Join Along for the Road Trip

“Americans have always been eager for travel, that being how they got to the New World in the first place.”
- Otto Friedrich

Thrilled to be working on See Rock City and Other Destinations, a musical travelogue that tells the stories of folks across the U. S. of A. This show is made up of a set of short vignettes, small American plays that attempt to answer the questions of what are we seeking and what holds us back from realizing the things we want. It’s told through story songs and feels akin to a particularly good episode of This American Life on NPR.

Today we’ve started our Meet Rock City series to allow folks to meet the cast and wanted to share the fun with all y’all.

(click to visit)

These folks are an incredibly talented bunch that are telling these honest stories in some inspiring ways. And while the show keeps up the pace with its humor, the takeaway seems to make us question our basic anxieties or fears – of connecting, of missing out, of seeking, of believing or no longer being able to believe.

Welcome to the journey. Glad to have you along for the ride.

In With the Old, Out Comes the New

As we’ve discussed before, creativity comes with a great deal of getting inspired, borrowing, and sometimes straight out stealing.

But who is to say that a derivative work cannot be equally as satisfying as the original? As long as the pieces are different enough, is it fair to say a certain one is better?

Take for instance the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera  The Mikado. The composers set the opera in Japan, far away from Britain, allowing them to satirize British politics more freely by disguising them as foreign notions.

Opera Australia’s 2011 production of The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan.

In 1939, the classic was adapted into a new piece entitled The Hot Mikado and performed with an all African-American cast. Primed with a lot more sass and a lot more swing, The Hot Mikado became a hit that is still performed to this day.

Now it’s been over 70 years since the original piece was given a facelift. Thus, theatres are still looking for ways to update the show and help it feel as novel and sexy as it was when The Hot Mikado first took the stage.

This recent production does just this by updating the 1940s American setting to a modern one that tips its hat to the original Mikado, complete with the “three little maids” in anime-style schoolgirl outfits. Up to you to decide which version you prefer – but I’d say there’s definitely room for both in the world of live performance.

Watermill Theatre’s production of The Hot Mikado in 2009

Do You Hear the People Sing? Why the Whole World Is Listening Now

In lieu of offering a full fledged review of the recent movie, I would like to offer this trip around the world with 17 Valjeans from international productions. Because if nothing else, well-done movie musicals offer exposure to the medium. And there’s nothing like getting another person addicted to a show that took over the musical world for the better part of two decades.

There’s a reason why the show has clout – just listen to the ending (4:44).

A Year Worth Living

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

- T.S. Eliot

As we reflect on another trip around the sun, let’s take stock of the all of the surprises and joys 2012 had to offer:

- Felix Baumgartner leaps from the edge of space and lands safely just a few minutes later.

- The Royal Shakespeare Company collaborated with international troupes for the World Shakespeare Festival featuring 37 productions, either of or inspired by the Bard’s plays,  in 37 different languages.

- People show immense compassion and prove the generosity of the human spirit post-Hurricane Sandy.

- Announcement made for a musicalisation of Pan’s Labyrinth coming to Broadway ASAP.

- Films break out into riskier territory and push the envelope with titles such as Cloud Atlas, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Looper, Les Miserables, and more

- The future is now. From DARPA’s cheetah robot which can run faster than any human, to Google View glasses hitting beta testing, to a woman being able to control a robotic arm merely using brain signals, we’re living in some incredibly fascinating times.

- Maryland, Maine, and Washington join the ranks of those states that have made equality a priority.

- No apocalypse! While many clamored on about the end times, my guess was that the Mayans were onto to something…just not what many feared. Sounds like rebirth is a rumblin’. Let’s hope 2013 allows for more awakening and understanding from all of us.

What do you hope to see in the new year? Wishing you all a beautiful new beginning.

How to Celebrate Like It’s the End of the World

“Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that’s what makes it so boring.”  - Edward Gorey

Some claim that we’re coming to the end of an era tomorrow, and even if we’ve got a couple thousand more years on the planet, what better excuse to celebrate.
Time to inject a little life into your life:

Surrender your fear. Give it up. You’ve been hanging on to it as if it would somehow serve you to keep it close. The time to let go is now.

Break open that bottle “you’ve been saving for a special occasion.” We create our own memorable moments. What’s stopping you from letting your next one be sooner than you imagined?

Share love. Say it, show it, do anything that brings an extra iota of kindness into this world. Maybe start here.

High five 5 people on seemingly meaningless tasks. You changed the water filter? High five. You threw away a piece of garbage you saw laying out? High five for you. It’s the little things folks…

Dance to ridiculous pop music. This year has been full of hits - some addicting, some cringeworthy, but all totally dance-able. Thank ‘em for bringing these earworms into the world.

