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A drafty demo of one of the songs from No Trespassing, the short musical we're writing for the MTFxR Garage. We're in a breakneck 4 days of putting together this show, and we get actor recordings tomorrow hopefully! We'll be posting more about our process on our TikTok so make sure to keep up with us there.

and there are tix to the MTFxR Garage Summit on Thurs for anyone in the area!

lyrics under the cut:

MY NEIGHBOR’S WINDOWPANE IS BROKEN I BARELY NOTICE ANYMORE BUT WHEN MY GRANDMA SEES THEIR WINDOW SHE EXPLAINS THE BROKEN WINDOW THEORY EVEN IF I’VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE

IT’S THIS THEORY FROM THE 80s TO JUSTIFY SUBURBAN SPRAWL. “IF SOMEONE BREAKS YOUR WINDOW AND YOU NEVER CARE TO FIX IT THEN PEOPLE COME AROUND AND BREAK THEM ALL.”

THEY TREAT MY FRIENDS LIKE BROKEN WINDOWS MOMS AVOID US AT THE MALL PEOPLE WATCH US FROM THEIR WINDOWS LIKE, “THANK GOD THEY’RE MOVING OUT OF HERE” BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND BREAK THEM ALL.

SOMETIMES I WISH I COULD GO WITH THEM HAVE A SOFA ALL MY OWN BURN MY FUTURE IN AN ASHTRAY ON THE FIRE ESCAPE WITH MY HOODIE AND THE SIM CARD FROM MY PHONE. BUT FUTURE TENSE IS NOT MY FORTE I’M SUBJUNCTIVE THROUGH AND THROUGH I’M STUCK IN THE “IF,” I DON’T WANT THE “THEN,” I DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DON’T WANT TO DO.

IT’S NOT THE WINDOWS OR THE MYSPACE. THE THINGS THAT EVERYBODY BLAMES. IT’S NOT GRAFFITI OR THE URBEX OR THE LEAD FUMES FROM THE HIGHWAY OR THE YEARBOOK LIST WITHOUT THEIR REAL NAMES. SOME WINDOWS BREAK WITHOUT A REASON. SOME FACE THE SKY AND SOME THE WALL. SOME BECOME AN EYE THAT SEES THE BROKEN ONE ACROSS FROM THEM AND HOPES THAT SOMEONE COMES AND BREAKS THEM ALL. BREAKS THEM ALL I HOPE SOMEONE ELSE CAN COME AND BREAK US ALL

[elliotly]

lets play throw each other down the concrete staircase

[elliotly]

A drafty demo of one of the songs from No Trespassing, the short musical we're writing for the MTFxR Garage. We're in a breakneck 4 days of putting together this show, and we get actor recordings tomorrow hopefully! We'll be posting more about our process on our TikTok so make sure to keep up with us there.

and there are tix to the MTFxR Garage Summit on Thurs for anyone in the area!

lyrics under the cut:

MY NEIGHBOR’S WINDOWPANE IS BROKEN I BARELY NOTICE ANYMORE BUT WHEN MY GRANDMA SEES THEIR WINDOW SHE EXPLAINS THE BROKEN WINDOW THEORY EVEN IF I’VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE

IT’S THIS THEORY FROM THE 80s TO JUSTIFY SUBURBAN SPRAWL. “IF SOMEONE BREAKS YOUR WINDOW AND YOU NEVER CARE TO FIX IT THEN PEOPLE COME AROUND AND BREAK THEM ALL.”

THEY TREAT MY FRIENDS LIKE BROKEN WINDOWS MOMS AVOID US AT THE MALL PEOPLE WATCH US FROM THEIR WINDOWS LIKE, “THANK GOD THEY’RE MOVING OUT OF HERE” BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND BREAK THEM ALL.

SOMETIMES I WISH I COULD GO WITH THEM HAVE A SOFA ALL MY OWN BURN MY FUTURE IN AN ASHTRAY ON THE FIRE ESCAPE WITH MY HOODIE AND THE SIM CARD FROM MY PHONE. BUT FUTURE TENSE IS NOT MY FORTE I’M SUBJUNCTIVE THROUGH AND THROUGH I’M STUCK IN THE “IF,” I DON’T WANT THE “THEN,” I DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT I DON’T WANT TO DO.

IT’S NOT THE WINDOWS OR THE MYSPACE. THE THINGS THAT EVERYBODY BLAMES. IT’S NOT GRAFFITI OR THE URBEX OR THE LEAD FUMES FROM THE HIGHWAY OR THE YEARBOOK LIST WITHOUT THEIR REAL NAMES. SOME WINDOWS BREAK WITHOUT A REASON. SOME FACE THE SKY AND SOME THE WALL. SOME BECOME AN EYE THAT SEES THE BROKEN ONE ACROSS FROM THEM AND HOPES THAT SOMEONE COMES AND BREAKS THEM ALL. BREAKS THEM ALL I HOPE SOMEONE ELSE CAN COME AND BREAK US ALL

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A sneak peek of what we're working on for the MTFxR Garage event! This is the opening to a 15-minute musical about a group of trans teens summoning a monster in an abandoned textile factory!

Anyone based around NYC -- come to our summit this Thursday! The MTFxR Garage is an event where writers and creative technologists come together to prototype new extended reality (XR) musical theatre works.

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LOL but seriously release the hounds

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Sorry, babe, can’t sub for the next few years. Yeah, im not happy about it either… yeah, well.. no, apparently it’s very tone-deaf right now to have this kind of kink… yeah, we have to think about the political climate.

