Meet The W*rk Lab’s SMJ & Sarah Flaim
To begin, Sappho is our “muse.” Would you say you have a writing muse? If so, who?
Sarah: Ooo, I love this question! I have been musically influenced by a lot of a cappella work over the years. It really resonated with me as a young artist because I didn’t grow up playing any instruments. I have learned how to get by with piano and guitar basics, but the majority of my composing is still done with layered vocals that I then apply to instruments. I would say that Phoebe Bridgers, Lianne La Havas, Bon Iver, and Sylvan Esso are my top musical inspirations at the moment.
SMJ: Nostalgia and Pop Culture. It has affected my life more than anything, both positively and negatively.
Your project At The Barre is a part of The Sappho Project’s inaugural W*rk Lab. Tell us about it and what inspired you to write this particular piece.
Sarah: I was insanely lucky enough to be introduced to this piece after it had already been born. SMJ and I met during our time at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and after hearing some of the music I had written for other pieces, they pitched me this wonderful show!
SMJ: At The Barre is a LGBTQIA+ mime and ballet musical that combines indie pop music, text, mime, ballet, stage combat, clown, droznin, and contemporary dance. Catherine, the talented and pansexual principal dancer at the American Theatre of Ballet, and Shawn, a talented and non-binary mime in Times Square, are thrust into each other's lives after an insane audition. They must battle their minds, their bodies, their grief, and a chaotic world of harmonies to find their inner beauty and make a connection in a cluttered and overly talkative world.
How are you finding your voice as a writing team within the musical theater landscape?
Sarah: SMJ and I work very well together. We both love staying in communication with each other while writing, and are very open when the other has a question or new idea. I think that our indie-pop music vibes mixed with the comedic yet dramatic voicing in the text is a very specific and exciting combination that gives us a unique edge in the industry!
SMJ: Flaim and I are really phenomenal friends and that makes it so easy. I’m really new to writing musicals. I was told as a kid that I shouldn’t do music because I wouldn’t be able to understand it, so I’ve never read music before. But since leaving college, I’ve invested in writing and knew that I wanted to make a musical. A year later, I hit the jackpot and met Flaim. I believe Sarah Flaim is the next great composer for musical theater. Her harmonic work is the most insanely beautiful stuff I’ve ever heard. Her work makes my work infinitely better and I look forward to our growth as a team.
What is giving you LIFE right now?!
Sarah: New and exciting directions and goals! 2020 quarantine threw many artists for a serious loop, but I’m grateful for where I have ended up and the new path that I’m on. It’s wild how such hard times can provide clarity for the future.
SMJ: I’ve been inspired by numerous forms of pop culture recently. Here’s a brief list: PEN15, Search Party, The Boys, Promising Young Woman, WandaVision, WWE, AEW, and YouTube Videos of Among Us playthroughs from Corpse Husband, Valkyrae, & Sykkuno.
What are the themes and ideas you're most excited about exploring within your writing?
Sarah: I am very passionate about writing for shows that highlight underrepresented stories. I love composing for queer stories and learning how to better myself as an ally and friend.
SMJ: Body Dysmorphia, Gender Dysphoria, the effects of Nostalgia on our minds and bodies, and finding new ways to incorporate mime into traditional plays and musicals.
Who is your target audience and how are you hoping to impact them?
Sarah: Everyone! SMJ has created a wonderful script that is welcoming and informative to people from many different backgrounds. Trans folks can look at this piece and see themselves on stage, and straight people can watch this show and use it as a tool to learn. Anyone who watches the show can walk out of the theater with something to think about, and that’s really beautiful.
SMJ: We are writing from a place where we want to showcase a new future for the American Theater - one that is for everyone. For BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Fat, and all people who have been reduced to the fringes of theater. For theater-makers who have needed the opportunity to be seen in front of new audiences. For people who are better at expressing themselves non-verbally. For people who want to break the cycle of 2+ hour work. I’m hoping that this story allows people to see something within themselves through a blend of comedy and drama.
Is there a song that encapsulates your artistic identity?
Sarah: I have sat here thinking about this question for SO long. There are so many songs I feel have encapsulated my artistic identity over the years, and each phase of my life has included a new handful of songs. Right now in this current phase of my life, I think Sour Flower by Lianne La Havas would be an accurate representation of my 2020 vibe... It’s also a bop, I highly recommend you go listen!
SMJ: I think it falls somewhere between “when the party’s over” by Billie Eilish, “Michael Scott” by Ashton Chase, and “BLOODMONEY” by Poppy.
When you think about the reopening of Broadway, what does it look like in your wildest dreams?!
Sarah: I hope Broadway looks like a place for artists to thrive, and not simply a money making machine. I’m tired of the industry pretending it wants to produce new and exciting work and then only funding the “safe" choice. Groundbreaking theater is out there, but it needs funding, and the people who are willing to see a vision and take a risk are the ones who will shape the next phase of the theater world.
SMJ: Theater needs to become more than just Broadway. I hope the industry becomes a financially viable career for everyone in it, accessible for all audiences, and less racist, transphobic, and fatphobic in general!
What was the musical that made you think: musicals are for me?
Sarah: 100% Spring Awakening. Baby Sar was straight up jammin’ to that album and that album only from 6th-9th grade. The harmonies, the lyrics, the show itself. The show still holds a very special place in my heart, and I may or may not have seen the Deaf West version that was on Broadway in 2015 five times... (I did)...
SMJ: Once. Cristin Milioti singing “The Hill” made me want to write something for someone to sing.
Where can we hear your w*rk?!
Sarah: Here is the link to a studio session of another awesome musical I am writing with Sav Souza, called Retrograde. Check it out!
SMJ: I’m working on a new podcast about small town crime and how it shapes their community with my amazing friend, Henri Sudy. The podcast will be released in March. My other work can be found on www.smjwrites.com!
“Ghosts”
SMJ and Sarah Flaim released their first demo, "Ghosts" from AT THE BARRE this past week. “Ghosts" is an exploration of grief through poignant lyrics and haunting harmonies. The song is a manifestation of grief that antagonizes both the protagonists within the show and the listeners outside of it. Listen here!
Sarah Flaim (she/her) is a performer, composer, and vocal designer who holds her BFA in Musical Theater from The University of the Arts. A few of Sarah's favorite projects include performing in workshops of Sum at Ars Nova, Noise! at The Public, and recording background vocals for Pentatonix. Composing credits include: Retrograde and At the Barre. Sarah is passionate about creating new musicals, and is excited to continue exploring the weight that music can carry when being utilized as a tool to change the perspective of an audience.
SMJ (they/them) is an NYC-based, mixed, and non-binary playwright, mime, educator, and theatermaker originally from Mount Vernon, OH. Their work has been seen in various forms throughout the US and recently, the UK. SMJ is a mime of 13 years with training from Gregg Goldston, Rick Wamer, Lorie Heald, and Stephen Chipps. They've been a resident artist at Access Theater, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, NWPR in Grand Lake, CO, and Dragon's Egg Studio. SMJ is also a part of the 2020-2021 Art House Productions INKubator Playwrights Group. They're a graduate of the BFA Acting program with a Dance minor at Otterbein University and the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.