Sheridan announces inaugural Canadian Music Theatre Project Festival

The inaugural Canadian Music Theatre Project (CMTP) Festival will take place this week, from November 6 to 8 at Sheridan’s Oakville campus, and on November 9 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre in Toronto.

The Festival will present four new musicals currently in development through the CMTP, each in a 45-minute reading format.  These works include:

Marathon of Hope:  Music and Lyrics – John Connolly; Book and Director – Ralph Small

A folk musical based on the enduring and heroic story of Terry Fox

Moll:  Music and Lyrics – Leslie Arden; Book – Leslie Arden and Cathy Elliott with Anna Theresa Cascio

The story of a teenage sex worker who strives to rise above her circumstances

Prom Queen:  Music – Colleen Dauncey; Lyrics  - Akiva Romer-Segal; Book – Kent Staines

Based on the true story of a 17 year-old who fights for the right to take his boyfriend to the prom

The Enlightenment of Percival Von Schmootz:  Music – Michael Kooman; Book and Lyrics – Chris Dimond

A satirical comedy about an absurdly optimistic young man who sets out on a quest to end the Dark Ages

The Festival is a culmination of a month-long workshop with the writers and creative teams.  Sheridan’s 4^th-year Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance students and several guest artists will perform these works in progress. 

In 2011, Sheridan launched The Canadian Music Theatre Project, Canada’s first incubator for the development of new works by Canadian and international composers, lyricists and book writers.  In the past three years the CMTP has developed several new musicals which have been performed around the world to critical acclaim.

The Festival will run in the evening at Sheridan’s Trafalgar Road Campus on November 6, 7 and 8, and at the Betty Oliphant Theatre in Toronto on Sunday, November 9. 

For more information on the Festival schedule or to request tickets, please contact Michael Rubinoff, Associate Dean of Visual and Performing Arts, via email:  michael.rubinoff@sheridancollege.ca