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Walking around the city and punching people til they die cus its fridayyy

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Fuck. Fuuuuck. Kamala Harris paid me to endorse her and I toooootally forgot & spent all the money on various cheeses 🧀 and Smirnoff 💦 do you think she will be mad

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i just detected an ancient stone

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“gentle reminder-” VIOLENT FORGET !!! ❌

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An updated demo of “Have Another Drink” from our new musical, Thy Sinful House! Vocals by Giao Vu Dinh, spoken lines by Lana Gaige. Lyrics by Mel Hornyak and music by Elliot Valentine.

Lyrics under the cut!

Lyrics:

THYESTES:

I want to see my children! Where are they?

ATREUS forcibly sits her down, and tucks a napkin into her shirt.

ATREUS:

YOUR KIDS ARE RIGHT HERE!

NO NEED FOR ALARM.

STAY FOR DESSERT, EAT A COUPLE MORE COURSES!

THEY'RE IN YOUR EMBRACE.

THEY WON'T COME TO HARM.

AT LEAST, NOTHING WORSE FOR YOUR KIDS THAN DIVORCE IS!

HAVE ANOTHER DRINK, THYESTES!

HAVE ANOTHER ROLL.

YOU’LL HAVE FAMILY BONDING

UNTIL YOU’RE QUITE FULL.

HAVE A LITTLE BREAD, THYESTES!

DRINK A LITTLE WINE.

AS YOU MADE CLEAR,

THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE:

WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS

AND WHAT’S YOURS MUST BE MINE.

THYESTES:

What have you done with them?

ATREUS:

YOUR KIDS ARE QUITE SAFE.

THEY'RE ALWAYS WITH YOU.

INSIDE YOUR HEART - WELL, A LITTLE BELOW.

THEY WON'T LEAVE YOUR SIGHT

ONCE DINNER IS THROUGH.

YOU’RE THE ONE KIND OF MOTHER THEY'LL NEVER OUTGROW.

HAVE ANOTHER DRINK, THYESTES!

TAKE A LITTLE REST!

I MADE THIS MYSELF

AND IT’S MADE FROM THE BEST.

HAVE ANOTHER SWEET, THYESTES.

EAT ANOTHER CAKE!

IF THEY DON’T RETURN

THEY WON'T HAVE TO LEARN

THAT WHAT FAMILY GIVES YOU

IT ALSO WILL TAKE!

THYESTES:

Where are they?

ATREUS:

OH, THE LITTLE BRATS ARE FINE!

THEY'RE IN THE BREAD, THE MEAT, THE WINE

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I'M ABLE

TO MAKE THEM JOIN US AT THE TABLE!

IT’S NOTHING WORSE THAN GIVING THEM A HOUSE WE BUILT ON SIN!

(Thyestes starts gagging)

I HOPE THEY TASTE WORSE COMING OUT

THAN THEY DID GOING IN!

(Thyestes starts choking)

ATREUS:

HAVE ANOTHER DRINK, THYESTES!

(she spills the wine onto the floor)

HAVE ANOTHER BITE!

(she tips the tray of meat off the table)

THEY WON'T TASTE GOOD TOMORROW

SO DON’T WASTE A SCRAP TONIGHT!

(she pushes the table over, chases Thyestes down, and starts pouring wine on her)

HAVE ANOTHER PLATE, THYESTES!

DON’T KNIT YOUR PRETTY BROW!

YOUR KIDS ARE PROTECTED!

YOU’RE ALWAYS CONNECTED!

TELL ME, THYESTES--

(Opening a cloche. Inside are TANTALUS and PLISTHENES' heads.)

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THEM NOW?

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Oh- that’s gore of my comfort show (no Tonys for dead outlaw)

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Everyone talks about andy payne, but what about andy pleasure. This race'll put a joy on you. You'll grin for days

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Princess finds a bedraggled knight wandering just outside the castle walls with no heraldry and a wilted plume (a common sign of emotional neglect in knights) and begs the queen to let her keep him. The queen warns about the dangers of adopting wild knight errants but the princess promises to take good care of him and make sure to keep him away from their domesticated knights until he’s properly adjusted. Queen finally relents once she sees his rusted kit, broken sword, and the saddest brown eyes known to man. Princess claps her hands excitedly and drags him off to the apothecary to make sure he doesn’t have worms.

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Ghost Story Roundtable Reading video!

Here is the recording of our Roundtable Reading of Ghost Story: a new musical with Musical Theatre Factory!

This is the first table read of a script in development, and the actors’ first time reading through the whole script out loud, so please turn on subtitles to follow along with the dialogue!

Ghost Story is a supernatural western romance musical written by Mel Hornyak (book/lyrics) and Elliot Valentine (book/music). When a gay couple spends the summer in Montana, they haunt and are haunted by two cowboy lovers who lived there a hundred years earlier. Amid mountain wildfires, sun-bleached bones, and the timeless desire to rewrite history, this introspective chamber musical explores queer ancestry, immigrant identity, and masculinity in the American West.

Also, because it is a cold read, this video is unlisted, not public -- that being said, feel free to use screenshots/create fan work/make edits etc. as usual! The only big difference between this video and the Montana concert is this one isn't searchable on YouTube/Google/etc., so you'll have to hold on to this link to access it/share the link directly with friends if you want.

Happy watching! And keep an eye on this blog and our website for updates on our next chance to produce Ghost Story! We have some really exciting things in the works (including resurrecting an old project and entering a longer term collab with Musical Theatre Factory), partially thanks to having such an enthusiastic audience turnout at the table read - THANK YOU again to everyone who came to support us live, and we hope you enjoy!

~Mel and Elliot

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lol yeah go ahead try and attack me *notices i left my dragon scale talisman of immortality at home* or maybe lets not be too hasty