BRYAN PUTNAM/MUSIC & LYRICS
A NYC and NC-based Writer/ Composer/ Playwright and Performer, and proud member of ASCAP, Bryan's musical The ToyMaker was developed at the 2012 O'Neill National Music Theater Conference, where Bryan received The Georgia Holof Lyricist Award for his work. Then a move out west to Village Theatre for their festival of New Musicals.
In November 2011 Bryan supplied the score and lyrics to the world premiere workshop of Blue Velvet, the musical, based on David Lynch's iconic film, and has been working on the project since, culminating in tonight's concert.
His musical The ToyMaker was most recently presented in Indiana at Ball State University's DISCOVERY FESTIVAL. In 2011, The ToyMaker was awarded Best Original Score Award at WVMTF. The ToyMaker also received a critically acclaimed run at The Theatre @ St. Clements as an official selection of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Link Project starring Rosena M. Hill (Ragtime, Spamalot, Come Fly Away, Oklahoma), Rob Richardson (Tale of Two Cities), Greg Stone (The Pirate Queen, Urban Cowboy, Oklahoma! and Les Miserables) and Jessica Burrows (Zhivago). Other recent accomplishments include an award-winning FringeNYC production of his musical Trouble in Shameland, starring Evita'sFlorence Lacey and a staged Reading of the aforementioned The ToyMaker at the York Theatre starring Christiane Noll, Zachary James, Justin Greer and Joan Barber and an amazingly talented cast. Both shows were finalists in the Richard Rodgers Award competition. More recently Bryan teamed up with orchestrator Josh Clayton for a DEMO recording of The ToyMaker. As a result the demo includes 5 fully orchestrated songs that can be sampled at www.thetoymakermusical.com. New works from his musicals Lullaby Street and DUST were premiered by invitation of The Metropolis Opera Project earlier in 2010. Bryan also appeared in a Musical World podcast with Tony nominee Christiane Noll with The Encore Theatre Company. Earlier works include several plays, short stories, screenplays and the musical Mannekin, produced in Wilmington, NC in 1998.
A member of AEA (Actor's Equity Association), he has performed all over the country in roles such as Leading Man Adam in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Jasper in Drood, Dr. Neville Craven and Albert Lennox in The Secret Garden, Kodaly in She Loves Me, Jigger inCarousel, Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac, Delmount in The Miss Firecracker Contest, Riff-Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, El Gallo inThe Fantasticks, Cinderella's Prince/ Wolf in Into The Woods, Bobby inCompany, Dr. Parker in Bat Boy and most recently Dan in Next to Normal.
A NYC and NC-based Writer/ Composer/ Playwright and Performer, and proud member of ASCAP, Bryan's musical The ToyMaker was developed at the 2012 O'Neill National Music Theater Conference, where Bryan received The Georgia Holof Lyricist Award for his work. Then a move out west to Village Theatre for their festival of New Musicals.
In November 2011 Bryan supplied the score and lyrics to the world premiere workshop of Blue Velvet, the musical, based on David Lynch's iconic film, and has been working on the project since, culminating in tonight's concert.
His musical The ToyMaker was most recently presented in Indiana at Ball State University's DISCOVERY FESTIVAL. In 2011, The ToyMaker was awarded Best Original Score Award at WVMTF. The ToyMaker also received a critically acclaimed run at The Theatre @ St. Clements as an official selection of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Link Project starring Rosena M. Hill (Ragtime, Spamalot, Come Fly Away, Oklahoma), Rob Richardson (Tale of Two Cities), Greg Stone (The Pirate Queen, Urban Cowboy, Oklahoma! and Les Miserables) and Jessica Burrows (Zhivago). Other recent accomplishments include an award-winning FringeNYC production of his musical Trouble in Shameland, starring Evita'sFlorence Lacey and a staged Reading of the aforementioned The ToyMaker at the York Theatre starring Christiane Noll, Zachary James, Justin Greer and Joan Barber and an amazingly talented cast. Both shows were finalists in the Richard Rodgers Award competition. More recently Bryan teamed up with orchestrator Josh Clayton for a DEMO recording of The ToyMaker. As a result the demo includes 5 fully orchestrated songs that can be sampled at www.thetoymakermusical.com. New works from his musicals Lullaby Street and DUST were premiered by invitation of The Metropolis Opera Project earlier in 2010. Bryan also appeared in a Musical World podcast with Tony nominee Christiane Noll with The Encore Theatre Company. Earlier works include several plays, short stories, screenplays and the musical Mannekin, produced in Wilmington, NC in 1998.
