WORKING THEORY performs original music written by lyricist, composer and musician Mark Baughman. The music played by the band is characterized by well-crafted, tight lyrics addressing contemporary personal and social issues, and whose sound falls broadly into the rock music genre. Mark belongs to a tradition of artists such as The Who, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Rush, Neal Young, Joni Mitchell and Suzanne Vega. Mark distinguishes his music by moving effortlessly between genres to deliver the ideas more effectively.
Baughman’s story-telling-through music talents took a new direction with the formation of WORKING THEORY in 2015 to produce and perform his first rock opera, 99: A Rock Opera. It tells a modern love story with the backdrop of political activism, where it seems that every issue in contemporary life is a call to take sides. In July 2017 Mark’s second rock opera, Release, was produced as part of the DC Fringe Theater Festival. Release – A Rock Opera tells the story of Amy – an African American medical corps veteran suffering from PTSD, Thom – a son of privilege who made a stupid mistake and ruined his life, and Patrick – a teenager trapped in his autistic world. All three live their own forms of an alienated lives and find each other in a Wyoming mental clinic where they discover that they may be able to help each other get back into the bigger world. In 2019 Mark produced his third rock opera/musical – Energie – the story of three theoretical physicists's discoveries