As we’re beginning rehearsals for the TMT STEIN LAB at The Connelly Theater this May / June, I should introduce myself: Lane Dombois, the spring intern. In this capacity, I—along with Moe—will be bringing to you, our internet community, updates on all the exciting theatrical adventures being created by our artists in the weeks leading up to the Lab. Outside of this Target Margin internship capacity, I am a writer and composer.

I am currently a student in the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU Tisch, but before this my artistic expression fell more in line with a garage band aesthetic. Appropriately, I did musical direction for The Bastard Theater’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch back in Tucson, AZ, where I last lived. Besides that first theater foray, I mostly played shows in bars and self-produced records with a noisy three-piece group called Banquets and alone as Madame Zero. These are not retired projects—they’ve just been dormant since the grad school thing started.

Currently, I am working on two major projects: a full-length, capoeira-inspired musical titled Salvador with music by Ani Garcia for which I am writing book and lyrics, and a song cycle titled I love you, and I want you to be my bird about people’s strange and varied relationships with strange and various birds. They’re both currently in development—we conducted a first reading of Salvador on April 28th, a song from the show along with songs from seventeen other new musicals will be performed at 54 Below for the 24 at 54: NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program in Concert on May 25th, and four songs from I love you… will be performed as a part of a concert of excerpts from new song cycles on May 8th at NYU Tisch.

To be involved in the work of such a dynamic and surprising company as Target Margin is inspiring. I’ll be happy to engage with you all, our internet community, about the new season, and I hope to see and meet you at The Connelly Theater in late May or June! For more information about me and my work, go here: www.lanedombois.com