How you do anything is how you do everything.
Alex Parrish is a music director, educator, performer, and composer based in NYC who finishes the hat in a wide array of music-based trades. With fifteen years of professional experience spanning the Off-Broadway, commercial, cruise line, educational, and community theater realms, he has built a reputation as an imaginative, indispensable, reliable, and adaptable collaborator and theater artist.
He is currently a music director for RWS Global (Azamara, MSC, Medora Musical) and Norwegian Holdings (Regent Seven Seas cruise line), as well as numerous productions for independent theaters throughout the city. He recently music directed and played Jonathan in an immersive production of tick, tick… BOOM! at The New Ohio and its remount at Kitchen Theatre Company, and has also performed at Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova, Theatre Row, Town Hall, Pipe Dream Theatre, The Tank, Theatre 2020, and Valley Shakespeare Festival. He has been a vocal coach for hundreds of performers privately and taught music in more than 50 NYC grade schools. His original compositions have premiered at Prospect Theatre Company, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alvin Ailey Theater, FEAST Performance Series, The Skeleton Rep, and Theater Wit, as well as in films and multimedia spectaculars.
Alex is a co-founder of Forager Theatre Company and creator of The Musical Multiverse parody mashup performance series, graduate of NYU Tisch (BFA in Drama, Lee Strasberg Institute) and the BMI Workshop, and a member of Actors Equity and The Dramatist’s Guild.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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"Close to Home: A Free Outdoor Summer Concert"
Sun, July 21 | 4:00-5:30pm
THE CLOISTERS LAWN
Forager Theatre Company sings, dances, and story-tells through Stephen Schwartz’s otherworldly, ethereal show “Children of Eden” recreated as folk songs.
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"Jenna Todd: The Demon Waitress of Lulu's" (Presented by The Musical Multiverse)
Thurs, Oct 25 | 7:00-9:00PM
RED EYE NY
Featuring a hilarious cast of eight and Alex at the piano playing and narrating this wild ride through sugar, butter, and murder!
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"Cursed Into the Woods: The Fundraiser"
November 8 & 15 | 7:00pm
RED EYE NY
Forager Theatre Company tries to sing through the entirety of Sondheim’s famous show, while interactive audience donations “curse” the show at every turn! Will they survive until happily every after? Come and find out!
PARRISH MUSIC SERVICES Inc.
Voice Lessons
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Appropriate for aspiring and professional musical theatre performers (all ages, including college-age and teenagers), singers in all genres/styles, and independent singer-songwriters.
Schedule: 1) 15min warmup, 2) 15min technique-building, 3) 30min song performance.
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Appropriate for aspiring and professional musical theatre performers (all ages, including college-age and teenagers), singers in all genres/styles, and independent singer-songwriters.
Schedule: 1) 15min warmup, 2) 15min technique-building, 3) 30min song performance.
Audition Prep
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Prepare or choose song(s) for a single upcoming audition OR prepare the songs/sides provided for a single upcoming callback.
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10min Warmup, 20min Coaching, 30min Filming for a self-tape video, social media post, audition, or callback. Provides live accompaniment on piano or use of recorded track. Provides ring light, high quality DSLR digital camera, clean background, microphone, etc.
What should we know about the services you provide? Better descriptions result in more sales.
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We will go through and discuss the pros/cons of all existing songs in your Audition Book together, select the strongest ones to keep, analyze your "go-to" audition cuts, make clear any genre/era/song type gaps in your book, and provide guidance on what new material to investigate.
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We will identify gaps in your Audition Book or songs you're ready to retire, and find/select some fresh "go-to" material that is compositionally exciting, narratively strong, and speaks to you personally.
PERFORMING
As an adventurous and collaborative actor-musician, Alex was last seen playing Jonathan in tick, tick...BOOM! at The New Ohio and Kitchen Theatre Company, The Narrator in Jenna Todd: The Demon Waitress of Lulu’s at Red Eye NY, and Harry in Flora the Red Menace at Court Square Theatre.
COMPOSING
Known to his many unique collaborators as an intuitive and adaptable composer/ orchestrator, Alex centers character psychology as the root element to build his ambitious, atmospheric scores. He thoughtfully aims to elevate the visions of his many unique collaborators and deftly interpret many musical.
Book & Lyrics by Alex Parrish
Book & Lyrics by Alex Parrish
Lyrics by Alex Parrish
Lyrics by Laura Winters
Book & Lyrics by Laura Winters
Lyrics by Laura Winters
Film by Jess Sharples
Lyrics by Katelynn Kenney
Lyrics by Katelynn Kenney
Book & Lyrics by Alex Parrish
Lyrics by Kara Catruzzula
Lyrics by
Film by Jeremy Smith
Lyrics by Megan Livingston
Created by David Alpert
Lyrics by Teresa Attridge
MAJOR PROJECTS
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Forager Theatre Company
CO-FOUNDER
An NYC-based theatre company founded in 2021, featuring four branches: Take Root (donation-based education), Unearth (content development), Blossom (one-night experiences), and Harvest (mainstage productions).
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The Musical Multiverse
CREATOR & ARRANGER
A hilarious, unpredictable performance series where two fan-favorite musicals are mashed together into brand new parody shows, featuring an original script and inventive musical arrangements.
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The Before Trilogy
LIBRETTIST, COMPOSER & LYRICIST
A three-act musical adaptation of Richard Linklater’s acclaimed films “Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset,” and “Before Midnight,” realizing two people who make love through conversation. Currently in development.
TESTIMONIALS
“Alex is one of the most diligent, collaborative, and kind music directors - and humans - I have ever worked with. His excellent musical technique and patient coaching transform notes on a page into high-quality theatrical storytelling, making the whole show shine!”
— EMILY JACKSON, Artistic Director of Kitchen Theatre Company
“He is a dynamic composer who combines his vast musical knowledge, artistry, and tenacity to make wholly original, ambitious musical projects. Not only can Alex move easily between writing musical modes and mediums, but between editing, producing, editing, arranging, teaching, and performing.
— LAURA WINTERS, award-winning playwright and screenwriter
“From our first conversation, it was clear that his ear — not just musically, but in listening for intention, spirit and theme - was a magical tool enabling him to translate my most muddled and clear ideas almost exactly as my own ear was hearing during my writing process. It seemed like he had read my mind and produced music that deeply honored the energy, style and focus of my work”
— MEGAN LIVINGSTON, Baltimore-based conceptualist and creator
“He is that rarest of talents: Brilliant, perceptive, adaptable, and exceptionally kind and professional. With an unmatched work ethic and bottomless skill set, he transforms every project into its fullest and most glorious potential. It should be illegal to be this good.”
— KARA CATRUZZULA, author of “Do It” book series, journalist, and playwright
“Alex is a joy to work with as a Music Director — in addition to his musical talent and strong teaching skills, he is kind, approachable, and a problem solver. He keeps the room moving forward with a calm and steady approach.
— DAVID ALPERT, Broadway associate director
“I thoroughly enjoy working with Alex because I know how much care and attention he will give not only to the performers he's working with, but to the music they are creating together. As a music director, Alex is simply the best because he takes on every nuance and note with such expertise and has been a valuable partner in creating art!”