Mel Hornyak (they/them) and Elliot Valentine (@elliotly, he/him) We write musicals and other things! Our website is at melliotwrites.com. Here we mostly reblog fan work, post updates, and answer questions.
Watch the FULL PROSHOT of our queer medieval fantasy musical, The Art of Pleasing Princes, produced by the Phoenix Players at Hobart and William Smith Colleges!
In a glittering royal palace at the center of a cataclysmic drought, five queer misfits band together to kill the king and save the world. Betrayal, infighting, and paranoia make forming community harder - and more necessary - than ever before.
Follow us here or @melliotwrites on Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok for more updates about what's next for the show!
This workshop production was licensed by the Phoenix Players. Interested in putting on one of our shows at your school, college, or local theater? Visit our website for more information!
Podcast Episode - making ARGs and musical theater!
Hi everyone! We were recently featured on Musical Theater Factory (MTF)ās Fast Forward podcast! In our episode, you can hear us talk about our Alternate Reality Game En AbĆ®me, writing ARGs and musicals, our digital audience, our upcoming projects, and more!
Find it on Podbean here. (MTF is trying to get to 1000 streams to unlock some funding opportunities, so weād really appreciate it if you could listen to the episode on Podbean as much as possible! However, if you cannot access it there, you can also find the episode on YouTube.)
Our musical, The Art of Pleasing Princes, premieres Monday 4/13 at 6pm ET!
In a glittering royal palace at the center of a cataclysmic drought, five queer misfits band together to kill the king and save the world. Betrayal, infighting, and paranoia make forming community harder - and more necessary - than ever before.
The Art of Pleasing Princes is a new musical by Mel Hornyak and Elliot Valentine (Melliot) with a medieval fantasy setting and a rock and electro pop score. This workshop production was produced and presented by the Phoenix Players at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY on 4/3/26 and 4/4/26. Come watch the premiere on Youtube on Monday 4/13 at 6pm ET!
In a glittering royal palace at the center of a cataclysmic drought, five queer misfits band together to kill the king and save the world. Come watch the Hobart and William Smith Collegesā production of our new queer medieval fantasy musical!!
Our musical, The Art of Pleasing Princes, premieres Monday 4/13 at 6pm ET!
In a glittering royal palace at the center of a cataclysmic drought, five queer misfits band together to kill the king and save the world. Betrayal, infighting, and paranoia make forming community harder - and more necessary - than ever before.
The Art of Pleasing Princes is a new musical by Mel Hornyak and Elliot Valentine (Melliot) with a medieval fantasy setting and a rock and electro pop score. This workshop production was produced and presented by the Phoenix Players at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY on 4/3/26 and 4/4/26. Come watch the premiere on Youtube on Monday 4/13 at 6pm ET!
Hi everyone! We're working on the proshot for the Phoenix Player's production of The Art of Pleasing Princes, aiming for a YouTube premiere this weekend or next week.
Which of these times would work the best for you? (considering the video is just under 2 hours long)
Hey guys! I'm the actor that played 2aopp Louis and I made a Louis stimboard >:] (still figuring out how to use gifs) (jason stimboard coming soon) (and also maybe louis x jason and louis x rowan stimboards too)
Will there be any official word on if 2aopp will be released on YouTube anytime soon?
Yes! We are filming the performances this weekend, and it will be released either at the end of the month or in May (a more exact date will be announced closer to the end of the month once we are in the post-production process!)
Hey! No guarantees but would folks coming to Geneva, NY for 2AOPP be interested in an informal Melliot meetup/Q&A at a coffee shop or something? If youāre coming to Geneva this weekend and would be interested, what day would work for you?
Saturday āļø
Friday š
Iām not coming/not interested
Voting ended onApr 6
(Or reply to this post if both days work!)
We'll have more word on whether the production will be filmed for those outside of Geneva soon! Either way we are super excited to share this show with you :)
Thanks for the votes everyone! I think because it seems like only a couple of people could make either day we probably wonāt do this, but please stop us and say hi after/before the shows and if you see us around!!
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY! Come see The Art of Pleasing Princes at Bartlett Theater, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY! There will be shows this Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2pm, and Saturday at 7:30pm.Ā Reserve your FREE tickets here.
The Art of Pleasing Princes is a full length new musical with an electropop-inspired score. In a glittering royal palace at the center of a cataclysmic drought, five queer misfits band together to kill the king and save the world. Betrayal, infighting, and paranoia make forming community harder - and more necessary - than ever before.Ā
This is a workshop production of The Art of Pleasing Princes. While the full show will be performed, there may be some scenes where actors are on book or at music stands. Come see this exciting step in a new musical development process - the first time a musical gets to sing and breathe onstage!Ā
Tickets are free, but please reserve them here so we can make sure there are enough seats for everyone! See you this weekend :)
Happy Trans Day of Visibility everyone! Here is a sneak peek at our new musical, Someone Like Me, based on the diaries of the first openly gay trans man in the U.S. (Soundcloud here!)
