Recipient
Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore
Thomas Mizer is an acclaimed lyricist/librettist and recipient of a Jonathan Larson Grant for his music theater collaborations with Curtis Moore. His work has been seen on theatrical stages around the country, including the Williamstown Theater Festival, TheatreWorks Palo Alto, the Eugene O’Neill Center, and the NAMT Festival of New Musicals. An honors graduate of Northwestern University with degrees in Theater and English Literature, he has also completed the BMI Lehman Engel writing workshop and received an artist in residence grant from the National Music Theater Conference and ASCAP. In a “prior” life as an actor, Thomas appeared in roles Off-Broadway and at regional theaters. He last starred as “Steve” in the First National Tour of Blue’s Clues, Live!, including two sold-out weeks at Radio City Music Hall.
In addition to his work in the theater, Thomas is an award-winning advertising copywriter for major media brands such as Comedy Central and Food Network. He has written travel features for national publications including Passport Magazine and is the founding editor of The Broadway Blog, a website devoted to theater in New York and beyond.
Bio as of April, 2014.
CURTIS MOORE is a composer, songwriter and musician whose work can be heard on the Broadway and international stage, T.V., film, and new media. His work has been performed at Playwrights Horizons, The Old Vic Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Public Theater, and Lincoln Center.
Curtis recently composed the music for Nora Ephon’s play Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks. In collaboration with Thomas Mizer, lyricist, he was awarded the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant. Together they have written the musicals Triangle (commissioned by Williamstown Theatre Festival, subsequently presented at the Eugene O’Neill Center, Theatreworks Palo Alto, and the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), The Legend Of Stagecoach Mary (National Alliance for Musical Theater), and The Bus To Buenos Aires (Ensemble Studio Theater, NY). Together, they teamed up with Amanda Green (Bring It On) and Matthew Brookshire on the critically acclaimed musical, For The Love Of Tiffany. Curtis also composed the score for Barry Edelstein’s production of Timon of Athens at the Public Theater.
For film, Curtis and Matthew Brookshire wrote and performed songs for the Todd Solondz’ film Palindromes (Venice, Toronto, Telluride, New York film festivals.) Three of which were short-listed by Variety for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Song. Other film credits include composing the score for Clear Blue Tuesday, music for Industrial Light and Magic, MTV networks, production and orchestrations for Disney’s Pocahontas II, the Miss America Pageant, and the CBS’ Rose Bowl Celebration. Most recently, Curtis composed the music for the short film Places I Can Never Go Back To.
As a producer and songwriter, Curtis continues to develop and collaborate with artists around the world. Manager Dave Lory, taken with Curtis’ song “Season For Saying Goodbye”, solicited material for his diverse roster of clients including Irish tenor Ronan Tynan and opera singer Shawna Stone. The latter of which Curtis subsequently developed and helped secure a recording contract with EMI/Angel Records. His song “Seattle” appeared on the album “Entity” from #1 Billboard dance artist, Kevin Aviance, receiving high praise from the music press. Other artists he has worked with include Wafah Dafour, Ari Gold, Sara Ramirez, and two American Idol finalists – *Dilia and Karen Rodriguez.
He recently returned from conducting and performing the music in The Bridge Project’s acclaimed world tour of Richard III, directed by Sam Mendes and starring Kevin Spacey. This concluded three years of work with The Bridge Project (a joint production of BAM and The Old Vic) as Mark Bennett’s associate composer and music supervisor for The Cherry Orchard, The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, The Tempest, and Richard III. As orchestrator, he has also worked with Mark Bennett on The Coast of Utopia, as associate composer and orchestrator with Mel Marvin on Cymbeline, and as music director for Moisés Kaufman’s production of Into The Woods. Curtis has provided orchestrations for Striking 12, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Saved, and the London revival of Pippin.
His new stage musical Venice, written with Matt Sax and Eric Rosen, premiered as a joint production between The Center Theater Group in Los Angeles and The Kansas City Rep, and was presented in a sold out-extended run at the Public Theater in New York in 2013.
Awards include “Best Composer Award” at the ASCAP/NYU Film Scoring Workshop, “Garland Award” for best score for a musical, and multiple grants from the Eugene O’Neill Music Theater Conference. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a founding member of the Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance.
Curtis is currently based in New York, NY and enjoys volunteering his time and talent to The Actors Fund, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the Ali Forney Center.
Bio as of April, 2014.