- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
Drum
I watched a stream
Of Drum
A play from Omnibus
A black box theatre
In Clapham, London
In 2022
From my house
In Carteret, New Jersey
In 2023
Because we live in the future
And we can do that now
And it was a one camera shoot
Of a two person play
About the meeting of
A DJ and a photographer
In 1960s London
Two Ghanaian immigrants
Grappling with identity
A few years after Ghanaian independence from
British rule
Who they are
Where they are
Why they are
A line that stuck with me
“Tradition is the passing on of fire
Not worshipping the ashes”
Jacob Roberts Mensah
Who we are
Where we are
Why we are.
Of Drum
A play from Omnibus
A black box theatre
In Clapham, London
In 2022
From my house
In Carteret, New Jersey
In 2023
Because we live in the future
And we can do that now
And it was a one camera shoot
Of a two person play
About the meeting of
A DJ and a photographer
In 1960s London
Two Ghanaian immigrants
Grappling with identity
A few years after Ghanaian independence from
British rule
Who they are
Where they are
Why they are
A line that stuck with me
“Tradition is the passing on of fire
Not worshipping the ashes”
Jacob Roberts Mensah
Who we are
Where we are
Why we are.
- Published on
Oh my god I have missed performing
The exhaustion of rehearsals
The learning of the notes
The drilling
Sitzprobe with the orchestra
Is there anything better than live music?
And singing in a room with 100 people?
What it took to get here this time
Two years of not being allowed to do this
Then rehearsals, all socially distanced and mandatory mask wearing and making sure every one is vaccinated
And a PCR test
And a rapid test
And emails back and forth and QR codes
And here we are at Carnegie Hall
And all the bells on earth shall ring!
And all the souls on earth shall sing!
Alleluia!
To sing Bernstein
The Chichester Psalms with its complex rhythms and time signatures and clashing harmonies and sumptuous beauty
And Bernstein's daughters are in the room!
Legacy, remembering
Passing the torch
Yisahak!
And Take 6 are extraordinary with a lightness of touch and a joy from over thirty years together
And Mikaela Bennet is stunning with that crystal soprano ringing across the hall
And when the Northwell Health Nurse Choir come onto the stage in their bright blue scrubs
My heart is in my throat
You will be found
Remembering all the nurses who looked after me seven years ago
Brought me lunch on a decorated tray with candy because they knew
I was sad I was missing out on Halloween
Thinking about what these smiling lovely people have been through in the past two years
Hark the herald angels SING!
Bless Harold
And feel so thankful that you are here.
Amen.
The exhaustion of rehearsals
The learning of the notes
The drilling
Sitzprobe with the orchestra
Is there anything better than live music?
And singing in a room with 100 people?
What it took to get here this time
Two years of not being allowed to do this
Then rehearsals, all socially distanced and mandatory mask wearing and making sure every one is vaccinated
And a PCR test
And a rapid test
And emails back and forth and QR codes
And here we are at Carnegie Hall
And all the bells on earth shall ring!
And all the souls on earth shall sing!
Alleluia!
To sing Bernstein
The Chichester Psalms with its complex rhythms and time signatures and clashing harmonies and sumptuous beauty
And Bernstein's daughters are in the room!
Legacy, remembering
Passing the torch
Yisahak!
And Take 6 are extraordinary with a lightness of touch and a joy from over thirty years together
And Mikaela Bennet is stunning with that crystal soprano ringing across the hall
And when the Northwell Health Nurse Choir come onto the stage in their bright blue scrubs
My heart is in my throat
You will be found
Remembering all the nurses who looked after me seven years ago
Brought me lunch on a decorated tray with candy because they knew
I was sad I was missing out on Halloween
Thinking about what these smiling lovely people have been through in the past two years
Hark the herald angels SING!
Bless Harold
And feel so thankful that you are here.
Amen.
- Published on
To be back in a real live
Honest to god theatre
With ushers
And cramped seating
And toilet lines (not bad before the show)
Show proof of vaccination and ID
Check bags
Walk through a metal detector
Finally show your ticket
Photo of the playbill and the curtain
#InTheRoomWhereItHappens
Somewhere behind the curtain
Someone has called places
(Unheard on this side)
And the lights dim
And the curtain rises
And there's a stage and a man
And the depth of it
The physical realness of it
The lights
The hazer
The place where 1 + 1 = 3
And I love thinking about all the hands that made this moment happen
You look at the set and the lights and the costumes
And you hear the words breathed into life by the actors
The way they move across the stage
Will I ever tire of watching excellent actors do what they do best?
The comedy and the drama of it
The elemental nature of it
Watching someone breathe
Watching someone eat
Watching people spar and play
The moments of surprise
The knowing winks
You know that I know that we know that this is play
To see a Black man on a Broadway stage
Say the words
"Stop killing us. Clean your house."
In a play directed by a Black woman
Written by a Black woman
In a theatre named for a Black male playwright
That hasn't seen a production written or directed by a single person of color since it was named for him
You know that I know that we know that this is not just a play
A phone rings
And the person actually says out loud
"I'm sorry"
Who even has their phone on ringer any more?
