Monday, December 24, 2012

2012 Music Projects – looking back

2012 was a great year for musical projects, having crossed off some shows from my “bucket list.”

The year started with ANNIE at Main Street Theater, in Sayreville. Admittedly, this show grew on me as I was working on it. It’s a rather sweet show; and it does have some depth of feeling. The music was fun to teach and to play. A fun part of it was being able to work with my wife and son. She played the role of Grace; and he was the stage manager.

Then I moved on to GYPSY, which had been in the works for nearly a year. Performed at Playhouse22 in East Brunswick; and I worked with a director for the first time who had a very clear vision and was a master collaborator. This was a complete joy to work on … the music being so iconic at times – there are songs that everybody seems to know. The orchestra we assembled was phenomenal … after nearly every performance folks would come up to me to compliment the orchestra and its sound.

While performing GYPSY, I helped a friend with a fund raising event at Villagers Theater in Somerset. This project included songs from shows that I had not done (and likely won’t do) as well as an opportunity to work with actors that I had only seen. The talent collected for this event was phenomenal. And it was during rehearsals for this special event that I met someone who would become a good friend and who would offer me the opportunity to music direct one of my favorite shows (more on that later).

The Summer saw my return to the Young Adult Drama Group (YADG), which is sponsored by the North Brunswick Township Department of Parks and Recreation. This is something that I look forward to each year – getting to work with young people ranging in ages from 13 to 23. I’ve known many of them over the course of these four short years, and they all are wonderfully talented young people. This year’s production was FOOTLOOSE. … … not my favorite of musicals, yet it does have its moments, and the young people thoroughly enjoyed it.

As soon as the Summer project with YADG was completed I moved on to SWEET CHARITY – also at Main Street Theater. I remember seeing the Broadway revival with Debbie Allen; and I fell in love with the music then. Here was my chance to really dig into this great score. In spite of challenges during rehearsals – such as having several actors drop out and others having some health issues – this was a total blast to do. WOW! What a score! (Got to work with my son yet again, as he served as stage manager)

At various times in the first half of the year I was fortunate to be called by TWO RIVER THEATER, in Red Bank. I accompanied Tony Award winning actor, Chuck Cooper, for a special event there; and played for their Equity auditions as well. I hope that I get to return again and again and again in the following years.

SWEET CHARITY was coming to an end and that’s when I started work on INTO THE WOODS. How I got this gig was fortunate indeed. It came about from the fund raising event I did earlier in the year … having met someone who would become a dear friend of mine, JC. He asked me if I was interested. HELLZ YEAH! This was a remarkably rewarding experience all the way ‘round for me. It marked my return to Villagers Theater in Somerset; and I got to work with some of the most talented actors I’ve ever known. (I know that many other say, “Oh this is such a talented group” and such; however, in this particular case – it is DAMNED TRUE! The company of actors I worked with on this show were nothing less than astounding). And to top it off, it was a ‘family affair’ as well … with my wife playing the part of Jack’s Mother, and my son working on the stage crew.

I ended the year not as a musician or music director, but as an actor … reprising the role of Jacob Marley in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Playhouse22. This was their 16th year of doing this play – and it marked my fourth year with it. Another blessing in this production was being able to share the stage with my son, who reprised his role of Peter Cratchet.

So 2012 was a great year – full of great projects … making new friendships … being part of some real magic on stage here in NJ. And I’m already working on 2013, preparing for my next project which is yet another Sondheim musical.

I am blessed  indeed to have had all these opportunities and all these great theater friends.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

No hummable tunes? … really? … Disagree for two reasons

Got into a discussion the other day about musical theater – talking about the current state of musicals … whether or not I like them and why. Suffice to say I am quite a fan of Stephen Sondheim’s shows and am not a big fan of much that’s been popular in recent years.

The other person mentioned that among the reasons why he likes the recently produced shows (such as ‘Spring Awakening’ and ‘Next to Normal’) is that they are “edgy” and have great songs.
I couldn’t disagree more.

Then the person commented that Sondheim’s music doesn’t have any “hummable” tunes.
And I disagreed even more vehemently. Two reasons …

First of all, there are PLENTY of hummable tunes in any Sondheim show. Take the project I’m currently working on – Into the Woods … “No More,” “No One Is Alone,” “Giants in the Sky,” “Agony” – all of these are hummable. And I could list song after song in just about every Sondheim show that is ‘hummable,’ so I disagree with this statement on its face.

My second response was a sort of, “So what?” Even if there were no hummable tunes (which is false), so what? Not every song in a Rogers & Hammerstein show is hummable. Take “Soliloquy” in Carousel, for instance. No one would dare say that is a hummable tune … but it is the right song for that moment in that show.

Even shows from the “golden age of Broadway” have rather non-melodic, or un-hummable songs. I don’t think folks would come out humming “Steam Heat” from The Pajama Game. I could go on – but you get the point.

YET - Since when was “hummability” (okay, I made that word up) a measure of excellence for a song in musical theater? And if being able to hum along with a song is its mark of excellence, then go ahead – hum “Super Boy and the Invisible Girl” … can’t really do it. Even if you could, that is one BORING AS HELL SONG!

