tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-288234432024-03-13T07:59:21.535-07:00Georgia Stitt Official BlogGeorgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-20936644385358546042013-11-26T18:01:00.002-08:002013-11-26T18:01:47.478-08:00Making Music<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I’m not sure there’s any torture greater than listening to your child practice the piano. Well, maybe violin. I’ll admit that listening to a child practice violin could be worse. I mean, at least our piano is in tune. (Mostly.) My daughter is eight years old and she has been studying the piano for four years. She’s getting there. This year she played her first Bach minuet, and she’s learning her scales and cadences. I don’t have any idea whether or not she will be interested in pursuing music in her adult life, but I’m a big believer in the idea that learning music teaches you how to think. Given that her dad and I are both professional musicians, we figured it was important to make music a part of our kids’ lives from the very beginning. (Our younger daughter is four and will start lessons in January. Oh God.)</div>
<a href="http://www.jasonrobertbrown.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0e95d3; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">My husband</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px;">and I came to music in very different ways. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_361634836"></span>READ MORE….</a><span id="goog_361634837"></span><br />Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-3193775429172322672013-11-26T18:00:00.003-08:002013-11-26T18:00:47.415-08:00The Sound Of Music<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px;">You may be surprised to learn that in addition to writing for the musical theater, I have had a bit of success as a </span><a href="http://www.georgiastitt.com/music_choral.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #0e95d3; font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">choral music composer, too</a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">. For me, ensemble singing (and writing and conducting) taps into the part of me that really does prefer to be making music with other people as opposed to sitting alone in a room with a piano, a notepad, and a computer loaded with Finale. I love using music to tell stories, as musical theater folks do, but I also really like using music just to make music, and I start to feel atrophy when I get too far away from it. I was a classical musician before I was a part of the Broadway community, and sometimes I forget how much I depend on the fuel that classical music provides. Little me was the girl at the piano after school, practicing Bach and Rachmaninoff and Tcherepnin over and over again until her fingers were vibrating with the kind of energy and exhaustion you feel after a hard workout. The changing of the seasons was marked by marching band, holiday concerts, wind ensemble, Easter music, spring piano recitals and summer music camp. <a href="http://newmusicaltheatre.com/greenroom/2013/10/the-sound-of-music/" target="_blank">READ MORE…</a></span></span></span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-58074367961545718742013-09-27T07:51:00.001-07:002013-09-27T07:52:35.112-07:00WRITING ACTABLE SONGSThe good folks at <a href="http://newmusicaltheater.com/">newmusicaltheater.com</a> have started a blog! So now, in addition to buying the original sheet music, legally and efficiently, for the contemporary songs you want to learn, you can also go there to read the thoughts and insights of your favorite contemporary musical theater writers. (I'm hoping I'm on that list. If I'm not, why on earth are you reading my blog?)<br />
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Here's my first entry. Enjoy.<br />
<i><br />WRITING ACTABLE SONGS<br />by Georgia Stitt</i><br />
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<i>I’ve got this duality to my career that has provided me with some pretty helpful insight. I spend a big part of my professional time writing music and lyrics for songs and shows, but I also spend a big part of that time music directing, teaching, and coaching singers. One of the most important things I’ve discovered as a vocal coach has deeply influenced the way I write, and I wanted to share it with you guys — writers and performers alike.<br /><br />A lot of us composer and lyricist types became writers because we felt like we had so much to say and so much to express, and we loved putting words and music together to make great songs. Don’t get me wrong; I believe there’s a place for anything that’s inside you that you need to express. But not every great thought is a great piece of musical theater. If a song waxes poetic about an emotion for three and a half minutes, and it requires the singer to belt really high and it has some really awesome chords and a great groove — it might be a blast to sing but I’m gonna have a really hard time coaching it. Actors need something to DO, not just something to FEEL. We contemporary writers are the worst about writing songs that just feel really good to sing and aren’t actually sustainable.</i><a href="http://newmusicaltheatre.com/greenroom/2013/09/writing-actable-songs/" target="_blank"> READ MORE...</a>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-74047484763038540842013-03-14T00:30:00.001-07:002013-03-14T00:30:57.008-07:00Second LA master class added on Tuesday nights<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi, friends!