THXY ROOFSGIVING PT 1: The Precursors

So I'm not sure what's crazier, the phrase "Thxy Roofsgiving" or undertaking the overly-self-important task of tracing "Roofless" back to its roots. Hahaha. But hey, its done in an effort to thank everyone involved in the growth of this project.  (If you were involved and we inadvertently omitted you, Please hit us up and we’ll getchur shine right!).  

So here we go:

PRE-CURSORS:

XSEED, 1997-1999

1997. After working for 4 years as part of  Greenwood Cultural Center and Higher Dimensions teaching/Fine Arts staff, we started work on our first full book musical, “A Song of Greenwood,”  and at the same time started a Hip-hop group called XSEED. We wrote and performed original material; live rap and vocals with full choreography.  2 of the numbers we wrote for XSEED had a life beyond the group.

 THX to the Members of XSEEDJay Wilder, (Emcee, Lyrics) Starr Fisher (Lead Vocals) , Stacy (Melton) VanHoose, Danniel (Wormuth) McKnight, Rachel Okotie, Nicole Smith, Jerome Johnson (Choreography, Lyrics) Tim Long (Artistic Director/Producer)  Quinton Davis (Live Sound Engineer), Jennifer (Smothers) Montgomery (Administration.)

The songs “Misfortunate” and “Wade” were first written for XSEED and demoed, but never performed.  Original versions were produced by Tim Long & David Holmes. Lyrics by Jerome, David Holmes and Jeremy Griffin.

JUMP IN THE WATER, 1999 - 2002

2 years later in 1999, our initial  public introduction of “Roofless” was a CD project & 30 min stage performance we called “Jump in the Water” based on the lyrics of “WADE” one of the overarching concepts of the project  (realizing that strength is found in facing your fears… the waters are troubled, but there’s purpose in the water...so jump in and get yours.) You can also hear us trying to develop our own unique musical language: part rap, part chant, part vocals... strong on rhythmic counterpoint & melodies somewhere between early African-American spiritual and work song and current R&B trends of late 90's. Body Percussion was added in the live version of Wade...and the "Roofless" musical voice really began to gel.

The project brought together some great Tulsa talent, many of whom joined the initial “Roofless” cast 2 years later.

Take a listen to our original version of “WADE”

THX to the “JUMP IN THE WATER” Recording Cast:

AnnaMaria Pasley-Horn, (Vocals), Byron Davis (Vocals), Resistance (emcees): David “ShoTyme”Holmes, Adrian “Reverse” Friday, William “ Reborn” Hagens, Jr. Jeremy “Quest” Griffin, Jerome Johnson (emcee), Charles “E.ON” Perry, Jr. (spoken word), Tryone Wilkerson (Storyteller), Tim Long, Keyboard solo.

Additional Vocals : Janet (Smith) McCarty, Tyffny (Johnson) Ware, Adrian Friday, Tim & Jerome,

Produced by Tim Long, Jerome Johnson & David Holmes, Mastered by Adrian Friday. Engineering assistance from Quinton Davis and Tim Kennard, Forrest Productions.

THX to the “JUMP IN THE WATER” Live Performing Cast: Tyffny (Ware) Johnson, Janet (Smith) McCarty, AnnaMaria Pasley-Horn, Tiffanie Porter, David Holmes, Adrian Friday, Robert Tyler, Jerome Johnson.

Music arrangement & Direction by Tim Long, Choreography by Jerome Johnson, Body Percussion Choreography by David Holmes.

Major supporters to the project: The National Endowment for the Arts through the Oklahoma Arts Council, Kim Johnson at the African-American Resource Center at Rudisill Regional Library, Bishop Gary McIntosh and the Greenwood Christian Center.

Big thanks to Chris Freihofer & Terry Martin at Dallas WaterTower Theatre for a major booking that led to the Dallas “Roofless” booking the following year.


The "JUMP IN THE WATER" CD project included a 10-min spoken word original story we wrote for the project.  Nationally recognized Storyteller Tyrone Wilkerson lent his skills as narrator.  The piece remains a powerful example of his gifts.

