Artistic Statement
For me, writing a play or musical starts with conceiving of an original story that I feel must be told. The initial spark for an idea almost always comes from a deeply personal place. The genesis of my musical "The Pledge" goes back to 2017, when I became aware of the heartbreaking stories of college freshmen who died as the result of fraternity hazing. That connected with my own desire to find a way to write about the subject of men who are victims of abuse. I knew that writing about one young man who is hazed would give me the opportunity to explore the subject of men who commit violence against other men who know and trust them.
As a queer man, I am also looking to celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community and members of other communities that are too often underrepresented onstage. It is why my musical "Swagger" focuses on Quinn, a queer Shakespeare fanboy who travels back in time to 1600 with the great playwright himself to learn of his secret love affair with Alazar Ya’aqob, the ambassador from Ethiopia. It’s why another of my musicals, "A Broken Play," reveals what happens when a closeted, bisexual high school star quarterback is outed.
I also love illuminating historical figures in new ways. My short musical "Albert" tells the true story of Albert Cashier, a transgender Civil War soldier as he looks back at his remarkable past. Another short musical of mine, "J. and Dot," depicts a meeting in the afterlife between Joan of Arc and the fictional Dorothy Gale of "Wizard of Oz" fame.
I am lucky to have the talented and creative composer Alexander Zwick as my collaborator on all these musicals, and my characters come to life in song because of his music.
My plays are often based on themes and incidents that have been meaningful to me. My short play "Meeting Fingerman" recounts what happens when a young Jewish writer pays a visit to his idol, a Nobel Prize-winning literary lion of Yiddish fiction —and things take an unexpected, disastrous turn.
Two of my short plays were inspired by my love of Shakespeare and my deep curiosity about the boy players who originated all the iconic female roles in his plays. In "Nurse & Juliet," the male actors who first played the roles of Juliet and Nurse in 1595, share aspects of their lives that change the way they see each other forever. In "Losing Juliet," a young man, cast as Juliet in a current, all-male production of "Romeo and Juliet," struggles with his own personal connection to the role.
I am always pleased to discover how the personal turns out to be universal; our own stories tend to reflect the stories of others – and finding our shared humanity is one of the reasons I’m moved to write.
As a queer man, I am also looking to celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community and members of other communities that are too often underrepresented onstage. It is why my musical "Swagger" focuses on Quinn, a queer Shakespeare fanboy who travels back in time to 1600 with the great playwright himself to learn of his secret love affair with Alazar Ya’aqob, the ambassador from Ethiopia. It’s why another of my musicals, "A Broken Play," reveals what happens when a closeted, bisexual high school star quarterback is outed.
I also love illuminating historical figures in new ways. My short musical "Albert" tells the true story of Albert Cashier, a transgender Civil War soldier as he looks back at his remarkable past. Another short musical of mine, "J. and Dot," depicts a meeting in the afterlife between Joan of Arc and the fictional Dorothy Gale of "Wizard of Oz" fame.
I am lucky to have the talented and creative composer Alexander Zwick as my collaborator on all these musicals, and my characters come to life in song because of his music.
My plays are often based on themes and incidents that have been meaningful to me. My short play "Meeting Fingerman" recounts what happens when a young Jewish writer pays a visit to his idol, a Nobel Prize-winning literary lion of Yiddish fiction —and things take an unexpected, disastrous turn.
Two of my short plays were inspired by my love of Shakespeare and my deep curiosity about the boy players who originated all the iconic female roles in his plays. In "Nurse & Juliet," the male actors who first played the roles of Juliet and Nurse in 1595, share aspects of their lives that change the way they see each other forever. In "Losing Juliet," a young man, cast as Juliet in a current, all-male production of "Romeo and Juliet," struggles with his own personal connection to the role.
I am always pleased to discover how the personal turns out to be universal; our own stories tend to reflect the stories of others – and finding our shared humanity is one of the reasons I’m moved to write.
