Theater Latté Da Continues New Work Development and Awards $20,000 NEXT Generation Commission

Theater Latté Da today announced singer/songwriters Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses, who together form the musical duo, The Kilbanes, and actor/directors Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody as the recipients of the NEXT Generation Commission, a new opportunity for women artists and artists of color, funded in part by the NEA, and designed to support the creation and development of new musical theatre projects. The creative team will share the $20,000 commission. The project will receive creative and developmental support over an 18-month period, including two developmental workshops and inclusion in Latté Da's annual NEXT Festival. In addition to the NEXT Generation Commission, Theater Latté Da's new works initiative is also supporting playwrights Steven Epp, Bradley Greenwald, Harrison David Rivers, Kate Sutton-Johnson and Joserra Zuniga to create new musicals.

Throughout its history, Theater Latté Da has found ways to bring artists together to create new work, resulting in some of its most memorable and beloved productions from All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 and A Christmas Carol Peterson to Five Points. "Even in these uncertain times, we are investing in our future and the future of the art form by continuing to seed and support new work. At a time when so many artists have seen income and opportunities evaporate, it feels especially good to be putting money directly into the hands of artists. We are grateful to the NEA and to Latté Da's donors who have generously given to our new works initiatives. They make these commissions possible. We may not be able to gather in theatres today, but these artists will be working now to ensure there are new stories to be shared later when we can all gather again," says Founding Artistic Director, Peter Rothstein.

"I'm delighted to begin our relationship with Kate Kilbane, Jessie Austrian and their creative partners Dan Moses and Noah Brody. We look forward to nurturing their unique theatrical talents at Theater Latté Da and providing opportunities for them to engage with our extraordinary community of artists in the Twin Cities," says Associate Artistic Director, Elissa Adams, who oversees Theater Latté Da's new work initiatives. "Looking at the roster of artists we are supporting to create new work, we are supporting women artists, artists of color and artists that are exploring new ways to connect story and music for our audiences. It's on mission for Theater Latté Da and for what the field of musical theater needs as well."

The NEXT Generation Commissioned-Artists

The Kilbanes began as a theatrical rock band led by married songwriting duo Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses. Their rock opera Weightless was featured at NYC's Public Theater at Under the Radar in January 2019 and had runs at ACT in 2019 and Z Space in 2018. Their musical adaptation of As You Like It, commissioned by SF Shakespeare Festival, played throughout the Bay Area in the summer of 2019. Their intergalactic rock epic Eddie the Marvelous, Who Will Save the World, has been developed at the O'Neill National Music Conference, Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor and Theatreworks' New Works Festival. The Kilbanes' latest pop musical, The Code, was commissioned for ACT's Youth Conservatory and is slated for production in August 2020. They have also been commissioned by Theatreworks Silicon Valley to work with playwright Lynn Rosen and are collaborating on new works with Jonathan Spector, Lauren Gunderson and Jaime Casteneda.

Jessie Austrian is a theater-maker, educator, activist and parent based in Brooklyn, NY. She is one of Fiasco Theater's Co-Artistic Directors and founders. Broadway: Lend Me a Tenor, The Importance of Being Earnest. Off Broadway: Fiasco's Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Measure for Measure, Cymbeline and The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Roundabout, BST, TFANA, New Vic), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Roundabout). London: Fiasco's Into the Woods (Menier Chocolate Factory). Regional: The Old Globe, McCarter, Folger Theatre, The Guthrie, Trinity Rep, ATL and Williamstown, among others. TV/Film: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Made in Jersey, Futurestates. As a director/co-director: Fiasco's The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Helen Hayes nominee for Best Direction) at The Folger Theater and Theatre For A New Audience, Fiasco's The Imaginary Invalid at The Old Globe, Ken Ludwig's Sherwood at Playmakers Rep. Adjunct faculty at NYU's Gallatin School. Proud graduate of Brown and the Brown/Trinity MFA Acting Program. Proudest roles: mom to Asher and Tabitha and wife to Noah.

Noah Brody is an actor, director, teacher and co-artistic director of Fiasco Theater. For Fiasco, he has directed Merrily We Roll Along (Roundabout Theatre Company), during which he was privileged to collaborate with Stephen Sondheim and Alex Gemigniani. He co-directed and acted in Fiasco's productions of Into the Woods (McCarter Theatre Center, The Old Globe, Roundabout Theatre Company, Menier Chocolate Factory), The Imaginary Invalid (The Old Globe), Measure for Measure (The New Victory Theater, Long Wharf Theatre), Twelfth Night (Classic Stage Company) and Cymbeline (Theatre for a New Audience/Barrow Street Theatre). Some of these productions won awards. He has appeared in Fiasco's production of Two Gentlemen of Verona (Folger Theatre, Theatre for a New Audience) and co-directed the national tour of Fiasco's production of Into the Woods. Elsewhere, he has directed a reading of Sondheim's Saturday Night for Second Stage Theater, appeared in As You Like It (Classic Stage Company, John Doyle, dir.), directed Lungs at the Wolfe Street Theatre and acted at theatres around the country and in Europe. He teaches acting and rehearsal technique through Fiasco and the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study's summer Shakespeare Intensive.

Other Artists and Projects Under Commission:

Twin-Cities-based writer/performers Bradley Greenwald and Steven Epp are working on a English language adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's comic opera, Gianni Schicchi; Twin-Cities based playwright Harrison David Rivers is exploring a new piece about the history surrounding Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein's and Edna Ferber's musical, Showboat. Mexico City-based playwright Joserra Zuniga, along with Twin-Cities-based designer, Kate Sutton-Johnson, are collaborating on a musical and visual theatricalization of the life and work of Frida Kahlo.

Theater Latté Da is an award-winning Twin Cities musical theater company that combines music and story to illuminate the breadth and depth of the human experience. The company seeks to create new connections between story, music, artist, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater. www.latteda.org