The actors don't miss a beat
More than once I realize I'm holding my breath
A glorious set reveal
I love it when a set surprises us
It's so satisfying, so thrilling
So theatrical
To be back
To watch stories
To tell stories
To reflect on our past, our present
To imagine where we could be
Honest to god theatre
With ushers
And cramped seating
And toilet lines (not bad before the show)
Show proof of vaccination and ID
Check bags
Walk through a metal detector
Finally show your ticket
Photo of the playbill and the curtain
#InTheRoomWhereItHappens
Somewhere behind the curtain
Someone has called places
(Unheard on this side)
And the lights dim
And the curtain rises
And there's a stage and a man
And the depth of it
The physical realness of it
The lights
The hazer
The place where 1 + 1 = 3
And I love thinking about all the hands that made this moment happen
You look at the set and the lights and the costumes
And you hear the words breathed into life by the actors
The way they move across the stage
Will I ever tire of watching excellent actors do what they do best?
The comedy and the drama of it
The elemental nature of it
Watching someone breathe
Watching someone eat
Watching people spar and play
The moments of surprise
The knowing winks
You know that I know that we know that this is play
To see a Black man on a Broadway stage
Say the words
"Stop killing us. Clean your house."
In a play directed by a Black woman
Written by a Black woman
In a theatre named for a Black male playwright
That hasn't seen a production written or directed by a single person of color since it was named for him
You know that I know that we know that this is not just a play
A phone rings
And the person actually says out loud
"I'm sorry"
Who even has their phone on ringer any more?
The actors don't miss a beat
More than once I realize I'm holding my breath
A glorious set reveal
I love it when a set surprises us
It's so satisfying, so thrilling
So theatrical
To be back
To watch stories
To tell stories
To reflect on our past, our present
To imagine where we could be
- Published on
The last time I was at
The Majestic on Broadway
Was 2008
A lifetime and a half ago
Pre- covid, cancer, Fort Collins, Aaron, London, smart phones, and walking the camino
Still Kris
Our first time in NYC
We floated into the city
Literally and metaphorically
A huge storm had hit and
The water was lapping at the bottom of the taxi from the airport
I felt from the first moment I was home
It was still the time when hotels had maps of the city
On tear-away pads in the lobby
And the receptionist/concierge would circle the hotel
And the landmarks and the theatres
And tell you which subways to take
I think every place we stayed in over two years
Was shut down
For violating codes of various sorts
Relics like the paper maps
Replaced by smart phones and
Boutique hotels and air bnb’s with wifi
Back then
Phantom felt like a relic
Tired, in need of refreshing
I, rather sacrilegiously, thought it needed new orchestrations
Something to bring it past 1988
I didn’t mean slashing it to 12 players
Later, still The Before Times
I preferred Phantom in London
Where it felt grander
More opulent
Tonight I’m back at the Majestic
With my friend Paula
(post cancer, pre- covid times)
The theatre has been dark for over 500 days
The longest Broadway has been dark in history
I’ve already worked Springsteen
Right across the street
The first night I handed out playbills in the lobby
I hadn’t been in a room with so many people in over a year
It was overwhelming
The sound of that many people
The look of joy on the faces of the audiences
As they stepped inside a theatre for the first time
Vaxxed and unmasked (the rules were different then)
All that has happened in between
To be back in the theatre
As an audience member
Surrounded by people
(Masked and vaxxed - the rules have changed again)
The roar of appreciation when Sammi Cannold
Stepped out onto the stage
The delight of a surprise Josh Groban
Singing “Could We Start Again, Please”
Could we?
I’ve spent the past year and a half
(And longer)
Championing theatre on screen
Here we were
A live in-person audience
To watch theatre on a screen
A new documentary
The Show Must Go On
Joined by people watching from home
On six different continents
The film itself was moving, beautiful, inspiring
The crazy bravery of all those people traveling to South Korea at the beginning of the pandemic
For Theatre. For Art. For Profit. For Story-Telling
Because what else is there to do?
(I want a documentary about all the artists who streamed theatre during the pandemic
Broadway and the West End may have been dark
But theatre didn’t stop
It just shifted form)
Seeing the process
Actors getting sweaty, doing their drills
The hundreds of hands behind the scenes
Sewing costumes
Rigging sets
Spraying and wiping every surface and even the air with disinfectant
I'm not a Cats fan, but even goddamn “Memory” had me crying
The Korean culture of acting for the whole and not the individual
A strange concept in the land of the free and the home of the brave
That it was all British and American musicals that stayed open (at least as depicted in the film)
The love of The Theatre.
A phone rings! We're truly back!
I get chills watching the audience on screen watching the actors on stage singing and dancing to the people in the seats
The roar of the crowd
The final credits. The curtain closing.
