Stephan:
How do you feel about the Rock Songs in your audition book?
I just finished an amazing class with actor/teacher extraordinaire Sheri Sanders (www.sherisanders.biz) called "Rock the Audition" and I was blown away! I wanted to make sure to pass it along...
In her class, Sheri hooks you up with 2 contrasting rock audition songs that fit you like a glove and then she works style, time period, vocal styling, and storytelling with you to make the songs excel in the audition room. Sheri has an extensive knowledge of 60's, 70's, 80's, & 90's rock and her musical directors for the class are amazing... ours was Wendy Bobbitt-Cavett the warm and wonderful Musical Director for Mamma Mia!! (It must be mentioned too that Sheri is singularly talented in her own right and has one of the fiercest voices I've heard... so trusting her instincts and insights comes very, very easy)
It's amazing to me how many shows on Broadway and Tour require a rock or R&B song these days: Xanadu, Legally Blond, Rent, Jersey Boys, Grease, Passing Strange, Hairspray, Spring Awakening, Shrek... with the Vegas, Tour, and Broadway companies of Mamma Mia auditioning alone, it's so worth it for you to have a rock audition you love. If you're looking for the best place to make it happen, check out Sheri's class, it's a great place to make it happen...
Sheri Sanders' web site is www.sherisanders.biz
You can check out her upcoming rock classes at www.sherisanders.biz/class.htm (there's one coming up in May!)
Showing posts with label Stephan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephan. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Not For Tourists.com
Stephan:
hey guys!
Some of my friends are really big fans of Not For Tourists which has neighborhood maps and info about a lot of the actor neighborhoods in NYC. Check out their web site: http://www.notfortourists.com/
You can actually check out locations of drug stores, banks, bars, restaurants, shops, and post offices close to you on their web site for free at this link: http://notfortourists.com/NewYork-PDFs.aspx It's especially great for artists new to NYC or people who are trying to figure out which neighborhood to sublet in or find an apartment.
At last, all of the information about your neighborhood in one place (no more using "store locator" links on the web!!)!
hey guys!
Some of my friends are really big fans of Not For Tourists which has neighborhood maps and info about a lot of the actor neighborhoods in NYC. Check out their web site: http://www.notfortourists.com/
You can actually check out locations of drug stores, banks, bars, restaurants, shops, and post offices close to you on their web site for free at this link: http://notfortourists.com/NewYork-PDFs.aspx It's especially great for artists new to NYC or people who are trying to figure out which neighborhood to sublet in or find an apartment.
At last, all of the information about your neighborhood in one place (no more using "store locator" links on the web!!)!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
NonEquityDeputy.com
Hey guys, check out this amazing web-site I just came across! It's a place with message boards for Non-Equity actors, with tons of information on specific theatres. The web address is www.nonequitydeputy.com
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Money in the Bank! (Fidelity Investments)
Stephan:
Do you have extra money that you don't need for another couple of months that's just sitting in your checking account? This is a conversation I've had about 4 times this week and since a lot of us are actors with fluctuating accounts, I thought I'd pass it along.
It started with a question from one of my roommates, Sonja, "I've got this money just sitting in my account and I don't know what to do with it. Do you have any ideas?" She came to me because I'm something of a nerd when it comes to reading books on money management and doing research on investing.
"Sure that's something I was dealing with in August" I said, "I can't guarantee this is the best answer for you, but I've found something that works for me." I went on to tell her about my accounts at Fidelity Investments (www.fidelity.com). I started an account there for my Roth IRA right after college (thanks to my Grandparent's wisdom), but more recently I started an account there for an amount of a few thousand dollars that was just sitting in my checking account waiting to be used. They have a money market account that right now is getting about 5% interest and you can link it to your checking account at your bank to get that money back into your checking account the next day if you needed to.
The best part about it is that you can go in and talk to somebody at Fidelity for free and they can detail all of your options and give you other great ideas, even if you don't already have an account there (check out their locations). Sonja and I went in yesterday and met with one of the guys there and it looks like it's exactly what she was looking for. The funny thing was that while I was there I ran into a friend of mine who was in a commercial class I took a couple of years ago. When we started talking about it, he realized that he could use something like that too. I thought I'd pass it on to you!
