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| The beginning of something a-MA-zingMy past few weeks have been so surreal. I feel like I am starting to make significant headway in the musical theatre field. A few weeks ago, I randomly decided to call North Carolina Theatre, probably one of the most prominent theatre companies in North Carolina, if not the most. I left a brief message about working there this summer, because, well, nothing bad could come out of asking. A few days ago, I received a call from their production manager offering me an internship to work there this summer on their production of Peter Pan. I am really excited about it, with this being my first pretty big show. I am not sure what I will be doing, but they mentioned working on transpositions of music, helping accompany rehearsals, and potentially playing in the pit. I cannot believe that I could be playing in the Progress Energy Center in a few months. As dorky as it is, it is so cool to be working on a show that is on Ticketmaster! They mentioned that future employment is possible, so this is the beginning of something great.
In the meantime, I conducted in the Wind Ensemble Pops Concert the other week. I must say it was great experience, once again very surreal to be conducting an 80-member ensemble. I conducted a medley of songs from the Broadway show All Shook Up, and it went exceptionally well. I cannot wait to conduct in the concert again next semester, although the piece will most likely be much more classical in nature.
I am also working on a production of Guys and Dolls at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School. The show is pretty awesome for a high school, despite the concerns I have been having in rehearsal all week.
I move home in a few weeks, back to Raleigh. I realize I should be sad to move out of my apartment, but I think this whole summer internship thing is outweighing the fact that I have to move home for the summer. I suppose I will work through the temp agency again for the summer when I'm not in rehearsal, as that is pretty decent money.
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| This is pretty exciting. I love this show. Can't wait to see it in August!
--from Playbill.com--
"An Original Musical": [title of show] Will Open on Broadway in July
By Andrew Gans
03 Apr 2008
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Heidi Blickenstaff, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell and Hunter Bell (seated)
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| photo by Carol Rosegg | [title of show]
— the four-person Off-Broadway musical about the making of a musical —
will begin previews at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre July 5 with an
official opening scheduled for July 17.
Originally produced at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006, the entire
original cast — including co-creators Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell — will
be seen on Broadway, directed by A Chorus Line's Michael Berresse, who also helmed the acclaimed Off-Broadway run.
The Broadway staging will be produced by the Vineyard as well as Kevin
McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Laura Camien, Roy Miller, Kris Stewart.
Tickets for the production, co-starring Susan Blackwell and Heidi
Blickenstaff, will go on sale April 21.
[title of show], according to press notes, "takes a thoroughly
unique and comical look at the pleasures and perils of the artistic
process as two struggling writers [Bell and Bowen] and two struggling
actresses [Blackwell and Bickenstaff] take on the seemingly impossible
task of creating a new musical about creating a new musical. Now with
Broadway as their destination, the quartet's saga continues anew as
they face mounting pressures and deadlines, and are nearly thrown
off-track by disagreements, day jobs and insecurities in this funny and
unforgettable look at the birth of a musical as it finally comes to
life on the Great White Way."
The creative team also includes Larry Pressgrove (musical direction),
Neil Patel (set design), Chase Tyler (costume design), Ken Billington
and Jason Kantrowitz (lighting design) and ACME Sound Partners (sound
design).
Producer McCollum, whose resume also boasts Rent, Avenue Q, The Drowsy Chaperone and this season's In the Heights, said in a statement, "I fell in love with [title of show]
because it shamelessly and fearlessly explores the vagaries and inner
workings of how to get a musical produced. The exuberant way it
captures the insanity of the creative process is full of surprises and
truth, and that its journey now comes full circle by kicking off the
Broadway season seems only natural." [title of show] debuted in 2004 at the New York Musical
Theatre Festival. Bowen, Bell and Berresse each won a 2006 Obie Award
for work on the subsequent 2006 Off-Broadway production at the Vineyard
Theatre.
An original cast recording was released on Ghostlight Records, and the
creators have kept the show alive through the internet series, "The [title of show]
Show," which is available for viewing by visiting
www.titleofshow.com/toscasts.htm. The webcast is all about the
troupers' seemingly improbable notion of getting [title of show] to Broadway.
Song titles include "Untitled Opening Number," "Two Nobodies in New
York," "An Original Musical," "Monkeys and Playbills," "The Tony Award
Song," "Part of It All," "I Am Playing Me," "What Kind of Girl Is
She?," "Die Vampire, Die!," "Filling Out the Form," "September Song,"
"Secondary Characters," "A Way Back to Then," "Nine People's Favorite
Thing," "Finale" and "[Title of Show]."