The curtain re-opens with a baby grand
And the candles from Phantom flickering all around
Kristen Blodgette at the keys
Sierra Boggess with mic in hand
Former Christine Daee
I don't know why I'm frightened
I know my way around here
(chuckle)
Adrienne Warren, Ariana DeBose, Ali Ewoldt, Shereen Pimentel
The chorus made of up cast members from
The Phantom of the Opera world tour
It’s as if we never said goodbye
Could we start again please
A truly beautiful arrangement
I don't want it to end
I want more
Outside, I check my phone
The world is dangerously rapidly warming
Covid is raging
What is the point of all this singing and dancing and pretending to be cats?!
It's all changing
It might not be here tomorrow
What would the ancient Greeks have made of our theatre?
Or our early ancestors beating their animal skin drums and dancing around the campfires telling stories of their ancestors?
The show must go on.
The Majestic on Broadway
Was 2008
A lifetime and a half ago
Pre- covid, cancer, Fort Collins, Aaron, London, smart phones, and walking the camino
Still Kris
Our first time in NYC
We floated into the city
Literally and metaphorically
A huge storm had hit and
The water was lapping at the bottom of the taxi from the airport
I felt from the first moment I was home
It was still the time when hotels had maps of the city
On tear-away pads in the lobby
And the receptionist/concierge would circle the hotel
And the landmarks and the theatres
And tell you which subways to take
I think every place we stayed in over two years
Was shut down
For violating codes of various sorts
Relics like the paper maps
Replaced by smart phones and
Boutique hotels and air bnb’s with wifi
Back then
Phantom felt like a relic
Tired, in need of refreshing
I, rather sacrilegiously, thought it needed new orchestrations
Something to bring it past 1988
I didn’t mean slashing it to 12 players
Later, still The Before Times
I preferred Phantom in London
Where it felt grander
More opulent
Tonight I’m back at the Majestic
With my friend Paula
(post cancer, pre- covid times)
The theatre has been dark for over 500 days
The longest Broadway has been dark in history
I’ve already worked Springsteen
Right across the street
The first night I handed out playbills in the lobby
I hadn’t been in a room with so many people in over a year
It was overwhelming
The sound of that many people
The look of joy on the faces of the audiences
As they stepped inside a theatre for the first time
Vaxxed and unmasked (the rules were different then)
All that has happened in between
To be back in the theatre
As an audience member
Surrounded by people
(Masked and vaxxed - the rules have changed again)
The roar of appreciation when Sammi Cannold
Stepped out onto the stage
The delight of a surprise Josh Groban
Singing “Could We Start Again, Please”
Could we?
I’ve spent the past year and a half
(And longer)
Championing theatre on screen
Here we were
A live in-person audience
To watch theatre on a screen
A new documentary
The Show Must Go On
Joined by people watching from home
On six different continents
The film itself was moving, beautiful, inspiring
The crazy bravery of all those people traveling to South Korea at the beginning of the pandemic
For Theatre. For Art. For Profit. For Story-Telling
Because what else is there to do?
(I want a documentary about all the artists who streamed theatre during the pandemic
Broadway and the West End may have been dark
But theatre didn’t stop
It just shifted form)
Seeing the process
Actors getting sweaty, doing their drills
The hundreds of hands behind the scenes
Sewing costumes
Rigging sets
Spraying and wiping every surface and even the air with disinfectant
I'm not a Cats fan, but even goddamn “Memory” had me crying
The Korean culture of acting for the whole and not the individual
A strange concept in the land of the free and the home of the brave
That it was all British and American musicals that stayed open (at least as depicted in the film)
The love of The Theatre.
A phone rings! We're truly back!
I get chills watching the audience on screen watching the actors on stage singing and dancing to the people in the seats
The roar of the crowd
The final credits. The curtain closing.
The curtain re-opens with a baby grand
And the candles from Phantom flickering all around
Kristen Blodgette at the keys
Sierra Boggess with mic in hand
Former Christine Daee
I don't know why I'm frightened
I know my way around here
(chuckle)
Adrienne Warren, Ariana DeBose, Ali Ewoldt, Shereen Pimentel
The chorus made of up cast members from
The Phantom of the Opera world tour
It’s as if we never said goodbye
Could we start again please
A truly beautiful arrangement
I don't want it to end
I want more
Outside, I check my phone
The world is dangerously rapidly warming
Covid is raging
What is the point of all this singing and dancing and pretending to be cats?!
It's all changing
It might not be here tomorrow
What would the ancient Greeks have made of our theatre?
Or our early ancestors beating their animal skin drums and dancing around the campfires telling stories of their ancestors?
The show must go on.
- Published on
Remember when all you wanted to do was sing and dance and act?
And then cancer
And recovery and waiting
And still more waiting and recovery
And then you are better
And you find yourself on
Monday
Meeting a new voice teacher and feeling seen and heard
Accessing parts of your voice you thought were lost forever
You sit with Alison in a coffee shop on the upper west side
And trade ideas and write and plan and write
You sit with the altos in chorus and learn Bizet’s Carmen
The deliciousness of the score
Tuesday
Dance class, “Dance for Movers”
Being outside your comfort zone but
Remembering that you love to dance
The joy of being challenged by a teacher
Who loves to share the joy of what they do with
A stern kindness that makes you want to be better
Coffee with Nick from London
How has it been over six years?!
