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Since relocating to the Athens campus in 2019, OHIO’s professional theater company Tantrum Theater has developed a national reputation as a place for taking risks and developing new work. One of these new works includes a new musical by School of Theater Head of Musical Theater Steven Strafford-Elkins (MFA Playwriting ’22) which held an intimate performance in late May.

The new musical, “Unfamiliar Moon,“ which is currently in development, is about a filmmaker named Julianna living in Los Angeles who returns to her small town after her mother informs her that she will be dying on Friday. While back in her hometown, Julianna confronts the world she left behind and learns how to finally move forward.

This work takes a “jukebox musical” approach in which the songs are preexisting, in this case using the catalog of New England based singer-songwriter ’s jazz/folk work as the musical foundation, with Strafford-Elkins providing the unique story described above. 

"When I started as Production Manager for Tantrum Theater, Steven and I went to breakfast and during the meal he told me about an idea he had to write a musical with Vance's music,” reflects Tantrum’s former Producing Director Roberto DiDonato (MFA ’22, MA ’22). “Tantrum is a perfect place to foster new work and experiment because we are a research university. That means we are integrating Ģ����Ƶ University's artistic and research communities in creative ways where faculty can take chances and students can play a role in the development."

For Strafford-Elkins the connections to Gilbert’s music goes back to his undergrad days.

“I’ve been in love with Vance Gilbert's music since I was in college…his songs were always funny and sad. Tragic and hopeful, and in many ways, Vance Gilbert would be on the sort of Venn diagram of what makes up my playwriting aesthetic.”

Third-year MFA in Directing Sarah Curtis led the intimate workshop and explains how, in academia, “working on a new musical isn’t something you get to do every day, this is giving me the opportunity to do what I’m going to do in the industry” because in professional theater environments, new developments are at the heart of the industry.

In terms of having the chance to work with Gilbert’s music, too, Curtis sees “the blend of Vance Gilbert songs…with certain sensibilities that musical theater has…that changes it into something new. So, it's not quite Vance Gilbert, it's something different and I think that makes it exciting.”

According to Tantrum’s Artistic Director and Assistant Professor Ellie Clark (MFA ‘18), this kind of creative mixing pot is what makes an OHIO student’s experience valuable.

“It creates a powerful exchange to bring seasoned and emerging young artists together.  Witnessing the professionals collaborate throughout the workshop offered our students an invaluable opportunity to see creativity in motion - it was a masterclass in artistry and collaboration. Students witnessing the magic that happens when talent and vision come together is beyond educational, it's inspiring.”

One of the several Actors Equity Union professionals involved in the production is Wade Strafford-Elkins (MFA Acting ’23), also husband to the playwright and a professor in the college, who shares the same pride watching his students succeed.

“We are all professionals, just doing a job together. I worked on a lot of new works when I lived in New York and Chicago, so this is a process I'm very familiar with and it's really fun as a teacher to see my students do those things…a proud teacher moment. Everyone's just so well prepared and sounds so great.”

Steven Strafford-Elkins also sees his creative work adding to the student experience.

“For years as a playwright I always talked about how all I wanted was an artistic home. And then I moved into this position as OHIO’s head of musical theater, and I set aside writing for the first year and a half because I was busy learning this job and showing up for my students. Roberto pushed me to remember that if I were to write the book of this musical, I would be presenting opportunities not only for myself as an artist…but also, I am creating an opportunity for my students, and that's what we're doing here. All the cast is entirely made up of either faculty or current or former students from the program.”

The workshop, which Curtis said had only a week, 29 total hours of rehearsal time before the invited performance, included a total of 20 recent alums, faculty, staff and students deeply invested to develop this new work and allow for Steven Strafford-Elkins to have valuable feedback to inform his next draft.

Assisting in this process was Broadway composer who was hired to arrange Gilbert’s music. Steven Strafford-Elkins said Holland has taken Gilbert’s music and created intricate arrangements that are pushing our students.

“They’re meeting the challenge, which is so great. OHIO’s musical theater program is young, and our reputation is forming out in the world,” Steven Stratford Elkins said.

Ryan Zornak, a current BFA in Musical Theater agrees.

“The students here are getting real world experiences that they might not get a lot of other places…We’re getting put into things here that that are different, that are allowing us to sort of explore more options of what we can be as performers. And I think at the end of the day, that's all you can ask.”

For Wade Strafford-Elkins, it’s also about enriching the local community.

“The more artistic life we can create here in Athens, the more it benefits everyone.”

You can learn more about Tantrum Theater’s latest season announcement by visiting .