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week I posted about the very last LA musical theater master class I'll be able to offer before moving back to New York. (See post below.) Twelve hours after I announced the class, it had sold out. The next day there was enough demand for the class to justify adding a section, so I've decided to do just that. In addition to the Wednesday night class outlined below, I'm now also offering a Tuesday night class -- same location, same pianist, same format, same time of day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are the dates: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">Tuesday nights, 6:45-9:45 on April 16, 23, 30, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">and May 7, 14 (skip 21) and 28.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you're interested, <a href="mailto:georgia@georgiastitt.com" target="_blank">send an email</a>. As of right now I have three more spots available in the Tuesday night class. Hope to see you there!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Georgia</span></span><br />
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<br />Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-65829345490851704212013-03-08T10:02:00.000-08:002013-03-08T10:26:53.924-08:00The Last Georgia Stitt LA Musical Theater Class (for a while...)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'New York';"></span><br />
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Well, here it is. I'm announcing the LAST private 6-week musical theater class I'll be able to offer in Los Angeles in the near future. (My family and I are relocating to NYC this summer.) If you've been meaning to come in for private coaching, you've got a few months left for that, too. Hope to see you soon! (And thanks for helping me to spread the word about these classes.)</div>
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Thanks so much.</div>
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Georgia</div>
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SPRING 2013 MUSICAL THEATER CLASS (Pasadena location)</div>
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with Georgia Stitt<br />
and Ross Kalling at the piano</div>
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<u>Wednesday</u> nights, 6:45 - 9:45 pm (maximum 8 participants)</div>
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Six weeks: April 17, 24 and May 1, 8, 15 (skip 22; I'm out of town) and 29</div>
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$450</div>
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Choose a music theater or pop song from any genre and either shape it into a useful audition selection or discover why it's problematic. Topics include: audition cuts, choosing material, personalizing songs, connecting, letting the music work for you, knowing your type, and making strong choices. Identify the structure of your song and use it to strengthen your storytelling. By looking at phrase length, rhyme, contrast, musical gesture, and surprise, you can uncover clues from the composer that can fuel your acting choices. Maximum eight participants. Each singer/actor will work for 20 minutes each week.</div>
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Location:</div>
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Pasadena Presbyterian Church (Choir Room, downstairs)</div>
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585 East Colorado Boulevard</div>
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Pasadena, CA 91101</div>
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<a href="http://www.ppc.net/" target="_blank">www.ppc.net</a></div>
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TO REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS, send an email directly to <a href="mailto:georgiastitt@mac.com" target="_blank">georgiastitt@mac.com</a>.</div>
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Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-60165856713385520132012-11-27T15:49:00.000-08:002012-11-27T16:11:39.044-08:00Drama Is Drama: Women's Voices in Theater<span style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago I was contacted by <a href="http://www.learningmusician.com/ErinGuinup" target="_blank">Erin Guinup</a>, a musician/teacher in the Seattle area who was preparing a lecture and paper on female musical theatre composers and wanted to include my work alongside the music of <a href="http://www.kayswift.com/" target="_blank">Kay Swift</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rodgers" target="_blank">Mary Rodgers</a>, and <a href="http://americantheatrewing.org/biography/detail/jeanine_tesori" target="_blank">Jeanine Tesori</a>. In addition to showcasing some of my songs, she asked me to respond to the following quote by <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144321/Rachel-Crothers" target="_blank">Rachel Crothers</a> in 1912.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />“Drama is drama…what difference does it make whether women or men are working on it?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