It’s not whether or not you can hum a song. It’s whether or not that song accomplishes what it needs to accomplish in the moment of the show. Does it advance the story? Does it reveal the character more deeply? Does it allow the character to examine what’s happening? Does it shed light on how the character thinks?

Monday, October 15, 2012

The five notes

Last month I shared some thoughts on a piece of music from Into the Woods, by Stephen Sondheim. Still working on this show … and am finding all sorts of musical treasures. Case in point – the “five notes.”

There are five notes that appear throughout the score in various forms and I believe for various purposes / reasons. These are also probably the five most important notes in the entire show! The first time we hear these notes, they are played by the violin as the Witch makes her entrance at the beginning of Act 1. These five notes are a part of the music used as the Witch is recounting the tale of her garden (an event that happened before the show actually starts).

They signify five beans … beans being very important to the story. Ya know – Jack, beanstalk, and all that. Now these five notes appear several times throughout the score.

First time spells disaster

This first appearance is the violin playing them above a very dissonant series of chords in the rest of the orchestra (minor seconds galore!). So the musical impression is one of these beans as part of the problem; they are perhaps even a cause of the problem; and they are immediately associated with disharmony, broken promises, and even some bit of tragedy.

Underpinning a soliloquy

At a later point in the show, the character of the Baker has a brief soliloquy as he contemplates whether or not to take Little Red Riding Hood’s cape. She’s made it clear that she is very partial to her cape, and the Baker is considering the implications of stealing it from her.


The accompaniment in the orchestra is a variation of the five notes. The top note of each chord are the same interval. (Go ahead and play them on the piano to hear what I mean … I’ll wait). When we first learn about the beans from the Witch she tells us that many of the problems started when they were first stolen some 17 years before. And now the Baker is contemplating whether or not to steal a cape. He believes that he is justified because his reason for having the cape outweighs Little Red’s reason … hers is more that it is a comfort because it was something her mother made just for her; but the Baker needs this cape as one of the objects that will help to lift a curse from him and his wife.

Theft is the main consideration here … And so, as the Baker is weighing the opportunity and implication of just taking the cape from Red, as he sings the five notes underpin his soliloquy.

We all know what happens next …

The beans, of course, figure prominently in the story of Jack (you know – of “Jack and the beanstalk” fame). The Baker and his wife have to gather several objects – a cape as red as blood is one and another is a cow as white as milk. And who should have such a cow? Why, Jack of course! The Baker and his wife convince Jack that these five beans (which they found in the Baker’s father’s jacket pocket by the way) are magic and extremely valuable. Jack agrees to the trade. The Baker gives Jack the beans one at a time … with the xylophone accompanying the transaction:

Well, we all know what happens next in the fairy tale story … Jack’s beans grow into a giant beanstalk and he encounters a, well, giant.

Yet here again we have these five notes. They are prominent at this point in the music because the characters are referencing the beans themselves onstage. The notes are unadorned … they are the beans themselves. And since, we’ve already heard their theme in the music at other times, and each time is dissonant, we get a sense that things aren’t going to go very well with these characters.

Sure enough … the rest of the show deals with the impacts of the choices made and the repercussions of the actions each character takes. The five beans play a pivotal role in all of this – even as the characters don’t yet realize how their decisions are intertwined and that they do indeed affect others along the way.

A resolution is near

Later in the second act, four main characters are confronting the possibility of having to work together to solve a problem – a “giant” of a problem in the form of an actual giant. Of course they are scared, both at the task at hand and at the prospect of what this task is truly asking of them. As the song, “No One Is Alone,” is sung we hear those five notes in the flute – again floating on top of the rest of the orchestra …

But this time the orchestra is completely consonant – not a single note of dissonance. It’s as though the beans are part of something beautiful rather than something terrifying. There is reassurance as we hear the five notes. And then …

Their curse is reversed

Within the same song, “No One Is Alone,” we hear the five notes … but they are inverted now (“people make mistakes”).

The beans’ effect has been reversed. When once their effect was to tear people apart, to facilitate people lying to each other, whereby everyone acts in their own selfish interest … now people have come together; they are being honest with one another; and they are figuring out how to work together, as a community, to tackle and solve their problems and to support each other.

Friday, September 07, 2012

So much for civility and respect … one of the dumbest Facebook replies

So a friend posted her thoughts regarding the current political environment, and she mentioned her assessment of how she approaches her religious beliefs with respect to politics and the government overall, and emphasized the ‘separation of church and state.’

And there were quite a few responses – all of them were respectful and civil. In fact, my friend mentioned how pleased (and a bit surprised) everyone was being polite even when there was a disagreement.

But then this reply comes into the fray. 

As far as I’m concerned this is 1) typical of someone who espouses a “new atheism” or who adheres to the “I’m spiritual but not religious” notion; 2) offered by persons who really have nothing to add to a conversation other than a kind of “I’m so much more enlightened than you folks;” 3) used more often then not as a way to shut down civil conversation by caricaturing those who may disagree.