Donate a chunk of change, belongings or your time to a cause you can totally get behind. Even when you think you have nothing to give, you never know who may be astounded by what you have to offer.

Throw caution to the wind. Excuses will pile up and keep you from opening the door if you let them. Reassess what’s been blocking your path, then decide whether or not clinging to old obstacles is worth more to you that getting what you want out of life.

Speak your truths. Your voice is the only one like it in the entire world. To deprive yourself of self-expression means society loses out on your voice. And they will never get a crack at it, ever again. So put words onto your perspective and share your  story.

Create your own calendar. If the Mayans can do it, so can you. Make up your own holidays and highlight the days that lit you up once upon a time. Then celebrate each and every day you get to cross off the year.

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When All is a Blur of Thoughts and Sound and Choices, Choose Music

Current recommendations:

I Have Your Heart / Put the Gun Down / Les Plus Beaux / Jealous of the Moon / An Ending (Ascent)

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Two Destined Hearts Bound By the Same Idea

“The unrelenting constancy of love and hope
Can rescue and restore you from any scope.”

The concept album from the brothers Thomas and Paul Dutton (of band Forgive Durden) just received a staging at Joe’s Pub last week. Their musical Razia’s Shadow was first released in 2008 and after numerous successful tours around the country performing the album, the band wanted to take the piece to the stage. The story of star-crossed lovers fighting for their love in a divided world also explores themes of tolerance, redemption, and the strength of the human spirit. Also of note? The story takes place in a world before murder exists.

This album’s rock journey and spirited message are intriguing enough on their own, but I do hope the project continues to find a new life on stage. The possibilities are endless.

Bite-Sized Wisdom: Von Goethe

This German playwright breaks down an ideal way to spend the day. Funny how prescriptions from centuries gone by can still be entirely apt today.

“Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.”
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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There Is No Try, There is Only Do

If she can pull off this ridiculous display of talent and sing live, we should forever reconsider our willingness to put up with lipsynching performances.

Things to be on the lookout for:

1. Inverted splits. May as well start off on a high note.

2. Counter balance holds. Harmony through tension, as the two use each other to pull off full body balance poses.  

3. Belting while crashing into any/everything. Just watch and enjoy.

30 Things You Can Do in the Next 30 Minutes to Kickstart Your Creativity

Feeling stalled? Creativity juices running low? Time to get yourself back in the game with some of these small things that you can do right. this. second.
Remember, little actions make for big change over time.

If Hemingway can kick it up a notch, you can too

1. Try to write a sentence backwards. Whatever word first pops into your head must be the last word of your sentence. Continue picking words until you have a phrase that makes sense. Force your brain to think in new ways.

2. Reorganize your bookshelves by color. You decide where to start the rainbow.

3. Cut up a photo and rearrange it entirely. Become a Picasso of the modern age.

4. Go read a bit of a book or two. Marvel at how one author’s voice is completely distinct from another’s. No tome nearby? Dive into this free online library of 40,000 titles.

5. Write a letter to someone you haven’t chatted with in a while. Draw pictures in the margins of memories you shared and laughed over once. Perhaps make plans to make more memories soon.

6. Write with your non-dominant hand. Now draw. Which method is more appealing?

7. Learn how to say one phrase in another language. Ngiyajabula ukukwazi! (“Pleased to meet you” in Zulu)

8. Pick an image by a famous photographer or artist that you find particularly stunning and recreate it only using objects you have in the room.

9. Meditate.

10. Ask someone what was the best movie they ever saw. Pick their brain as to why that one still stands out in their mind.

11. Write a haiku that would make your grandmother faint. No holds barred.

12. Go for a walk. Choose a path you’ve never taken before.

13. Reorganize your bookshelves by books you love and books you still need to read.

14. Turn money into art! Instantly!

15. Think up five terrible puns. The more groan-worthy the better.  Despite evidence that they should be, puns will never be a sick bird (ill+eagle = illegal =groaaan).

16. Question a long-held ideal of yours. What makes you stuck in your ways on this subject?

17. Snap pictures of only things that start with the letter “C”. Pick a new letter tomorrow.

18. Use chopsticks to do something other than eat food. 

19. Listen to one of your favorite songs. Mentally choreograph a dance that would match it perfectly.

20. Print out any of these images. Color outside of the lines if you wish.

21. Write yourself a message that you can only read when you hold up it up to a mirror.

22. Invent a character. Decide its name, age, favorite cereal and how it views the world. What kind of person would it befriend?

