About Shane
Shane Dittmar (they/them) is a blind composer, writer, music director, orchestrator, and conductor based in New York City. Their work spans musical theater, choral music, screen, and new media, with a focus on emotionally grounded storytelling, sharp humor, and centering voices that are often pushed to the margins.
As a writer, Shane is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Songwriting Workshop and the winner of the 2023 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Play Festival for The Velociraptor’s Very Good Day, co-written with Sair Kaufman and published by Concord Theatricals. They have also participated in the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project at Northwestern University and Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, were a finalist in the 2022 Write Out Loud contest, and presented an original short musical film (“Like Usual”) as part of the 2021 Roundabout Theatre Reverb Festival. Shane’s award-winning choral music has been performed by school, community, and professional choirs on three continents.
Their passion for storytelling and performance extends far beyond their own writing. They served as the music director and orchestrator for Show Me Eternity, a new musical by Sam Caps & Annie Dillon that explores the queer history of Emily Dickinson, for its 2023 workshop production at CultureLab LIC and a 2024 developmental reading with AMAS Musical Theatre. Shane also orchestrated Where We Are, an original song cycle presented at Joe’s Pub and created by Rae Covey, and numerous other productions across NYC. Additional music directing credits span both regional theater and concert work and include Bat Boy (twice), Rent, and Public Works’ The Tempest, as well as cabarets and concerts at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, and the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and they conduct both the ActionPlay Voices and NYCP Playlist choirs.
They are currently developing a half-hour workplace comedy set at a camp for disabled youth, a short film about un-learning from your mistakes, and a play about the perfect way to handle relationship trouble.
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Shane now lives in Washington Heights with their guide dog, Chevelle, who has accompanied them to hundreds of rehearsal rooms and more Broadway theaters than most people will ever see.