Formation | 2009 |
---|---|
Type | Community theatre |
Purpose | Theatrical productions |
Location | |
Official language
|
English |
Affiliations | University of Michigan, Basement Arts |
Website | www |
StarKid Productions, also known as Team StarKid, is a Chicago-based musical theatre company founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. Best known for the musical A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter series, the troupe produces musical-comedies inspired by pop culture, with original scripts, songs, and music. StarKid uses social media for theatrical distribution, to make their productions accessible to a worldwide audience.
StarKid's repertoire additionally consists of albums, concerts, web series, sketch comedies, and books. The company's album Me and My Dick, featuring original songs and music, became the first charting student-produced musical recording on Billboard, debuting at #11 on the "Top Cast Albums" chart in 2010; the following year they landed at #1 on the same chart with Starship, another original album.
StarKid Productions is composed of actors, writers, directors, composers, choreographers, and designers, most of them originating from the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theater and Dance. The members met while collaborating on original and classic plays through Basement Arts, the university's student-run theater organization.
In April 2009, the students staged a musical parody of the Harry Potter series entitled A Very Potter Musical. The video of the play went viral on the Internet, garnering StarKid a worldwide fanbase. Inspired by the success of the video, StarKid Productions was formed, named after a quote from A Very Potter Musical. Later, two successful sequels followed, named A Very Potter Sequel and A Very Potter Senior Year.