Now I don’t know whether this person is an atheist – but this is something that is said by atheists all too frequently. Regardless of this person’s motivation in posting this … it has got to be one of the dumbest comments I’ve seen in awhile. I mean seriously stupid!

At no point had anyone in this conversation even remotely suggested that there be an American theocracy. And frankly, not one candidate for any political office has suggested this either. A theocracy is a government actually ruled by a religious authority. Even if a political candidate speaks about his or her faith and even if that same candidate states that his/her faith influences how she/he judges situations and engages in the public square … that is not a theocratic viewpoint. But let’s not let critical thinking or common sense or simple decency cloud our thinking.

And to suggest that a belief in God is equivalent to being foolish, possessing uncritical thinking, being obscene and immoral (the opposite of decent), and being filled with hatred or cruelty (as opposed to compassion) is baseless and plain ol’ dumb. That people throughout history have acted this way … that people will more than likely continue to act this way at various points in history … that these same people may also profess to be religious … SO WHAT?!?

New flash: people don’t always behave. But that does not mean that an inherent belief in God is the source of this bad and sinful behavior.

Even if people were to justify their decisions and actions based on a particular religious tenet, and let’s just say that these actions are horrible and to be despised … this does not impute the same to every single believer as being mean, hate filled, stupid, and indecent.

I would say this same thing regardless of a person believing in God or if a person were an atheist. There are stupid, mean, obscene, sinful people on all sides. This doesn’t necessarily mean that their particular belief system is riddled with stupid, mean, obscene, hate-filled, murderous tenets.

=== NOTE ===

I considered whether or not to pixelate or mask the person’s name from their comments when I placed it as an image in this post. The person chose to go public with this comment on a very public forum and therefore, a public comment can be and should be attributable. Therefore I’ve left the name in tact.

=== NOTE #2 ===

Just a reminder … this is my blog and I do welcome comments. However, I do not welcome nasty, unsubstantiated, personal attacks no matter how witty one may think those to be. My general rule is that if you conduct yourself in the same way as you would do if you were sitting in my living room, showing the respect that comes from being a guest/visitor, then you’re probably just fine. Anyone who doesn’t play by my rules will be deleted. 

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Why I do it – theater and young people

OOPs! I never published this blog post … it’s about a month late. Even though I’m remiss in its posting until now, the sentiment and thoughts are still and always pertinent. So I give you without further adieu …


This weekend wraps up the performances of “Footloose” the musical with an organization – the Young Adult Drama Group (YADG). This year marks my fourth project with them. As the show ended last night I was speaking with one of the parents of a cast member. He was, of course, appreciative – and he also said, “This is something really great for the community as well as the kids. It’s a great way for them to spend their Summer.”

And that comment got me to reflect on why – really why – I do this and will continue to do this program each year (as long as they will have me back).

It is indeed a community – a communal experience. And by that experience we are all enriched. This is important (more than one might think) because we in the Western, developed world have an unhealthy attachment to “self,” and we tend to elevate “rugged individualism” to an extreme. We’ve lost the sense of community and the communal experience, where we innately know and believe that we are “all in this thing together.” Theater breaks the false myth of rugged individualism because one cannot succeed except for participation in and with the group of actors, techs, musicians, etc.

Let’s face it – we are seldom, if ever, acting alone in this thing called life and living … our actions have an impact on others, even if we are unaware of those consequences. Our decisions and our actions are by their very nature communal in that they are influenced by and, in turn, influence those around us. We learn this first from our own family. Then we experience a larger and larger community as we attend school, start a family of our own, get a job, etc. Every decision and action will have and does have an impact on someone somewhere in the community around me. Theater teaches us this very simple, yet all-too-often ignored, truth. It’s not didactic … but rather experiential. The young people see how their decisions and actions impact others around them. And given that we are all working toward the same goal – that of an entertaining performance – we work toward what is good for the community as a whole.

It’s like a saying attributed to Bertolt Brecht:

“Art is not a mirror, but a hammer. It does not reflect; it shapes.”

These young people are experiencing how to act within the context of a community – a community that they are choosing to create.

I’ve also seen these young people grow up and grow into confident young men and women. Even among the shy kids, over the years I have witnessed them gain confidence … they realize that they are indeed capable people; and when one works hard and is supported by others in their work, one succeeds. They also learn that taking risks is a necessary part of life … that one cannot just hide in an attempt to go unnoticed. Some of these same “shy kids” stepped up this year and auditioned for a leading role in the show. Just the act of auditioning was their accepting the need to take a risk. And nearly every one of them did get cast in a role … the risk paid off!

Lastly, it’s just plain old fashioned fun! We all have a good time working in rehearsals and then performing for an audience. It’s just a blast.

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Why I love Sondheim’s music

I just started to work on an upcoming production of Into the Woods … and once again I am enthralled with how Stephen Sondheim masterfully puts his music together. Case in point ….

Act two starts with a very lovely, open-sounding melody. The actors are really singing in 3/4 phrasing, which is a waltz.


Characters’ phrases are 3-beat groupings

It’s a slow waltz, which makes it elegant, regal, lilting, and romantic (rather than “dancing” such as in a Strauss waltz which is a bit more fun, capricious, and intoxicating) … This makes total sense in that it begins with Cinderella and her prince, who are the royal family of the show. So, it should be elegant and regal.

