J. T. Buck
Encyclopedia
J. T. Buck is the Director of Arts for First Grace United Church of Christ in Akron, Ohio
. He is also a composer, lyricist, stage director, vocalist, and pianist.
Born and raised in Akron, Buck graduated from Central-Hower High School in 1996. He spent his first few years post high school working as a freelance pianist, actor and director and music director.
Buck spent two summers as musical director for the National Children's Theatre School summer workshops in Vail Colorado, and two summers as music director for the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre in White Salmon, Washington
. He has taught numerous classes and workshops. In 1999 he also acted including a part in the romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle
.
Buck received his BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in music from the University of Akron
in 2004. He is currently completing a masters degree in Directing from the University of Houston
. While in Houston, Buck produced of the 2005 Albee New Plays Festival under the leadership of Pulitzer-winner Lanford Wilson
, and completed an internship at the 2005 Tony Awards and the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf under producer Elizabeth I. McCann. He was also was twice a student of Tony-Winning Broadway producer Stuart Ostrow's New Musical Theatre Lab.
In 2006, Buck accepted the position of Arts Director at First Grace UCC in Akron. His work there involves directing worship-related music and arts, as well as producing and directing grass-roots theatre, music, dance and visual art in collaboration with local and national artists.
Buck has directed a variety of pieces for the stage, including Corpus Christi (play)
, The Laramie Project
, State Fair
, "Book of Days
", Godspell
, Christopher Durang's Titanic, As Bees In Honey Drown
, Dearly Departed
, A Christmas Carol, and Marley.
, it was subsequently given an Equity reading by the Columbia Gorge Repertory Company in Portland and Hood River, Oregon. The show had a profitable July run on the stage of Houston's famous Alley Theatre, as a benefit produced by and for Bering and Friends, a Houston AIDS charity that stages a show each year to raise funds for AIDS charity. The production opened on the same night Faye died and saw a flood of media attention because of her death. The musical received an industry reading in NYC in December 2007, starring Tony-Nominee Sally Mayes
as Faye, and veteran Broadway actors William Youmans, Julie Foldesi, Heather Parcells and James T. Lane. It was staged in December 2009 at Akron's First Grace United Church of Christ. Buck and Dovalina are preparing the tuner for its next turn on the boards.
. He also served as the stage manager for Weathervane's production of "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?"
In September 2010 he is the musical director of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as part of Weathervane Playhouse's Young Actors Series.
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. He is also a composer, lyricist, stage director, vocalist, and pianist.
Born and raised in Akron, Buck graduated from Central-Hower High School in 1996. He spent his first few years post high school working as a freelance pianist, actor and director and music director.
Buck spent two summers as musical director for the National Children's Theatre School summer workshops in Vail Colorado, and two summers as music director for the Columbia Gorge School of Theatre in White Salmon, Washington
White Salmon, Washington
White Salmon is a city in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. It is located in the Columbia River Gorge. The population was 2,193 at the 2000 census and increased 1.4% to 2,224 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. He has taught numerous classes and workshops. In 1999 he also acted including a part in the romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle is a romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine based on the hit Broadway play by John Van Druten. It starred James Stewart and Kim Novak in their second on-screen pairing . The film, adapted by Daniel Taradash, was Stewart's last film as a romantic lead...
.
Buck received his BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in music from the University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
in 2004. He is currently completing a masters degree in Directing from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. While in Houston, Buck produced of the 2005 Albee New Plays Festival under the leadership of Pulitzer-winner Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
, and completed an internship at the 2005 Tony Awards and the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf under producer Elizabeth I. McCann. He was also was twice a student of Tony-Winning Broadway producer Stuart Ostrow's New Musical Theatre Lab.
In 2006, Buck accepted the position of Arts Director at First Grace UCC in Akron. His work there involves directing worship-related music and arts, as well as producing and directing grass-roots theatre, music, dance and visual art in collaboration with local and national artists.