Wednesday
Home with your love
A trip to the library
Puzzling
Working on projects
Thursday
Back to dance class
“Young Hearts Run Free”
You’re thirteen again and
Rehearsing in the dance studio at Kuringai
Young hearts
To yourself be true…
My mind must be free
To learn all I can about me
Over twenty years later
Your muscles remembering
Lunch with the Superhero posse
Bianca and Ruth
Fellow cancer survivors
Still in the thick of it
Coffee with Danni
The loveliness of seeing your friends glow
Class with John Tartaglia
Isn't it nice when your heroes are everything you hoped they'd be and more?
Warm and funny and down to earth
The power of laughter
The joy of sharing a room with immensely talented people
Friday
Class with David Brunetti
Acting through Song
Revisiting techniques from drama school
The meticulous satisfying work of it
Teaching a voice lesson
The language of music
Saturday
Double show day at Frozen
Getting paid to watch theatre
Getting paid to watch people experience their first Broadway show
The joy of it
Just another week in New York
Doing things you’ve always done
But new again
A different body
A new sense of purpose
How lucky I am to be here.
And then cancer
And recovery and waiting
And still more waiting and recovery
And then you are better
And you find yourself on
Monday
Meeting a new voice teacher and feeling seen and heard
Accessing parts of your voice you thought were lost forever
You sit with Alison in a coffee shop on the upper west side
And trade ideas and write and plan and write
You sit with the altos in chorus and learn Bizet’s Carmen
The deliciousness of the score
Tuesday
Dance class, “Dance for Movers”
Being outside your comfort zone but
Remembering that you love to dance
The joy of being challenged by a teacher
Who loves to share the joy of what they do with
A stern kindness that makes you want to be better
Coffee with Nick from London
How has it been over six years?!
Wednesday
Home with your love
A trip to the library
Puzzling
Working on projects
Thursday
Back to dance class
“Young Hearts Run Free”
You’re thirteen again and
Rehearsing in the dance studio at Kuringai
Young hearts
To yourself be true…
My mind must be free
To learn all I can about me
Over twenty years later
Your muscles remembering
Lunch with the Superhero posse
Bianca and Ruth
Fellow cancer survivors
Still in the thick of it
Coffee with Danni
The loveliness of seeing your friends glow
Class with John Tartaglia
Isn't it nice when your heroes are everything you hoped they'd be and more?
Warm and funny and down to earth
The power of laughter
The joy of sharing a room with immensely talented people
Friday
Class with David Brunetti
Acting through Song
Revisiting techniques from drama school
The meticulous satisfying work of it
Teaching a voice lesson
The language of music
Saturday
Double show day at Frozen
Getting paid to watch theatre
Getting paid to watch people experience their first Broadway show
The joy of it
Just another week in New York
Doing things you’ve always done
But new again
A different body
A new sense of purpose
How lucky I am to be here.
- Published on
I didn’t grow up with the book or the movie
My friend Bryan had done it last year
I saw the open call and thought it would be fun
A lovely audition, a friendly room
I was so excited to be cast
Rehearsals
Full-time for a week
Singing and dancing
And learning a show
That happened in 6 different train cars
At the same time
“Broadway on a train!”
The joy of director Scott Calcagno
Tech and dress
Theatre on a moving train
Chugging through suburban New Jersey
Arriving at “The North Pole”
With its giant sleigh, reindeer and
Arctic cold weather
Sharing a carriage with
Alice and Jake
The sweetest cart-ners in the world
Embossing tickets
Making it snow
Singing “We Need a Little Christmas”
Especially poignant on the day of Jerry Herman’s death
Becoming a chef and dancing in the aisle
With trays of hot chocolate
Families wearing matching pajamas
Decorated with candy canes and snowmen and Christmas trees
Light up hats and
Gorgeous ugly sweaters
Parents and children
Aunts and uncles
Grandmas and grandpas
Siblings and cousins
The surly teenagers who always melted into the magic
Walking through the train to
Switch sides
Seeing the other cast members work their magic
All of them lovely and talented and funny
The production car
Where all the theatre magic happens
Joel or Becki at the stage manager console
Alex on lights
Mary or Olivia on sound
Lauren or Emily on costumes
Abigale on props
Meri the production manager
Nick and Nickie in Front of House
Engineers Chuck and Matt
The EMTs
The other elves, Maria and Anna and Anna
David and Jim
Swing nation: Bryan and Steph
Always ready and willing
The racks of costumes for 72 people
Swaying perilously as we crossed the threshold
To the North Pole
Becoming an elf
Anna running with the bells
“Attention please, attention Polar Express passengers!
Someone very special is here to meet you!”
Lights brighten, music swells
The arrival of Santa!
