Winner of Nashville's First Night Award for best original work
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Winner of Nashville's First Night Award for best original work -
Winner of Nashville's First Night Award for best original work
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Winner of Nashville's First Night Award for best original work -
Tom Key - creator of the cotton patch gospel
Tony trishka - award winning banjo player
Ted Chapin - former President of Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization
Rebekah Beeler - Crossville chronicle
Donna Lynn Hilton - Artistic Director of Goodspeed Musicals
-Alfred Uhry - Pulitzer prize winning playwright
Douglas Waterbury-Tieman (Book/music/Lyrics) is an actor, musician and writer living in Nashville, TN. He received his BM in Musical Theatre performance at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Performance Credits include: Off-Broadway; The Robber Bridegroom, Soot and Spit, SeaWife. Regional; Once, The Cotton Patch Gospel, Fiddler on the Roof. TV; Succession. He played fiddle for Clint Black’s Looking For Christmas at The Old Globe and aboard The Disney Magic. He is a proud member of The Lobbyists, a band and theatre collective whose Off-Broadway Production SeaWife was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. His musical Johnny & the Devil's Box received its regional premiere at the Cumberland Co. Playhouse in 2022. He has collaborated with composer Chris Rayis on two projects; Deep Water Ballad which will premiere at Elon University this spring and Jenny and the Paper Pirates commissioned by The American School in Switzerland.
I believe that music and dance are two of humanity's strongest tools to forge community. It is a phenomenon I have seen proven time and again from singing hymns in church to bluegrass jam sessions. from raising voices in tuneful protest to impromptu busking hoedowns on street corners. My favorite memories are of gathering with friends and family around the piano to sing, dance and play the fiddle. Writing this piece allowed me to relive those precious moments and share their power.
The story of music is the story of humanity. Do we play to set ourselves apart, or do we make music to bring people together? i want to tell a story that unifies. In its smallest incarnation this occurs when someone taps their toe along to the rhythm. When I see toes tapping or hear the audience clapping along, I know they've been reminded of their shared humanity. This is what motivates me to tell the story of a young man who must set aside his pride and share his gifts to better his community, Because if we all did that then what a better world it could be.