R.I.P. Byron Davis and Tryone Wilkerson. You are sorely missed our brothers.




CLICK HERE TO SEE PART II: THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS

Immortal Roofhead Khalid Greens Doin it Cirque Style

S/O to homie KHALID GREENS (Khalid Freeman) cast member of The Immortal World Tour gettin his lean on last night as the cast made its TV debut. Khalid is part of the choreography team for our musical ROOFLESS (Roofless LA) now in development. Roofheadz represent!  Roofshout to 2 of our favorite Street Dance mastercraftsmen also in the cast, LES TWINS, Larry and Laurent Bourgeois!

They Still Cuttin' Footloose!

Big shout to FOOTLOOSE writer/creator DEAN PITCHFORD. Dean is one of the first "Hollywood folk" to critique and advise us on "Roofless" when we unveiled it at Disney/ASCAP back in 2004.  Incredibly inspirational and well-spoken, he gave us a treasure trove of great quotes and endorsements for "Roofless"... among my favorites, he called "Roofless...a whole new way of exciting audiences." High praise from someone who's managed to excite audiences for decades with his hit "Footloose." The current film version, now in theaters, features some of today's hottest dancers - among our facebook famz who get their shine on > Terence Dickson, Charles "Lil Buck" Riley, Ron Myles, Keviorr Taylor, Christopher "LIL C" Toler. 

13 Days of Halloween on the Roof

For our facebook followers we took 13 days to highlight some of the classic horror films, cartoons and scores that have had an influence on our work.  

We also used the opportunity to take a look back on 2 numbers ("Wade" and "Misfortunate") that were in the original 2002/03 "Roofless" show in Tulsa and Dallas, but were eventually cut when we trimmed characters from our story line.  Here's a look at those 2 numbers, raised from the dead for Halloween:

(Below) In the "Misfortunate" number, James, a 14-year-old Emo/Goth kid who lives in a violent, abusive household, escapes his reality by drawing.  One fateful night the drawings come to life and turn on him ...as his step-father often has. Check out this video that shows a behind-the-scenes look at bringing the  "Misfortunate" characters to life. RoofShout to Eddie and Brenda Cleveland, Technical Institute of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences, Tulsa for bringing these costumes from the drawing board into reality.  Amazing people, amazing work.

SUMMER 2011 Updates

LATEST NEWS: 
- We're currently busy in the lab recording new demos & polishing the latest rewrites based on the Industry feedback we received at the New York Musical Theatre Festival last Oct.  
- Agent Ron Gwiazda, Abrams Artists Agency, NYC is now on board to shop "Roofless" to potential producers.
- Director Paul Stancato (Lion King) is attached to direct the next production of "Roofless."
- Body Percussion Choreographer Khalid Freeman (Stomp, Stomp the Yard, The LXD, Cirque du Soliel's Michael Jackson "Immortal" Tour) has joined the choreography development team.
- Previews, Readings and Workshops in Los Angeles and NYC are being planned. Info will posted as it becomes available.


Keep watching for the latest...look up, we're up here!!

A DELAYED BUT BIG HEARTFELT THANKS TO OUR NYMF SUPPORTERS!

ROOFLESS gets back on its FEET! Khalid Greens joins ography team!

Some of ya'll know that ROOFLESS started as a dance show...for the past several years we've been schoolin ourselves (with the help of some of Musical Theatre's best) in the craft of writing Musical Theatre, developing the story we wanted to tell...now its time for ROOFLESS TO GET BACK ON ITS FEET! For the first time since 2004, we will again begin working on the choreography for the show!     And of course, we're going higher.   We're thrilled to announce that Khalid Greens has joined our choreography team as Body Perc choreographer.   You've seen his work in many places including STOMP! the film STOMP THE YARD and most recently in The LXD Season 2 with his group Molodi.  In 2012 you'll see him in Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour" ... and now you'll see his work on the ROOF for many years to come as well!


Check out his work: