WEBSERIES - SECUROCAM3000

June 22, 2014

I just did a little guest spot on upcoming webseries SECUROCAM3000 by Andy Zou and Jay Eisenberg.It's about a couple of dudes in the future whose job it is to moniter everything that's happening in the world via bajillions of live-feed cameras. It's very very silly, and was a pleasure to jump into. You can read more about the project on their Kickstarter page here. 

MUSIC/THEATER - Selected for The Rhinebeck Writers' Retreat

May 26, 2014

My Finn the Fearless co-creator Andrew Farmer and I have been selected to spend a week at The Rhinebeck Writers' Retreat! We'll finish off the summer with a well-supported week of writing in a lovely house upstate, the perfect way to dive back into Finn after both being away for our respective summer gigs! You can read more about our show over on my Projects page. The following event on the calendar for Finn is a concert at Ars Nova sometime in December! 

MUSIC/THEATER - WTF Workshop of The Dixon Family Album

May 22, 2014

I just spent an exciting week with our cast for this summer's workshop and production of The Dixon Family Album at the Williamstown Theater Festival. The show was awarded the 2014 Sagal Fellowship, meaning we are writing it for a cast of 8 non-equity actors to be workshopped, staged and performed for four performances over two nights this summer. You can read more about The Dixon Family Album over on my Projects page. Between now and July 16th, when we start rehearsals up at Williamstown, I'll be working non-stop on music and lyrics for this two-act musical. 

THEATER - The Upper Room in The Ice Factory Festival

May 15, 2014

I'm excited to be performing in a new show by Rady&Bloom Playmaking Collective. The Upper Room will have performances 6/25-6/28, as a part of a festival whose lineup that has yet to be announced (so I can't say where it is yet!) Here's what RADY&BLOOM have to say about the show:

"With THE UPPER ROOM, RADY&BLOOM tackles extreme devotion and the very real dangers of global warming and sea-level rise. Scored with new vocal and electronic music by composer/performer Catherine Brookman, THE UPPER ROOM incorporates tropes of play, choral concert, and congregation. Quirky small town characters and zany supernatural tales resonate sharply in contrast with an earnest spirituality, and the suffering of our ailing planet.

THE UPPER ROOM was inspired by extraordinary real-life experiences during Hurricane Sandy, tall family tales of mermaids, selkies, and Nordic priests, scenes from neo-gothic literature, and an attention to modern ecology. 

The play centers around the devout followers of an influential environmentalist priest named Anders who started a new utopian community, farming and praying on a remote mid-Atlantic island. Three generations deep, and the sea level is now risen to such an extent that their lodge is in danger of falling from a crumbling clifftop. The same cliff from which Anders' own wife fell years ago. They never found her body. Some believe that she had miraculously metamorphosed in the water. With Anders’ passing and their land-area diminishing, these may be the very last Sundays when they will all gather around the table in the upstairs room and pray, at the mercy of the Lord."

WEBSERIES - No Place Else To Go

May 4, 2014

This weekend I was on camera for the pilot episode of webseries No Place Else To Go. It follows the misadventures of a somewhat helpless, hapless guy who inherits a building in Brooklyn, making him the de facto super/owner/manager. I play Damien, an eccentric writer who lives in the basement. Damien quickly befriends the protagonist and in his own unusual way helps him out of various jams. The production timeline is still TBA, but we've got one in the can, so we're off to a good start! 

MUSIC/THEATER - Sagal Fellowship at the Williamstown Theater Festival

April 6, 2014

Along with my creative partners, book-writer Anna Kerrigan and director Jordan Fein, I'm excited to be a Sagal Fellow at the Williamstown Theater Festival this summer. Anna, Jordan and I will be working with a group of 8 non-equity actors to create a new musical, for which I'm writing lyrics and music. The show will then get a full black-box production for two nights, four performances in early August. The working title of the show is The Dixon Family Album. It follows the 1967 rise and 1997 reunion of a family band as they strive and fail to be the picture-perfect family they perform for the public. 

THEATER - Comfort Dogs in CATCH61

April 5, 2014

I'm reprising my role in a new showing of William Burke's work-in-progress Comfort Dogs as a part of the critically lauded performance series CATCH. The show includes new works by a slew of amazing artists. It'll be at The Invisible Dog on 4/19 at 8pm. Tickets are $15 at the door. More information is available here.

