Andrew Strano

Biography

Andrew is a multidisciplinary Australian theatre artist with experience as a lyricist, playwright, director and performer living and working in New York City as a playwright.
They are a proud member of the Theatre Now New York Musical theatre writers lab, the NYFA City Artists Corps, the Root Beer Occasion Artist Collective, and the Dramatists Guild, and their work has toured the world to sell out crowds and 5 star reviews.

Andrew’s strong focus on pedagogy, accessibility in the arts, and innovation in arts education has seen them teach for theatres, universities, and schools worldwide, including New York University, the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Stage School Australia, Monash University, ArtsConnection (for which they also work as a Production Adviser for Broadway Jr. and as a GIVE trainer), Base Jump Theatre New Zealand, TBC Theatre Scotland, The Improv Conspiracy Australia, Laugh Masters Academy, Harlem School of the Arts and more.

Andrew is the proud recipient of a Frank Young Writers residency Award through Theatre Now New York and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the 2019 Victorian Fulbright Scholarship, the 2020 Schubert scholarship, the 2021 Peerce Scholarship, a major Mike Walsh Fellowship, a PPCA performer’s trust foundation grant, an American Australian Association Arts Grant, an Artsconnection/Governor’s Island Artists residency, The inagural Jeanne Pratt Artist ic Residency, and the George Fairfax Memorial Award.

They hold an MFA from the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and an MA in writing for performance from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University. Other studies include Musical Theatre Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts, Dance at Danceworld 301, Improvisation at Chicago’s iO Theater.

Writing Credits include:

Full length: ‘Nailed It!’ (Winner: Greenroom award, ‘Best original songs’, Selection: Adelaide Cabaret Festival, sell out season: Edinburgh Fringe at Assembly, nominated: Theatrepeople Best Cabaret Performer), ‘Jack Of Two Trades’ (Winner: Jeanne Pratt Artists in Residence), ‘Voyagers’ (Commissioned by Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, Winner: City Of Melbourne 2020 Arts Grant), the as yet unnamed ‘KUSAMA Project’ (Winner: Frank Young/NAMT Writer’s residency grant through Theatre Now New York) and ‘SKIN’ (Off Broadway: Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Selection: Global Forms Theatre Festival, Semi Finalist: O’Neill National Musical Theatre Conference, Semi Finalist: Syracuse University New Works, New Voices)

Short works include:
‘STARSONG’ (Rattlestick Theatre, 2022 Chain Theatre Fest, Theatre Now New York’s SOUNDBITES X, Indieworks theatre’s Bite Sized Broadway), ‘Anticipation’ (Rattlestick), ‘Space’ (Lincoln Centre ‘Future Broadway Songbook’), ‘Come Together’ (Indieworks Theatre’s Bite Sized Broadway) and short opera, ‘CHICKEN/EGG’ (American Opera Project).

Acting credits include:
Roland (Constellations/Mira Theatricals); Hartley (Titanic/City Of Ballarat); Leonardo/Big Red (The Lizard of Oz/Crow Crow Productions); Dino, Saturday Night (Magnormos); Danny Dog (Peppa Pig/Lifelike Touring).

Improv credits include:
‘Quiet Achievers’ (MICF, Melbourne Fringe, Roolaboola children’s arts festival, The great Aussie hearing test, etc), ‘A Night In Chicago’ (MICF, Perth fringe [nominated for ‘Best Comedy’); ‘3 mad Rituals’ (TIC, Melbourne fringe); ‘Pano-Stritch’ (TIC Cage Match); ‘The Mixtape’ (TIC); ‘Endless Cash’, ‘Dirt Squad’, ‘Foggy Windows’, ‘The Wrong Shoulder’ (TIC Harold night); ‘Impromptunes’ (Melbourne Fringe)

Cabaret performance credits include:
‘Nailed it!’ (Nominated: best cabaret performer, theatrepeople.com.au); The host of ‘Fab Friday’ (3 year run, The Butterfly Club); and ‘A Fine Bromance’ (which they also co-directed), ‘Not Quite Right in the Head’, and ‘All Washed Up’ (The Bad Boys Of Music Theatre).

Directing credits include: ‘Completely Improvised Shakespeare’ (Soothplayers, various); ‘Completely Improvised Potter’ (Soothplayers, various); ‘Airblade’, ‘KRM’ etc (TIC Theatre), ‘Accomplished-ish’ (Melbourne Fringe), ‘Decent Hunan Beings’ (Melbourne Fringe), The Red Hot Improv Jam (TIC Theatre)
Co-Director: ‘Quiet Achievers’ (Various); ‘A Fine Bromance’ (Chapel off Chapel etc); ‘Impromptunes’ (Melbourne Fringe); ‘The Remix’, ‘A night in Chicago’ (MICF, Perth Fringeworld, nominated: best comedy)

Film and TV Acting credits include: Blake (Series Regular, Fergus In Hell; CTV), 38 weekly appearances (Get Cereal TV; CTV).

For more visit andrewstrano.com