P R O D U C I N G

In addition to his work as the executive director of NYMF, Kris Stewart is an experienced producer, both in the commercial and non-profit realms. In 2008, his commercial production company, Red Sand Media Partners, produced the feature film Red Hook and the TONY nominated musical [title of show], and has two commercial musicals and a television drama in active development.

In 2010 and 2011, Kris consulted with Century Venues on a series of nonprofit projects that they were taking on, such as the Sydney Fringe (created in partnership with the City of Sydney and the City of Marrickville), New Musicals Australia (created with the Australia Council), and the Concourse, a new arts centre in the City of Willoughby where Kris consulted on programming and major events.

You can find more on Kris’ producing experience by visiting the Festivals and Major Events page of the site, where you can read more on Kris’ experience on events such as the Festival of Voices, the Sydney Fringe, the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and others.

For more information on Kris’ work as a producer, click:

AUSTRALIAN BALLET: BALLET IN THE PARK

australian balletIn 1999, Kris produced and directed a number of outdoor events – it was during the renovation of the Myer Music Bowl, and a series of major Melbourne events needed to be re-housed. It was quite an interesting challenge to find a way to produce these enormous events for one-night-only in a stylish but practical way.

The Ballet in the Park was a free annual event sponsored by Telstra, and included two dozen member of the Australian Ballet’s ballet corp, plus (as you can see above), inflatable light sculptures created for the night, a string ensemble that played live and a fireworks event. More than 15,000 audience members attended this event.

THE CONCOURSE

concourseAfter spending eighteen months working with Century Venues on a series of non-profit ventures for the company, including The Sydney Fringe and New Musicals Australia, Kris was brought in as a consultant for the six months prior to the opening of The Concourse, an initiative of Willoughby City Council and the cultural home of the North Shore.

The Concourse is one of Sydney’s leading entertainment venues home to a dynamic range of live arts and entertainment, and it incorporates a Concert Hall and theatre as well as rehearsal and studio space, conference facilities, and outdoor urban screen and a library with over 5,000 square metres of books.

The Concourse

Kris assisted with establishing the opening programming and producing the opening gala event at the Concourse, on September 17, 2011.

RED HOOK

red hookIf it is August in New York, it must mean a whole new year of freshmen are descending on the city colleges.  Jenny Traylor is one of them, and she has moved here against her mother’s wishes, because her mom doesn’t realize it’s not 1978 anymore and NYC has become so safe it’s almost boring.

During Jenny’s Welcome Week at college, she gets invited to take part in the annual scavenger hunt, and the rules are simple: a clue gets sent to your cell phone, and you race to take your photo with the answer and text it back to receive the next clue.

But something is up. Someone is changing the rules and sending Jenny’s friends across the city and picking them off one by one.

Will Jenny be able to save them?  Will she want to? Don’t turn off your cell phones … because the hunt is on.

To buyAMAZON (US)

Red Hook – Movie Trailervia Metacafe

Red Hook – Movie Stills from RedSandMedia on Vimeo.

[TITLE OF SHOW]

tos“You’re reading the official blurb, or short summary, of [title of show].  Blurb.  That’s a funny word. We spent a lot of time on this blurb so please read the whole blurb.

“[title of show] is a musical about two nobodies named Hunter and Jeff who decide to write a completely original musical starring themselves and their attractive and talented ladyfriends, Susan and Heidi.

Their musical, [title of show], gets into the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and becomes a hit.  Then it gets an off-Broadway production at the Vineyard Theatre, and wins three Obie Awards!

Then (drumroll if you’ve got a drum) it’s announced that their musical is going to Broadway (hooray!) and people start seeing this blurb everywhere!  They read that The New York Times called [title of show] “DELECTABLE ENTERTAINMENT! A postmodern homage to the grand tradition of backstage musicals like Babes in Arms, Kiss Me, Kate and A Chorus Line.”

Fully intrigued, those people snatch up tickets and help make Hunter and Jeff’s life-long dream come true!”

 


REVIEWS FOR [TITLE OF SHOW]

“Delectable entertainment” – the New York Times
“In expert hands” – Associated Press
“Terrific. A kick-ass time” – The New York Daily News
“Sly, sassy, inspired” – Entertainment Weekly
“Wise, warm, irresistible” – The NY Sun
“A genuine treat” – NJ Star Ledger
“Immensely likeable” – The New Yorker
“A bottomless reservoir of fun” – Amazon.com
“Don’t miss it!” – Time Out NY
“An enjoyable romp” – Wolf Entertainment Guide
“A damn good show” – Edge NY
“A crowd-pleaser” – Variety
“Infectious joy” – WPKN
“A good dose of fun” – AM New York

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

MADISONKris’ friend Geoff Cohen was on the board of the National Music Theater Network while Kris was working as their executive director. In addition to being the NMTN treasurer, Geoff had been Executive Producer for Radio City Entertainment for a number of years.

