JOSEPH REESE ANDERSON, poet and librettist, creates projects around the globe using poetic language to advance awareness, tolerance, and empathy through work that balances beauty and accessibility. Recent works include Fatty Fatty No Friends (FringeNYC Excellence Award; Innovative Theater Award nomination; NYMF Best of Fest; Time Out New York Critic’s Pick), Whiskey Pants: The Mayor of Williamsburg (Audience Favorite at FRIGID New York; ShowScore Critic’s Pick; Off-Broadway premiere at HERE), Cadence: Home, Orgullo! and Red Sky the Musical. His work has been presented at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Broadway’s 54 Below, HERE Arts Center, The Stonewall Inn, and La MaMa E.T.C. An advocate and activist, he served as Outreach Coordinator at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital and founded Social Socials, a microfinancing initiative benefiting communities locally and abroad. He currently serves as a panelist for commissioning grants at OPERA America and is being commissioned by Maryland Opera Studio, Mercury Store and Roosevelt University to create new hybrid works. He is the founder of Capital Moments in Raleigh, NC, an artist collective supporting new work development.