Decided to collage a new back drop for a new year. Yes, that is Jennifer Coolidge from White Lotus next to my niece and nephew.
My favorites quotation finds are:
“It would be nice to float around and then sometimes wash onto shore.”
“In my case, a lot of money.”
“What’s next, astronaut?”
Musical sketches and research. Overtones. Scriabin. Arvo Part. “Repetition (chanting/drumming) can increase right brain dominance.”
Some promising stuff got copied into Finale.
**The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. Easy to digest and well-reasoned arguments as to how racism bleeds public goods, harming all of us.
**Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran. Beautiful, campy, nostalgic, heartbreaking. A vision of pre-AIDS New York gay culture through the enduring characters of the fabulous Sutherland and the tragic Malone.
The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T-Rex and How it Shook Our World by David K. Randall. Overwritten and oversold. Not much story here, despite Randall’s attempt to make you think otherwise. I largely disagreed with his assessment of the private thoughts of his protagonist, paleontologist Barnum Brown.
**The Overstory by Richard Powers. (Finished) Subtle, methodical, deeply thought through and far reaching. Much like its topic — the trees — this novel requires time, and investment. But the healing lessons that both process and product leave you with is well-worth it.
The Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Starts out very strong, frays at the end. But is in many ways the prototype to how space empires have been depicted ever since.
**Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland. Fascinating and fast read despite the enormity of its scope. Holland’s argument is that we live in an inescapably Christian world. Not only is he probably correct, I found myself rather relieved to know that.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Simple, sweet, of another time.
**Radicalized: Four Tales of Our Present Moment by Cory Doctorow. Thoroughly enjoyable. Four bite-sized short stories of a Black Mirror depiction of our modern world. Juicy and imaginative.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. (Started) The American City in this instance is my home city of Milwuakee. It’s giving me an on the ground look at the fabric of the city that I never knew about growing up. A story of the cycle of homelessness and substandard housing.
**How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell — The perfect book to begin a new decade. A remarkably well articulated argument and “how-to” for resisting the attention economy. Her solution is not simply to unplug from social media, but rather to train your focus on the bigger picture. Odell highlights the importance of natural ecologies as a primary teacher of the necessary elements for thought, innovation, and intentional action. Those elements include: diversity, interconnectedness, and context (i.e. time and space). A must-read for anyone needing to come up for air from the constant deluge of #FOMO, political news, and social media.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt — an epic and incredibly detailed story of a young man who’s life is irrevocably altered by a terrorist attack in a museum and his resulting act of art theft. I was struck by how intricate each (wildly diverse) element of Tartt’s world was depicted. The research alone must have been staggering. And then there’s her plotting, which always lifts you up and breathlessly sweeps you forward at just the right moments.
Beating Broadway: How to Create Stories for Musicals that Get Standing Ovations by Steve Cuden — a tepid analysis of the story building-blocks that make up musicals. This book is less of a “how-to” and more of a loose compilation of all the elements Cuden deems must be present for any successful musical. However, Cuden mostly regurgitates ideas from other, better books on (mostly screenwriting) story structure without offering anything particularly novel or insightful himself. The book is then padded with 250 pages of reverse-engineered story beats from 40 musicals that no more give one instructions on how to create a show from scratch than describing a cake teaches one how to bake.
**Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music by Andy Hill — a detailed, yet never tedious, analysis of major film scores and film scoring technique. Hill’s passion for the subject is infectious, and the way he uncovers the harmonic language of film music is akin to a magician revealing a trick: the magic remains, only now in the form of mastery. Definitely a technical read and will not be suitable for the music illiterate.
Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein — a truly fascinating and fairly brisk read, Klein describes what so many of us know to already be true — the country is polarized into parties, and the parties act in two very distinct and antithetical ways. But his explanation as to why that’s the case, and even more importantly how logical it is, is fascinating and worthwhile. I found myself feeling relieved at finally being able to put words to the phenomena I witnessed daily in the news. You’re not crazy, it really is happening, and Klein tells us why, and even suggests what we might try to do about it.