The romance of this melody and the slower 3/4 phrasing has two meanings:

  • the romance of the royalty and of the characters’ love
  • the romance of a fairy tale – which is how act 1 ended – in a “happily ever after”

3/4 time being a waltz … the emphasis is on the first beat: ONE – two – three; ONE-two-three; ONE-two-three … and so on. The stressed first beat gives a foundation to the phrase; and we expect this type of stress … go ahead – say it to yourself, “ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three.”

So the characters’ phrases feel solid, steady, expected … almost stately … and certainly romantic.

It would seem that all is just dandy.

But one of the themes of this show is that of being careful what you wish for, because if and when you get your wish you may not like the real results. The honeymoon feeling wears off rather quickly for the characters … the romance changes into the more hum-drum, work-a-day life. It ain’t all a fairytale. There’s something not-quite-right in the land of Cinderella and her Prince and with the other characters.

And Sondheim conveys this not-quite-right feeling by manipulating the stresses in the phrasing. Whereas the actors are singing in a 3/4 rhythm – with two groups of three in each measure, the orchestra is playing in groupings of four plus two … one-two-three-four one-two; one-two-three-four one-two


Orchestra playing 6/4 in grouped patterns of four plus 2

And unlike a strict waltz, this grouping of four-plus-two doesn’t have a predictable stress in any of the beats. The stress that would have been felt by the characters’ melody is nearly gone when it is coupled with the orchestra’s phrasing.

By juxtaposing these patterns with each other, Sondheim takes a solid, predictable romantic feeling and makes it into a ‘not-quite-a-waltz.’ It’s not quite what we’d expect … it’s not quite the happily ever after … it’s not quite everything that we dreamed it would be …

He could have (and I would imagine that lesser creative composers would do this) used harmonies or dissonance in the orchestra to foreshadow some kind of brewing trouble. But he didn’t. Here the characters have a lovely little melody and the orchestra is playing a lovely sounding part. So it’s not so much a foreshadowing of something but a sense of being unsettled – of it not being entirely perfect as we had imagined it to be.

And this is why this moment in the show is so satisfying to the audience. They’d never analyze the music nor even consciously think about the rhythmic structure. But the audience would feel as though there’s something not quite right … that the luster of having attained their wish is just beginning to feel ever-so-slightly tarnished.

One more reason that I love Sondheim’s music.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Comcast came through

I have to say that once the issue became publicized via this blog (see here, and here, and here) and Twitter, Comcast took many steps to resolve our problem. In short, they promised to fix the problem and they did. They followed through and they followed up.

And as I mentioned in a previous post, I am very willing to thank and acknowledge a company that does indeed follow through.

So – Thanks, Comcast.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

Comcast is responsive

Well, the solution to our problem seems very close at hand.

I have to admit now that those representatives from Comcast / Xfinity with whom I and my wife have dealt with since my original post have been very helpful. I received a comment on this blog, which of course goes to my email … and then received a few direct emails from them asking for specifics and offering a promise to help.

And help they have been. … We’re near a solution – hoping that the service call tomorrow will bring it all to a close – unless something disastrous happens.
There were a few curious parts to this trying experience:
  • Each time we called, it seemed that the Comcast representative on the phone didn’t document their suggestion nor the results of the suggestion. I have to think that if they had a running log of the calls made, the solutions offered AND that these solutions didn’t work those representatives could have (should have) escalated the issue to those who could solve the problem.
  • I understand the need for any company to be consistent in how it addresses customer issues – thus the typical “check list” or script they’ll use when asking questions and such. Yet, it had to have become obvious at some point (because it sure was obvious to us!) that this basic, bare-boned, consistent approach wasn’t getting anywhere. Why wasn’t there a way for them to take the initiative and move away from the pre-determined script to truly address the problem. (After all, we were just asking for regular service and nothing out of the ordinary)
  • It took my post and my broadcasting them on this blog and in Google Circles to get any real response. And that response quickly moved up the chain to their corporate HQ. Why should it have taken these more extraordinary measures to get results? Again, I think that there is a break in their CRM system or process or that their employees are not competent in customer assistance.
  • Follow up was greatly lacking. And this only exacerbated the feeling of being abandoned by Comcast. What would it have taken to make a quick follow up phone call? or perhaps an email message? If this is standard practice, then it wasn’t followed. If it is not standard practice, then it should be.
These are curious, indeed. And inasmuch as it took this long … the folks we are dealing with are doing everything they can to solve the problem and are being very communicative. For that, I am thankful.

So we are hopeful.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Perhaps some results are coming – Comcast working to resolve the problem

My recent post about the trials and tribulations with our Comcast cable service came to the attention of the folks there. They’ve scheduled a time to come resolve the problem – so I’m sure there will be another update on the situation posted in the very near future. (And for the record, I’m happy to applaud any company or organization that exceeds expectations – I’m not just a complaining ninny, thank you very much.)

I told my wife about the last post and how it sparked some folks into action. She smiled as though to say, “Well I guess you have to howl loudly to get any results.” Perhaps you do … hopefully you don’t have to go that far.