THEATER - Dog Gone Day at Danspace

March 19, 2014

My collaboration with playwright/performer Kristine Haruna Lee, Dog Gone Day, received an invitation to perform an excerpt at Danspace's Food For Thought performance series on April 5th. Come see Kristine and I as a bizarre married couple burdned with an attic full of memories, ghosts, and a particularly troubling bathtub. This will be our first show billed under our new company name harunalee. 

Details here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1431967963712512/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar

MUSIC/THEATER - Ars Nova's Uncharted 2014 Kickoff Concert!

February 24, 2014

My collaborator Andrew Farmer and I performed five songs from our musical storytelling show, Finn the Fearless, for a packed crowd at Ars Nova tonight. We're writing Finn in Ars Nova's Uncharted music/theater writers' group for the next TWO YEARS, which is an incredible opportunity. We were blown away by our group-mates' work in the concert and can't wait to get a glimpse into their worlds over the next couple of years of monthly meetings. 

THEATER - Comfort Dogs in Little Theater at Dixon Place

February 17, 2014

I had the pleasure this evening of performing in the first ever showing of a new play with music by William Burke called Comfort Dogs. We presented about 15 minutes of material at the Obie winning new works series Little Theater at Dixon Place. William is a graduate of Mac Wellman's MFA Playwrighting program at Brooklyn College. He first came to know me through my work with Kristine Haruna Lee. It was a blast to learn and perform and hopefully it will have a future life!

THEATER - Performing in Fresh Ground Pepper

January 17, 2014

My partner in Ars Nova's Uncharted group, Andrew Farmer, and I will be performing a song from the show we're creating together at Fresh Ground Pepper Birthday on Monday 1/20 at The Culture Project. Fresh Ground Pepper is an awesome organization that creates performance and development opportunities for emerging artists. This will be the first ever performance of material we've written for the project, currently titled Finn the Fearless.

MUSIC/THEATER - Joining Ars Nova's Uncharted Writers' Group

January 15, 2014

I'm very excited to have been invited to join the music/theater writing group at one of my favorite theaters, Ars Nova! I will be working on a new musical with my writing partner Andrew Farmer over the next two years, alongside a small group of other writers and composers.

VOICE OVER - How To Turn On A Feminist

January 12, 2014

I recorded a voice-over for a how-to video parody by my sketch comedy group PoliSub. 

THEATER - One Minute Play Festival

January 1, 2014

I was invited to join the cast of NYC's first One Minute Play Festival, being presented in association with New Georges. I'll be part of the cast of a group of ten one-minute plays directed by Portia Krieger, part of an evening of FIFTY SIX 60 second plays at INTAR theater on January 13th & 14th at 8pm.

I first met Portia while I was an apprentice at the Williamstown Theater Festival about 7 years ago, and our paths have crossed around Ars Nova (where she was the 2013 Director In Residence) several times the past few years, so I'm excited to have an opportunity to work with her! 

Tickets available here.

COMEDY - Little Drummer Boy Sketch

December 19, 2013

I play Emma's snarky brother in PoliSub's holiday gift-giving sketch. I also shot this one, as well as editing and directing alongside Preston Martin! My favorite part of the sketch is Preston and Jenna at the very end, it's worth waiting for.

THEATER - PILGRIM Reading in FGP Playground

December 10, 2013

I'm looking forward to performing in the first reading of a new musical by the incredible folk-singer-songwriter Hugh Trimble and his writing partner/director Max Freedman. The show is a theatricalized story-telling peice following remembrences of Hugh's encounters with a wayfaring busker named Roy Pilgrim. The songs are gorgeous and I can't wait to share them as a part of Fresh Ground Pepper's Playground performance series this coming Monday at 7pm at the Bushwick Starr!

THEATER - Dog Gone Day in Little Theater at Dixon Place

December 9, 2013

Kristine Haruna Lee and I premiered a brand new 15 minute "playlet" at the OBIE award winning performance series Little Theater at Dixon Place tonight. Kristine was invited to create something new for the series, and she asked if I wanted to make something together. What resulted was a totally weird, funny, sad couple dealing with memories of childhood and children via the perhaps haunted bathtub in their attic. The peice was well-received, and we expect to continue working on the show, perhaps expanding it to something larger! 

