New Gayland recording in New York captures new music and yields high-energy tracks

November 26, 2017November 29, 2017 | Evan Hammond

After a week of rehearsals, the cast, band and music director for Gayland gathered at the Yellow Sound Lab and Log Cabin studios in New York to capture the new music we’ve been working on over the last year. Thanks to our awesome team!

Mark Hartman: Music Director
Danielle Erin Rhodes: Willow
Stephanie Umoh: Boo
Tristan Shuler: Zack
Sam Given: Gaige
Kristin Feeney: Sally, Ensemble
Alex Thompson: Harry Tums, Ensemble, Keyboards
Joe Choroszewski: Drums
Saadi Zain: Bass
Yuri Suzuki: Engineer
Rich Hill: Engineer

Group around piano.jpg — Practicing: Sam Given, Alex Thompson, Tristan Shuler, Danielle Erin Rhodes, Stephanie Umoh

Stephanie and Kristen.jpg — Recording: Stephanie Umoh and Kristin Feeney

Alex Thompson.jpeg — Keyboards, vocals: Alex Thompson

Joe Choroszewski.jpg — Drums: Joe Choroszewski

Music director and engineer.jpg — Music Director Mark Hartman and Engineer Yuri Suzuki at the big board

Late day selfie.jpg — Late in the day selfie. 14 hours in the studio and the last few diehards roll merrily across the finish line: Clockwise from lower left: Scott King, Danielle Erin Rhodes, Mark Hartman, Christopher St. John, Kristin Feeney, Stephanie Umoh

Team is working on revisions for new version of Gayland

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016 | Evan Hammond

Gayland 6.0.jpg After consultations with several Broadway experts, our Scene 3 song has now changed from “Don’t Forget Your Cock Ring” to “Don’t Forget Your Bible.” This must be the hardest 180 degree turn in revision history! : )

Amen!

Audience Feedback Very Helpful In Making Act 1 Revisions

August 27, 2016 | Evan Hammond

Gayland 5.0 Act 1 Read Feedback example page.png

The Gayland writing team is meeting over the weekend to make edits to Act 1, based on what we learned from the recent Act 1 reading in NY. Thanks much to the audience and your varied and perceptive feedback. It’s really helping us make the choices required to slim down and add oomph to the first act.

“Breeder Love Promo” Rehearsal

August 24, 2016 | Evan Hammond

Here’s our wonderful cast rehearsing one of the new songs, “Breeder Love Promo.”

Performers
Danielle Erin Rhodes
Ivan Griffin
Sam Given
Shaleah Adkisson
Stephen Elkins
Blake Zolfo
Troy Valjean Rucker
Natalie Pavalek

Music Director
Mark Hartman

Gayland 5.0 Act 1 Table Reading Went Very Well

August 19, 2016 | Evan Hammond

Triple Clap.jpg

We had about 25 friends and Broadway professionals in attendance. The first act ran long at 1:25 minutes, so we’ll need to cut that by about 15 minutes. We also solicited written feedback from audience members, which is proving to be fascinating.

Some of the roles were played by old fav actors we’ve worked with before, and in some roles we tried out new actors. It’s wonderful to be working in NY where there are so many talented performers.

Our new Music Director, Mark Hartman, proved himself to be extremely musically adept, technically eagle-eyed, a tireless coach, and also very funny. We’re delighted to have connected with him.

Thanks to our wonderful cast:

Danielle Erin Rhodes – Willow
Shaleah Adkisson – Boo, Sally
Stephen Elkins – Zack
Ivan Griffin – Brock, Dad
Blake Zolfo – Finn, Pops
Sam Given – Gaige
Troy Rucker – Belsen Barnard, Pizza Guy, Caleb, Ensemble
Natalie Pavalek – Bambi Krushjoy, Zoe, Publicist, Ensemble

Next steps for us are a rewrite, and then a read of probably the entire play in a couple of months.

Excellent New York Visit

July 6, 2016August 3, 2016 | Evan Hammond

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We’ve just finished a whirlwind tour of Broadway, taking in seven of the current shows: some huge, some standards, some struggling. All of it was immensely educational, and the experience is helping us fine-tune the final drafts of Gayland 5.0.

We also had the opportunity to meet with a Broadway producer and an investor, who both offered valuable insider perspectives and expressed interest in seeing our next steps. There’s also the possibility of introductions to some key players, once we have this version finished.

In addition, we had the opportunity to check in with our growing family of creatives and actors that are helping to grow Gayland and have shown a keen aptitude for developing the characters and music.

Our goal is to have Gayland 5.0 done in the next 6 weeks, with table reads to come in the early fall.

Gayland 4.0 is done!

March 6, 2016March 6, 2016 | Evan Hammond

We’ve finished the revisions based on what we learned at the December table read at the York Theatre in Manhattan. And soon we’ll be recording both our new and revised songs, including “Fighting & (Bleep)ing,” “You Gotta Work The Crowd,” and “Breeder,” (which spoofs the opening number of the smash-hit Hamilton.)