Concept Works
***NOTE*** These scripts are not in any way affiliated with or commissioned by the artists they were written for.
Night Changes
Script PDFs coming soon! If you want a sample, please reach out
One Direction Concept Musical
An ensemble musical telling the story of a group of High School Senior’s last night of summer as they work through the trials and successes of first love. Stylistically, Night Changes is upbeat and nostalgic—think High School Musical meets Love Actually. It plays on themes of subverting stereotypes through a coming-of-age landscape. The central concept is: as we grow up, how do we break out of what is expected of us?
It features a lead cast of 9 (5 males, 4 females) and was written reminiscent of how One Direction was marketed in 2014. Therefore, each member of the band is written into the script based upon the stereotype they were marketed as. The musical utilizes songs from all five One Direction albums to tell five, interwoven love stories.
Into the Light
Harry Styles Concept Performance
A concept piece intended for performance as a concert set list, Into the Light tells the story of one man’s self-made downfall. In a cross between the fatal flaws of Icarus and Narcissus, our main character is obsessed with the sun and everything it represents: beauty, love, fame. He has little regard for consequences, as they never seem to reach him. However, this piece focuses around the concept of what happens when everything we’ve ever done, the good and the bad, catches up to us? In the light of morning, can we live with the choices we’ve made?
Into the Light features a prominent male lead, two featuring female leads, and an ensemble of dancers. As it is written for a Harry Styles concert, the male lead sings nearly all of the songs as solos, and features heavily on any song that is a duet. There is no added dialogue in this piece; the songs and staging tell the entire story. The piece utilizes every song in Harry Styles’ official solo discography.
So Far from the Stars
Niall Horan Concept Film
A concept script that takes the star-crossed lovers trope to new heights. So Far from the Stars tells the story of long-lost childhood best friends in a small beach town where one lives permanently and the other just comes for vacation. The weeks they spend together are magical, but much like the tide, what comes in must go out. Time and time again these two souls get thrown together only to get torn back apart, and this script poses the question of how we manage to strike a balance in a universe that favors cycles.
Written for the intention of film, So Far from the Stars features a leading cast of one male and one female growing up from ages 18-28, with occasional flashbacks of them as children. It also features several side characters who have occasional dialogue. However, most songs are sung as solos by the male protagonist. This piece utilizes every song in Niall Horan’s official solo discography as well as his collaborations with Ashe, Julia Michaels, and Maren Morris.
Hindsight
Ashe Concept Performance
An abstract performance piece that tells the cautionary tale of a young woman’s struggle within an emotionally abusive relationship. Through use of three different chapters, separated metaphorically by color and theme, we watch the young woman go through the lifecycle of an unhealthy relationship. From ignorance to acceptance, we watch the inside of her brain as the entire foundation her life has been built upon collapses. But Hindsight proposes that sometimes you need to let yourself completely shatter in order to heal.
This is a one woman show that takes place in one room. As it is abstract in nature, I believe this story best translates to film, however it could also be a live performance with some tweaks. Hindsight features all of Ashe’s released solo music as of Fall 2020 as well as collaborations with Shaun Frank, Louis the Child, and her cover of No Roots by Alice Merton. The style and structure were inspired by the artwork concepts and track list of her EPs “Moral of the Story: Chapter 1” and “Moral of the Story: Chapter 2”.
New Broken Scene
5SOS Concept Musical
A concept musical that serves as a rallying call for today’s dejected youth. Driven by the bright lights and promises of the omnipresent narrators, New Broken Scene tells a story of adventure and abandonment. Along the journey characters are split into two factions, runaways and castaways, as they both attempt to reconcile and solve what has broken them. However, what happens if what we believe is a quick fix, only ends up hurting us more?
New Broken Scene features a male and female lead, a gender-neutral supporting cast of four, and an ensemble. It’s structure and narrative takes the groundwork of Green Day’s American Idiot the musical, and shifts the pop-punk presence found on Broadway into the 2010s. This show utilizes all the songs from 5 Seconds of Summer’s second album, "Sounds Good Feels Good", and its corresponding b-side EP.
Youngblood
5SOS Concept Performance
A concept performance that tells the story of a couple trapped in a toxic cycle. It ends how it begins. One partner hurts the other how they hurt them. What happens when we love someone who we’re bad for? Youngblood does not propose solutions, rather it points out the inevitable unhealthy patterns we all fall into.
This is a gender-neutral two-person performance, as these unhealthy patterns are not bound by gender or sexual orientation. Told primarily through music and dance, Youngblood follows the structure of an infinity sign and utilizes all the songs from 5 Seconds of Summer’s third album, “Youngblood.”