MUSIC - Performing in Shaina Taub's Songbook Concert at Ars Nova

December 8, 2013

I had the pleasure and honor of performing a song by my dear (and wildly talented) friend Shaina Taub at her Ars Nova Uncharted show tonight. The evening was a concert of Shaina's songs performed by an incredible collection of singers, including a huge chunk of the cast of Natasha, Peirre & The Great Comet of 1812 (in which Shaina is currently performing). I sang There's A House, self-accompanied on guitar. It's an incredible tune from the musical she's writing on a commission from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 

COMEDY - KRAIF with PoliSub

December 4, 2013

I shot, co-directed, edited and appear in the newest PoliSub sketch, titled What's In KRAIF Mac-N-Cheese? I think it turned out great! 

COMEDY - Janksgiving Anthem Video

November 25, 2013

This week's PoliSub video is about making the best of the Thanksgiving you've got, even if it's a little Janky. I was part of the writing team on this one, and am also one of featured performers!

COMEDY - Belfies Are Selfies Of Your Butt

November 17, 2013

I wrote this song for Political Subversities' YouTube channel PoliSub. It's a Bon Iver parody about "Belfies" which are photos you post on social media of your own butt. (You can thank Kim Kardashian for that trend.) I also co-directed and edited the video, as well as composing and recording the music. It's been posted on College Humor, PopDust, and a whole bunch of radio station websites!

THEATER - BYUIOO Finishes Run With Packed Houses

November 16, 2013

My first show with the award-winning Pipeline Theatre Company wrapped up tonight with two back-to-back sold out shows. BYUIOO, by Nate Weida, was an incredible experience and a uniquely beautiful show. The gospel-folk gibberish musical racked up exclusively positive reviews from NY theater bloggers, and more importantly, from the folks who heard about the show and stuck around afterwards to tell us how much they were moved (and bewildered) by it. 

A few quotes from reviewers:

“…I loved every semi-nonsensical minute…The music itself was wonderful and would easily stand against just about anything appearing in Times Square right now…A truly enjoyable night…I may want to see it again.” - Marti Sichel, Woman Around Town

“one-of-a-kind…this musical gushes with palpable emotion…BYUIOO is brought to life by  an animated cast, along with vibrant, eclectic, folk gospel tunes.” - Kristin Tablang, Maxamoo

“An energetic and imaginative tale inhabited by a gung-ho cast of uninhibited performers.” - Joel Benjamin, Theater Pizzazz

“BYUIOO is an innovative, ambitious musical…[and] proves…the power of music and actions on stage are enough to engage and to transport us.” – Angel Lam, Theatre is Easy

“BYUIOO is a truly unique musical experience…Featuring a rousing score and lyrics by Nate Weida…and brilliant direction from Andrew Neisler, BYUIOO shows a theatre company at the top of its game…The entire cast is remarkable…” – Jose Solis, StageBuddy

“A compelling and most unusual musical…Wish I knew their word for ‘Bravo!’“ - Howard Miller, Talkin Broadway

WEB - Co-Star Role In New Web Series Pilot

November 14, 2013

I just accepted a role in a new web series pilot, set to shoot in mid-December. I'll be playing Damien, an eccentric and profoundly sincere artist who lives in the basement of the building our hapless protaganist unexpectedly comes to own and manage. The show will be called No Place Else To Go. More details to come!

THEATER - BYUIOO Is Up And Running

November 4, 2013

I'm currently performing in BYUIOO, a folk-gospel musical by Nate Weida at the Gym At Judson. We opened on Halloween to a sold-out house and have been going steady since. We've had a few great reviews and lots of lovely feedback about the show, which features 15 performers singing (and speaking) their hearts out in a made-up language. It's a curious show, and incredibly beautiful. This is my first production with Pipeline Theatre Company, but director Andrew Neisler is a long-time collaborator. 

We run Wed-Sat at 8pm, plus Saturdays at 11pm, until Novemeber 16th!

For more info click here.

VOICE OVER - Boy Scout Rock-Toppler Sketch

October 24, 2013

I wrote and directed this video with my musical-sketch comedy group PoliSub. I also recorded the V.O. for the video on my new condensor mic! (It's an AKG Perception 220, running through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in-box to my iMac.) I'm excited to do more recording from home now that I have some equipment!