

S1 Episode 5: Tidtaya Sinutoke and Isabella Dawis
In this episode, Hayley and Amy speak with new musical theatre writing team Tidtaya Sinutoke and Isabella Dawis. We learn about the development processes for their musicals Half the Sky and Sunwatcher, and we talk about incorporating elements of other cultures into American musical theatre and lessons learned from the pandemic. Click here for a transcript!
Episode Notes
Guests: Tidtaya Sinutoke and Isabella Dawis
Hosts: Hayley Goldenberg and Amy Andrews
Music: Chloe Geller
Guest Bios
Tidtaya Sinutoke (she/her) is a Jonathan Larson Grant, Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award, International Theatremakers Award and Fred Ebb Award-winning musical theatre composer, writer, and musician. Born in Thailand and now based in NYC, her compositions draw from multiple genres, combining classical music, traditional Thai/world music tonality, and the complexities of contemporary meters and pop hooks. Composition credits include: Half the Sky (The 5th Avenue Theatre's First Draft Commission & 20/21 Digital Season, Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award); Sunwatcher (The Civilians R&D Group, Ancram Play Lab, Global Forms Theater Festival), and Dear Mr. C (NYFA’s City Artist Corps Grants, Polyphone Festival, The Crossroads Project). Her works have been developed and supported by the Composer-Librettists Studio at New Dramatists, Yale Institute for Music Theatre, Johnny Mercer Foundation, NYFA IAM Mentoring Program, Robert Rauschenberg Residency, Kurt Weill Foundation, Drama League, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, and the American Opera Project. A proud member of ASCAP, Dramatists Guild, Maestra, MUSE, and Thai Theatre Foundation. BM: Berklee College of Music; MFA: NYU. tidtayasinutoke.com
Isabella Dawis (she/her) is a Filipina-American playwright and performer. As a librettist and lyricist, she is the recipient of the 2022 Kleban Prize in Musical Theatre, the 2021 Fred Ebb Award, and the 2020 Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award. She currently holds a Composers and the Voice Fellowship with the American Opera Project. Her musical theatre works include HALF THE SKY (5th Avenue Theatre Digital Radio Play/First Draft Commission, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Mu's New Eyes, Theater Latté Da's NEXT), SUNWATCHER (Civilians' R&D, Goodspeed’s Writers Grove, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Ancram Opera House, Tofte Lake Center), and BEFORE THE LAST METER (Atlanta Opera). Isabella’s writing has been supported by the Primary Stages Rockwell Scholarship, the Kurt Weill Foundation's Lotte Lenya Songbook, Musical Theatre Factory, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, and more. B.M. summa cum laude, piano performance, University of Minnesota, with vocal study at New England Conservatory.
Find Tidtaya and Isabella Online:
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