Fazio & McAllister
AARON McAllister (composer) and Daryl Lisa Fazio (lyricist/librettist) met in 2006 as new professors at Coastal Carolina University. Within weeks of discovering one was a playwright (Daryl has had plays produced Off-Broadway and regionally— www.darylsplays.com) and the other a composer (Aaron is also a highly sought-after vocal coach and professional musical director), they were at work on their first musical, a completely original concept that became the dramatic piece, lift. After that writing process, both were eager for a change of pace and turned to POPart: The Musical, another original concept, though this time a campy, high-octane comedy. Within a year of meeting, they had two new shows written. Within a few more months, they had their first staged reading of lift at the Off-Broadway York Theatre in New York City. And several months after that, POPart: The Musical had a fully-staged workshop at Coastal Carolina University, followed by a staged reading in New York. The duo's most recent project is the small-cast dramatic concept musical, Blackout. Aaron, based in New York City, and Daryl, based in Atlanta, Georgia, are at work on new collaborations together as we speak.
Daryl Lisa Fazio
lyricist/librettist
DARYL's writing for the stage includes Greyhounds (American Theatre of Actors—NYC; Theatre Row—NYC; Truman State University), Georgia Out of My Mind (Minnesota Fringe Festival), Split in Three (Eudora Welty New Plays Series winner, New Stage Theatre; Honorable Mention, Stage 3 Festival of New Plays; public reading, Truman State University), and three musicals written with composer, Aaron McAllister. She holds degrees in Theatre (Northwestern University) and Graphic Design (University of Memphis) and caters to the design needs of arts and culture clients around the country (www.darylfazio.com). Daryl grew up in a small college town in Mississippi, with two professors as parents, and thanks that background for her interest in character and eccentricity. She is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild, Working Title Playwrights and Pinch 'N' Ouch Theatre and lives in Atlanta, Georgia where she continues to soak up Southern culture as inspiration.
at Daryl's playwriting website
composer
AARON lists among his recent musical director credits: Company, Evita, George M, Sweet Charity, Crazy For You, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Forever Plaid, Urinetown, The Thing About Men, The Boyfriend, The Cradle Will Rock, The Boys From Syracuse, A Chorus Line, Guys and Dolls, Pippin, and CATS, among others. Aaron is a highly sought after vocal coach/performance clinician among professional actors on the east coast and has composed, arranged, and orchestrated numerous cabaret, solo, and showcase performances. Together with collaborator/playwright, Daryl Lisa Fazio, he has composed the score to original musicals lift, POPart: The Musical and Blackout. POPart received its premiere workshop at Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, SC . He is a graduate of Geneseo State University (B.A. in music, vocal performance and conducting) and the University of Maryland (M.M. in conducting) and is based in New York City.
TEMPO magazine feature. Spring/2008. Click to download a PDF.
Photography: Stephanie Hutto. Graphic design: Rob Byrd.