Help a creative team of underdogs with a true story, dramatic musical about a strong Native American Woman go to New York Musical Festival (NYMF)!

Why should I care?

We are three creatives from Western Massachusetts with a timeless story to share. We are underdogs, unknown to the Broadway community with a dream and a dramatic show about redemption. People want to see this show...how do we know? We already have 6,000 followers between Facebook and Instagram including fan art and we have yet to do a full production. We believe this musical needs to be seen and heard. It will raise a mirror to our society and issues we are still dealing with today and have been dealing with for a long time. We are honored to have been chosen to do a concert at New York Musical Festival, however, it is very expensive to do so. We can't do this on our own. We have to pay a director, a musical director, 6 singers, musicians, and a stage manager, in addition to fees to enter the festival, as it is a nonprofit. We have to pay for our team from MA to have transportation there, food, and stay. We will be traveling to NYC at least 6 days including rehearsals. This concert will allow us to share our music and a piece or Wanda's story to the Broadway and NYC community. Many Broadway professionals come to NYMF. We hope that producers and investors will see this and want to produce it so that Savage can be seen by many more and be moved or maybe even changed.

We can't make this happen without you guys!

Read more about the team at http://savagethemusical.com or at NYMF's website: http://www.nymf.org/festival/2019-events/savage-musical/ or on our FB, IG, Youtube, and Twitter.

The Story

Savage is a dramatic musical inspired by the true story of 1920s Native American sharpshooter & silent film actress, Wanda Savage, as told through jazz & blues influenced pop music. Wanda was a renegade performer who shot her 
way through circuses, vaudeville & Hollywood before landing in a Wyoming 
brothel. She was a divorced single mother who fought racism, sexism & abuse
to make a name for herself, but fame came at a heavy price...losing the one
she loved most. Savage is a story for NOW.

Backstory

Nicolette Blount (Creator, Cowriter, Co-composer/lyricist):

"I hadn't written a song for 7 years, after the last song I wrote for my Dad's battle with cancer. Both of my parents had untimely deaths caused by rare cancers just a few years apart. Savage was the catalyst that helped pull me out of that funk. My first birthday was at Wanda's ranch and I've always felt a big connection to my Great Grandmother, especially being a performer myself. I always thought there was another side to her story, then just the tales I grew up hearing. Wanda's strength and rebel heart in an era when women were just starting to have a voice intrigued me, The first song I wrote for the show called "Never Too Far Away". A song based on a moment in the show when Wanda is writing a letter to her son after not seeing him for awhile. After hearing it back I realized, the chorus sounded like my parents consoling me from the grave (for those who don't know...music heals)."

"I wanted to have some support, so I started working with John Waynelovich (co-composer/lyricist) and then Lindel Hart (cowriter) to help bring this story of my Great Grandmother, Wanda Savage, to life. We had all worked in musical theatre together. The collaboration with a jazz pianist and a playwright has proven to be a great choice."

"There are not many, if any, mainstream Native American stories, especially not like this. This is definitely not a story about Pocahontas . My mother taught at Sherman Indian school in CA, so I was around other Native American cultures and families a lot growing up. I have always been proud to be a registered member of the Chickasaw tribe. When I heard that our tribe's language was near extinction it really bothered me. Our tribe has done a lot to help us learn the language before it dies. I wanted to help in some way. I decided to put our Chickasaw language into this show in some songs and in the script. We have done it in such a way that a non speaker should be able to figure out what is being said. I am hoping this will help preserve some of our language and bring awareness. As for the music, John and I have incorporated tribal sounds and form into some of our music. We have modernized it by combining it with pop. "

What We Need & What You Get

We are needing to raise at least $10,000 or more for the following:

• NYMF entrance fee
• PR (advertisements, interviews, etc.)
• Director
• Musical Director
• Stage Manager
• Casting Director
• Pianist
• Drummer
• Bassist
• 6-10 Equity (Broadway level) and non Equity performers
• 2-3 hotel rooms for 2-3 nights for MA actors and creative team
• Gas to NYC from MA
• Food

If we go over $10,000, it will help pay for our upcoming first full production of Savage in April 2020 scheduled at the brand new Ja'Duke Theatre, upcoming 54 Below concert in NYC, and studio costs.

About Us

Nicolette Blount - Nicolette Blount, who is a registered member of the Chickasaw tribe, is excited to bring this true life story about her Chickasaw, Great Grandmother, Wanda Savage to NYMF.
Nicolette is a singer, actress, songwriter, writer, and producer who is originally from Southern California. She is a member of the Dramatist Guild and ASCAP. She has been writing poetry, fiction, and music since elementary school and began performing professionally in fifth grade in the Southern California Girls Choir. She has performed on T.V., radio, and in two operas, Tosca and Turnadot, with the Palm Springs and Riverside Civic Operas. A highlight for her was singing at Carnegie Hall in college. Nicolette studied Voice and Theatre at the University of Hawaii, and while living in Hawaii, wrote and recorded her first album (“Conversations”.) She toured Hawaii with the Kanikapila Singers. Nicolette also founded a nonprofit through which she organized and produced an annual festival of visual and performing arts. Some of her favorite theatrical roles have been in Metamorphoses (various roles), Mary Poppins (Ms. Andrews), and Into the Woods (Cinderella’s Step Mother). Although classically trained, Nicolette’s heart is in jazz and pop music. She currently resides with her family in Massachusetts, where she continues to work on Savage the Musical and performs in local theatre and bands.

Lindel Hart - Lindel Hart is a writer, performer, and Dramatist Guild Member whose work has led him to stages in the U.S. and in Europe in traditional and experimental theatre. His work with New York performance artists include Ping Chong’s The Angels of Swedenborg (Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA) and Penny Arcade’s Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! (New York City and tours to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London, Ireland, and the Vienna Festival). In 2013 Lindel was commissioned to write a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in which he also portrayed the Creature. Its initial 9-show run in an abandoned bank building in downtown Greenfield, MA, (2014) sold out before the show opened, and Frankenstein was subsequently performed at the Springfield (MA) Museums, The Academy of Music (Northampton, MA) and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He has written poetry, plays, screenplays, fiction and memoir, as well as articles for print publications, and served as the on-air film critic for WQED-FM (Pittsburgh, PA) for three years. Lindel appeared twice on the Real Housewives of New York City. He is a staple in plays and musicals in Western Massachusetts and currently teaches yoga at Deerfield Academy.

John Waynelovich - John Waynelovich has spent the last decade as the keyboardist of New England-based roots-rock outfit, Barefoot Truth. He first appeared with the band on their record “Walk Softly” (Produced by Jack Gauthier, Dispatch). Shortly after his recording debut with the band, he landed a full-time spot on the road, riding along several tours supporting such artist as Pete Francis (Dispatch), Eric Hutchinson, Grace Potter, and Kid Cudi. Barefoot Truth’s most recent release, “Carry Us On”, debuted at #10 on iTunes Rock charts. During the band’s hiatus from live shows, John moved to Los Angeles to pursue audio production. While in LA, he and bandmate Jay Driscoll co-founded HIIT interval music company, “Tabata Songs.” Amidst writing dozens of fitness music tracks to keep people energized and engaged while working to a timer, the company quickly accrued internet traction gaining over 145,000 YouTube subscribers, as well as surpassing 100,000 Facebook likes. In addition to working as a private teacher and continuing to produce for select artists and Tabata Songs, John tours with JUMP Dance Convention, teaching and providing live music for classes with world-renowned contemporary dance teacher, Teddy Forance. He is also working on his second self-titled EP. John is a member of BMI.