The utter delight on people’s faces
Especially the older folks
Transforming into 5-year-olds before my eyes
Seeing is believing
Traveling through each car
“Are you a real elf?”
The child who sobbed after Santa gave them a bell
(“Right off Santa’s sleigh!”)
“It’s just so magical!”
The guy who asked me if Santa could pay off his mortgage this year
The babies who smiled
The babies who shied away
The kids who asked if I knew their Elf on the Shelf
The kids who brought their Elf on the Shelf in mason jars
Telling passengers that the safest place for their cookies
Was in their bellies
Surprise hugs from little ones
The sugar high from hot chocolate and cookies
The excitement from meeting Santa
A few days at the North Pole
Allie and Jenna making sure we got there in plenty of time
Dancing in the freezing cold
(My group got lucky
We never had to dance in the rain)
The relative ease of three show days
The long marathons of five show days
Eating sandwiches and burritos and cookies and chips
Snacking in between shows to maintain energy
Staying cool, keeping warm
Hanging out with some of the loveliest people
Being a part of something uplifting
A magic carpet on a rail
That never takes a rest
A joyful, magical time
The true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart
For all who truly believe.
My friend Bryan had done it last year
I saw the open call and thought it would be fun
A lovely audition, a friendly room
I was so excited to be cast
Rehearsals
Full-time for a week
Singing and dancing
And learning a show
That happened in 6 different train cars
At the same time
“Broadway on a train!”
The joy of director Scott Calcagno
Tech and dress
Theatre on a moving train
Chugging through suburban New Jersey
Arriving at “The North Pole”
With its giant sleigh, reindeer and
Arctic cold weather
Sharing a carriage with
Alice and Jake
The sweetest cart-ners in the world
Embossing tickets
Making it snow
Singing “We Need a Little Christmas”
Especially poignant on the day of Jerry Herman’s death
Becoming a chef and dancing in the aisle
With trays of hot chocolate
Families wearing matching pajamas
Decorated with candy canes and snowmen and Christmas trees
Light up hats and
Gorgeous ugly sweaters
Parents and children
Aunts and uncles
Grandmas and grandpas
Siblings and cousins
The surly teenagers who always melted into the magic
Walking through the train to
Switch sides
Seeing the other cast members work their magic
All of them lovely and talented and funny
The production car
Where all the theatre magic happens
Joel or Becki at the stage manager console
Alex on lights
Mary or Olivia on sound
Lauren or Emily on costumes
Abigale on props
Meri the production manager
Nick and Nickie in Front of House
Engineers Chuck and Matt
The EMTs
The other elves, Maria and Anna and Anna
David and Jim
Swing nation: Bryan and Steph
Always ready and willing
The racks of costumes for 72 people
Swaying perilously as we crossed the threshold
To the North Pole
Becoming an elf
Anna running with the bells
“Attention please, attention Polar Express passengers!
Someone very special is here to meet you!”
Lights brighten, music swells
The arrival of Santa!
The utter delight on people’s faces
Especially the older folks
Transforming into 5-year-olds before my eyes
Seeing is believing
Traveling through each car
“Are you a real elf?”
The child who sobbed after Santa gave them a bell
(“Right off Santa’s sleigh!”)
“It’s just so magical!”
The guy who asked me if Santa could pay off his mortgage this year
The babies who smiled
The babies who shied away
The kids who asked if I knew their Elf on the Shelf
The kids who brought their Elf on the Shelf in mason jars
Telling passengers that the safest place for their cookies
Was in their bellies
Surprise hugs from little ones
The sugar high from hot chocolate and cookies
The excitement from meeting Santa
A few days at the North Pole
Allie and Jenna making sure we got there in plenty of time
Dancing in the freezing cold
(My group got lucky
We never had to dance in the rain)
The relative ease of three show days
The long marathons of five show days
Eating sandwiches and burritos and cookies and chips
Snacking in between shows to maintain energy
Staying cool, keeping warm
Hanging out with some of the loveliest people
Being a part of something uplifting
A magic carpet on a rail
That never takes a rest
A joyful, magical time
The true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart
For all who truly believe.
- Published on
Anyone who knows me
Knows I love theatre
I love going to it
I love being in it
I love making it
I love the romance
Of sitting in a darkened theatre
The audience in a reverent hush
Taking in the magic occurring on the stage
It’s easy for me to sit still for a couple of hours
Actually, I don’t like sitting still for a couple of hours
I need an intermission
I like hour long acts
I like it when the whole show is one in 90 minutes or less, no intermission needed
But sometimes I question it
Is it ok for me to go to theatre
When people are sleeping on the streets
When children are in cages
When people of color are being beaten
When basic human rights are unfulfilled and
Purposefully denied
On Friday I saw
Into the Woods Sr
A pilot program to bring theatre to senior citizens
The cast were all over 70 something
And their joy of being of stage
Of singing Sondheim’s delicious music
Was infectious
How often do you see the Baker’s Wife in a wheelchair?