Do you have extra money that you don't need for another couple of months that's just sitting in your checking account? This is a conversation I've had about 4 times this week and since a lot of us are actors with fluctuating accounts, I thought I'd pass it along.
It started with a question from one of my roommates, Sonja, "I've got this money just sitting in my account and I don't know what to do with it. Do you have any ideas?" She came to me because I'm something of a nerd when it comes to reading books on money management and doing research on investing.
"Sure that's something I was dealing with in August" I said, "I can't guarantee this is the best answer for you, but I've found something that works for me." I went on to tell her about my accounts at Fidelity Investments (www.fidelity.com). I started an account there for my Roth IRA right after college (thanks to my Grandparent's wisdom), but more recently I started an account there for an amount of a few thousand dollars that was just sitting in my checking account waiting to be used. They have a money market account that right now is getting about 5% interest and you can link it to your checking account at your bank to get that money back into your checking account the next day if you needed to.
The best part about it is that you can go in and talk to somebody at Fidelity for free and they can detail all of your options and give you other great ideas, even if you don't already have an account there (check out their locations). Sonja and I went in yesterday and met with one of the guys there and it looks like it's exactly what she was looking for. The funny thing was that while I was there I ran into a friend of mine who was in a commercial class I took a couple of years ago. When we started talking about it, he realized that he could use something like that too. I thought I'd pass it on to you!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Happy Christmas & Merry Hanukkah
Hope everybody has had a wonderful week with their family & friends. Check out this funny video from the companies of Avenue Q & Fiddler on the Roof ("Everyone's A Little Bit Jewish")
Friday, December 22, 2006
'Spring Awakening' & INMULABAL
Stephan:
I saw Spring Awakening (the Broadway show, http://www.springawakening.com/) last week, and was blown away! If you haven't seen it yet, and if you can still find a cheap ticket (it was selling at 50% capacity through previews...although, now it's officially open), I would highly recommend it. While not everyone I know who has seen it has been in love with it, I certainly am. Check out this music video (Spring Awakening Video), it may get you hooked. Hope you like it!
Also, I took part in a really cool reading this month for a new group that my former roommate (playwright/actor) Brian Pracht started with some friends. The group is called INMULABAL, and it is comprised of a bunch of actors and writers who met through the LAByrinth Theatre (Philip Seymour Hoffman & John Patrick Shanley's theatre group). INMULABAL has been meeting every week as a sort of "acting group" (like a "writing group" only for actors), where they perform for each other and bring in new exercises, ideas, and inspiration. A couple weeks ago they had their first "performance" where there were about 9 readings of new plays and short pieces. I was super impressed with the talent and the subtlety of the writers and actors. If you're interested, check out their google-group page (http://groups.google.com/group/inmulabal). Happy Holidays!
I saw Spring Awakening (the Broadway show, http://www.springawakening.com/) last week, and was blown away! If you haven't seen it yet, and if you can still find a cheap ticket (it was selling at 50% capacity through previews...although, now it's officially open), I would highly recommend it. While not everyone I know who has seen it has been in love with it, I certainly am. Check out this music video (Spring Awakening Video), it may get you hooked. Hope you like it!
Also, I took part in a really cool reading this month for a new group that my former roommate (playwright/actor) Brian Pracht started with some friends. The group is called INMULABAL, and it is comprised of a bunch of actors and writers who met through the LAByrinth Theatre (Philip Seymour Hoffman & John Patrick Shanley's theatre group). INMULABAL has been meeting every week as a sort of "acting group" (like a "writing group" only for actors), where they perform for each other and bring in new exercises, ideas, and inspiration. A couple weeks ago they had their first "performance" where there were about 9 readings of new plays and short pieces. I was super impressed with the talent and the subtlety of the writers and actors. If you're interested, check out their google-group page (http://groups.google.com/group/inmulabal). Happy Holidays!
Saturday, December 2, 2006
A day with Gandhi
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!
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