Haddon Kime

Haddon Kime (born June 28, 1976) is an American theatre and film composer, lyricist, sound designer, and director. Early in his career, Kime frequent collaborated in the theatre scenes of Boston and New York City[1] writing music and sound designs for plays and musicals produced by New Repertory Theatre, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Gloucester Stage and Speakeasy Stage among others.[2] He currently lives and works in Atlanta,[3] and is credited with inventing the zoomsical during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.[4]

Haddon Kime
Born
Haddon Kime

(1976-06-28) June 28, 1976
Pinetop, Arizona, U.S.
Other namesHaddon Givens Kime
Occupation(s)Composer, lyricist, writer, director

Career

In 2013 he wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics (with Rick Lombardo and Kirsten Brandt) for the 2014 rock musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." The musical opened to previews at San Jose Repertory Theatre on November 19, 2013 [5] the same day as the Disney film "Frozen (2013 film)" which is based on the same source material. After a successful month long run,[6] the musical earned a slot at the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival,[7] where in addition to positive critical reviews,[8] it won the Steele Spring Stage Rights Publishing Award as well as the award for Excellence in Overall Design, which Kime shared with co-sound designer Rick Lombardo, costume designer Frances Nelson McSherry and lighting/projection designer David Lee Cuthbert.[9]

In 2015, Kime led an artistic team in Atlanta in writing an experimental and immersive musical adaptation of The Red Book (Jung) by Carl Jung. The project was awarded a Reiser Artists Lab grant from the Alliance Theatre where a workshop production of the first 45 minutes of the show was produced in 2016.[10]

In 2017, Kime collaborated with playwright and improv comic Travis Sharp and Dad's Garage Theatre Company on a parody musical entitled "Wicket: A Parody Musical," a comic satire of the film Return of the Jedi that, like the Broadway musical Wicked (musical), is a popular story told from the perspective of a different character, in this case the Ewok who is first to meet Princess Leia.[11] "Wicket: A Parody Musical" was subsequently produced and performed in San Antonio, where it won the 2019 Regional Award for Best Musical from Broadway World.[12] In 2023, "Wicket: A Parody Musical" was produced in Buffalo, NY to critical acclaim. [13]

In May 2020, Kime is credited with creating a new artform, the zoomsical, when, in conjunction with Out of Hand Theater Company in Atlanta, he released an original 10-minute-musical comedy about a self-care class that makes the move online during the Social distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kime wrote the book, music and lyrics as well as directed. Since the musical was conceived and written for, and rehearsed and performed on Zoom Video Communications software, Kime titled the production "LAG: A Zoomsical" after thinking of the term "zoomsical" while on a walk with his dog.[14]

“Lag is a metaphor for not just the technical glitches that sometimes happen with this video conferencing software, but also because our lives our lagging a little bit. Our bank accounts are lagging. Our plans are lagging. Our vacations are lagging. My child’s education is lagging. So there’s a lag going on and instead of calling it a musical since it’s on Zoom, we called it a Zoomsical,”

— Haddon Kime, Out Of Hand Theatre Creates An Original Musical On Zoom, WABE[15]

"LAG: A Zoomsical" was subsequently re-titled "LAG: A Zoomsical Comedy", and is published by composer Roger Bean's Stage Rights Publishing Company.[16] In October 2020, LAG was recognized by American Express Essentials Magazine on their list of "19 Unmissable Online Theatre Experiences"[17] alongside online productions by The Wooster Group, The Metropolitan Opera, and Abbey Theatre, Dublin. In 2022, LAG was featured as a digital offering [18] in the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Education

Kime attended and graduated Berklee College of Music with a degree in film scoring[19]

Awards
  • 2015 Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab (Lead Artist) Recipient [10]
  • 2015 Best Original Music - San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for "Game On" [20]
  • 2014 New York Musical Festival, Excellence in Overall Design (shared award) [9]
  • 2012 Honorable Mention, International Songwriting Competition (Lyrics Only Category) for song "Colorado Creek" [21]
  • 2008 Tanne Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts [22]
  • 2007 Best Sound Design - Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE Awards) for "A Streetcar Named Desire" at New Repertory Theatre [23]
  • 2004 Best Sound Design - Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE Awards) for "A Girls War" at New Repertory Theatre and "Haymarket" at Boston Playwright's Theatre

References
  1. The New York Times, Charles Isherwood "Contract Laborers With Chips on Their Shoulders", 14 September 2004
  2. The Boston Globe, Catherine Foster "Behind the Scenes He Uses Sound to Dramatic Effect", 10 March 2003
  3. Arts ATL "Q&A: Quarantine can’t stop the beat of Haddon Kime and his original Zoom musical", 28 May 2020
  4. Fiona Brutscher, American Express Essentials Magazine "5 Minutes With… Zoomsical Writer Haddon Kime", 01 October 2020
  5. The San Jose Mercury News, Crystal Chow "San Jose Rep to premiere musical version of 'The Snow Queen'", 18 November 2013
  6. The San Jose Mercury News, Karen D'Souza "Review: ‘Snow Queen’ sparkles at San Jose Rep", 05 December 2013
  7. Steven McElroy (July 16, 2014). "Hounded by Reality, Staging a Fairy Tale 'Snow Queen' Emerges From Defunct San Jose Theater'". The New York Times. New York City.
  8. Anita Gates (July 20, 2014). "A Fairy-Tale that Rocks". The New York Times. New York, NY.
  9. Playbill, Michael Gioia "NYMF 2014 Awards for Excellence Announced", 28 July 2014
  10. Alliance Theatre "Alliance Announces Projects Chosen for its 2nd Annual Atlanta Artists Lab", 15 May 2015
  11. Dad's Garage Theatre, Jon Carr Archived July 25, 2018, at the Wayback Machine "Wicket: A Parody Musical - Galactic Premiere", 08 September 2015
  12. Broadway World "Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld San Antonio Awards", 16 January 2020
  13. Melinda Miller (February 9, 2023). "It's the Ewoks vs. the Emperor in 'Star Wars' musical parody 'Wicket'". The Buffalo News. Buffalo, NY.
  14. Haddon Kime, Stage Rights Blog "3 Things to Consider When Writing A Zoomsical", 20 July 2020
  15. WABE "Out Of Hand Theatre Creates An Original Musical On Zoom", 28 May 2020
  16. Stage Rights "Lag: A Zoomsical Comedy - Book, Music, and Lyrics by Haddon Kime"
  17. Brutscher, Fiona (1 October 2020). "19 Unmissable Online Theatre Experiences". American Express Essentials.
  18. Merino, Megan. "Edinburgh's Festivals 2022" The List
  19. Berklee Today "Alumnotes", 02 September 2014
  20. The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle "Excellence in Theatre Awards for 2014", 09 March 2015
  21. International Songwriting Competition "Previous Winners"
  22. Berklee Today, Emily Dufresne "Alumnotes", 02 September 2008
  23. Stage Source "Final Ballot for 2007 IRNE Awards", 14 April 2008
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