About the Project

In June 2022, Nathan Clift made a tweet asking for up and coming Musical Theatre writers to participate in a collaborative song cycle.

In the Fall of 2022, the team decided to move forward with the project, but now as a songwriting challenge.

One Month.

One Secondary Character.

All Public Domain.

The concept of Back At Home stems from the idea that while certain characters were not chosen to go on a journey, their stories of survival were just as important.

Especially as a pandemic rages on in our world.

Designed by Maiga Vidal

The Team

The Founders of The Back At Home Project

These are the Five Creators behind The Back At Home Project:

Original Concept, Founding Member

Nathan Clift (He/Him/His)

Nathan Clift is a New York-based theatrical performer and artist. In addition to his plays (which can be found on New Play Exchange), he has been developing Daybreak: A New Musical. He received his BFA in Musical Theatre from Western Connecticut State University in the Spring of 2019. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit for his Dramaturgy work on that semester's production of Crazy For You (Directed by Elizabeth Parkinson and Scott Wise). Outside of writing, directing, choreographing, and performing, Nathan also is a freelance video editor (NC Video Services). He conceptualized Back at Home in June 2022, and is excited to see this project take off.

Founding Member

Michael Roche (He/Him/His)

Michael Roche (SAG/AFTRA) received a Musical Theater degree from CUA, a Masters in Theatre from Villanova University, and has appeared in commercials, film and stage productions. Michael directed/filmed/edited the Grammy nominated band Bowling For Soup’s official music video “Getting Old Sucks”. His musical Monster: A Musical (Footlighters Theatre) was nominated for BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Awards 2022 - Best New Play or Musical. Michael’s play Arnold Dinglemeyer appeared in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, then adapted as a webisodes. He illustrated the children's book Zimba: Believe. Currently Michael is working on a musical using the songs of Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots, a Board Member of Footlighters Theater, and a co-Founder of the “Back At Home” project.

Founding Member

Amanda Gulla (She/ They/ He)

Amanda Gulla (she/they/he) is a Philadelphia based creator who tells stories through a variety of forms, including musicals, animation, graphic novels, and plays. Currently their musical Unwound: Beyond the Labyrinth is in the process of recording an album and simultaneous animatic, while their other show Songs of the Stolen has begun rehearsing for a virtual production coming March 2023. Amanda is not currently participating in (as either audience member or artist) live indoor theatre at this time due to a need to prioritize the safety and well-being of themself, loved ones, and everyone directly and indirectly experiencing the harms of an ongoing pandemic.

Founding Member

Grace Persaud (She/Her)

Grace Persaud (she/her) is a singer, actress, composer, lyricist, and theater creative; a few of many hats she wears. She specializes in creating and performing musical theater, but she is a music nerd at heart. She began writing musicals at the age of 16 during the lockdown. Some of her works in production include her musical Newlydead and her play The Scary Movie Game. Outside of theater, she enjoys writing plays and episodic work, singing and studying choral repertoire, composing a cappella arrangements, watching horror movies, playing murder mystery games, and indulging in international musical theater.

Founding Member

Maiga Vidal (She/Her)

Maiga Vidal is a Chilean born, California raised musical theatre writer and content creator. She studied songwriting at California Lutheran University, Theatre West's Betty Garrett Musical Theatre Workshop, The Songwriting School of Los Angeles, and is currently being mentored by & studying under composer/ lyricist John Mercurio. She is also a member of the Latine Musical Theatre Lab.

Her goal is to create more diversity in theatre by not only writing new works into the musical theatre canon, but also demystifying the writing process by sharing it from beginning to end online.

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Challenge 2023!

Public Domain