I thought about it for days. Initially, I thought maybe I actually agreed with the statement. If we're talking about equality in the workplace, isn't the goal to be gender-blind? But no, we can't be gender-blind when it comes to the creative arts. Nor can we be colorblind or age blind or nationality blind. A person's voice is a reflection of who he/she is, and we are not all the same. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was reminded of the work playwright <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Jordan" target="_blank">Julia Jordan</a> has been doing to bring light to what she calls a gender bias in the theater. I reread <a href="http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/theater/24play.html?_r=0" target="_blank">the 2009 New York Times article about Julia's research</a>, identifying some of the surprising sources of gender bias and watched again <a href="http://www.livestream.com/newplay/video?clipId=pla_0631e030-f47e-4010-a06b-b42fc551eab5" target="_blank">her keynote speech from the 2011 Dramatists Guild conference</a> (which I attended). I re-read <a href="http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/nov09/women.cfm" target="_blank">Marsha Norman's fiery essay "Not There Yet</a>" and was reminded how powerful we women writers are as a community, as a network. Marsha's words challenge me out of potentially depressing thoughts about my own place in the industry, the reception of my work, the success of my shows. She makes me want to write more and write better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is what I wrote to Erin.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The point is that women make up about half of the world's population, and to have a culture of theater that does not represent the voices of those women is to overlook the stories that they alone can tell and the perspectives through which they see the world. Saying "drama is drama" is like saying "people are people." We say it, but it doesn't actually mean anything. People are these completely individual, unique creatures who are defined by where we live, how we live, what we know and what we believe. We look for similarities among people but we also revel in our differences. Drama springs forth in unique ways from unique people. It reflects the point of view of its author, and those authors come from vastly different places, cultures, religions, races and, yes, genders. Our stories are not the same because we are not the same; we are different, and our work is us.<br /><br />That's all very idealistic, though. The practicality of the situation is that even if the women are telling the stories, they are not being produced nearly as often. The New York Times in 2009 suggested that women are not writing as many plays as their male counterpoints. That's probably true. We're not conducting as many orchestras, either, or holding as many political offices because we're catching up. My 90-year old grandmother told me that as a young woman in the 1930s she thought that she might like to be a Presbyterian minister, but she was told that that was not an appropriate job for a woman. My mother, twenty-five years later, told her father that she wanted to be a doctor. He said, "You mean a nurse. Doctors are men." It was only my generation, the children of the 60s and 70s, that started to offer up female role models in greater supply. Of course there have been female writers and composers since the beginning of time. It's not that they didn't exist. But you can't argue that they were mainstream.<br /><br />Finally, an anecdote. I have a student in a musical theater class at USC (where I teach). I gave her a song to learn and she was struggling with it. She said, "I usually just play the prostitute or the girlfriend or the maid -- unless I'm in the chorus, where I'm tap dancing in a bikini."<br /><br />If we want our daughters to have female role models, first we have to be them, and then we have to write them.</i></span></span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-83913335253520736982012-05-31T16:23:00.000-07:002012-05-31T16:26:10.987-07:00Summer 2012 Musical Theater Classes in LA<br />
Hi, friends!<br />
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I'm teaching TWO different musical theater classes for singing actors this summer. One in Pasadena (Wednesdays) and one in North Hollywood (Tuesdays). Read carefully below and let me know if you're interested in participating in either of them. I'd love it if you'd pass this info along to your fellow musical theater actors in the LA area, too. Thanks for the support, and maybe I'll see you in one of the classes.<br />
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<b>PASADENA</b>:<br />
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SUMMER 2012 MUSICAL THEATER CLASS<br />
with Georgia Stitt<br />
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Wednesday nights, 7-10 pm (maximum 8 participants)<br />
Six weeks: June 20 and 27, (two weeks off) July 18, 25 and August 1 and 8 ($450)<br />
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Choose a music theater or pop song from any genre and either shape it into a useful audition selection or discover why it's problematic. Topics include: audition cuts, choosing material, personalizing songs, connecting, letting the music work for you, knowing your type, and making strong choices. Identify the structure of your song and use it to strengthen your storytelling. By looking at phrase length, rhyme, contrast, musical gesture, and surprise, you can uncover clues from the composer that can fuel your acting choices. Maximum eight participants. Each singer/actor will work for 20 minutes each week.<br />
<br />
Location:<br />
Pasadena Presbyterian Church (Choir Room)<br />
585 East Colorado Boulevard<br />
Pasadena, CA 91101<br />
