In this episode, Hayley and Amy talk with musical theatre writing team abs wilson and Veronica Mansour about the recent success of their show LIGHTHOUSE, the joy of collaborating with women to tell nuanced women-forward stories, the importance of practicing gratitude, and more. Click here for a transcript of the episode!

Episode Notes

Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews
Guest: abs wilson and Veronica Mansour
Music: Chloe Geller

Episode Resources:

National Theater Institute (NTI)

NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program

LIGHTHOUSE at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals

Guest Bios:

abs wilson (she/her) is a playwright & lyricist originally from Minnesota and now based in NYC. She’s a recipient of the 2024 Richard Rodgers Award, selected writer for the National Musical Theatre Alliances's New Musical Festival (2024), Eugene O'Neill National Music Theater Conference winner (2024), selected writer for the musical theater Rhinebeck Writer's Retreat (2024), selected writer for the Syracuse New Works New Voices program (2024), Write Out Loud Contest winner for her and Veronica Mansour's song “Runaway Girl" (2023), National Musical Theater Conference Finalist (2023), NAMT finalist (2023), recipient of the Vanguard Theater New Works Festival Commission (2023), THE SEVEN New Works winner (2023), finalist for the Olney Theater Center Vanguard Arts Fund (2023), featured on the NAMT playlist, semi-finalist for SheNYC (2022), and finalist for the David Einhorn Prize (2022). She’s had work done with Theatre Barn at Playwright’s Horizons, Paper Kraine, the Tank, the Brick, Fusion Theater, Syracuse University, and St. Olaf College, with songs performed at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, the Composers Concordance Marathon, and a play published in Some Scripts Literary Magazine. She got her MFA from NYU Tisch’s Musical Theater Writing Program and her passion for theater at the National Theater Institute’s 2020 Summer Intensive theatermaking program. abs is a member of the Dramatists Guild & ASCAP.

Veronica Mansour (she/her) is a composer/lyricist/artist. She is a 2024 Richard Rodgers Award Winner and Jonathan Larson Grant winner, was recently nominated for a Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award (Musical Theatre Composition), selected as one of four writers for DreamWorks Theatricals, MTI & NBCUniversal Emerging Writers Program (currently commissioned to write How To Train Your Dragon Jr.), and one of three 2023 Write Out Loud Contest Winners for her song “Runaway Girl” (performed by Jessica Vosk, written with abs wilson). Current works: LIGHTHOUSE (NAMT Winner 2024, Eugene O'Neill NMTC Winner 2024 & Finalist 2023, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat 2024, Syracuse NWNV 2024, Olney Theatre Center Vanguard Arts Fund Finalist 2023, New York Theatre Barn New Works Series 2023, Vanguard Theater New Works Festival Commission 2023, St. Olaf College World Premiere 2024, NAMT Finalist/Playlist) and The Dark Lady (Eugene O'Neill NMTC Winner 2023, Syracuse NWNV Finalist, 2024 Musical Theatre West New Works Festival, 2024 Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, 2024 South Carolina New Play Festival).

Find abs and Veronica Online:

LIGHTHOUSE Website

LIGHTHOUSE on Instagram

abs Website

Veronica Website

Follow abs on Instagram

Follow Veronica on Instagram

Thanks for listening!

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