Behind the Show

Behind the Show: Meet the Playwright

Sylvia Johnson

Sylvia Johnson was born and raised in the Metropolitan Detroit Area. At the age of 9, she began writing songs as a form of expression of her young life.  As she grew, so did her love and passion for writing, as well as her passion for helping others.

Sylvia received  her Master's Degree from Wayne State University in Social Work and is currently working on her PHD in Social Work with a specialization in trauma and crisis intervention at Walden University.  She owns Michigan Center for Traumatic Stress, an outpatient mental health clinic that specializes in trauma, in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. Sylvia had become extremely aware of the stigmas surrounding mental health and wanted to do something to destigmatize it in a way that would be both entertaining and informative. In 2019, she decided to combine her two passions, and after only 3 short months, the first draft of Insalia, A musical, was completed.

Sylvia hopes you come along on the journey as we “welcome you in” to Insalia!

Behind the Show: Meet the Composer

Jamee Perryman

Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Jamee Perryman has been involved in musical theater since she was a child.  Her passion is bringing music to life on stage, whether as a performer, teacher, director or composer.  Her love of music started young,. taking piano and voice lessons at the age of 3.  Growing up, Jamee began performing in musical theater and instantly gained a new devotion to the art.  Since then, she has performed in over 100 shows all over metro Detroit.

Jamee began her higher education at Wayne State University, earning a bachelor's degree in Music Education.  She then went on to a master's program from Grand Valley State University, graduating in 2019.  After graduating from WSU, Jamee began her teaching career.  She has been a choir director for over ten years, and continues to music direct both youth and adult programs. While not as often, Jamee has also directed shows for multiple public school districts.

Jamee began working on Insalia years ago after her sister, Sylvia, approached her about it.  Sylvia had already built such incredible bones to this story, and Jamee couldn't pass up the opportunity to help mold these songs into works of art that deserve to be heard.  It was a huge bonus that she was able to do this with her sister.   Jamee cannot wait for the world to experience Insalia, and to hopefully help break the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Behind the Show: Meet the Arranger

Kyle Laporte

Kyle Laporte is a Los Angeles area based composer specializing in film, games and other
media. His passion is collaborating with other artists and creators to assist in designing a unique
sound for every project. Kyle grew an affinity for film music at an early age which progressed
into an obsession over musical instruments and found sounds. Since then he has become a
talented multi-instrumentalist. His dexterity in over a dozen different instruments lends to Kyle's
evocative approach to his music which incorporates more than a decade of classical musical training with innovative techniques infused into his scores for picture.
Kyle began his compositional studies at Bowling Green State university earning a bachelor’s in
music composition. Kyle also holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California
where he studied with some of the industry's leading film and game composers while attending
the Scoring For The Screen program. After studying film scoring at USC he went on to
collaborate on music for indie films and games and has contributed to a variety of projects within
Hollywood music departments including: What If...? (Marvel Studios), Love-Craft Country (hbo)
Why We Hate (Discovery), Set It Up (Netflix), LA’s Finest (Spectrum). During his time as an
assistant Kyle was a participant in the 2018 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop where he
conducted and recorded with a Hollywood studio 65 piece orchestra at the world famous Fox
scoring stage. Kyle was honored with the ascap foundation’s Michelle and Dean Kay award for
his work.
Kyle's scores have stretched over many forms of media including the concert stage, films, video
games, youtube series and contemporary dance. He currently lives in Playa Del Rey California
where he continues to write music for media as well as several commissioned concert works.