- When did you first discover theater/what was your first experience?
SARAH: When I was little I saw Wicked and was completely obsessed. I knew every word. SHANE: I was talked/tricked into auditioning for Annie in high school and fell in love with theatre around the time I went to look up this "Popular" song I'd heard at auditions and discovered Wicked.
- When/how did you become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or text that particularly inspired you?
SARAH: I've been writing music since I was in middle school, but I didn't officially decide to be a musical theatre writer until college. SHANE: I started writing songs in a pop punk band when I was 15, but I decided to write theatre after I heard Next to Normal in high school - I didn't know you could tell those kinds of stories as musicals.
- How do you describe your style/work?
SARAH: Shane and I have an eclectic style, based in contemporary musical theatre but with indie folk rock vibes. We like to play with style to enhance and strengthen character. SHANE: Sarah and I are both disabled and both non-binary, so we tell stories that feature underrepresented characters in formats we strive to make as accessible as possible.
- What is most rewarding to you about writing music?
SARAH: Being Autistic, I sometimes struggle to communicate socially. Writing is a way I can be understood. It's a truer representation of who I am than I can communicate socially. SHANE: I love the sheer number of layers on which a piece of music can work: harmony, melody, lyrics, and orchestration all mixed together create something so much bigger than the sum of its parts.