Mr. Cohen was producing A Christmas Carol, which was written by Lynn Ahrens and Alan Menken and directed by Susan Stroman. It has a cast of 80+, and Cohen asked Kris to come in and produce a series of performances that were in the “style” of what Stroman was doing in the show, and these performances would happen in the auditorium or the foyer or suites, etc.

Radio City Entertainment hired more than 20 performers in total, and Kris developed a range of small spontaneous acts that could happen in a number of different environment. It was a bit of silliness, and fun to put together with a whole range of “specialty performers”.

LYGON STREET FESTA

LYGONBefore he left Melbourne, Kris spent 2000 and 2001 as the Producer of the Lygon Street Festa, which is Australia’s largest street event.

Celebrating the rich diversity of Italo-Australian culture, the Festa would take place over eight city blocks, with all traffic diverted and stages at each intersection and in the garden. It is a serious party atmosphere, with over 400,000 attendees, 1500 staff and artists, eight stages, and loads of activity. An enjoyable nightmare to budget, schedule, market, program and produce.

 

PRODUCING

In addition to his work as the executive director of NYMF, Kris Stewart is an experienced producer, both in the commercial and non-profit realms. In 2008, his commercial production company, Red Sand Media Partners, produced the feature film Red Hook and the TONY nominated musical [title of show], and has two commercial musicals and a television drama in active development.

Kris also headed up a number of non-profit initiatives, including the Australian Ballet’s Ballet in the Park, Madison Square Garden/Radio City Entertainment’s A Christmas Carol, the Lygon Street Festa (over 300,000 attendees), the Myer Music Bowl Millennium Concert, the Waterfront Festival, the Williamstown Festival, The LIVE Youth Festival, the VIVA Cultural Diversity Festival and numerous outdoor concerts and events. Prior to NYMF, Kris was Executive Director of the National Music Theatre Network and consulting director for the Theatre for the American Musical, and a Consultant on Cultural Development for the City of Melbourne.

THE SYDNEY FRINGE

TSFIn 2010, Kris began as the inaugural Artistic Director of The Sydney Fringe, NSW’s key major event for the alternative and independent arts sector.

Here, he programmed 3000 artists in 700+ performances of more than 250 shows and events in 53 inner city venues, events that were seen by over 100,000 attendees.

The first year of the Fringe included 76 theatre works, 59 music acts, 30 musicals, 25 visual arts exhibitions, 16 full length comedies, 13 digital arts pieces, 11 pieces of burlesque or circus, 8 dance productions, four children’s theatre companies, two film festivals, as well as underground artspace tours, street festivals, alternative fashion parades, masquerade balls and street theatre.

For the first time, iconic Sydney venues such as CarriageWorks, the Seymour Centre, the Enmore Theatre, the Factory and the New Theatre have been all brought together under the curatorship of a single festival.

At The Sydney Fringe, he has reopened The Hub and the Newtown School of Arts, both unused for decades, and made them centres for arts programming, and co-presented the Sydney Underground Film Festival, Lunamorph Alternative Fashion Festival, the Mobile Screenfest 2010 and ST2K Urban Art Festival.

For more on the Sydney Fringe, please check out the media section of this site.


THE SYDNEY FRINGE QUOTES

“The next big thing in Sydney … a talented outsider with big ideas … a memorable spectacle in the Inner West to say the very least.” Harriet Alexander (The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 19, 2010)

“Cultural smackdown (…) offering audiences ample opportunity to see the next big thing. Their work wouldn’t be seen if it wasn’t for something like this festival.” Alex Lalak (The Daily Telegraph, September 13, 2010)

“The Sydney Fringe will fill a gap in Sydney’s cultural life (…) grown from the ground up here in Newtown, it’s a vibrant part of what makes Sydney unique.” Dennis Chaplot (TimeOut Sydney, August 2010)

“An exciting, high energy, big city fringe (…) this could be one of the largest events ever seen in Sydney.” Katelyn Catanzariti (Bigpond News, Wednesday September 8, 2010)


THE SYDNEY FRINGE ARTICLES