Asher Shectman & Benji Hafetz-Price

ASHER: My earliest theatrical experiences include playing King Achashverosh in the preschool Purim play (A.K.A. the peak of my theatrical career) and dissociating during Mary Poppins on Broadway at far too young an age to appreciate it. My first proper encounter with the "magic" of live theater was probably when I fell down the Sondheim rabbit hole in high school.

BENJI: My parents took me to see the national tour of Wicked when I was 3 years old (risky, I know) and ended up learning the soundtrack by the end of that week.

ASHER: I had always loved playing piano and composing, but I started writing musical theater when I learned more about Sondheim, particularly Merrily We Roll Along. The chronology of the show fascinated me, and inspired me to take up adapting a favorite movie of mine which also narratively manipulates time. I've since scrapped the idea, but remain wholly enamored with the art form.

BENJI: It wasn't until high school that I decided I wanted to become a storyteller. I was constantly surrounded by theater in school but also became actively engaged in music and film. In particular, Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story and its ability so seamlessly weave Sondheim's music into its story moved me to the point where I couldn't do much else but begin to write my own songs and stories.

ASHER: I always try to be crafty and innovative without sacrificing accessibility. My foremost artistic philosophy revolves around the concept of “the line”. To me, all art has a line, and the more experimental or “out” you get, the farther you cross the line. I find that my favorite pieces of art step over the line just enough to take you somewhere you never knew you could go, but always find a way to ground you so that you don’t go too far. Be it Sondheim's "Company", Monet’s "Morning on the Seine, near Giverny", or nearly any piece by Ravel, I find the art that pushes bounds just enough before pulling you back to its core has the potential to be the most evocative. The alternative is either works that are functional but somewhat colorless, or works so experimental that you doubt even the writer knew what they were trying to say. I try to adhere to this tenet whenever I write; as for style, I try to write however a certain show calls for.

BENJI: I write almost all of my music at the guitar, so I try to blend my folk and singer-songwriter roots with more classic and modern musical theater sounds.

ASHER: Two things: 1) watching someone other than me perform it and find things in it I never could see on my own and 2) connecting through song/story with whoever my audience may be.

BENJI: The feeling of connecting with others through the music that we create. There is nothing better than being understood in ways that words alone can't express.