2021 News
December 2021
- This month I submitted my first book chapter! I wrote about the 1981 Broadway musical The First, and the chapter will be included in the upcoming book Jackie Robinson on Page, Stage, and Screen to be published by the Society of American Baseball Research in 2022! It was fascinating to deep dive into a musical that ran for only three weeks, and interview cast members and creatives from the show. I look forward to sharing more info next year.
- My profile was featured in Shoutout LA!
- I also applied for a PhD in Theatre. It was fun to re-visit my thesis and see how much Filmed Live Musicals has grown in that time, and reflect on how much research I've undertaken in the past 9 years.
- Our little floof Voltaire turned 1!
November 2021
- On the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I chatted with the utterly lovely Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams, founders of new musical theatre company Bottle Cap Theatre, and the amazing Ricky and Dana Young-Howze who over the pandemic reviewed over 200 digital theatre productions.
- Happiness is singing in the choir... I got to sing at Carnegie Hall! Without a mask! MasterVoices performed in person for the first time since February 2020 with our December concert A Joyful Noise. And what a joy it was! Singing with Take 6 and the Northwell Health Nurse Choir, and the gorgeous Mikaela Bennett, singing John Rutter's "Rejoice and Sing," Randall Thompson's "Allelulia," Adam Guettel's "Migratory V," and Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms." So thankful to Ted Sperling, Julie Morgan, and all the team at MasterVoices who worked so hard to allow the concert to happen.
October 2021
- This month on the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I chatted with fellow Central grad and gorgeous human Ethel Yap all about the musical theatre scene in Singapore, and Emmy nominee Kenneth Ferrone all about working on Sistas: The Musical, Grease Live!, RENT Live on Fox , and SpongeBob the Musical!.
- We did a Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween family costume! Voltaire lasted as long as it took to take his photo in his Zero outfit, but we had so much fun!
September 2021
- This month on the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, I had the joy of chatting with associate choreographer and director Richard J. Hinds all about Newsies and Come From Away, and digital innovator and educator Jared Mezzocchi.
- The Filmed Live Musicals podcast was nominated for Best Podcast at the 2021 Sydney Web Fest, and I had a blast being a guest on the Creator's Panel during the Official Awards Ceremony!
- I celebrated my birthday by frolicking about the NY Ren Faire as a fairy!
August 2021
- The theme of August was IMMERSION! Had a wonderful time jogging around Central Park with Endure: A Run Woman Show, and being moved by the gorgeous Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. We also spent a glorious week in rural Virginia communing with nature.
- On the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I chatted with Sarah Ellis and Greg Kamp about their wonderful project MT Shorts, and got in touch with my Filipino roots connecting with writer Liza Magtoto and director Maribel Legarda about their musical Rak of Aegis.
July 2021
- This month on Filmed Live Musicals podcast I had the delight of chatting with two brilliant guests - Jess Ryan, CEO of Broadway Unlocked, a company that creates live digital shows and experiences including premiers, galas, and fundraising events, and Benjamin Scheuer, a musician, writer, and fellow cancer survivor.
- I returned to in-person work as a standardized patient at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. I learn case details, and through structured improv help student doctors have real-life encounters with a "patient" and provide feedback so they can improve their interpersonal and communication skills. It's challenging, fun, and incredibly rewarding.
- We grew food in our garden! Tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, raspberries, and broccoli!
June 2021
- Back on Broadway baby! It was an emotional journey to be working front of house for the return of Broadway after 471 days, or 67 weeks and 2 days, or 15 months of being shut down due to the pandemic. Such a joy to work in this beautiful, historic theatre.
May 2021
- My oh my, May was busy! This month on Filmed Live Musicals podcast I chatted with the visionary CEO of Broadway on Demand Sean Cercone and learnt how his mother-in-law inspired the creation of an entire platform, triple threat James T. Lane who shared his inspiring journey to creating a one man show that will be streamed later this year, and the delightful Susan Jamson, Press and PR Manager for the brilliant north London inclusive theatre company Chickenshed.
- I got to do an actual in-person, with other live in-the-flesh people thing! MasterVoices chorus members met in-person at the Linda Gross Theater in NYC to film "Saturn Returns: the Return" for the final chapter of Adam Guettal's Myths and Hymns. We even got to *hum* together!
- The final chapter of MasterVoices' virtual production of Myths and Hymns was released! All four chapters are now available on demand via YouTube.
April 2021
- On episodes 18 and 19 of Filmed Live Musicals podcast I had the joy of chatting with two effervescent multi-talented women - composer and musician Lourds Lane, whose new rock musical SuperYou was filmed live at a drive-in in upstate New York, and performer Jalynn Steele who appeared in the streamed concert reading of new parody musical Titanique!
March 2021
- This month on the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I had so much fun chatting with the brilliant Benita de Wit, an Aussie director now based in NYC, and Tertia Sefton-Green, Creative Director of HMDT Music.
- Chapters 1 and 2 of MasterVoices' virtual production of Myths and Hymns was nominated for a Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Production! So very proud and honored to be a part of this extraordinary group.
February 2021
- We had a quarantine date night at home watching the truly brilliant Bollywood Kitchen presented by Geffen Theatre. In addition to the stream, we received a box with ingredients to make a scrumptious Indian curry, which we were taught how to cook as part of the show. Hands down one of the most delicious productions I've ever seen!
- On the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I chatted with Marc Teitler and Tim Phillips, composers of the smash-hit British musical The Grinning Man.
- We adopted a puppy, Voltaire! He's a black lab mix, and he's named for the French philosopher because Aaron is a philosophy teacher, and the musical connection with Bernstein's Candide. Voltaire is truly the best of all possible puppies!
January 2021
- This month on the Filmed Live Musicals podcast I had the pleasure of chatting with British director, dramaturg, and musical theatre advocate Adam Lenson and Aussie-now-based-in-London producer Eliza Jackson of Lambert Jackson Productions.