Jaz and Nikki are a talented sister act striving to break into the LA music scene in the summer of 2002. Jaz craves stardom, no matter the cost.
But Nikki insists that creative control comes first, even if that means no one hears their music. When Jaz lands on a ridiculous TV talent
show, this conflict threatens to tear them apart.
Punctuated by early-aughts nostalgia and cameos from the likes of Lance Armstrong and Bernie
Madoff, Star Machine chronicles the triumphs and rock-bottoms of young performers navigating the roller coaster of show business. The show is a reflection on ambition that poses a universal question for all creatives: how do you strike a balance between commercial success and art?
THIS IS STAR MACHINE!
THIS IS STAR MACHINE!
GOTTA LOVE THE GRIND
GOTTA LOVE THE GRIND
OUT NOW!
OUT NOW!
Red lights - single
(fEAT. AVERY FAHEY & STAR MACHINE CAST)
Red lights - single
(fEAT. AVERY FAHEY & STAR MACHINE CAST)
THE FAMILY TEAM
(from left to right)
THE FAMILY TEAM
(from left to right)
Gideon, John, Hollee and Hank Temple are a family of creatives who work together on storytelling projects
across genres. They began working on Star Machine in 2019. The musical comedy was a semi-finalist for the
2021 O’Neill National Music Theater Conference and received a staged concert at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory
in the spring of 2024. Star Machine was a 2024 finalist for Northwestern’s American Music Theatre Project.
Gideon Temple (Music & Lyrics), is a composer, music director and award-winning filmmaker.
He’s a senior studying music theater music direction at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory
of Music. His first musical comedy, You’re the Worst, debuted at Pittsburgh Musical Theater
in May 2021. He is on the creative team at Goodspeed Musicals as the Music Assistant to
Resident Music Director Adam Souza.
John Temple (Book) is a nonfiction author, journalist, screenwriting professor, and most
recently, a staff writer on the Showtime drama TV series Waco: The Aftermath. His
award-winning nonfiction books illuminate critical events in recent American history,
from the rise and fall of the nation’s largest pill mill to a ranching family’s notorious armed
standoffs with the federal government. He has written for the Washington Post, Daily Beast,
HuffPo, and other major media outlets. He is currently a professor at the University of Hawai’i.
Hollee Temple (Book) is a producer, law professor, nonfiction author, and Broadway enthusiast.
HarperCollins recently released a 10th anniversary edition of her book on work/life balance and
modern motherhood, Good Enough Is the New Perfect. Fun fact: Hollee made her professional debut
alongside Billy Porter in a 1991 production of Dreamgirls. A graduate of Northwestern University’s
Medill School of Journalism and Duke Law School, Hollee is a professor at the University of Hawai’i.
She is a producer of the feature film Beat Down, which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in 2024.
Hank Temple (Music & Lyrics), is a junior music composition major at Baldwin Wallace. His band,
Temple Brothers, has released music on all streaming platforms. Gideon and Hank study songwriting with
Scott Simons (America’s Got Talent, The X Factor) and composition with Dr. Clint Needham. They also
have studied composing for musical theater with Andrew Lippa, Bill Russell, and Michael Kooman
& Chris Dimond. Hank recently served as the directing/writing apprentice at Theatre Aspen, where
he performed in multiple shows and made his professional pit debut playing mandolin in Come From Away.