A member of AEA (Actor's Equity Association), he has performed all over the country in roles such as Leading Man Adam in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Jasper in Drood, Dr. Neville Craven and Albert Lennox in The Secret Garden, Kodaly in She Loves Me, Jigger inCarousel, Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac, Delmount in The Miss Firecracker Contest, Riff-Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, El Gallo inThe Fantasticks, Cinderella's Prince/ Wolf in Into The Woods, Bobby inCompany, Dr. Parker in Bat Boy and most recently Dan in Next to Normal.
ANTHONY DAVID LAWSON/BOOK
Anthony David Lawson has been acting since he was 16 years old and has been performing on the stages of Wilmington for the past 10 years. Having enjoyed the opportunity to portray such characters as Max Bialystock (The Producers), Dave Buckatinski (The Full Monty) and The Narrator (Reefer Madness/Rocky Horror Show) has made his dream of acting an exciting and fulfilling one. However, Lawson recently began to realize his newest dream…that of writing.
His first stage show “The Title of the Play” was well received by audiences and critics alike. So when the chance to adapt the great movie Blue Velvet into a stage musical was offered to him, he jumped at the opportunity. Passing by the neon This Is It sign on the way to his home at the Carolina Apartments (Dorothy Valens building) gives Lawson a unique perspective when diving into the minds of these characters. As soon as this project is complete, Anthony plans on finishing up the next two stage plays he has in the works as well as his first original musical.
Anthony David Lawson has been acting since he was 16 years old and has been performing on the stages of Wilmington for the past 10 years. Having enjoyed the opportunity to portray such characters as Max Bialystock (The Producers), Dave Buckatinski (The Full Monty) and The Narrator (Reefer Madness/Rocky Horror Show) has made his dream of acting an exciting and fulfilling one. However, Lawson recently began to realize his newest dream…that of writing.
His first stage show “The Title of the Play” was well received by audiences and critics alike. So when the chance to adapt the great movie Blue Velvet into a stage musical was offered to him, he jumped at the opportunity. Passing by the neon This Is It sign on the way to his home at the Carolina Apartments (Dorothy Valens building) gives Lawson a unique perspective when diving into the minds of these characters. As soon as this project is complete, Anthony plans on finishing up the next two stage plays he has in the works as well as his first original musical.
ALISA HARRIS/PRODUCER
Alisa Harris is a former talent agent and entertainment promotions specialist based in Wilmington, NC. Many theater and film professionals have used her graphic design and marketing services to promote their productions, and hundreds of actors benefited from her representation. Ms. Harris is currently owner & producer of TheatreNOW (www.theatrewilmington.com), a dinner theater & performing arts complex in downtown Wilmington, NC which opened in July of 2012 which also houses the non-profit organization she created, Theatre Network of Wilmington, Inc, focusing on theatre arts education for school aged children. Ms. Harris is also executive producing a multimedia project aimed to promote prominent women in the Wilmington, NC community entitled the Women of Wilmington (WOW) Project(www.womenofwilmington.com) and serves on the board of directors for Dram Tree Shakespeare in Wilmington, NC.
Ms. Harris also performs locally onstage and in film and television. Recent film/tv credits include Secrets & Lies (ABC) opposite Juliette Lewis, Prisoners opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Lifetime's The Witches of East End, Piranha 3DD, the Sequelopposite David Hasselhoff, The Bay (aka ISOPODS) with director, Barry Levinson and two episodes of HBO's Eastbound and Down opposite LIly Tomlin. Favorite theatre roles include Into the Woods, Ruthless, Rocky Horror Show, Hair, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer Night's Eve, Deathtrap, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and her many roles in children's theatre with Pied Piper Children's Theatre. She co-produced and directed Songs for a New World, and directed Clue: the Musical, Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Nuptials for theater companies in Wilmington, NC.
With the addition of son, Ashton, in 2012 she now has no time for pastimes she used to enjoy which included reading, gardening, playing golf, cooking, going to the movies, pilates, watching the Red Sox and sleeping!