Buck has directed a variety of pieces for the stage, including Corpus Christi (play)
Corpus Christi (play)
Corpus Christi is a passion play by Terrence McNally dramatizing the story of Jesus and the Apostles. Written in 1997 and first staged in New York in 1998, it depicts Jesus and the Apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas. It utilizes modern devices like television with anachronisms like...
, The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
, State Fair
State Fair
State Fair is a movie directed by Henry King and starring Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, and Lew Ayres. The film was based on a novel by Phil Stong.The film was adapted as a musical in 1945 and again in 1962....
, "Book of Days
Book of days
- Non–Fiction literature :*Book of Days by Abu 'Ubaida*Chambers Book of Days, by Robert Chambers*The Wicca Book of Days by Gerina Dunwich*The Goddess Book of Days: A Perpetual 366 Day Engagement Calendar by Diane Stein...
", Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
, Christopher Durang's Titanic, As Bees In Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown
As Bees In Honey Drown is a satirical comedy by Douglas Carter Beane, an American playwright and screenwriter. The first showing of the play was in New York City in June, 1997. Four weeks later it moved to Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village, where it played for a year. It was also a...
, Dearly Departed
Dearly departed
Dearly Departed are an alternative/progressive rock band from Long Island, New York. They are said to be similar to bands Dredg, Codeseven, Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral, and have appeared in Good Times Magazine.-History:...
, A Christmas Carol, and Marley.
The Gospel According to Tammy Faye'
Buck wrote the lyrics and music for the musical The Gospel According to Tammy Faye written with fellow University of Houston student Fernando Dovalina. Although the original idea was a bar joke, the more Buck thought about it the more the idea seemed worthy, he recruited Dovalina to write the book, Faye granted the two an extended interview. One of the compelling facets of her life to the two gay men "was how from her conservative background, she came around to being a gay-friendly person" and even had a sizable gay following. The musical is a fantasy flashback retelling of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker's life story. Written after a lengthy interview granted to the authors by Tammy Faye, the show had its world premiere at the 2006 Cincinnati Fringe FestivalCincinnati Fringe Festival
The Cincinnati Fringe Festival, produced by Know Theatre of Cincinnati, was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2004. It consiststs of 12 Days of Theatre, Film, Visual Art, and Music in the heart of Over-the-Rhine. It is Ohio's Largest Performing Arts Festival. It occurs annually and begins the day...
, it was subsequently given an Equity reading by the Columbia Gorge Repertory Company in Portland and Hood River, Oregon. The show had a profitable July run on the stage of Houston's famous Alley Theatre, as a benefit produced by and for Bering and Friends, a Houston AIDS charity that stages a show each year to raise funds for AIDS charity. The production opened on the same night Faye died and saw a flood of media attention because of her death. The musical received an industry reading in NYC in December 2007, starring Tony-Nominee Sally Mayes
Sally Mayes
-Biography:Born in Livingston, Texas, Mayes began her career as a rock and jazz singer in Houston. She made her Broadway debut in April 1989 as Winona Shook in Cy Coleman's Welcome to the Club. For her performance she won a Theatre World Award. This was followed by her appearance in the original...
as Faye, and veteran Broadway actors William Youmans, Julie Foldesi, Heather Parcells and James T. Lane. It was staged in December 2009 at Akron's First Grace United Church of Christ. Buck and Dovalina are preparing the tuner for its next turn on the boards.
2008-present
Buck lives and works in Akron, where he directed a production of Lanford Wilson's 'Book of Days' in summer 2008. In April 2008 he was elected to the board of the Highland Square Neighborhood Association. In 2009 he directed "Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens," an evening of monologues and songs inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial QuiltNAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes...
. He also served as the stage manager for Weathervane's production of "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?"
In September 2010 he is the musical director of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as part of Weathervane Playhouse's Young Actors Series.
Source
- Robert Viagas, Aubrey Reuben, The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 2005 - May 2006, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006.