←
Mark Evan Chimsky
Artistic Statement
For me, writing a play or musical starts with conceiving of an original story that I feel must be told. The initial spark for an idea almost always comes from a deeply personal place. The genesis of my musical "The Pledge" goes back to 2017, when I became aware of the heartbreaking stories of college freshmen who died as the result of fraternity hazing. That connected with my own desire to find a way to write about the subject of men who are victims of abuse. I knew that writing about one young man who is hazed would give me the opportunity to explore the subject of men who commit violence against other men who know and trust them.
As a queer man, I am also looking to celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community and members of other communities that are too often underrepresented onstage. It is why my musical "Swagger" focuses on Quinn, a queer Shakespeare fanboy who travels back in time to 1600 with the great playwright himself to learn of his secret love affair with Alazar Ya’aqob, the ambassador from Ethiopia. It’s why another of my musicals, "A Broken Play," reveals what happens when a closeted, bisexual high school star quarterback is outed.
I also love illuminating historical figures in new ways. My short musical "Albert" tells the true story of Albert Cashier, a transgender Civil War soldier as he looks back at his remarkable past. Another short musical of mine, "J. and Dot," depicts a meeting in the afterlife between Joan of Arc and the fictional Dorothy Gale of "Wizard of Oz" fame.
I am lucky to have the talented and creative composer Alexander Zwick as my collaborator on all these musicals, and my characters come to life in song because of his music.
My plays are often based on themes and incidents that have been meaningful to me. My short play "Meeting Fingerman" recounts what happens when a young Jewish writer pays a visit to his idol, a Nobel Prize-winning literary lion of Yiddish fiction —and things take an unexpected, disastrous turn.
Two of my short plays were inspired by my love of Shakespeare and my deep curiosity about the boy players who originated all the iconic female roles in his plays. In "Nurse & Juliet," the male actors who first played the roles of Juliet and Nurse in 1595, share aspects of their lives that change the way they see each other forever. In "Losing Juliet," a young man, cast as Juliet in a current, all-male production of "Romeo and Juliet," struggles with his own personal connection to the role.
I am always pleased to discover how the personal turns out to be universal; our own stories tend to reflect the stories of others – and finding our shared humanity is one of the reasons I’m moved to write.
As a queer man, I am also looking to celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community and members of other communities that are too often underrepresented onstage. It is why my musical "Swagger" focuses on Quinn, a queer Shakespeare fanboy who travels back in time to 1600 with the great playwright himself to learn of his secret love affair with Alazar Ya’aqob, the ambassador from Ethiopia. It’s why another of my musicals, "A Broken Play," reveals what happens when a closeted, bisexual high school star quarterback is outed.
I also love illuminating historical figures in new ways. My short musical "Albert" tells the true story of Albert Cashier, a transgender Civil War soldier as he looks back at his remarkable past. Another short musical of mine, "J. and Dot," depicts a meeting in the afterlife between Joan of Arc and the fictional Dorothy Gale of "Wizard of Oz" fame.
I am lucky to have the talented and creative composer Alexander Zwick as my collaborator on all these musicals, and my characters come to life in song because of his music.
My plays are often based on themes and incidents that have been meaningful to me. My short play "Meeting Fingerman" recounts what happens when a young Jewish writer pays a visit to his idol, a Nobel Prize-winning literary lion of Yiddish fiction —and things take an unexpected, disastrous turn.
Two of my short plays were inspired by my love of Shakespeare and my deep curiosity about the boy players who originated all the iconic female roles in his plays. In "Nurse & Juliet," the male actors who first played the roles of Juliet and Nurse in 1595, share aspects of their lives that change the way they see each other forever. In "Losing Juliet," a young man, cast as Juliet in a current, all-male production of "Romeo and Juliet," struggles with his own personal connection to the role.
I am always pleased to discover how the personal turns out to be universal; our own stories tend to reflect the stories of others – and finding our shared humanity is one of the reasons I’m moved to write.