“Original musical theater is alive and well in West Virginia! …. Join with two veterans (Scarpelli, Kehde) with 2 rookies from this medium (Groce, Boyd) … in an informative and enlightening conversation. We may even hear an original song or two from our composers…“
Originally from Connecticut, Mark Scarpelli is a Charleston, WV- based composer/ musician. He studied music composition under Joseph Schwantner at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Four operas, eighteen musicals, six ballets a Mass and a number of musical adaptations and arrangements are in his compositional catalogue. Mark’s works have been critically acclaimed and have been performed by the WV Symphony Orchestra and the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a retired educator who has spent 33 years in the public school system teaching gifted and talented.
http://www.markscarpelli.com
Award-winning playwright and local director of the Contemporary Youth Arts Company, Dan Kehde continues to create new and challenging works for the stage. With his focus on sharing the creative process with young artists, Dan finds some of his greatest rewards in finding fresh, new artists to bring his works to life. Since his first work premiered in Washington, DC in 1974, Dan has worked as a playwright, librettist, song-writer, novelist, acting coach and director, including a stint in New York with producer Robert Whitmore, in Orlando with luthier Michael Tobias and, most recently, as a collaborator with local composer Mark Scarpelli. For the past 21 years, Dan has been managing director of the Contemporary Youth Arts Company in Charleston where he premieres many of his works.
Larry Groce is one of the founders of West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage and host/artistic director since its beginning in 1983. He was also executive director of FestivALL Charleston from its beginning in 2005 until 2015. He has recorded twenty-four albums (the most recent, Live Forever, was released in 2016), wrote and recorded the top ten hit song “Junk Food Junkie” as well as many Walt Disney records for children (including gold and platinum sellers), one of which was nominated for a Grammy Award. His most recent project is a musical version of the Daniel Boyd film, “Paradise Park”, in collaboration with the noted film maker and graphic novelist. The musical was commissioned by Theater West Virginia and is slated for production in 2018.
Daniel Boyd is an acclaimed filmmaker (Chillers, Strangest Dreams, Paradise Park), a two-time television regional Emmy nominee, and is a multi-nominated graphic novelist (Chillers I & II, CARBON, SALT). Currently, Boyd and Gold/Platinum albums recipient and NPR’s Mountain Stage co-creator and host, Larry Groce, are collaborating on a full staged musical adaptation of Paradise Park commissioned by Theater West Virginia, scheduled for release in summer 2018. A retired media studies professor, Boyd continues to serve as Artist in Residence at WV State University’s Economic Development Center.
Wed, October 4, 2017, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
WVSU EDC, 1506 Kanawha Blvd West, Charleston, WV 25387
Free registration
