Author Profile:  Matt Bond

Dave Barton and Matt Bond have over 100 years of theatrical experience between them.

Barton wrote his first piece of music at age six:  To A Rose (his first grade teacher changed the title to Airplanes Fly because the class was studying Airports).  It was at that moment that Barton established a method of dealing with Editors ...  he cried for an hour.

Bond made his stage debut at the age of one year, dressed in a gold lamé diaper.  His performance as Dan Cupid is still talked about in certain circles.

Over the years, both Barton and Bond established reputations as fine actors and directors.  Barton continued to compose; Bond made a name for himself as a stage designer.

In 1975, the City of Long Beach, California asked the duo to adapt Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer for the musical stage.  The show was so successful it was taken on a full-scale tour of Southern California (and became the official centennial production of the State of Colorado).

Tom Sawyer–An American Legend with Music, has subsequently been produced in every state of the union and on nearly every continent.

Pioneer Drama Service carries not only Barton and Bond's acclaimed musical version of Tom Sawyer, but also their Adventures of Tom Sawyer (written specifically for those companies looking for a high-quality, non-musical retelling of the classic tale) and Paintin' the Fence, a simplified version of the musical, conceived for the talents and special needs of elementary and middle school production.

Other shows by Barton and Bond include the full-scale musical Androcles and the Lion; Witches, Britches, Rings 'N Things; and Earthlings!  The Environmental Musical which won special recognition from the nation's Environmental Protection Agency.