Or the narrator’s words spoken in Mandarin?
How often do you see older bodies on stage?
On Sunday afternoon
We had a “relaxed performance” of Frozen
Hosted by TDF for an audience comprised of
People diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
Or other sensitivity issues
The house lights were left up a little
The sound levels were lowered
There were Comfort Zones with play mats, and toys
And a purple army of volunteers
Handing out squishy toys and squishy stars
And providing extra assistance where needed
Guests who needed to talk or vocalize or clap loudly
Could
We had been told that Frozen is
A particularly special show for the autism community
They relate to Elsa
The lyrics take on new meaning
What do I know about love?
Am I a monster?
Let it go.
The cast could see the audience and
Even at the end of an 8 show week
The performances were extra special
On the back this month’s Playbill is an ad for HIV research
"Dear HIV, We didn't give up."
At the end of the show a young man came up to me
He pointed at the advert
“Never give up!” he said
With a big cheesy grin
He shook my hand
And gave me a big hug
Regular audiences don’t do that
We’re carefully taught to not display our emotions
Our joy
What do I know about love?
On Sunday night
I saw What the Constitution Means to Me
Written and performed by Heidi Schreck
And joined by Mike Iveson and Rosedely Ciprian
Gut wrenching, powerful, and compelling story-telling
Prescient and adaptive to current events
I didn’t know the American constitution could be so exciting
So infuriating
The rights of people
Who are The People?
Who is given access to the words?
Who is given access to theatrical world I love so much?
“Accessible theatre” is not just cheaper tickets
Who is speaking on the stage?
Whose voices do we hear?
Whose bodies do we see?
Is every seat in the house available to every person?
Is there an alternative to the steps?
Does the armrest move out of the way?
Is the seat wide enough?
Is it supportive?
Is there enough leg room?
Is the toilet cubicle wide enough if someone needs assistance?
How long is the wait for the toilet?
Will a guest miss some of the show because they're waiting for the toilet?
Can you make noise?
Can you express your emotions?
Can you check in with the person next to you?
Can you clap or cheer or dance?
Can you yell at the stage?
Can you rage at what is going on?
Knows I love theatre
I love going to it
I love being in it
I love making it
I love the romance
Of sitting in a darkened theatre
The audience in a reverent hush
Taking in the magic occurring on the stage
It’s easy for me to sit still for a couple of hours
Actually, I don’t like sitting still for a couple of hours
I need an intermission
I like hour long acts
I like it when the whole show is one in 90 minutes or less, no intermission needed
But sometimes I question it
Is it ok for me to go to theatre
When people are sleeping on the streets
When children are in cages
When people of color are being beaten
When basic human rights are unfulfilled and
Purposefully denied
On Friday I saw
Into the Woods Sr
A pilot program to bring theatre to senior citizens
The cast were all over 70 something
And their joy of being of stage
Of singing Sondheim’s delicious music
Was infectious
How often do you see the Baker’s Wife in a wheelchair?
Or the narrator’s words spoken in Mandarin?
How often do you see older bodies on stage?
On Sunday afternoon
We had a “relaxed performance” of Frozen
Hosted by TDF for an audience comprised of
People diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
Or other sensitivity issues
The house lights were left up a little
The sound levels were lowered
There were Comfort Zones with play mats, and toys
And a purple army of volunteers
Handing out squishy toys and squishy stars
And providing extra assistance where needed
Guests who needed to talk or vocalize or clap loudly
Could
We had been told that Frozen is
A particularly special show for the autism community
They relate to Elsa
The lyrics take on new meaning
What do I know about love?
Am I a monster?
Let it go.
The cast could see the audience and
Even at the end of an 8 show week
The performances were extra special
On the back this month’s Playbill is an ad for HIV research
"Dear HIV, We didn't give up."
At the end of the show a young man came up to me
He pointed at the advert
“Never give up!” he said
With a big cheesy grin
He shook my hand
And gave me a big hug
Regular audiences don’t do that
We’re carefully taught to not display our emotions
Our joy
What do I know about love?
On Sunday night
I saw What the Constitution Means to Me
Written and performed by Heidi Schreck
And joined by Mike Iveson and Rosedely Ciprian
Gut wrenching, powerful, and compelling story-telling
Prescient and adaptive to current events
I didn’t know the American constitution could be so exciting
So infuriating
The rights of people
Who are The People?
Who is given access to the words?
Who is given access to theatrical world I love so much?
“Accessible theatre” is not just cheaper tickets
Who is speaking on the stage?
Whose voices do we hear?
Whose bodies do we see?
Is every seat in the house available to every person?
Is there an alternative to the steps?
Does the armrest move out of the way?
Is the seat wide enough?
Is it supportive?
Is there enough leg room?
Is the toilet cubicle wide enough if someone needs assistance?
How long is the wait for the toilet?
Will a guest miss some of the show because they're waiting for the toilet?
Can you make noise?
Can you express your emotions?
Can you check in with the person next to you?