So, to continue …

I was contacted directly via email and then we received a call from someone who identified himself as a representative from the corporate office. In each of these situations they have been very willing to work with us to resolve the issue; and they have committed to follow up after the technician works on a solution.

Now, they’ll have to execute on their promises … and I look forward to that.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Did I ever say how much I dislike Comcast / Xfinity? Well I do!

To say that I’m not a fan of Comcast / Xfinity cable is a dramatic understatement. It seems they’ve not been able to do much of anything right … when things go wrong … from the initial installation all the way to our current 2-1/2 week long adventure with them.

This recent experience just takes the cake! Each time the same problem is explained to one of their representatives, we get dramatically different answers … either we 1) have a problem with the cable box, or 2) we’re just receiving a weak signal, or 3) the outside connections are loose, or 4) it’s an area-wide systems problem.

If you don’t know the source of the problem nor how to fix it immediately, then by all means admit to it. I’m much more accommodating when someone admits, “we’re not sure of the cause; we are working to resolve it … “

And then offer to contact me again to see if there’s a resolution to the problem.

But NO! That’s not how Comcast rolls. They’ll just make stuff up and never – never – ever follow up.

That doesn’t stop them from tooting their horn about how so absolutely great they are and how fantastic their service is … (click to embiggen)
comcast-twitter

Yeah, sure! Crap is the only response I can give. … but wait! Apparently they’re here to “make it right” – because that’s what they say they do.
comcast-twitter2

**deep breath** The crap is just astounding.

And their agents … those oh-so-UNhelpful folk whom one calls to report a problem and to get some kind of solution – they are either complete morons, or liars, or both.

The problem persists for 2-1/2 weeks; and I’m betting that it will continue for the foreseeable future … and not one agent has called us back to follow up with the problem or to see if it’s been resolved. Probably because each time we call, we get a different answer to the same problem.

Here’s what we’ve been told …
  • Wait 24 hours to see if it’s fixed.
  • We’re sending a signal to your box to resolve the issue.
  • Unplug the power chord, wait a minute, plug it back in, and THEN wait 24 hours.
  • We’re sending a technician over to look at it.
  • The technician determined the outside connections were either loose or frayed. They’ve been replaced.
  • Wait 48 hours.
  • You can always unplug the power and then plug it back in to reset the system.
  • It’s an area-wide, systems problem.
And no resolution in sight.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Ideas to pass along – how to help your accompanist at auditions

Subtitled: How to be like the pros (i.e., Actor’s Equity members) in a singing audition

 

My vantage point for the auditions
I had the opportunity to be the accompanist for a full day’s worth of local equity auditions at a theater nearby.

The deal was that the actors (Actor’s Equity members) were auditioning for the theater’s upcoming season … it was a general audition and not an audition for any particular show.

So, the actors could do two monologues and sing one song of their choosing.

Throughout the day I observed the actors and here’s what they ALL had in common … and I mean every single one of them did these, without exception.
I’m passing this along because I consider them to be GOOD PRACTICES.

Use simple, straightforward songs
You may love love love! JRB … but you have no idea how difficult some of his music is to sight read. And then add the pressure of having to play for YOUR audition where a decision will be made as to whether or not YOU get a job at this theater … well, don’t blame me if you’ve picked complex music.
At this equity audition, every song was from a known show … and I mean a WELL known show (Chicago, My Fair Lady, Godspell, The Most Happy Fella, Once On This Island, etc.) – shows that may even be considered ‘classics.’ There’s a good reason for that … they are straightforward and even show one’s voice off better than some of the rock/pop songs.
Stick to the simpler songs that will show off your talent. (And if you do give me some JRB or Sondheim then don’t glare at me or give me dirty looks … I have no qualms about stopping and letting you sing a capella. You want the job?!? Then work with me on this one)
Put it in a 3-ring binder
I have lost count of the number of actors who bring in their music … all separate sheets of paper. And inevitably when I’m playing the songs, these pieces of paper are out of order; or one or more of the papers fall off the piano ledge. What a nightmare!  Another problem is when an actor brings in the vocal selection or song selection book itself. These things are bound so tightly that it never stays open to the page I need. Invariably while I’m playing the song, one of the pages ever-so-slowly flips or it just doesn’t stay open to that page.
Please use a simple, three-ring binder! At this equity audition, the music was in a hard covered, 3-ring binder. This made sure that the pages laid flat and open on the piano – which, of course, made it easy for me to see. No separate, unmounted sheets … and no one brought in the original song selections book (you know the kind that you buy in the music store).
Use Non-glare protective sheets
Along with the 3-ring binders, each actor had their music in non glare, plastic protective sheets. This made is so much easier for me to turn the pages when needed while playing. I didn’t have to worry about ripping papers nor worry about pages that were already ripped … everything was nice and neat and easy for me to use.
And be sure to use the non-glare type …
Complete copies of each page
Oh … the number of times I’ve had someone come in with photocopies of the song, but the top of the page (or bottom or one side) was cut off due to poor placement on the copy machine … or perhaps the page needed to be resized.
But every actor at this equity audition had complete pages for each of their songs. I didn’t have to guess what my left hand was supposed to play because the bottom was cut off … I saw each and every note and lyric on each and every page.
Markings on the music are clear to me
You have a voice teacher … you practice the song at home … GREAT!
But I don’t need to see all the handwritten marks about how you’re to sing this phrase or where to take a breath or how to combine a vowel combination … and so on. That confuses me – because if I see something marked on the paper, I’m going to assume it’s something I need to know about in order to play the song.
All of the actors at this equity audition had clean copies … and the only markings were specific to how I was to play it. For example:
  • they would indicate where a tempo change was to occur – faster or slower
  • they marked where they wanted the music to slow down
  • they clearly marked “START” and “END” so I knew what in fact to play
Something else I noticed … for this audition, the actors were asked to prepare 32 bars. Quite a few of them had two copies of some songs – one copy was when they could sing 32 bars; the other copy was marked for 16 bars. I thought that was rather smart. They already figured out the best part(s) of the songs to use for their auditions … and they were prepared with a shorter version of each song.
The bottom line in all of this (and in my previous posts about auditioning for a musical) is that as the accompanist, I want to do my best for you … to play the song so that you can shine – so that you can show your talent – so that you have a good shot at the job/gig/role.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

