David Quang Pham is an award-winning songwriter, filmmaker, and science communicator in Manhattan, known for creating musicals that personify scientific concepts in nature to explore the human condition and social issues. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Pham developed a passion for anthropomorphism when his mother got him All Dogs Go to Heaven rather than a puppy, yet its songs and animation helped him grieve his second grade counselor’s passing at the time. His parents then sent him to Space Camp and operas. Soon after, he began performing in musical theatre productions. He obtained a B.S. in astrophysics and a minor in theatre from Michigan State University. His artistic talents led to his Working Title Playwrights apprenticeship, Playwrights Foundation fellowship, Great Performances Fellowship Award, and 78th Tony Awards CBS appearance. His work has been produced and developed by Queer Theatre Kalamazoo, Milky Way Theatre Company (Off-Broadway), Musical Theatre Factory, Signature Theatre, Mayernik Media, and Their Daughter Productions, with performances in Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Portugal. He wrote musicals with Jen Blom, Stephanie L Carlin, William Forrest, Eric Grunin, Marie Incontrera, Jenni Lawson, Zoe Ray Prawda, and Valerie Work. David Quang Pham gained recognition for Turnover: A New Leaf, his award-winning musical about a cilantro who runs a salon to earn her green card, raise her son Parsley, and survive his adventurous pear friend Pyrus and pet bee Bombus. He is the creator of its animated series adaptation, Photosynthesis. The inspiration came from his mother’s herb garden, pear trees, and her love of photography. It was developed through Sundance Collab with Kimberly Barrante. He also received accolades for Ellipses, his space musical featuring Singularity, their six kids including Milky Way, and dog named Gravity. It has been readapted into the feature screenplay, The Galaxy Family. He also staged Chemicals in the Water and wrote The Living Fossils and Seasoning. He is creating Banh MI, a musical comedy-drama series exploring the experiences of a Vietnamese family in Michigan. His career also includes scoring the feature documentary Ghost Light, producing music videos under Flavor Pictures, and playing trombone, zithers, and bamboo flutes in Queer Big Apple Corps, Mekong NYC, and Severance on Apple TV. Be up to lightspeed at sciencetheatre.us and @sciencetheatre.