<a href="http://www.ppc.net/">www.ppc.net</a><br />
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TO REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS, send an email directly to georgiastitt@mac.com.<br />
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<b>NORTH HOLLYWOOD</b>:<br />
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ACTING THE SONG (at ANMT BOOT CAMP)<br />
with Georgia Stitt<br />
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Tuesday nights, 7-10 pm (maximum 8 participants)<br />
4 weeks, July 17, 24, 31 and August 7 ($325 or $300 early bird rate if you register before June 15th)<br />
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These four three-hour workshops are designed for professional singers and actors looking for a new understanding of the musical theater songs they perform. Goals of past participants have included freshening up old audition material, trying out new songs, making bigger choices (in a safe environment), and widening their understanding of the musical theater canon and their specific place in it. Participants are required to sign up for ALL FOUR SESSIONS and will be asked to prepare four different songs. Class is limited to eight performers so each person is guaranteed one-on-one time each week. Auditors are welcome with the permission of ANMT.<br />
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Week 1: Classic Musical Theater<br />
Week 2: Contemporary Theater Song<br />
Week 3: Pop/Rock<br />
Week 4: Georgia Stitt Originals<br />
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Location:<br />
The Academy for New Musical Theater<br />
5628 Vineland Avenue<br />
North Hollywood, CA 91601<br />
<a href="http://www.anmt.org/">www.anmt.org</a><br />
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TO REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS, click here: <a href="http://www.anmt.org/BootCamp.asp">http://www.anmt.org/BootCamp.asp</a><br />
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For both classes:<br />
Payment is due at the beginning of the session. If you sign up for a class and then develop a conflict, you can sell your class ($75) to a fellow actor so you're not out of money and I don't have an empty spot in the class. You are welcome to audit a class with my advance approval. ($25/class)<br />
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I am also available for private coachings throughout the summer. Send an email to request an appointment.<br />
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<i>“Georgia Stitt has been teaching master classes for my performing arts students for over a decade. She's absolutely THE BEST! Her knowledge of repertoire and performance practices, combined with her brilliant musical skills and engaging teaching style, create an invaluable educational experience for our young artists. She knows how to focus on the details that matter, and the results are truly remarkable.” -- Frank Timmerman, Director, Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts</i><br />
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<i>“If there was a priority booking line for Georgia's masterclasses in the UK it would be engaged as soon as she announced her trip... all with schools who want a return visit from Ms. Stitt! MT standards that you thought you knew are blown apart by Georgia to allow for student discoveries that are as exciting for the audience as they are for the performer! Repeat bookings are made almost as soon as the last class finishes.” -- Alastair Lindsay-Renton, UK theatrical agent, Grantham-Hazeldine</i><br />
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<i>“Georgia Stitt is an exemplary songwriter and an invaluable teacher. Her genuine enthusiasm and dedication to her art was motivating for the students, whom she both supported and challenged throughout the master class. Anyone who has the opportunity to take one of her classes should sign up to do so immediately!” -- Sarah Rebell, lyricist, Vassar College</i><br />
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<i>“Georgia Stitt is the whole package. What makes her especially gifted is her understanding and expertise with ACTING. She knows what good acting is and has the language and skill to communicate it in a tangible and result-oriented way. Her taste is impeccable and her spirit and teaching style create an environment that let her students thrive. You will be hard pressed to find an artist with the range of skill and talent that she brings to the table.” --John Ruocco, Director, Teacher, Founder of John Ruocco Studios, NYC</i><br />
<br />Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-60670179206088322242012-03-15T10:42:00.007-07:002012-03-15T10:51:04.202-07:00BIG RED SUN update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1hdPJ1I-Z0gMb5oPB48lg9HA6C27hfp0J3PYXSdyTk974guhUAgtGB4NDtAFA4qf3erJsj49rG4wpiYuu5JQTLcy3dWufWht1-d1o1duiRL4_ozNwgUsPkhpe56roOvr8FUj/s1600/section_1_article_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1hdPJ1I-Z0gMb5oPB48lg9HA6C27hfp0J3PYXSdyTk974guhUAgtGB4NDtAFA4qf3erJsj49rG4wpiYuu5JQTLcy3dWufWht1-d1o1duiRL4_ozNwgUsPkhpe56roOvr8FUj/s400/section_1_article_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720180653547798450" /></a>From the newsletter of the <a href="http://namt.org/">National Alliance for Musical Theater</a>. Interview with Branden Huldeen, New Works Director.