The late Bob Fosse said that there were three kinds of songs that mattered to the director of a musical: The “I am” song – defining who the singer is The “I want” song – defining what the singer wants The “New” song – doesn’t fit the other two categories; could take things into aContinue reading “Breaking Down The I Want Song”
Category Archives: Expressivity
In the Service of Clarity
You may know that my favorite composer is Stephen Sondheim. My husband even gave me an autographed picture of him for my birthday (thanks to the family of Gary Lorenz, who apparently didn’t appreciate what their family member had and sold it on eBay). Sondheim has written two books on his lyrics (he meant toContinue reading “In the Service of Clarity”
Say Yes to Music
A few months ago, I watched a series of videos by Elly Ameling on art song, and jotted down my notes on them. Here they are (and I’ve added a few notes today, in italics): LEARN YOUR MUSIC “BY HEART” – so much more than just memorizing it. By heart. By heart – not onlyContinue reading “Say Yes to Music”
An Artist’s Impression of Art
An artist’s impression is defined as the representation of an object or a scene created by an artist when no other accurate representation is available (Wikipedia). The above graphic has quotes by 17 different artists about what art means/meant to them. My favorite artist is Gustav Klimt. I have several prints of his in myContinue reading “An Artist’s Impression of Art”
Picture Perfect: Branding Photos for Your Independent Studio
At the beginning of 2020, I drew up a lot of plans for marketing and expanding my studio. One of them was to do a photoshoot of me at work. The plan was to hire a photographer to come to my studio, see me work with individual students, come to the venue where I wasContinue reading “Picture Perfect: Branding Photos for Your Independent Studio”
Takeaways from Friday’s masterclass
On Friday, I hosted a masterclass featuring conductor Richard Carsey, who worked with 7 singers on musical theater repertoire. Some students were pre-professionals who want to pursue musical theater. One was an avocational performer in her local community theater companies. Two more were professionals, one experienced in musical theater, the other making a decision toContinue reading “Takeaways from Friday’s masterclass”
What ISN’T a masterclass?
Even before the pandemic, there have been a lot of posts and ads about masterclasses and why you should take them. Famous people have been offering masterclasses on acting, writing, comedy, singing (some with stronger credentials than others) and people have been signing up for them and saying, “TAKE MY MONEY.” But what isn’t aContinue reading “What ISN’T a masterclass?”
Radical (In)Authenticity
The other day on FB, there was one of those silly little quizzes to figure out what your solar eclipse identity is (I guess there’s one coming up). This was the quiz: Based on this I am the Guardian of Radical Ideas. I embrace this designation wholeheartedly. I have never been one to play thingsContinue reading “Radical (In)Authenticity”
The Music is the Star
The performer is not the star. The music is the star. The performer is the vessel, the performer is the channel through which the music passes as a prism and comes to the performer. Continue reading “The Music is the Star”
Why I Audit
For those of you who aren’t Three Stooges fans (which I’m certainly not) or not of a certain age (which I certainly am), you may need to go and research the Three Stooges a bit in order to get this reference. You can start here. Knock yourselves out – nyuk nyuk nyuk (that’s also aContinue reading “Why I Audit”