23. Throw away something that you thought you needed.

24. Reorganize your bookshelves in whatever way that makes you happy. If that means putting the books in the pantry and the canned goods on the bookshelves, give it a go.

25. Journal.

26. Make up new lyrics to a well-loved song. They can be ridiculous, referential, or reverent as long as they are different.

27. Pick a random spot in a distant country on Google Maps and zoom all the way in. You will feel tiny and overwhelmed and inspired.

28. Create a word map. Connect the dots between disparate ideas.

29. List everything in this world that you love. Combine as many of these as you can into your day.

30. Get uncomfortable, get crafty, create. 

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World’s A Stage: Spotlight on Sri Lanka

The theatre scene in Sri Lanka has been long in the making. As a country with roots in Theravada Buddhism, many believed that it was vital to tend toward solitary contemplation versus congregational practices or participation in community life. Thus, theatre arts were hard to come by until the 1950s when a serious scene began to develop. Local theatre has since become a melange of early folk ritual, dance drama, and Western theatre, creating a medium unlike any other.

The most recent hit out of the country is a new musical by Jehan Aloysius entitled ‘Rag’ which grapples with the divisive practice of ragging – a ritual seen by some as an equalizing activity, and by others as worse than bullying and hazing. Ragging is typically enforced by senior students on younger ones and includes forced consumption of alcohol, insects, and/or chemicals, physical exertion to the point of organ failure, and an assortment of humiliating activities meant to break the newcomers upon their arrival.

The show’s creator, director, composer and lead actor, Aloysius, has been developing the show for more than ten years, sparked by his own experiences with ragging at university. When Aloysius first received his university acceptance letter he was filled with dread and hid it from his mother. Four months later she found it, and off to school he went.

During his eventual ragging, he was spared some of the worst practices but he says that his classmates underwent processes worse than what he could have imagined. Some of these events have made their way into the show. While the show circles instances of rape, discrimination, shame and suicide, the writer’s efforts to reveal the darker side of university life ultimately provide for a cathartic experience.

Aloysius sought out a cast who had experienced ragging first-hand and after auditioning 250 people, he assembled his lead cast of 12. The story follows the creator’s character, Joseph, who starts a non-violent anti-ragging movement which runs into opposing forces who say it must be violently resisted. The result is an empowering musical that’s breaking boundaries abroad.

The show’s standing ovations and rapturous praise stand testament to the idea that creative expression continues to be one of the best mediums for processing struggle.
If something goes wrong, make art.

Onward to Glory You Go

Call nothing thy own except thy soul.

Love not what thou art, but only what thou may become.

Do not pursue pleasure, for thou may have the misfortune to overtake it.

Look always forward; in last year’s nest there are no birds this year.

Be just to all men. Be courteous to all women.

Live in the vision of that one for whom great deeds are done

-  Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha

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This is Halloween

Happy Ghouls Day! How are you celebrating this odd and wonderful holiday?

Even if you don’t get the chance to don a costume today, why let that stop you from getting into the Halloween spirit? I’ve collected a few tunes that tend to send chills up my spine.  Let them help you wriggle into the mood as well.

Stars- Dead Hearts: Haunting lyrics and a simple tune that will not leave you alone. Sure to plant itself in your mind for an hour or two.

Marilyn Manson- This is Halloween: His take on the Tim Burton film’s classic tune grates on you in the best possible way. Disturbing, effective.

Nina Simone – I Put a Spell on You: Her sultry voice on this wicked song makes for a truly addicting treat.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll: A perfect pump-up Halloween style song. Angry anthem with some serious bite.

Talking Heads – Psycho Killer: I love the slightly butchered (appropriate) French that peppers this song. Fafafafafafa fafafa far better than a number of other songs playing on the radio.

That’s five to get you started. What other songs get you freaked out / do you freak out to this time of year?

Bite-sized Wisdom: Copland

Music is the great uniter, bringing together people and cultures in a language all its own. What musical favorites from other countries have you discovered and fallen in love with as of late?

“So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning.”

-Aaron Copland

Image from artPause, available to purchase 

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Things are Backwards but Beautiful in Hadestown

You know when you come across an album that shakes things up in the best possible way?
Anaïs Mitchell’s haunting and heartfelt Hadestown was just this kind of discovery.

This 2010 “folk opera” is Mitchell’s thoughtful retelling of the Eurydice and Orpheus myth, told through the lens of a post-apocalyptic distopia. Sad and beautiful like the lovers’ tale itself, the album is a highly-recommended gem.