About TAKE A TEN

TAKE A TEN is the first audio podcast to create complete ten-minute musical stories with orchestrated songs and scenes. Founded in November 2013, TAKE A TEN is self-produced by a small group led by Andy Roninson. Every episode is written and performed by professional NYC writers and actors, including Tony-nominees Laura Osnes (Anything Goes, Bonnie & Clyde), Rob McClure (Chaplin), and Sophie Hayden (The Most Happy Fella) as well as other Broadway luminaries like Kathryn Allison (Alladin), Ryan Andes (Big Fish), Stephen Berger (Kinky Boots), Nick Blaemire (Godspell, Glory Days), Jennifer Blood (Violet), Natalie Charle Ellis (Beetlejuice), George Merrick (South Pacific), Mary Page Nance (Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), Jessica Phillips (Dear Evan Hansen), Bruce Sabath (Company), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Tally Sessions (School of Rock), Allison Strong (Mamma Mia!), and Remy Zaken (Spring Awakening).

Awards and Recognition

• SOUND BITES 2013 Ten Minute Musical Festival, presented by Theatre Now New York - "Finding the Words" - WINNER Best Actress (Katie Whetsell) (BroadwayWorld press release)

• SOUND BITES 2014 - "The Answering Machine" - WINNER Best Musical, Best Lyrics (Kevin Hammonds) (BroadwayWorld press release)

• Official Selections of 2015 Atlanta Fringe Festival Audio - "Warped," "The Answering Machine," "Little Lucy and the Sticky Tricky Marshmallow," and "It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's... my boyfriend (Parts 1 & 2)"

• Selection for BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop's Smoker of 2014 - "Query: What Is Love?" (from "Warped")

• 2015 Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival - WINNER "Evelyn Shaffer and the Chance of a Lifetime" (the first musical to win in the 40 year history of the Festival)

• SOUND BITES 3.0 January 2016- "The Hipster Sister" - Finalist ("Warped" - Honorable Mention)

• 2016 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwrighting Contest WINNER - "Evelyn Shaffer and the Chance of a Lifetime"

• 2016 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwrighting Contest Finalist - "Warped"

• 2018 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwrighting Contest Finalist - “The Almost In-Laws”

• 2018 SOUND BITES 5.0 - “The Almost In-Laws” - WINNER Best Musical, Best Actor (Kyle Olsen). Watch the video highlight and read the BroadwayWorld press release.

• FOUR episodes (“Finding the Words,” “The Answering Machine,” “The Hipster Sister,” and “The Almost In-Laws”) were published by Theatre Now and are now licensed by Music Theatre International!

More Productions

• August 2013, New London Barn Playhouse, New London, NH - Private reading of "Finding the Words"

• May 2014, the Laurie Beechman Theater, New York, NY - "I Need Some Space: The Lyrics of Robby Sandler" featured the songs "Sight Unseen (City I Fell For)" (video) and "Landmarks" (video)

• November 2014, Jimmy's No. 43, New York, NY - Reading of "Warped," co-produced by the Truf

• December 2014, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH - "The Answering Machine" produced for One Act Play Festival

• February 2015, Muchmore's, Brooklyn, NY - Readings of "Warped," "Mon Petit Bijou," and "The Hipster Sister" for the Hoover Dam Collective

• May 2015, Bard High School Early College, Queens, NY - "I Heart New York" produced for One Act Play Festival

• June 2015, Carré Parisien, Paris, France - Broadway Au Carré produced "The Answering Machine" (which was recorded and released by TAKE A TEN) and "Finding the Words" (BroadwayWorld press release)

• July 2015, The Living Room, Brooklyn, NY - Concert: "Songs from Take A Ten" (video playlist)

• July 2015, Ripley Grier Studios, New York, NY - Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab Presents: Take A Ten (a public reading of seven episodes), directed by Matt Cowart (PBS's Sweeney Todd: Live from Lincoln Center)

• November 2015, 54 Below/Feinstein's, New York, NY - "From Paris to New York," produced by Broadway Au Carré, featuring "Query: What Is Love?" (video) and "Nowhere to Go But Up" (video) (BroadwayWorld press release)

• November and December 2015, Rockwell Table & Stage, Los Angeles, CA - A Little New Music performed "Steve" (video), "The Ukulele Song" (video), and "Jackie's a Sweetheart"

• December 2015, Grace Church, Queens, NY - Performance of "The Almost In-Laws"

• Summer 2016, City Theatre, Miami, FL - "Evelyn Shaffer" and "Warped" both produced as part of City Theatre's Summer Shorts: America's Short Play Festival

• April 20th, 2018, Alberta, Canada - Two separate performances of “The Hipster Sister” by two high schools in a Regional One Act Play competition.

• May 18th, 2018 - Pullman, WA - Performance of “Evelyn Shaffer” at Pullman High School.

• May 31st, 2018 - Queens, NY - Performance of “The Hipster Sister” at Bard Early College High School’s One Act Play Festival.

• Summer 2018, City Theatre, Miami, FL - “The Almost In-Laws” produced as part of City Theatre’s Summer Shorts.

The Crew 

ANDY RONINSON (Host/Writer/Executive Producer) – The son of Soviet refugees, Andy is a Jonathan Larson Award-winning storyteller and music maker living in New York City. Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project, Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals. Wrote/co-wrote two ten-minute musicals for Prospect Theater Company in NYC. His Soviet Rebel Girl “Pilot” screenplay was awarded the Silver Prize in the 2021 International PAGE Awards. His TikTok series of educational videos "Small Moments in Big Musicals” has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. He is a member of the Advanced Workshop of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop where he was awarded the Robert B. Sherman Scholarship in 2010 and the Jerry Harrington Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in 2011. For more info, visit www.andyroninson.com.

CHRIS CRITELLI   (Producer/Writer/Actor) – Chris Critelli is a NYC based actor/singer/writer and founding member of The HIVE Theatre. Last seen starring as Sonny in Drury Lane's Chicago production of Xanadu, – other credits include: NYC: Bull Durham: The Musical  (Lincoln Center Lab), A Midsummer Night's (Queer) Dream  (Puck/Philostrate), The New Hopeville Comics  (Perfect Man), Kidnapping Laura Linney  (Steve - Best Actor nom, MITF) as well as myriad readings, concerts & performances. REG: Tinyard Hill  (David Kingsley - World Premiere, SFTCC Best Actor nom), All Shook Up  (Chad - opp. Sally Struthers) ,  Othello  (Cassio), Urinetown  (Bobby Strong), A Man of No Importance  (Robbie Fay), etc. TV: "Unforgettable," "The Late Show." WEB: "Status Kill," "Expert Witness." As a Songwriter, Chris just wrapped up a very successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign and is currently in the studio recording his debut EP! Check out his latest at www.chriscritelli.com.

ANDREW GARRET KARL  (Producer/Director) – Andrew is a Director and Actor now living in New York City.  As a director, he recently had the opportunity to direct and develop a new musical for children called Dinosaurs from Outerspace  with the Cape Rep Theater as well as direct Much Ado About Nothing  for the New London Barn Playhouse's JI Company.  As an actor, Andrew has worked regionally with The Hangar Theater, The New London Barn Playhouse, The Cape Rep Theater, and The Hollywood Bowl.  In 2012, he started his own company, The Mimesis Theater Project , which collides musical theater with the performance art and devised mediums.  He is thrilled to be a part of Take A Ten.