Catching Fireflies: Celebrating Queer Art
My first attempt at an interview of a cool queer artist!
Hey y’all! Based on feedback I received in the reader survey I sent out last week, I’m going to be mixing up the kind of content I provide, including through some occasional interviews with people who I think are putting something really joyful out into the world.
As a major musical theater nerd (which I haven’t talked about on here before, but who could really say they’re surprised about it?) I am sooo excited that the first interview is with the creator of a deeply queer and trans musical called “Catching Fireflies!” I am a strong proponent of the power of music and storytelling to find healing, prompt growth and reflection, and invite new allies into the movement.
Into the Interview!
Hi, Flynn! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Flynn Faye (he/him), and I am a trans folk, singer, songwriter, and theater composer from Santa Cruz, California, currently based in Brooklyn. I’m a writer at heart who loves to tell stories, real stories, that capture the human experience. I like to describe my music as a marriage between the folk music of the West Coast, and theatrical storytelling.
Tell me about Catching Fireflies: A New Queer Musical!
Catching Fireflies is a musical time capsule about a writer coming to terms with her gender identity amidst her queer friend group of artists stuck together in Philadelphia over the 2020 pandemic. Through intertwining love triangles, questioning of common queer stereotypes, & conversations between her authentic and physical self, our writer explores what it means to reach your full potential as an artist and an individual.
What drove you to create Catching Fireflies? Why now?
Growing up in a world where queer representation was not prioritized in the media or only shown as stereotypes was a challenge, and as a result, I really wasn’t able to own and be confident in my queer identity until later in life. One of my main objectives in writing Catching Fireflies is to provide that authentic representation I wish I saw as a kid. A show featuring a trans lead with nonbinary and queer characters that are based on true stories is rare in today’s media, and I feel empowered to provide that visibility to queer audiences everywhere.
I love that so much. Walk me through the journey of how this started!
The show itself started as a quarantine project in 2020. I just dropped out of art school and was feeling really directionless as a writer, as I was trying to find my voice. At this time, I had also just started studying with Drew Gasparini, who encouraged me to write what I know and from my own experiences. So I started to write the show from my own experiences and those of others close to me, making it slightly autobiographical, but also relatable to people of all queer identities. I feel quarantine was a shared reflective experience for all of us, queer or not, asking ourselves who we really are and the people we want to be. I actually met my co-writers Jena and Adam on a Facebook group during this time as well, and they helped me finish the score and create a more polished product. Without them, it would not be the show it is today and I am so grateful we were brought together.
How has the journey of the show been post-writing? What came next?
The show originally started as just a song cycle, as a collection of musical vignettes. I then had the opportunity to workshop the show in New York in November 2021 and it was after that workshop that we found the songs lent themselves for a full length musical. We started playing with scenes and more flushed out characters for our workshop concert in 2022 at 54 Below, and then we started working on a full length concept album that summer to use for submissions. With the help of James Rubino, who played bass in the previous two workshops, we released a full length 18 track concept album that following winter with his studio, Lorien Sound. Then the next two years we continued workshopping & submitting the show; our song “Drunk Monroe” ended up placing top 10 in Taylor Louderman’s Write Out
Loud Songwriting Contest, and we had another industry reading of the new script in August 2024. It wasn’t until this past January in 2025 when we had our first fully staged production of the show when we landed a contract at the Off-Broadway Players Theater for a three week run. This was the first time the show lived and breathed on a set and stage, and we really got to see it exist as not just a collection of songs, but a full length story.
When you think about what comes next for the show, what are you dreaming of?
Right now our immediate next step is the Philadelphia Fringe festival this September. We were lucky enough to be excepted into Cannonball Fest (the main hub of Fringe), where the show will have a one weekend run at the Drake Theatre in Philadelphia. This will be our first time doing an out-of-town run, performing the score in front of a new audience and seeing how it’s received. I think after that we would love for it to be picked at regional theaters, maybe a bigger off Broadway venue, or more Fringe festivals before hopefully doing a limited Broadway run in the future.
I know I’ve got a lot of people on GQN who are eager for actions to take and ways to help out. What can we do?
Simply following along our journey (@catchingfirefliesmusical) or listening to our Concept Album is enough! But if you want to help out monetarily, we are currently looking for supporters to help us with our Philadelphia Fringe Iteration - we’re always looking for producers and investors who want to contribute to this queer story and help get it into the world - so please feel free to donate to our Seed&Spark campaign and also unlock some exciting behind the scenes materials :)
Thanks, Flynn!
I’m always grateful to people willing to be guinea pigs for my new ideas, although I think this one went pretty great! Who else do you think I should interview? Any local heroes, community advocates, or cool people doing cool things? I want to hear about it!
Hi I hit the subscribe button - take a look at mine friend
A magical musical that includes fireflies and Waffle House? Gotta got to Philadelphia for Fringe!