The Creative Team

Nikki Snider

Creator

Nikki Snider is a film and theatre creative with a deep love of musicals and a longtime admiration for the lyrical genius of Taylor Swift. With a professional background spanning acting, stunts, and visual effects, Nikki has worked across the screen arts with Born To Fly Entertainment on titles including The Walk, Everywhere But Here, The Curtain, Junk! The Musical, and The Music of Junk.

Long Story Short is a passion project, created from a desire to showcase Taylor Swift’s lyrics in a new light. Inspired by the emotional depth and versatility of her songwriting, Nikki set out to reimagine these beloved songs in unexpected narrative contexts. The musical explores the many forms of love—romantic, familial, and platonic—and highlights how Swift’s lyrics resonate across all types of relationships.

By placing beloved songs in new narrative contexts, Long Story Short invites audiences to experience Swift’s work with fresh eyes, while celebrating the universal emotions that make her music so powerful.

Learn more about Nikki and her work at nikkisnidervfx.com.

Paul Snider

Musical Director

Paul Snider is a producer / musician / actor. A graduate in 1985 with an Honours Major in both Music and Computer Science from the University of Waterloo, he worked in computer software while pursuing acting and musical theatre. In the late 1990’s he went on to become a partner in a software company startup, which he helped grow to over $100m in revenue as the lead software architect, the company becoming one of the fastest growing technology companies in BC, garnering him “Business In Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40”. In 2009 he departed the software industry completely to work fulltime on his entertainment projects. He started Born To Fly Entertainment with a mission to create theatre, music and film projects. To date the company has produced multiple musicals and films, including the musicals Orchestra of Sound, The Music of Junk, Junk! The Musical, The Curtain and the short films The Castle, Solo Duet: Who’s On First, Solo Duet, The Walk and the feature film Everywhere But Here, the last two films available on Amazon Prime in the USA and the UK. His films have appeared in film festivals throughout the world. As a working actor Paul has appeared in over 85 film, TV and theatre projects.

Born To Fly Entertainment

Producer

Born To Fly Entertainment is Paul and Nikki's Vancouver-based small entertainment production company. It was created in 2009 with a mission to create and produce personal theatre, film and music projects.

The following are projects that Born To Fly Entertainment has produced over the years.

Learn more about Born To Fly Entertainment at borntofly.ca.

Orchestra of Sound

Musical

Orchestra of Sound is a live concert experience with a solo performer performing original instrumental music on instruments built from recycled junk, against a background projection of a multitude of sounds from the world around us. Magically, all sounds combine to create a wonderful harmonious orchestra. Orchestra of Sound made its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 to rave reviews.

The Music of Junk

Musical

The Music of Junk is a fun, energetic, musical adventure performed on original instruments built from recycled junk. Stories of the junkyard unfold through a wheel barrow bass, a garbage can cello, hub caps, PVC tubing, a harp made from a bed frame, a drum built from an automobile, all sorts of percussive instruments and much more junk, all adding to the originality of this orchestra of the imagination. This show toured large theatres of BC, Canada between 2015 and 2019.

Junk! The Musical

Musical

Junk! The Musical is a high-energy musical with all music performed on instruments created from junk and recycled materials. It premiered at The Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2014 at The Firehall Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada

The Curtain

Musical

The Curtain is a new, sung-through musical by Paul Snider. It is a love story between Angelika, an East German woman living behind the Iron Curtain, and Josh, an American man, set against the tumultuous backdrop of East Berlin during the fall of the Berlin Wall in November, 1989. Born To Fly Entertainment produced a full cast double CD album of the musical.

The Castle

Short Film

Immerse yourself in the eerie tale of a famous musician who ventures into an old vacant castle in Germany to record his new album. Witness his chilling encounter with the unexpected as he documents his adventure using his phone camera to share with fans. This captivating journey unfolds in a short horror film created from found footage. Experience a perfect blend of fear and music at The Castle

Solo Duet: Who's On First

Short Film

Solo Duet: Who's On First is an homage to Abbott and Costello's famous classic comedy sketch "Who's On First" with a twist ... one actor plays both parts in the same scene! The split-second timing is stunning.

Solo Duet

Short Film

Solo Duet is a short film where a single actor plays two brothers trying to perform a piano duet, with hilarious results!

The Walk

Short Film

In the short film The Walk, a man wakes up in the middle of a vast wasteland, battered and hurt, with no memory of what had happened or how he got there. Through his journey to find help, items for survival begin to appear with haunting coincidence, leading to a shocking discovery. This film was inspired by factual events. Available on Amazon Prime in the USA and the UK.

Everywhere But Here

Feature Film

Everywhere But Here is a comedy adventure about a man, Jeff, who doesn’t like children, and through an unfortunate accident, becomes stranded on an island with two kids. Through their 3 days of survival, Jeff learns to love someone other than himself. Available on Amazon Prime in the USA and the UK.

The Letter

Music Album

The Letter is a studio album of original folk rock songs written and performed by Paul Snider

Better Than Me

Music Video

Music video of the original song Better Than Me by Paul Snider from his studio album The Letter