I don’t think it means what you think it means

An open letter to my friends as you may want to comment on the Church’s recent report regarding women religious organizations and the LCWR

FAIR WARNING: Please read carefully before you comment. This post is my reflections on the Catholic Church with regard to the subject of individuals rushing to slam and skewer the report recently issued regarding the LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious). I welcome all differences of opinion; however, they must be made with courtesy and respect. All ad-hominem attacks and viciousness will be immediately deleted. And I am the arbiter of what constitutes an attack, anything vicious, or anything worthy of deletion. You have been warned.

Here it goes …

First piece of advice to all – read the darned documents themselves! … … okay, let me back up a bit. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) released its report, with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, regarding its findings. And who or what was the subject of this report?

In 2008 the CDF announced, at the invitation to the US Bishops, visited a number of women religious orders, homes, and leadership organizations among them. The primary group – because of its scope and size – was the LCWR, who are an organization comprised of nearly 80% of women religious orders in the US.

And why the visitations and ultimate report? Simple! There was a significant concern that the LCWR – particularly its leadership – was opposing Church doctrine. Such opposition seemed to be more and more public in that the leadership was issuing what seemed to be policy statements or position papers; and they broke from the US Bishops by opposing them.

Now I return to my initial admonishment to read the actual report, rather than rely on the slanting editorials or opinion pieces offered up by the Huffington Post, NY Times, NPR, Fox News, or any outlet. Look … These groups are not in the business of learning and understanding Church doctrine. It’s not their business model. And let’s face it – all the news organizations are a business. Their goal is to sell subscriptions, or to convince you to buy the right kind of soap, and the like.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen was reported to have said, “There are only a handful of people who hate the Church. But there are many many people who hate what they think is the Church.” … meaning that the screeds spewed from their mouths and pens and word processors are nearly always attacking a Church that is mythical, imaginary, and utterly non-existent rather than the real, honest-to-goodness, actual Church.

And so my admonishment continues to be: read the documents themselves.

We live in a sound-bite culture … and this is completely borne out by all the short witticisms that show up as Facebook status updates. Brevity is the mother of wit … and I can definitely say that there is a lot of wit shoveled onto Facebook these days. A lot of wit, but not much of understanding (and I’m finding a serious decline in respect, but that’s a subject for a different post) nor of a desire to seek understanding. I am sure that this is a matter of ignorance – that of just not knowing. I can believe there are people out there somewhere who knowingly spew falsehoods. But those who copy and paste articles, or quippy quotes, and the like are doing so out of just not knowing.

If content is king, context is queen

The bigger challenge in all of this is to learn the context of things. If you want to know both WHAT and WHY the Church teaches what she does, for example, on artificial contraception then one must read and study the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the various encyclicals that deal with this subject … most notably Humanae Vitae.  If you want to know and understand why the Church teaches that the sacramental priesthood is reserved only for men, then you must read the various documents pertaining to that subject.

The Church has been around since the time of the apostles. She’s had a lot of time to ponder God’s Revelation through Jesus. She’s spent a great deal of effort thinking, reflecting, and developing her doctrine in light of that Revelation. And the astounding thing is that she’s written nearly all of it down. And, furthermore, this stuff is available to the ordinary slobs like you and me. Not only is the Church unafraid of her teachings and the reasons why; the Church wants all of us to have access to them.

The key is that the Church’s teaching is actually a continuum … it’s a continuity from the Apostles to this very day. If you want to truly, really, honestly want to learn and understand Church’s teaching then you’ll have quite a bit of reading to do.

Yet, read you must! Go to the source directly rather than rely on ‘the gospel according to The Huffington Post, or New York Times, or CNN, or Fox News’ …

Now go out and read the documents.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Guys day

I live with one of those most interesting creatures known to human civilization: a teenager. With all of the trials and frustrations that are part of raising this young man to be a responsible, self-reliant, caring, inquisitive, etc. adult man there are also moments of absolute joy and wonder. And one such occasion of joy was when the guy asked if we could have a “guys day” . . . just the two of us to go out, see a movie or something. Of course I jumped at the chance!

