Nikos Tsakalakos is a composer-lyricist whose credits include Fall Springs: A Musical Disaster (Workshop, New Dramatist, New York, 2012; Reading Ars Nova, New York, 2012), Pool Boy (New York Premier at NYU Steinhardt, 2012; World Premier Barrington Stage Company [BSC], 2010), Litter (American Conservatory Theatre, 2011), Duck for President and Other Stories (TheatreworksUSA, 2010–2011), Driving West (Ars Nova, 2012), Songs of a Night Owl (Ars Nova, 2009; BSC, 2008), and Late Nite with Niko (BSC, 2007). His original scores include Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser (Alliance Films, 2007). His songs have been heard at New York venues such as Joe’s Pub, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Birdland. In Los Angeles, his band Saint Friday performed at venues such as The Viper Room, The Roxy and The Troubadour. He is a two-time recipient of UCLA Barry Manilow Scholarship, sponsored by Barry Manilow and Concord Records, for “excellence in the art and craft of lyric writing.” He is also an inaugural artists of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (2011) and recipient of the NAMT Writers Grant (2012). Residency through Ars Nova at the Vineyard Arts Project, Martha’s Vineyard. B.A. in English Literature from Rutgers University. M.F.A. in musical theater writing from New York University in 2008 under the mentorship of Tony Award winning composer/lyricist William Finn.