How can you become yourself when you donāt knowĀ people like you exist? In searching for others like him, Lou Sullivan (1951-1991) became a beacon of connection for trans people across the United States. This musical traces his journey from self-actualization to activism and his impact on our modern concepts of gender and sexuality. (Adapted from the diaries of Louis Graydon Sullivan, by permission of the GLBT Historical Society!)
Lyrics under the cut.
Lyrics:
āI Move, He Movesā from Someone Like Me, a new musical by Melliot. Based on the diaries of Lou Sullivan, 1951-1991, by permission of the GLBT Historical Society.
Lyrics:
LOU: February 25th, 1978. Got my first 50 milligrams of Depo-Testosterone today. I rushed home and went right to the mirror. I guess donāt look any different. But I feel different. I feelā¦
ALIVE!
THE SAME STREET GLOWS WITH PROMISE
LIKE A PLACE IāVE NEVER BEEN BEFORE.
THE SAME SUN MAKES ME WARMER
LIKE ITāS NEVER HIT MY SKIN BEFORE.
A SKIN THAT NOW GETS THICKER
BUT TINGLES WITH SENSATION.
ISNāT IT THE GREATEST JOY
TO BE YOUR OWN CREATION!
THEREāS NO LONGER A DISTANCE
BETWEEN ME AND MY BODY:
I MOVE, HE MOVES.
I MOVE, HE MOVES!
I LOOK IN THE WINDOWS
AND I AM BEAUTIFUL!
I MOVE, HE MOVES.
I MOVEā¦ HEā¦
(The youngmen surround LOU, whisking him away to a gay disco. Itās been a month or two; LOU dons a leather jacket. The YOUNGMEN, other bargoers, accompany him as he sings on the dance floor.)
LOU
THE SAME BARS THRUM WITH POWER.
I FINALLY GET WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT.
THE SAME GUYS STARE RIGHT AT ME
BUT FOR ONCE ITāS NOT JUST TO FIGURE ME OUT.
MY T-SHIRT SLEEVES ARE TIGHTER.
I LET MY FIRM, FLAT CHEST GO FREE.
I BEGIN TO NOTICE MEN!
I NOTICE THEM NOTICING ME.
YOUNGMEN
(overlapping)
NOTICE US NOTICING YOU,
NOTICE US NOTICING,
NOTICE US, PLEASE!
LOU/YOUNGMEN
THEREāS NO LONGER A DISTANCE
BETWEEN ME AND MY BODY
(One youngman in particular - an ANGEL, one of the anonymous figures who represent LOUās lovers - approaches LOU, mimicking his dance moves. They connect.)
LOU
I MOVE,
ANGEL
HE MOVES
LOU
I MOVE,
ANGEL
HE MOVES
(The two of them begin to dance together.)
LOU
I LOOK IN YOUR EYES
AND I AM BEAUTIFUL!
LOU + ANGEL
I MOVE, HE MOVES,
I MOVE, HE MOVES.
(Time slows down. They dance with one another. ANGEL runs his hands over LOUās shoulders, his chest, his arms. He looks up and meets the eyes of YOUNG LOU - in a dress and cowboy boots - standing at the edge of the crowd, watching him.)
LOU
I USED TO DREAM OF YOUNG MEN AT NIGHT.
IN MY DREAMS THEY DANCE, THEY FUCK, THEY FIGHT.
I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS NEVER MY PLACE.
AND STILL I DREAM OF YOUNG MEN AT NIGHT
BUT ONE BRINGS HIS HEAD UP INTO THE LIGHT
AND HIS FACE IS MY FACE.
(LOU approaches and drapes his jacket over YOUNG LOUās shoulders. YOUNG LOU looks at him, not recognizing him, but smiles.)
LOU/YOUNGMEN
HIS FACE IS MY FACE!
(YOUNG LOU is suddenly swarmed by the crowd, along with the ANGEL, and LOU loses sight of them. LOU riffs over the following:)
LOU/YOUNGMEN
THEREāS NO LONGER A DISTANCE
BETWEEN ME AND MY BODY
I MOVE, WE MOVE
I MOVE, WE MOVE
LOU
IāM PART OF THE CULTURE
AND WE ARE BEAUTIFUL!
LOU/YOUNGMEN
I MOVE, WE MOVE
I MOVE, WEā¦
YOUNGMEN
NO LONGER A DISTANCE
BETWEEN ME AND MY BODY
I MOVE, WE MOVE
I MOVE, WE MOVE
WEāRE PART OF THE CULTURE
AND WE ARE BEAUTIFUL!
I MOVE, WE MOVE
I MOVE, WE MOVE!
Hey! No guarantees but would folks coming to Geneva, NY for 2AOPP be interested in an informal Melliot meetup/Q&A at a coffee shop or something? If youāre coming to Geneva this weekend and would be interested, what day would work for you?
Saturday āļø
Friday š
Iām not coming/not interested
Voting ended onApr 6
(Or reply to this post if both days work!)
We'll have more word on whether the production will be filmed for those outside of Geneva soon! Either way we are super excited to share this show with you :)
you don't have to answer this since it's not a question but i felt like sharing that i taught myself how to play i love you i swear on piano by ear and it's SO fun to play! thank you for making such a beautiful song