So we set aside a recent Saturday for this unprecedented event and ventured out to the movies. We saw An Act of Valor . . . the teen is just shy of 17 years old, so I am comfortable taking him to see this.

This was something he wanted to see; and his mother is quite squeamish – he knew that she’d never make it through the movie at all.

And I was all to happy and eager to have this time with the boy.

Okay . . . so, not the best action movie – we’ve both seen better. But it certainly has reverence for the men and women who sacrifice so much for the rest of us, so we can go about our lives (and even blog about it).

After the movie we both wanted to extend our day together. “How about we go out for something to eat?” he asked.

“Sure! Have any place in mind? There’s a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby.”

“Wild Wings sounds great!”

And so we did. Several orders of hot wings later, along with some pretty awesome conversation, we finally made our way home. And there we regaled my wife about the events of the day, which was one more way for me to relish the time spent with my son.

And the best part of it all was that he, unsolicited, ended the day with, “I liked this. Let’s do it again soon.”

Soon can’t come soon enough for me!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

“You guys sounded so hot!”

I love getting a compliment like this about an orchestra put together for a show. And it’s especially sweet when it comes from other musician folks. (But I’ll take this compliment any day of the week from anybody!).

Someone said this to me during a run of ANNIE, which just completed its run at a nearby community theater. The person then explained what he meant – the the band’s sound was cohesive, well balanced, and full of energy. . . . Actually, what he said was, “you guys sound tight!” But it means the same thing.

I have generally asked the same group of musicians to play for shows I do; and have done so for a number of years now. Some musicians have played with me going on some three years or so. And given that I’ve averaged three to four musicals per season/year, some musicians have played with me for almost 9, perhaps upwards of 10-12, shows. And there’s a real benefit to this.

We’ve come to understand each other – each other’s way of playing and particular idiosyncrasies (I suppose that’s redundant … aren’t idiosyncrasies in and of themselves ‘particular’? But I digress)
We’re listening to each other’s playing – really listening so that we can quickly pick up on tempo changes, and those slight variations that occur for each performance. It’s much as a teacher once cajoled, “You have to breathe together.”

In this way, being exclusive – and being so for a few years now – helps improve the quality of the sound. These are the same guys who played with me two years ago in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” who then played with me in “Hairspray” a year later, and who now finished “Annie” just recently. Each time we’ve gotten better, more cohesive, … in short … we sound hot!

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Goodbye Tigger

(On March 17, 2012 one of our cats lost his battle with cancer)

Tigger in his usual pose sitting in "my chair"

After only five short years with us, we made the difficult choice of saying goodbye to Tigger (shown here).

Back in 2007 our best friends discovered a litter of kittens in their garage. One Sunday my son and I went for a visit to see these little critters … and we both fell in love with this little gray tabby who looked at us with these sweet little eyes. “But we’ve got to get your mom to agree to this,” I told my son.

Within the week we towed the wife over “just to have a look.” Well, she took one look; and as the saying goes, ‘the rest is history.’

the day we brought Tigger home

“You really should take a second kitten,” our friend Lora said, “This way they’ll have each other for company.” HAHA! And wouldn’t you know it? We did! Tigger came with his sister, Aria, a teeny little calico – who by her size was the runt of the litter.

And so one night we transported our new family members home.

But what about the dog? Oy! We’ve had our dog, Fluff, for a couple of years now and she will likely be quite hyper with the addition of two new furry critters. So, we decided to keep the new kittens downstairs – separated with a gate at the stairs leading down (you know the kind that are used for babies …). And all worked out quite well.

The naming

What to name these two critters? It took a short while to come up with their names … the gray tabby would jump, quite literally, in a complete vertical … as though he bounced. Hence ‘Tigger.’ The little calico was quite the noise-maker … so we call her ‘Aria.’ They both seemed to approve.

Tigger and Aria often lounged together - this time on "my chair" Tigger and Aria lounging on a piano bench

A people cat!

We liked to call Tigger a cat who thought he was a dog. He was a lap-cat, to be sure … and would inevitably roll onto his back to let you scratch (or gently rub) his tummy.

And he LOVED the attention given him while he was on my lap! He’d ever-so-gently and slowly raise one of his front paws and lightly touch the tip of my chin – this was a signal that he wanted to be scratched, petted, or rubbed. But nevertheless … attention had to be paid.

And as for the dog? … Tigger and Fluff were bosom buddies. It seemed that you’d never find one without the other. Sleeping/napping, or just hanging out – these two were almost always together. And it seemed that they looked out for each other, too. tigg-and-fluff

Fluff has this big – well, fluffy tail … and Tigger would often “primp” the dog’s tail … actually he was more likely trying to arrange the fur into something a bit more comfortable for him to lie on. Tigger would weave himself in and out of Fluff’s legs – rubbing up against her. And Fluff would often lick Tigger’s ears or the top of his head.

