THEATRICAL / WIP
Here you’ll find selections from and links to current works-in-progress.
TROTTER
One person musical w/optional band
Run time approx. 60 minutes, devised with no intermission
Music/lyrics/book: Brittain Ashford
Director: TBD
Scenic Design: Joan LeMay
When my father slipped away in the small hours of an October morning I had little time to grieve. Contractually obligated to perform, it would be months before I would sleep in my own bed and years before the weight of his loss would truly hit me.
This show is an unblinking mediation on grief and regret with a touch of optimism.
Expanded and adapted for the stage from the 2023 album of the same name, TROTTER.
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Download and stream the music here via Disco.
Music is also available on all streaming platforms.
Stills from a theatrical presentation at the Brick in Williamsburg, 2024.
SELECTED PRESS for TROTTER (the album)
"Beautifully orchestrated and utterly exposed, it’s a raw reckoning of visceral emotion"
- Atwood Magazine
"… a mystical middle ground between Americana, jazz, and the slightest flavours of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. Profoundly moving but never maudlin as it examines choices made and opportunities lost."
- AnalogueTrash
“beguilingly rich”
- Various Small Flames
“captivating”
- Obscure Sound
THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY
A vaguely immersive holiday musical comedy in one act
Run time approx. 90 minutes, devised with no intermission
For FOUR actors & small band
Music/lyrics: Brittain Ashford // Book: Gracie Garder
Director: TBD
Clara and Jay run into each other every year at the same holiday party, Simone’s Annual Holiday Bash. Come for a drink and stay for the music as we jump back and forth in time with Clara and Jay as they ask the question: why didn’t we ever get together?
Note: this show is set in an NYC loft apartment. Guests will be greeted by a member of the cast/band and given a drink upon entering the space. Seating for the show will be traditional theatre style mixed with some “apartment” seating on the periphery of the main playing area.
LATE NIGHT
A new musical comedy in two acts
Music/lyrics/book: Adam Znaidi
Creative Director: Brittain Ashford
Director: TBD
It’s 1977 and Amy Daniels’ dream has come true: she is taking over a coveted Late Show host spot and tonight is her first night in the chair. But junior producer Billy Paul will stop at nothing to sabotage her debut.
Blurring the line between stage production and talk show, Late Night throws us behind the scenes of live TV — complete with an on-stage house band, big laughs, and a whole lot of heart. It’s a fast-paced, feel-good show where the drama’s real, the music’s live, and anything could happen!
THE ENTERTAINMENT
Television - comedy
Conceived and written by Brittain Ashford
A Broadway hopeful at the end of her rope unexpectedly finds herself enmeshed in the bizarre underworld of children’s entertainment.
Musical cues and performances play strongly in this dark comedy.
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Brandi Ashton moved to New York with big dreams of becoming a Broadway star. In one final attempt to land a part, she unwittingly finds herself as a children’s party entertainer. Humiliated, defeated, and ready to return to small town Ohio, a surprising payday convinces her to ride it out.
On this new career path, Brandi must navigate nemeses of the circuit: a magician, a party princess, nightmare children and helicopter parents, all while telling herself that it’s only temporary.
For fans of FLEABAG, GLOW, HIGH MAINTENANCE.