Musical Development and Milestones
Awarded a Grant from Denver Foundation
December 1, 2018
On Dec 1st, 2018, we were award a competitive performing arts grant from the Denver Foundation. In this proposal, we had discussed the momentum that our piece has generated, while outlined our goals to engage both traditional and nontraditional communities with a story that has the potential for such impactful reach.
Untold: Denver’s Next Massivemuse
September 29, 2018
Brenton was invited to partner with a Groupmuse (a company that produces classical music house concerts) to create a community driven, multidisciplinary event in a unique space. In the event, we worked off of the theme of the Untold story, and did a longer 40 min reading of Act I (along with facilitating a classical music performance of Fanny Mendelssohn by some wonderful musicians). We had 11 actors and 4 musicians, and the event again garnered a 150+ audience that was again strongly impacted
Connecting with Colwell Brothers and “Vive Le Congo”
July 27, 2018
While we continued workshopping and revamping compositions, we were connected to the Colwell Brothers, three of the original founders of Up With People, who were performing in Congo during independence in 1960. We heard their original accounts of independence and they gave us permission to use/adapt their song “Vive Le Congo,” which was one of the biggest songs in the history of the country, in My Country, My Country.
First Reading at Denver Art Museum
July 20, 2018
We did our first “active reading” at the Denver Art Musuem during Untitled Final Fridays. It was about 30 mins with 6 actors/1 pianist, and it drew an unexpected standing-room only crowd. Afterward, our audience was incredibly engaged, and what was supposed to be a 10 min Q&A turned into a 60 min session.
Master Dramatic Writing Workshop w/ Halley Feiffer
June 4, 2018
Brenton was then accepted into a highly competitive Dramatic Writing Master Summer Intensive with NY playwright/screenwriter Halley Feiffer. Hespent the month deeply workshopping/reading Act I of the book with 8 other playwrights, getting feedback and 1-on-1 thoughts from Halley. He then shared a monologue of the piece during Lighthouse’s annual Lit Fest.
Act 1 and Beware
March 15, 2018
Brenton completed writing much of Act I (while receiving feedback from other local playwrights) and worked with Brodie to begin the first group of compositions, beginning with the first song: Beware.
City Council
January 8, 2018
Brenton shares a portion from one of the poems written for the musical in an evening of poetic works for the Denver City Council
Workshops and Table Reads
December 11, 2017
Brenton read first 20 pages of Act I for a 10-min short reading series. During this process, he organized a local group of five top actors and met weekly for four weeks to workshop character exposition, scene development and dramatic structure
Real Writing Begins
November 11, 2016
Brenton begins writing a musical that has no definite title.
Brenton Begins to Dream of a Musical
October 16, 2014
Brenton began to think of writing a narrative piece that told the story of Congo. It started off a poetry collection called “The Forgotten,” but he knew that he needed to infuse the story with the incredible power of music.
