Caleb Conaway

Grandpa passed away peacefully on Tuesday afternoon. He was 91 years old. Grandpa was a minister, a singer, a husband, a father, grandfather, and a deeply loving and kind man. He was our neighbor growing up, and I spent countless afternoons after school with Grandma and Grandpa at their house singing, playing, and chatting. One of the things I will miss most is his voice: he had a deep, melodic baritone. In the first clip, you’ll hear a recording of his college quartet’s rendition of Lord Keep Your Mighty Hand on Me - he’s the bass voice. The second recording is from an interview Josh (my brother) did with him in 2021 asking what Grandpa’s favorite memory of Joshua was. His reply really hit me, and I am so grateful Josh was able to preserve this little moment. When I was 11, I tried to teach him to skateboard (he was well into his late 70s). I don’t have a picture of that - or of the aftermath - but I do have an action shot mom got of crashing into him while flying a kite. Despite the many injuries I caused him throughout my life, he was always patient and warm. He was deeply involved in our lives and the lives of so many others. A few months before he passed, we were only able to connect by singing. I will treasure that time forever. I’m heartbroken I can’t sing with him anymore, but I know I’ll keep singing his songs as long as I’m able. Love you, Grandpa. Thank you for the jokes, the prayers, and the music.

I’m thrilled to announce that I started a new job at the Dramatists Guild this October. I am the new business affairs associate, so if you’ve got a show going up this season, you can expect to hear from me soon! Protecting writers in an age of AI and censorship has never been more important. I’m proud to contribute to the Guild’s mission.

New song! Introducing: "Space Cowboy" 🚀🤠🪐 Lyrics by me, music by the og space cowboy @calcon0 performed by the cosmically wonderful @hannah.bank @ronniespoto and @madelineglave

Another Four Dollars - Curse of the Hound Jeanine Watson contemplates what she will do with her life once she saves up enough to get out of Devonton. Janelle knocked this out of the park. Thanks to everyone involved :) Watson: @janellemcdrmth Composer: @calcon0 Lyricist: @spencer__lawson & @calcon0

“You Heard It Here First” - from Teacher’s Lounge. Gio, the teacher who runs after-school punk rock club (BANNED PRACTICE), shows his students how to use rockin’ out as an outlet for their frustration. Things get a little out of hand when Valeria, a student and the daughter of another teacher at the school, decides to let it all out. Thanks to the amazing performers and musicians - this was a blast. Big shoutout to Fran for improvising when her mic went out. You’ll just have to wait to see the show to know what the heck Chaz said 😉 Lyricist: @simonemili Composer: @calcon0 Valeria: @gabriela__hernandezz Gio: @jeffsettin Chaz: @franciscatl

Now what? Graduated with my MFA in musical theatre writing with some of the coolest people I’ve ever known. I’m a better, more quality person because of these people (including the ones I wasn’t able to snag a picture with). Art is punk. Nerd stuff is cool. Being passionate, earnest, and dedicated is hot. Theatre is necessary. Thanks NYU & GMTWP.

I just completed my second thesis musical, Teacher’s Lounge, written with @simonemili for our end-of-year table read. I feel lucky that I got to work with all the talented people pictured here to that bring McLevy High to life. Next up: graduation! Go Sandhogs!

I couldn’t ask for better folks to make art with. My thesis musical, The Curse Of The Hound, that I wrote with the incomparable librettist @spencer__lawson , was read this last Friday, the culmination of ten months of hard (and fun!) work. The reading was scrappy and we had to improvise at some moments when the some demos wouldn’t play - thank you for your killer, in the moment, sight reading and scrappiness, @jonjamerck . I’m also super grateful for my plucky, talented cast for their willingness to jump in and play on a tight schedule. I feel blessed to be able to tell this story with such a talented and thoughtful collaborator. We were lucky to be advised by Fred Karl, Mindi Dickstein, and the incredible Kirsten Childs. I can’t wait til you all get to hear things from it. Now, I’ve got to switch focus to my next thesis musical’s reading on the 12th - Teacher’s Lounge with @simonemili . See y’all on the other side of this :) Curse Of The Hound Book and Lyrics by Spencer Lawson Music and Lyrics by Caleb Conaway Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound Of The Baskervilles.

Wrapping up my penultimate semester at NYU with 45-minute readings of by two thesis projects, Teacher’s Lounge with @simonemili and The Hound Of The Baskervilles with @spencer__lawson . I’m so grateful to my collaborators and to the people who helped get these stories to come to life. Not pictured: the amazing pianist @jonjamerck who put the 45-minute presentations on his back - couldn’t’ve done it without you. Can’t wait to share what’s next for these projects ❤️

Here are some clips from the I Like It Like That 30th Anniversary concert. I arranged and music directed the show this past weekend at @54below . I also got to debut an original song (“Other People’s Choices”) from the musical @simonemili and I are currently writing. It was incredible to get to work on this music with the incredibly talented performers and band, and with @_haleyseda , who produced this whole thing. Full clips of everything to come soon! These are the songs and photos in order (I wasn’t able to include everything but I’ll get around to posting it soon): 1. Other People’s Choices, music by Caleb Conaway and words by Simon Lansberg-Rodriguez, performed by @_haleyseda 2. I’m Trying To Tell Em by Fat Joe, performed by @nicoraimont 3. I Like It Like That by Pete Rodriguez, performed by enmanueldelarosaofficial 4. Si Tu No Te Fueras by Marc Anthony, performed by @enmanueldelarosaofficial enmanueldelarosaofficial and @mauricio_castillo123 5. Me and my family, who came out to support me :) 6. Me and Haley confused about how we pulled this off 7. Try A Little Tenderness by the Barrio Boyzz, performed by @youcancallmetyy and @anthonyvelezzz 8. Latin Lingo by Cypress Hill, performed by @cjpanera 9. Eres Tu by Jerry Rivera, performed by @eugeniadlgarza 10. You Betta Change by The Cover Girls, performed by @_haleyseda and @marissanmitchell Big shout out to my band, @allie.k.lewis (piano) @jonjamerck (percussion), @noahhoganmusic (guitar), @kwk406 (bass), @nickstephensmusic (trumpet) and Patrick Moran (drums). @famousinnyvideo @54below

I got to test out the new recording setup at GMTWP yesterday by rehearsing and recording a choir piece I wrote with @chiara_m_n . This was written for a 20-40 person choir - however, my ensemble was small but mighty and made a great sound! If anyone is interested in the piece for their own ensemble, reach out and I’d be happy to pass along the sheet music. And it’s days like this I feel extremely grateful to be surrounded by talented artists who are willing to dive into projects on short notice and rock the performance!

Got some pictures from @simonemili and my puppet show from this March! Thanks to our wonderful designers in the NYU graduate design program for helping our evil frat hazing ritual puppet show come to life!