The Lyceum Theatre is located in Manhattan at 149 West 45th Street.
Performance schedule and ticket information will be announced at a
later date, although tickets will be available through telecharge.com.
For more information visit www.titleofshow.com. --from Playbill.com--
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| Time for an updateSince spring break, lots has been going on. Where to start...
Well, we returned to New York City over easter break, which was a blast...perhaps I shall do a play by play of what went down...
Thursday, March 20
We left super early in the morning and drove all day. Nothing too eventful. We got to the city about 3pm, and just wandered around the annoyingly touristy Times Square area, eating supper at McDonald's. Then we split up, with Tom and Katie going to see the Altar Boyz while we saw the best show on earth....Spring Awakening. We had stage seats, which I must say is the only way to ever see that show. Plus it's much cheaper than sitting in the orchestra section! We were on the front row stage right, and a plethora of awesome actors sat around me, including Lea Michele who sat right beside me for one scene! The energy is crazy on stage, being able to feel the stomping and feel the music so much better, plus you can actually hear the people singing without any amplification. So, next time you see Spring Awakening, see it on stage...it was my best theatrical experience ever. After the show, we stayed outside and got pictures with the cast. We basically met all of them except Jonathan Groff, who was super slow coming out. We had to leave to catch our bus. Oh the joys of staying in New Jersey.
Friday, March 21
Tom went home to Connecticut all day while we had a blast in the city. We hung around the Fifth Ave/Rockefeller Center area, watching people skate and doing some shopping. We went in FAO Schwarz, which has totally been redone sine I was just there 2 weeks prior. From there, we took a cab down to the East Village and had lunch at Smac, a restaurant specializing in only mac & cheese. It's pretty amazing so if you are ever in the East Village, this is a must. And do not get a Major Munch size, as it is way too big for one person to eat. Get the smallest size, Nosh, which is still alot of food but more manageable. We hung around NYU/Union Square, going to Strand Used Books. I love that place...something like 18 miles of used books. Insane. From NYU, we ventured up to Central Park, grabbing a coffee and wondering around the vast expanse of the park, eventually ending up at the pond sitting on the giant rocks, probably my favorite spot in the park. Nothing too exciting happened...just a few hours of relaxing. We had supper at Famiglia's pizzeria in Times Square before heading to our next show, Sunday in the Park with George. As I had never seen a Sondheim show (only played piano in one), it was pretty amazing. The show is such an artistic piece that many people didn't understand it and left at intermission. I, however, absolutely loved it. The show is worth seeing for it's amazing use of computer-generated animation to go inside the mind of George Seurat. I hope this one is up for some Tony Awards this year.
Saturday, March 22
All five of us hung out for the majority of the day. We visited Chinatown for some bargain shopping, visiting the neighboring Little Italy while we were in the area for some amazing Canoli's. We ended up hanging out in the subway in Chinatown for a good 30 minutes due to some fire or some delay in the system, which was an annoyance. We went to NYU and shopped around that area, but I soon split off from the group to go try to get tickets to another show. I ended up getting a student ticket to A Chorus Line, 8th row of the orchestra for $35. Can't beat that. I had a nice, quiet lunch in Bryant Park by the fountain. The weather was so amazing that day, perfect for just people-watching in the park. I didn't do much with my alone time, just enjoyed walking around the city at my own pace, not having to wait for slower people to catch up to me, haha. We all met back up and had supper at the Stardust, the famous diner with the singing waitstaff. The food was not so great, but the restaurant itself is exciting. We went to the newly opened Dylan's Candy Bar on the east side for dessert, a place that is some sort of surreal nightmare out of Willy Wonka. Candy in the floor, candy covering the walls, glass tables filled with candy, and only sweets on the menu. The cupcakes were superb though. I once again split from the group to go see A Chorus Line. The show was hilarious, but I found it quite annoying that there was no intermission in a show that is 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was great to see such a classic show.
Sunday we drove back, nothing special. I will definitely be back in New York to catch the new show Port Authority, with Brian d'Arcy James and Jonathan Gallagher, Jr. Also, there is a "showstoppers" concert by the New York Philharmonic I would love to catch, including performances by none other than Kristin Chenoweth and Raul Esparza. Amazing. How can I pass this up? I guess I'll be going by myself though. I think it could be a good experience, seeing what it is like to be in Manhattan all alone, as I will be about a year from now. That's pretty scary.