Can you clap or cheer or dance?
Can you yell at the stage?
Can you rage at what is going on?
- Published on
Imagine your whole life
You wanted to be in a musical in New York City
And one day
It is announced
That your chorus
Will be performing
Lady in the Dark
at City Center
You audition to be in the semi-chorus
Which is later called the chamber chorus
You get to go to extra rehearsals
And be moved around by Doug Varone
You watch his extraordinary dancers
In action
And remember how much you used to love to dance
Before fear and self-consciousness and demons took over
You sit in rehearsal
And marvel that
Tony Award winner Victoria Clark
Is right there in front of you
She sings “My Ship”
Not three feet away
And you want to melt in the loveliness that is her voice
You watch director Ted Sperling
And feel amazed
That after all those years of listening to
Titanic and Light in the Piazza and Floyd Collins and Anastasia
On repeat
You get to work with and
Learn from this extraordinary person
It's not just the big names you learn from
Julie Morgan, associate conductor, and her eye (ear?) for detail
Your fellow cast members
Especially the high school students
Remembering what it's like to go through this process for the first time
The joy of sharing rehearsals
The hours spent together
Rehearsals fly by all too quickly
One week will it ever be right
Then out of the hat it’s that big first night
The—
Actually, no overture in this musical
Straight into a scene
Your make-up is on
Your tiara is perched on your head and
You sit backstage in the dim blue gel light
A lady in the dark
Watching the hustle of all the people
Running costume pieces across to stage right
Placing prop popcorn boxes stage left
Stage hands and costume assistants and musicians and security guards
The actors are the last part
Or perhaps the audience is
There is a line in Michael Gow’s Away
“Fancy doing it night after night like in America. Plays go on for years there. London too."
Our play only ran for 3 days
A limited engagement
I wished it could’ve been longer
But in the moment
To stand on a stage and be
A part of creating gorgeous glorious music and
Tell stories
A dream.
You wanted to be in a musical in New York City
And one day
It is announced
That your chorus
Will be performing
Lady in the Dark
at City Center
You audition to be in the semi-chorus
Which is later called the chamber chorus
You get to go to extra rehearsals
And be moved around by Doug Varone
You watch his extraordinary dancers
In action
And remember how much you used to love to dance
Before fear and self-consciousness and demons took over
You sit in rehearsal
And marvel that
Tony Award winner Victoria Clark
Is right there in front of you
She sings “My Ship”
Not three feet away
And you want to melt in the loveliness that is her voice
You watch director Ted Sperling
And feel amazed
That after all those years of listening to
Titanic and Light in the Piazza and Floyd Collins and Anastasia
On repeat
You get to work with and
Learn from this extraordinary person
It's not just the big names you learn from
Julie Morgan, associate conductor, and her eye (ear?) for detail
Your fellow cast members
Especially the high school students
Remembering what it's like to go through this process for the first time
The joy of sharing rehearsals
The hours spent together
Rehearsals fly by all too quickly
One week will it ever be right
Then out of the hat it’s that big first night
The—
Actually, no overture in this musical
Straight into a scene
Your make-up is on
Your tiara is perched on your head and
You sit backstage in the dim blue gel light
A lady in the dark
Watching the hustle of all the people
Running costume pieces across to stage right
Placing prop popcorn boxes stage left
Stage hands and costume assistants and musicians and security guards
The actors are the last part
Or perhaps the audience is
There is a line in Michael Gow’s Away
“Fancy doing it night after night like in America. Plays go on for years there. London too."
Our play only ran for 3 days
A limited engagement
I wished it could’ve been longer
But in the moment
To stand on a stage and be
A part of creating gorgeous glorious music and
Tell stories
A dream.
- Published on
The delicious joy of seeing a well-crafted play
A world where language and literature
Rain and reign
Humans form new worlds
Out of rubble
Nothing more than bodies
Strips of fabric and wooden boxes
Splashes of light
Everyday objects are lobsters and caterpillars and creatures of the dark
Silky white rose petals fall from the sky
Are painted red by light
The musicians wet their lips and
Play
How art can rescue us in times of trouble
See us through
See through us
Worlds of make believe
Inside a concrete jungle
Full of trash and tourists
The glittering towers radiate supreme wealth
While fellow humans
Make beds of cardboard on the sidewalk
A world where language and literature
Rain and reign
Humans form new worlds
Out of rubble
Nothing more than bodies
Strips of fabric and wooden boxes
Splashes of light
Everyday objects are lobsters and caterpillars and creatures of the dark
Silky white rose petals fall from the sky
Are painted red by light
The musicians wet their lips and
Play
How art can rescue us in times of trouble
See us through
See through us
Worlds of make believe
Inside a concrete jungle
Full of trash and tourists
The glittering towers radiate supreme wealth
While fellow humans
Make beds of cardboard on the sidewalk
- Published on
We have learned to cheat the time
And find the hours
That the clocks cannot define
As I looked up from that stage
I felt the thing that had been made
And how it raged
And how it raged
How to explain?