The second most common position

Tigger managed to commandeer Fluff’s bed/pillow in our living room – this and the top of a recliner chair being his two favorite placed to hang out, nap, or just ‘meditate.’

Whenever company came … family, friends – even total strangers …. Tigger was right there to greet them. And within only a few minutes, he’d be at your legs or on you lap looking to be stroked.

I work from home (have done since 2006); and Tigger was a near constant companion. I lost count of the number of conference calls or meetings I had with him on my lap just purring and hanging out. And if it wasn’t my lap, it was my desk or the window sill – him looking out onto the street in front of our home.

 tigginchristmas

Unfortunately, Tigger got quite sick about two months ago. He was unable to keep any food down. The vet, at the time, ran some simple blood tests and couldn’t find anything wrong. Perhaps it was just something that disagreed with him … or his stomach had become overly sensitive. So, we began a regimen of soft food for him.

But he never really recovered. He lost a great deal of weight very quickly … and then just stopped eating entirely. We discovered that it was probably a very aggressive type of cancer; and it now seemed to have attacked his liver to the point where it nearly shut down. Tigger was in a great deal of discomfort and pain. And we just couldn’t see him suffering any longer.

My wife and son said their final goodbyes and Tigger went to sleep.

tigger004

It really is quite remarkable how much this little guy was such an important part of our family. Of course, Fluff and Aria are a little bit confused as they’re looking for their brother. Yet, we’re so thankful for the time we had with Tigger – lots of love and laughs and joy!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Audition rule 2: Talk to the accompanist before you sing

So you’ve entered the audition room and given your music to the accompanist. You take your place, deep breath … and start to sing … … but the accompanist is lost. You stumble; the accompanist stumbles; and the audition goes badly.

Here’s rule #2 – when you give your music to the accompanist, talk to her/him about where to start and stop. And give a short, clear sense of how fast the song is to be played and sung.

The accompanist doesn’t know every show; and certainly doesn’t know every song of every show. And even if he did … your interpretation is likely different. So, talk to the accompanist and tell her/him about the tempo and anything else that might be important of useful.

Then you can take your place, deep breath … and audition your heart out.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Audition rule 1: Follow instructions

And so begins my musings and ramblings about auditions … and the first rule: read carefully and follow all instructions on the audition notice.

If the notice says to prepare 16 bars of a song. Then pick 16 bars; not 28 or 32 bars – and certainly not an entire song. Assume that you will be cut off at 16 bars. You might be pleasantly surprised if the auditioners ask you to continue … but don’t count on it.

And pick the best part of the song that shows your personality, range, etc. For some songs, the “money part” might be the last section of the final chorus – where the melody soars into sustained phrases and dramatic moments. I am willing to bet, however, that the best part of the song is NOT the very beginning.

If the notice says to bring in sheet music, then bring in the piano music for the song. Do not bring in a libretto that only has the melody line. What do you expect an accompanist to do with that? Honestly, do you want the pianist to just pull an accompaniment out of thin air?

Oh – and when the notice says to bring in music it’s a good idea to … well … bring in some music. Singing an a-capella version of “Happy Birthday” isn’t wise. And don’t be surprised, if this is the case, that the auditioners simply tell you “no.”

Make sure you understand the difference between ‘up tempo’ and ‘ballad.’ The former tends to be played and sung faster and with more energy than the latter. If the notice asks for an up tempo song, then that’s the style you should prepare.

Pay close attention to whether or not you can prepare a song from the show for which you are auditioning. If the notice says not to, then don’t even think about preparing a song from the show.

Lastly, if you are not sure what they’re asking for then ask them.

I sometimes hate the theater

Yep! Sometimes I just hate being a “theater person” and work in theater, especially after announcing a cast for a show and then getting wind of rumors, innuendos, theories, opinions, etc. … “so-and-so is saying [fill in the blank] about why he/she didn’t get [name of the part auditioned for]”; or, “I got an email/text from [person’s name] complaining about [something to do with the audition].” UGH!

I think I’m going to write out some of my thoughts about the audition process along with callbacks and casting – from the viewpoint of one who sits at the table and actually makes casting decisions.

to be continued …

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Oh puh-leeze! Methinks thou dost protest too much

So, I’ve started the auditions for the musical “Annie.” The audition notice was posted on an online forum, which quaintly says we can “talk with other fans of the stage.”

Sometimes there are, indeed, discussions. And many times there are audition notices for upcoming shows all throughout the area.

Lo and behold, a poster comes along to gripe with a post titled, “NO MOAR [sic] ANNIE” whose text is:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD..... JUST STOP, PEOPLE.
Same goes for JOSEPH.
I WILL NOT come see these shows.

Firstly, if you choose not to come see any production of “Annie” or “Joseph” … fine. And thank you for sharing.

But why the all caps? Why the apparent ire?

I wrote about this before in this post – when the issue was an apparent overabundance of Sweeney Todd performances. And the question still stands, “Why is this such a big deal?” I really don’t get the problem this poster has. I don’t have a profound desire to police the world of public theater and community theater to ensure that every show is unique from all others.

As long as a theater can cast the show, can sell tickets to an audience, and can make a small amount of cash in the process, what’s the beef?