's Hot Mess in Manhattan, and Katie Thompson's R.R.R.E.D. The company’s monthly platform for new work, NYTB in the D-Lounge, provides a community and a home for artists to discover and grow within their art form.  In Development:  Speargrove Presents.  New York Theatre Barn is a proud member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. www.NYTheatreBarn.org.