El Alquimista: Una Fabula Para Seguir Tus Sueños by Paulo Coelho — hadn’t read this book since High School, and decided to re-read in Spanish in effort to help me progress with the language. I was struck again by the layered nuance that this seemingly simple parable contains. It’s the epic story of a young shepherd in Spain who dreams of a buried treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt. Within the tale of a young man following his dreams is the lesson of a life fully lived, at one with Soul of the World and trusting in your Personal Story.
**How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi — Kendi’s book should be required reading for high school students (and anyone out of high school) across America. What makes his book so effective is the simplicity with which he defines his terms (racist vs. anti-racist, etc), and the disarming choice to use his own racist thoughts and upbringing as an example. What could easily be a touchy subject for many is wrapped cleverly within the coming-of-age journey of a young Black man. Kendi brings his reader to a new understanding about the pervasive stranglehold of racist ideas, its connection to racist policies, and the simple change in perspective required to become an anti-racist.
The other day I received an email with a question about writing an “I Want” song. I thought it would be helpful to make a post about it, for anyone who might have similar questions about this very important requirement for any musical story.
“Hi, My name is ******* I’m a young composer. How do you exactly do an “I want” for a horror musical?
Inquisitive Young Composer
What a great question!
Continue reading “I Want” Song — The Horror!
Is it too late for a “Best of” list??
Scratch that – never mind – I hate “Best of” lists. This is merely an inventory for you (mostly for me) of the books I read in 2018.
These actually aren’t ALL of the books I read (nerd brag), just the books I read for personal enjoyment or enrichment. I share them because maybe you, too are looking for enjoyment or enrichment.
Last year when I did this, I told myself to read more fiction. Alas, I didn’t listen to myself. So once again, if you like entrepreneurial type books mixed with a little bit of human psychology – congratulations you’re my soulmate. Oh, and for those of you who simply NEED a “Best of” list, I put a ** next to my favorites.
Continue reading Books I Read in 2018Two months ago, I premiered a couple songs from some upcoming projects at Musi-CAL, a bi-monthly concert of new songs from Southern California based musical theatre writers (that I also host!)
Now, I know what you’re wondering: does bi-monthly mean twice a month or every two months?
The truth is it means both. BOTH! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what’s both amazing and terrible about the English language.
As I watch the various entertainment awards ceremonies that populate the first few months of the year, I am always struck by the depth of intention artists find in work that can sometimes feel like pure entertainment. I’m reminded that in everything we as actors do, we must find the greater purpose. Make it about something bigger than ourselves because that’s where the possibility for greatness lies.
Last night, during the SAG awards, many of the actors rose to the occasion of our times, understanding that the work they do does not exist in a vaccuum, but is rather reflected through the prism of the culture, giving their award an importance beyond simple recognition of talent or hard work. Continue reading What Will Your Oscar’s Speech Be?
I have always been a worrier when it comes to money. Blame it on my practical Midwestern upbringing. Or my Father. Or the fact that I’ve chosen writing musicals as my ironclad fall-back career in case acting doesn’t work out.
Thankfully, I’ve been extremely lucky to make my living as an artist. I say “artist” because it encompasses the various roles that I play in my work. Sometimes I’m an actor, sometimes I’m a writer, sometimes I’m a musician or a teacher. But it all stems from my passion for and abilities as an artist.
It’s only been recently, though, that I’ve had to actually sit down and think about what to do with the money I’ve made.
Shortly after college, I found myself with a big chunk of credit card debt. And because of the piecemeal nature of making money as an artist, I had no real system to keep track of how much I was making and how much I was spending. Never mind saving or investing!
That’s when I had to get smart about my money. Continue reading The Money Problem
Lesli Margherita and I sing “Say Something” at our 54 Below Farewell Show. <3