Alisa's Blue Velvet Story
It was the fall of 1986 and I had moved from Asheville, North Carolina to Boston, MA and was just beginning my first semester at Boston University. Right off campus, directly behind the College of Communication was a small art house movie theatre, the Nickelodean, managed by Bob Banda. I decided to take a free afternoon before classes started to catch a movie. I saw David Lynch's Blue Velvet. I walked out of the theater thinking, "That was either the best movie I've ever seen, or the worst." Regardless, I immediately filled out an application to work at the theater that showed films like that one. I worked at that theater throughout my stay in Boston. My senior year, 1990, I raptly watched the first season of Twin Peaks and after graduation later that year moved to London, England where I got to watch season one of Twin Peaks all over again (twice a week, actually on the BBC). I met my husband there and our first dates were spent watching the series. I eventually moved back to the states in 1992 (my husband did not and we later divorced, but that's another story!). I wound up settling in Wilmington, NC, a small coastal city with a burgeoning film industry and a haven for creative folks like myself. A new multi-screen movie complex opened and I saw my old boss, Bob Banda on the news, as new regional manager for Carmike Cinemas. I also found out about that time that Blue Velvet was filmed in my new hometown. Now how freakin' cool is that?! it just goes to reason that I now find myself working on this wonderful new musical in the town I first knew as Lumberton, USA!
Alisa Harris is a former talent agent and entertainment promotions specialist based in Wilmington, NC. Many theater and film professionals have used her graphic design and marketing services to promote their productions, and hundreds of actors benefited from her representation. Ms. Harris is currently owner & producer of TheatreNOW (www.theatrewilmington.com), a dinner theater & performing arts complex in downtown Wilmington, NC which opened in July of 2012 which also houses the non-profit organization she created, Theatre Network of Wilmington, Inc, focusing on theatre arts education for school aged children. Ms. Harris is also executive producing a multimedia project aimed to promote prominent women in the Wilmington, NC community entitled the Women of Wilmington (WOW) Project(www.womenofwilmington.com) and serves on the board of directors for Dram Tree Shakespeare in Wilmington, NC.
Ms. Harris also performs locally onstage and in film and television. Recent film/tv credits include Secrets & Lies (ABC) opposite Juliette Lewis, Prisoners opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Lifetime's The Witches of East End, Piranha 3DD, the Sequelopposite David Hasselhoff, The Bay (aka ISOPODS) with director, Barry Levinson and two episodes of HBO's Eastbound and Down opposite LIly Tomlin. Favorite theatre roles include Into the Woods, Ruthless, Rocky Horror Show, Hair, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer Night's Eve, Deathtrap, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and her many roles in children's theatre with Pied Piper Children's Theatre. She co-produced and directed Songs for a New World, and directed Clue: the Musical, Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Nuptials for theater companies in Wilmington, NC.
With the addition of son, Ashton, in 2012 she now has no time for pastimes she used to enjoy which included reading, gardening, playing golf, cooking, going to the movies, pilates, watching the Red Sox and sleeping!
Alisa's Blue Velvet Story
It was the fall of 1986 and I had moved from Asheville, North Carolina to Boston, MA and was just beginning my first semester at Boston University. Right off campus, directly behind the College of Communication was a small art house movie theatre, the Nickelodean, managed by Bob Banda. I decided to take a free afternoon before classes started to catch a movie. I saw David Lynch's Blue Velvet. I walked out of the theater thinking, "That was either the best movie I've ever seen, or the worst." Regardless, I immediately filled out an application to work at the theater that showed films like that one. I worked at that theater throughout my stay in Boston. My senior year, 1990, I raptly watched the first season of Twin Peaks and after graduation later that year moved to London, England where I got to watch season one of Twin Peaks all over again (twice a week, actually on the BBC). I met my husband there and our first dates were spent watching the series. I eventually moved back to the states in 1992 (my husband did not and we later divorced, but that's another story!). I wound up settling in Wilmington, NC, a small coastal city with a burgeoning film industry and a haven for creative folks like myself. A new multi-screen movie complex opened and I saw my old boss, Bob Banda on the news, as new regional manager for Carmike Cinemas. I also found out about that time that Blue Velvet was filmed in my new hometown. Now how freakin' cool is that?! it just goes to reason that I now find myself working on this wonderful new musical in the town I first knew as Lumberton, USA!