Felix Riebl
On Monday
I spent the morning figuring out of I could step in last minute to a new play opening on Thursday
I desperately wanted to do it
But there was an overwhelming amount of text
Which was completely unfamiliar to me
Perhaps if I’d been sitting in on rehearsals beforehand
Or vaguely knew the show
I hated to turn it down
In the afternoon I had a delightful singing lesson
In the evening, I went to chorus rehearsal
On Tuesday
I recorded a song at The Growing Studio
Spent a glorious hour and a half in rehearsal for The Big C Cabaret
Collaborating, coming up with ideas
In the evening I ushered at Frozen, it was
Kids Night on Broadway
It’s so special to be a tiny part of people’s first theatre experience
Seeing their eyes light up when they walk into the house
Their joy at the end of the show
On Wednesday
I was a patient for the morning
Well, a pretend one
After years of actually being a patient
I’m now getting paid to be one
In a program training student doctors
I help to evaluate their communication skills
Develop their empathy
Give them practice in connecting
In the evening, another chorus rehearsal
The delight of realizing Mairi Dorman, cellist extraordinaire, was a part of the concert
The thrill of sitting in a room of professional musicians
Watching them work
They make it look so easy
But you know the thousands of unseen hours that have led to this
“Effortlessness”
On Thursday
Another day of being a patient
In the evening
The Cat Empire in concert at Brooklyn Steel
I haven’t seen them for 8 years
They were glorious
As they walked on stage I was overwhelmed with nostalgia
I’ve seen them live around 20 times
It bought back memories of first year uni
Of Flea, and Flick, and Anita, and Kensington
Of Vicky, and Len, and Richie, and Kris
Of London and Brick Lane and how
The music of this band now spans almost half my life
On Friday
We had dress rehearsal for the chorus concert
MasterVoices Presents Night Songs and Love Waltzes
It’s exciting to have it all come together
To be a part of Ted Sperling’s theatrical vision
To sing in a venue like Alice Tully Hall
In the evening we sang
Schubert and Schumann (Robert and Clara) and
Brahms and Sondheim and Mendelssohn and Gordon
It was thrilling to watch Anderson and Roe up close
Chemistry and musical mastery
It was lovely to go home with my love
On Saturday
I ushered at Frozen
Made my way to Williamsburg for Iron City
Spent the evening improvising for tourists
And running delightful games
On Sunday
Back to Iron City
For more improvisation
In the evening
Home to my love
To paraphrase The Cat Empire
An Aussie-Spaniard screams for more…
I spent the morning figuring out of I could step in last minute to a new play opening on Thursday
I desperately wanted to do it
But there was an overwhelming amount of text
Which was completely unfamiliar to me
Perhaps if I’d been sitting in on rehearsals beforehand
Or vaguely knew the show
I hated to turn it down
In the afternoon I had a delightful singing lesson
In the evening, I went to chorus rehearsal
On Tuesday
I recorded a song at The Growing Studio
Spent a glorious hour and a half in rehearsal for The Big C Cabaret
Collaborating, coming up with ideas
In the evening I ushered at Frozen, it was
Kids Night on Broadway
It’s so special to be a tiny part of people’s first theatre experience
Seeing their eyes light up when they walk into the house
Their joy at the end of the show
On Wednesday
I was a patient for the morning
Well, a pretend one
After years of actually being a patient
I’m now getting paid to be one
In a program training student doctors
I help to evaluate their communication skills
Develop their empathy
Give them practice in connecting
In the evening, another chorus rehearsal
The delight of realizing Mairi Dorman, cellist extraordinaire, was a part of the concert
The thrill of sitting in a room of professional musicians
Watching them work
They make it look so easy
But you know the thousands of unseen hours that have led to this
“Effortlessness”
On Thursday
Another day of being a patient
In the evening
The Cat Empire in concert at Brooklyn Steel
I haven’t seen them for 8 years
They were glorious
As they walked on stage I was overwhelmed with nostalgia
I’ve seen them live around 20 times
It bought back memories of first year uni
Of Flea, and Flick, and Anita, and Kensington
Of Vicky, and Len, and Richie, and Kris
Of London and Brick Lane and how
The music of this band now spans almost half my life
On Friday
We had dress rehearsal for the chorus concert
MasterVoices Presents Night Songs and Love Waltzes
It’s exciting to have it all come together
To be a part of Ted Sperling’s theatrical vision
To sing in a venue like Alice Tully Hall
In the evening we sang
Schubert and Schumann (Robert and Clara) and
Brahms and Sondheim and Mendelssohn and Gordon
It was thrilling to watch Anderson and Roe up close
Chemistry and musical mastery
It was lovely to go home with my love
On Saturday
I ushered at Frozen
Made my way to Williamsburg for Iron City
Spent the evening improvising for tourists
And running delightful games
On Sunday
Back to Iron City
For more improvisation
In the evening
Home to my love
To paraphrase The Cat Empire
An Aussie-Spaniard screams for more…