In other news, I am playing piano for Guys and Dolls at Southeast Raleigh High School in a few weeks. Everyone should check it out. Yesterday I got 2 more offers for Godspell and Wizard of Oz. Godspell I can't do unfortunately, but perhaps the Wizard of Oz if there aren't any scheduling conflicts.
And my most awesome cousin has moved to NC back from NY. It's good to have her back in the motherland. haha.
More updates later I suppose.
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| New York City, in retrospectWhat an amazing week. I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll go in chronological order.
Monday
We got into New York City after our flight was delayed an hour or so. After a few near-death experiences in a cab in Queens, we were able to get right into our hotel room in Chelsea when we finally got there. Monday was a huge sightseeing day because my mom has never been there. We went to Times Square to begin our exciting trip with an amazing lunch at Bubba Gump's. I had a Po' Boy sandwich, which I highly recommend. Any restaurant that doesn't give you silverware and puts a roll of paper towel on the table gets my vote. We walked around Times Square while the crowds were very minimal. Somehow we ended up walking from Times Square to Rockefeller Center, and from there up 5th Ave. We checked out several stores on 5th Ave, including going into St. Patrick's Cathedral. I absolutely love that place. There was a soloist singing while we were in there, accompanied by the massive pipe organ. Nothing compares to the sound of a real pipe organ. We walked through Central Park, and we couldn't have had better weather. It was in the mid 50s and absolutely no clouds in the sky. We got a little lost because of several path detours throughout the park. We hung out by the fountain where I cannot help but remember the scene from "The Producers." Later in the afternoon we made our way to the other end of Manhattan, down to the financial district. Ground Zero is really coming along. All the plans were there for the new building, and the footprints of the new structures are evident. It's such a humbling place every time I go there. From there, we walked down Wall Street to Pier 17. Pier 17 may just be a shopping mall, but it is a shopping mall with some of the best views I've seen. To one side, the Brooklyn Bridge with Brooklyn in the background across the waterway, and to one direction, a fantastic waterfront view of the financial district of Manhattan. I sat on the pier and enjoyed a Nathan's hot dog. From there (yes, we did all this the first day) we made our way to Herald Square where we journeyed to the top of the Empire State Building. It was not cold up there this time, but the winds were crazy. I feel so small when I stand at the top of that building, looking out in every direction, New York City's suburbs sprawling as far as I can see. There was a British kid in the elevator with us at one point that sounded EXACTLY like Gideon Glick. I honestly made a point to check to see if it was him, but unfortunately it was not. We went to the neighboring Macy's department store and browsed for a while before retiring early for the evening to our hotel via the Roy Rogers fast food place (gross!).
Tuesday
This week I woke up every day at 8am. On vacation. What was wrong with me? I sleep in more than this during a regular school week. Speaking of school, our first thing on the agenda for Tuesday was NYU. NYU is such a different world than the rest of Manhattan, swarming with charming coffee shops, eclectic bookshops, and students. We relaxed at a coffee shop on the corner of Broadway and 3rd, watching the wide variety of people going by. I had a great meeting with Marilyn Nonken, director of piano studies at NYU. She gave me some great advice, discussed the programs with me (I will discuss this later) and really helped me out in planning my future. From there we went and had lunch at some random delicatessen off of 8th, which was rather overpriced I thought, as most of the food in Manhattan is. We went to the Upper East Side and spent an afternoon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (due to the rainy nature of the day). That night we saw Wicked. It was better than when I saw it the first time. There was an understudy in for Galinda who was GREAT, comparable to Chenoweth even. And Stephanie J. Block was an excellent Elphaba. That show has such great effects, great orchestrations, great choreography. I love it. We grabbed some pizza from Famiglia's and took it back to the hotel for a late supper. New York pizza is my favorite.
Wednesday
Ah, the best day of the week. We began by shopping some more around Times Square (we saw plenty of that place, and I don't particularly care for it much aside from it's plethora of theatres) and had an early lunch at the coolest McDonald's ever (on 42nd street across from the Hilton Theatre). I then met Mary-Mitchell Campbell, an established musical director/orchestrator/pianist on Broadway, in the sky-lobby of the Hilton Times Square as she was coming out of a meeting. She took me on a whirlwind tour of her every day life, rushing through Times Square to her non-profit office for Artists Striving to End Poverty. She was preparing for a benefit concert Monday that is going to raise money for charity. In preparation, she had to take some music to Nathan Lane. I accompanied her as we went backstage at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to drop off his music for the benefit concert. Insane. She gave me some great advice (which I will also discuss later). We grabbed some lunch (well I only had a drink) at a small local place called the Green Symphony (on 43rd between 7th and 8th), which is basically only theatre people that hang out there. I then got a chance to see her off-Broadway show, Next to Normal. I loved this show so much. It was very nontraditional, reminded me of the movie Tommy with it's wild music and lighting. The story line was so moving, so revolutionary, that this show is really turning heads in the theatre community of New York City, and I definitely see why. After the show, we went to supper at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, which is a guaranteed excellent (yet expensive) meal. We then saw Young Frankenstein, which was yet another a-MA-zing show. This show had sets like I have never seen, and a plethora of stars, including Megan Mullally, Roger Bart, Sutton Foster, Schuler Hensley, and some lady from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. This show is so Mel Brooks, it oozes The Producers all over. If anything, everyone needs to go see the show for it's insane staging effects.
