Joshua Z. Kant

Joshua Z. Kant holds an MFA from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. His writing has earned him various opportunities and awards, including a chance to be mentored by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty through the Dramatist Guild Fellows Program. Evenings of Josh's work have been performed by New Voices at the 113 Second Avenue Black Box Theatre (produced by Sean Patrick Flahaven), the Duplex Cabaret in Greenwich Village and Off-Broadway’s York Theatre Company (Developmental Reading Series). 

 

As a bookwriter/composer/lyricist, Josh's work includes Thirty Years, Thirty Shows (a.k.a. Bad Ideas), Bella! The Musical, and  Anna Sharpe Versus the Cyberbully. Alongside lyricist and bookwriter Liv Cummins, he composed music for The Temporary Professor; the piece received a series of staged readings at both CAP21 Studios in Manhattan (produced by Jesse Kearney) and Berkshire Community College. 

 

Josh was born and raised in Nassau County, Long Island, where at the age of nine he started out his career performing "Mr. Roboto" by Styx for his entire elementary school cafeteria, sans invitation. He eventually began writing for the theatre at Hofstra University, where he earned his B.S. in Music Composition. There he also studied piano, voice, and conducting. Soon he began working as a freelance musical director, vocal coach and writer, and served as resident theater writer and critic for The Long Island Voice (sister paper to The Village Voice). 

    

Over the years, in addition to over two decades of service in public education, Josh has created, directed, and produced numerous children's theatre productions.  He resides in Suffolk County, New York, with his wife, performer/artist/educator Jeanne Ranlet, and their son Zachary, currently an undergraduate student at Emory University.

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