The Confession—A Gate Productions Workshop Reading

In recent years, thanks to television programing like NBC’s Smash, fans of musical theater have gained insider looks into the culture of Broadway and the influences that help grow a script’s narrative and score. In years past, ticket holders waited years to see a new musical, perhaps only getting a glimpse at preview events that often sold out months in advance as buzz grew. Residents of Boston’s North Shore will have an opportunity to attend a public reading of a newly workshopped piece titled The Confession—a musical adapted from the novels of Amish life writer and famed New York Times best-selling author Beverly Lewis. The reading will take place on the campus of Gordon College on Sunday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m. in the Barrington Center for the Arts.

The workshop, currently in process at a Gordon College private estate in Beverly Farms, includes industry professionals from London to Los Angeles, along with support from the Gordon College Theatre Department. Following the week long creative workshop, the director Myriam Cyr and her team will present a final reading to the producer—Gate Productions—in front of a live audience. “This is a very unusual and exciting opportunity,” said Jeff Miller, professor of theatre arts at Gordon College. “From an educational standpoint, Gordon theatre students will have the opportunity to be a part of the workshop process as our students shadow the entire creative team—from script adaptor, to producer, to leading lady.” Miller, the on-site producer for The Confession, also shares the unique opportunity this one-day reading provides to patrons of musical theatre. “A public reading of new musical—especially one with the industry professionals involved in this workshop—is a rare opportunity on a college campus.” The final reading of The Confession will take place in the Margaret Jensen Theatre, and will be free and open to the public while seats are available.

Beverly Lewis is a fiction novelist and author of over 80 books with over 30 million copies sold. Participant highlights of the workshop will include Jack Bradley (literary manager, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child); Martha Bolton (author and writer for Bob Hope); Dan Posthuma (Blue Gate Musicals); and Wally Nason (composer) in addition to many other Broadway professionals flying in through the week. The final reading will be performed by professional actors from the Boston region and will also include theatre arts students studying at Gordon College in the choir ensemble performances.

In addition to the workshop reading, Gordon’s weekly Convocation Program will feature a lecture titled “Lives of Collaboration: The Confession Musical Project,” featuring a panel from The Confession that will include the writer, producer and composer. The Convocation talk will take place Friday, September 23, at 10:25 a.m. in the A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel.  While Friday evening, Jack Bradley, the literary consultant on the London’s smash hit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will be speaking on literary management and dramaturgy at 4:30 p.m. in the Gregory Auditorium (Jenks). Both events are free and open to the public.

For information on The Confession workshop reading, email the Office of College Communications and Marketing at [email protected] or call 978.857.4235. For information on the theatre arts program at Gordon College, contact Norm Jones, theatre department chair, at [email protected].

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