Thursday
We began by a serious shopping spree all morning. We began at Macy's where we got there to rush in the door as they opened. From there, we proceeded to shop on 5th Ave. SAKS, H&M, FAO Schwarz, Apple Store, etc. We blended right in with the wealthy with all our shopping bags. We had lunch at Serendipity, my favorite meal of the week. I had the best dessert ever, a frozen hot chocolate fit to feed 4 people, but I somehow consumed it by myself. I will be returning to that restaurant very soon. That afternoon, we discovered a great little drama book shop on 40th between 7th and 8th ave. It only carries books that have to do with theatre. What a great place. We had supper at Maxie's in Times Square, which gives quite the large portion, not going to lie. We did some shopping at the Virgin Megastore, where I finally found a copy of A Clockwork Orange. I love that movie, and now I finally have it! We then saw Legally Blonde, quite a different show. It is hilarious, and has some fantastic singers in it (Orfeh as Paulette, Christian Borle as Emmett). Laura Bell Bundy hit a really sour note at the end of "So Much Better" that made me cringe. I really enjoyed the show other than that.
Friday
We made our way to the Julliard School and Lincoln Center (known for the Metropolitan Opera), where I purchased a Julliard t-shirt so I can pretend I go there. We walked around Columbus Circle and had quite an encounter with a homeless man that had to convince us he wasn't gay and that he had 6 children by 4 different wives of different ethnic backgrounds. We ate yet again at Famiglia's, which I really do love. We returned to our hotel, got our bags, and grabbed a cab out to LaGuardia. I hate goodbyes, but I know I will be seeing Manhattan yet again in 2 weeks. Our flight was delayed about an hour and a half, but we made it home in the nasty (but very welcome) rainy weather.
So the point of this trip was to decide what exactly I would do after graduating from Campbell University next May. Dr. Nonken of NYU explained to me the graduate program there, where I could major in collaborative piano, teach undergraduate improvisations and theory, intern off-broadway, and gain connections. I really liked this idea, minus the $68,000 price tag on the 2 years of school. On the flipside, Mary-Mitchell Campbell told me flat out not to go to graduate school. She said that, as a musician seeking to make it as a performer, I needed to get every temp job possible while doing performance gigs for little to no money, just to get my name out there. Eventually people would begin to come to me for piano gigs, and there's my career in what I want to do. Amazing. She made it sound so easy, but so hard at the same time. It really scares me that after 4 years of pursuing a degree that I should do temp jobs that require little skill just to pay the bills while I advance my career. But in the end, this path is more efficient (and much cheaper!). She said no one ever asks for your credentials. It's more about how good you are and mostly about who you know. 14 months from now, I will be moving to New York to pursue a life full of temp jobs and performing on the side. It does sound dismal, but I am truly excited about it. I guess that really means that it's where I am supposed to be.
"You'd miss New York before you could unpack..."
so true...
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| AH!2 more days until I go home.
Looks like it's going to rain half the trip, but we will make due. We will contribute to the sea of black umbrellas.
I have been getting a lot of job offers lately. It's like someone's telling me "hey, this is what you are supposed to do." I have gotten a wedding offer, 2 theatre pianist offers, and a private piano teacher offer. I confirmed the wedding, and other than that, the most promising job seems to be the piano teacher gig. Theatre gigs often don't pay much or they have crazy schedule requirements, to add to my busy schedule at Campbell. I hope to work in theatre all summer. I can't waste another summer staying at home, doing temp jobs, not advancing my career path. Theatre takes such a dedication: the crazy schedule, long rehearsals, evil directors, stuck-up actors...but it's so rewarding in the end.
Today I need to pack and do all my laundry. Boring.
I'm sure I will have quite a novella to write once I return from New York.
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