Heart-broken? Tell Facebook, Lonely? Use Tinder, Life sucks? Start a blog, But what happens if you’re a songwriter?
Direct from the New York Musical Theatre Festival, multi-award winning Composer and Green Room Award Nominee (Best Musical Direction and Best Original Songs), Shanon D Whitelock is set to make his solo debut The Butterfly Club.
Never Date a Songwriter is an energetic confessional comedy following the misadventures of modern dating. It is humorous and heartfelt, and at times, shockingly honest. You will be serenaded with a plethora of original songs in a witty fusion of musical styles dealing with sexual tension, feeling of longing, dating, love lost and love found and explaining your relationships to those near and dear to you.
Prepare to be entertained by, if not wary of, one of Australia’s most prolific young songwriters. If you’ve ever considered dating a songwriter, consider yourself warned and date at your own risk – YOU could end up being the next big hit!
Shanon D. Whitelock has written original work for theatre, film, recordings and the concert stage since the age of seven. Ranked in the top ten of the Australian Songwriter’s Association National Songwriting Competition by the age of 16, Whitelock has gone on to work with a high calibre of peers.
Whitelock’s first full length show, One – A New Musical was staged in 2007. In 2009 Whitelock workshopped original work with Tony Award winners Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Original score credits include the play, Eight By Exhibit A: Theatre (2012), Carbon Dating (Australian tour 2011), Short film Quiet You’ll Wake up the War (Cannes Film Festival 2010).
An accomplished Pianist, Musical Director and Conductor, Whitelock tours worldwide as well as working extensively with Australian theatre and cabaret. Appointments include musically directing numerous cabaret pieces across Australia, extensive collaboration with theatre stars Chelsea Gibb and Rachel Dunham, Associate Conductor for Carousel (Twelfth Night Theatre Company), Musical Director for Isn’t It Romantic – The Songs of Rodgers and Hart (QPAC) and the musical workshop for Pink conducted by Stephen Schwartz.
Performances as a musician include Hairspray (Dainty Consolidated Entertainment/Roadshow Live) and the Australian tour of Fame! The Musical (Gordon Frost Organisation). He is also the Musical Director for the recent Australian tour of California Dreaming – The Music of the Mamas and the Papas (JTM Productions), as well as the Musical Director and Arranger for Carole King – The Songbook of Her Life and A Fine Romance: The Magic of Fred Astaire (both touring Australia during 2016/2017)
Whitelock’s most recent collaboration, Oprahfication was the winner of Melbourne Short+Sweet Cabaret Tour Ready Award and Melbourne Cabaret Festival Excellence Award (2012), Green Room Awards Nominee for Best Musical Direction and Best Original Songs (2013), was featured at New York Musical Theatre Festival (2014) and will tour in 2016.
Never Date a Songwriter
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: 13 – 18 October 2015 – 8.30pm
Information and bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com