Stephan:
How many people can say that they got to be Gandhi for a day...on top of that, how many of those "Gandhi"s have then been granted the extreem opportunity to have a fist fight with Jesus and break a bottle over his head. In this esteem, I may be in a class of my own.
It really was a great week from the begining. Monday I got the opportunity to sing again for the BMI writers workshop. For those who haven't heard of the BMI workshop, it's a program for musical theatre songwriters. The songwriters who are a part of BMI get the opportunity to present their songs to a classroom of fellow singers and songwriters, who then discuss the songs and present valuable insights, ideas, and feedback. Some of the shows that have emerged from this workshop are hits like A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Nine, Ragtime, & most recently Avenue Q. Often when a songwriter writes a new song, instead of singing it themselves they'll ask a singer or actor to come into class and present it for them. On Monday I was one of those singers.
I've sung for a few different writers there, and I must say it's always a good challenge and a terrific learning experience (along with being a great opportunity for meeting and being heard by the next generation of musical theatre composers). My song went well, I didn't nail it like I had hoped, but I certainly did have some good moments. I must note that I love the music of the composer I was singing...the wonderful BJ Bjorkman! The head moderator of the class this past week was Maury Yeston (Titanic, Nine, Grand Hotel). Listening to him digest and diagnose the songs in class was a real education. I loved some of his ideas on sincerety in music (speaking right to the story and not musical theatre-ing it up), emotional juxtiposition (the bad guy of the show thinks they're the good guy, and sometimes when you write music for the moment when the ship hits the iceburg, it doesn't have to be done with drums and a great boom, maybe it's better with a flute solo), and good song concepts vs. well written songs (it could be a great song, but if it's the wrong moment, it's lost). Just being in that room (especially after spending most of the rest of the day in an office) was a giant breath of fresh air.
So, Thursday I get the call from 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' - "hey Stephan, are you available tomorrow? Our usual Gandhi is unavailble for the show tomorrow and we were wondering if you would be interested" (I of course being a 5'6" midwest looking "white boy", had to take a moment) to which I answered "sure, I can move some things around, but are you sure you think I would be ok for Gandhi?". "Yeah (beat) do you have a lot of chest hair?" (beat) "Is it good to have chest hair? I could shave it all off?"...needless to say, after talking about my chest hair, arm size, pecks and overall indian-compatibility, I was deemed worthy and asked to come in on Friday.
We were supposed to be a part of the College Mascots bit on Friday night (us being the "fighting pacifists" - Jesus fighting Gandhi). Unfortunately after getting the bald cap, face paint, indian toga (indian toga - is that what it's called?), and after breaking a bottle over Jesus' head in the 4 o'clock rehearsal, we got cut. Alas, my National TV Gandhi debut must wait. All in all, what a way to spend a day!
How many people can say that they got to be Gandhi for a day...on top of that, how many of those "Gandhi"s have then been granted the extreem opportunity to have a fist fight with Jesus and break a bottle over his head. In this esteem, I may be in a class of my own.
It really was a great week from the begining. Monday I got the opportunity to sing again for the BMI writers workshop. For those who haven't heard of the BMI workshop, it's a program for musical theatre songwriters. The songwriters who are a part of BMI get the opportunity to present their songs to a classroom of fellow singers and songwriters, who then discuss the songs and present valuable insights, ideas, and feedback. Some of the shows that have emerged from this workshop are hits like A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Nine, Ragtime, & most recently Avenue Q. Often when a songwriter writes a new song, instead of singing it themselves they'll ask a singer or actor to come into class and present it for them. On Monday I was one of those singers.
I've sung for a few different writers there, and I must say it's always a good challenge and a terrific learning experience (along with being a great opportunity for meeting and being heard by the next generation of musical theatre composers). My song went well, I didn't nail it like I had hoped, but I certainly did have some good moments. I must note that I love the music of the composer I was singing...the wonderful BJ Bjorkman! The head moderator of the class this past week was Maury Yeston (Titanic, Nine, Grand Hotel). Listening to him digest and diagnose the songs in class was a real education. I loved some of his ideas on sincerety in music (speaking right to the story and not musical theatre-ing it up), emotional juxtiposition (the bad guy of the show thinks they're the good guy, and sometimes when you write music for the moment when the ship hits the iceburg, it doesn't have to be done with drums and a great boom, maybe it's better with a flute solo), and good song concepts vs. well written songs (it could be a great song, but if it's the wrong moment, it's lost). Just being in that room (especially after spending most of the rest of the day in an office) was a giant breath of fresh air.
So, Thursday I get the call from 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' - "hey Stephan, are you available tomorrow? Our usual Gandhi is unavailble for the show tomorrow and we were wondering if you would be interested" (I of course being a 5'6" midwest looking "white boy", had to take a moment) to which I answered "sure, I can move some things around, but are you sure you think I would be ok for Gandhi?". "Yeah (beat) do you have a lot of chest hair?" (beat) "Is it good to have chest hair? I could shave it all off?"...needless to say, after talking about my chest hair, arm size, pecks and overall indian-compatibility, I was deemed worthy and asked to come in on Friday.
We were supposed to be a part of the College Mascots bit on Friday night (us being the "fighting pacifists" - Jesus fighting Gandhi). Unfortunately after getting the bald cap, face paint, indian toga (indian toga - is that what it's called?), and after breaking a bottle over Jesus' head in the 4 o'clock rehearsal, we got cut. Alas, my National TV Gandhi debut must wait. All in all, what a way to spend a day!
1 comment:
HI.GOD LOVES YOU
Post a Comment