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">An interview with Georgia Stitt, composer of <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.georgiastitt.com/music_shows_bigredsun.html">Big Red Sun</a></span> (written with John Jiler), about the many changes to the show since being in the Festival in 2010.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A New Synopsis:</span> BIG RED SUN is the story of a family of musicians. Eddie and Helen Daimler were great swing musicians in the 1940s, but now in the early 1960s their teenage son Harry, a budding songwriter himself, lives alone with his mother and writes songs about his great war-hero father. In an effort to write more truthfully, Harry unearths a dark family secret. World War II carved a silent divide between those who fought and those who waited - a truth unshared. In a few short years, the simple melodies of Kern and Berlin were replaced by the dizzying energy of jazz and the beginnings of rock and roll. This is the story of a family that changed as much as their music did.<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What kind of feedback did you get after the Festival reading of the show?</span><br /><br />There was a lot of respect for the work we had done, lots of compliments, but we did not get many offers to continue its development. John Jiler (book/lyrics) and I talked quite a bit about how it seemed like we had written a show that people admired intellectually but perhaps were not moved by. One producer we met mentioned the concept of the "skin-jump," the idea that there's a point in the show that's so compelling that you want to jump out of your own skin to be in the world of the show. We wanted BIG RED SUN to do that, but we realized maybe we hadn't yet written it.<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The show has been undergoing rewrites lately. What are some of the adjustments you are making to the show? <br /></span><br />There's been so much! We've consolidated some of the smaller characters and streamlined the cast. There are now only six actors required -- 4 men and 2 women. We've activated the son (Harry), making him a songwriter, a young Bob Dylan-type. In the last few months we've also really fleshed out the character of the mother (Helen), giving her a big new second act song. We've expanded the relationship between Harry and James, a former band mate of Eddie (the father). We've tried to be very clear and consistent in how we use the flashbacks. And specifically in the music, we've cut down much of the pastiche stuff, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis#In_music-theatre">diegetic songs</a>, to make sure that the "style" music is always being used to tell the story. Making Harry a songwriter was a great discovery, because in a way, his voice could be my voice and I wasn't limited to the vocabularies of the 1940s and the 1960s, though that music is still very present in the show.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">You just finished a workshop/reading at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) this weekend. How did that reading come about? <br /></span><br />The head of the musical theater program at UNL is Alisa Belflower, and she and I have been email acquaintances since about 2006. Last August, Alisa wrote me to say that her school had just received some funding to produce a developmental reading for a new musical, preferably a book musical, and she wondered if I might have something to submit. BIG RED SUN was the piece of mine that best fit her parameters, and John Jiler and I were in need of a deadline to undertake the rewrite we had been thinking about since NAMT 2010. Since I live in LA and John lives in NYC, we are always thrilled to have a chance to work in the same room. We did more work on the show in the three weeks leading up to the reading than we had done in the six months prior.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What did you learn from student voices on the work? <br /></span><br />Musical theater students are about as passionate as they get. UNL had some of the most fantastic voices we've ever heard, but their strengths tend more toward legit singing than pop. I learned that not all of the references we use in the show (Bob Dylan, The Andrews Sisters, klezmer music, the can-can, be-bop) are as well-known as I thought they were. I'm putting more information into the score, more hints about how musically to accomplish the various styles. And of course, the questions the students ask are revealing, too. If they've been staring at the script and they don't understand how they got from point A to point B, then you can be sure an audience won't understand it either.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What are your next steps for the show in the writing process? <br /></span><br />We came home from Nebraska with a to-do list, several things that we're hoping to fix in the next week or two. We have to consolidate our notes from this reading (which was only yesterday!) and process which fixes we want to do immediately and which fixes should wait until we're actually working with a cast and a director. We'll have to re-demo a few of the songs, and I often learn about the music by orchestrating and recording it. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Elevator pitch—What do you guys need next? <br /></span><br />We have now done developmental work at the New York ASCAP Workshop (where we won the Harold Arlen Award), TheatreWorks Palo Alto, Oklahoma City University, the NAMT festival and the University of Nebraska. We finally have a script and score that reflect the story we want to tell. Next, we really want a rehearsal process and a run. Much of this show requires visual storytelling -- a physical concept (lights, costumes, space) of how we move from present tense to past. We need age-appropriate actors and an actual audience. A chance to see the show more than once. It's a small show -- six actors, probably five musicians (piano, acoustic/electric bass, acoustic/electric guitar, drums, and a reed doubler). John and I figure if we get to sit in an audience and watch it thirty times we can make it magical.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">If you want more information about Big Red Sun, contact Bruce Miller at Washington Square Arts, (212) 253-0333 x36 or bmiller@washingtonsquarearts.com.<br /></span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-1667623306191445872012-01-15T16:13:00.000-08:002012-01-15T16:32:29.335-08:00Album EssaysAfter "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067YF5OE/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=georgiascom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0067YF5OE<br />">My Lifelong Love</a>" came out (about six weeks ago), I realized that the only people who were actually getting to see the fantastic digital booklet that Derek Bishop and I made were the people who downloaded the thing from iTunes. And we spent a lot of time on it! I'm going to upload it to my website next week, but in the meantime, here are the two essays that friends of mine wrote for the record. I love them. The friends, I mean. (But also the essays.) Enjoy.<br /><br />from composer <a href="http://ericwhitacre.com/">ERIC WHITACRE</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Georgia and I have been friends for nearly twenty years, ever since she and I spent a glorious summer together working summer stock theatre at Cape Cod’s ageless College Light Opera Company. She was an accompanist, I was an assistant conductor. We spent our days rehearsing singers and our nights playing raucous four-hand piano at parties. Georgia was always the brilliant one, able to play anything; I was always the assistant, which, if memory serves, meant that I spent most of the time getting both of us fresh drinks.<br /><br />Even back then it was obvious that Georgia had ‘the gift’; music just flooded out of her, effortlessly. Soon she began composing her own music, and the songs she wrote were a perfect reflection of who she is: warm, passionate, funny, effervescent, and wicked smart. To know her music is to know her, every intimate emotional secret right there on the surface. Delicate, precious gems given with an open heart.<br /><br />As a fellow composer - seriously, you should hear the two of us geek out about composing - I’m always most impressed with her strong sense of musical architecture. She somehow manages to blend a musical theater composer’s natural storytelling prowess with sophisticated ‘classical’ forms, a powerful hybrid that allows her pieces to blossom on multiple levels. She makes my favorite kind of music, seductive on the surface and infinitely richer as you peel away the layers, the kind of music that rewards you for digging deep. I find I can listen to the songs over and over again and always find something new, something surprising.<br /><br />It has been one of my life’s great joys to know Georgia; I consider her not only a colleague and an inspiration but one of my best friends. As long as we are both around she can rest assured that I’ll be right beside her, fresh drinks in hand, glowing with love.</span><br /><br /><br />from Broadway star <a href="http://www.susanegan.net/">SUSAN EGAN</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Experts say we encounter an astronomical number of people in our daily lives – that because we now move so fast, the sheer numbers are astounding. I’m not impressed. Who cares how many jump in and out of our worlds? I am amazed by who stays – and moreover, who becomes a treasured traveling companion.<br /><br />Georgia and I met in 2000, when I was still working on Broadway. I was researching material to record for my album, “Coffee House,” and hers was one of many demo CDs I had been given by Michael Kerker of ASCAP. I listened to hours and hours of new music that never seemed new, and then I popped in Georgia’s CD. Her song, “This Ordinary Thursday,” struck me on so many levels: the melody caught me right off, the structure was great, and the unfolding of the story captivated me – it still does. In the song, the singer has been viewing other people’s lives through the fishbowl-like windows of NYC, and now, because she is loved, her life is finally worth displaying, too.<br /><br />I loved it. Georgia’s experiences as a single girl living in NY mirrored mine, so immediately I could relate, but Georgia’s point of view was distinctive. How, with the millions of love songs in existence, did she write one so completely unique? Michael set up a meeting, and Georgia spent an afternoon playing me her music. I ended up recording “Sing Me A Happy Song” on that album. [Shoshana’s version on this CD is spectacular!] <br /><br />Once I understood who the “Jason” was in “This Ordinary Thursday” (no, I didn’t know), I thought she should keep that one for her album; lucky me that I got to sing it on that debut CD! About a year later, fate somehow brought us both to Los Angeles then played her part again when Georgia (really, a profes- sional acquaintance at the time) called me up one August, during her eighth month of pregnancy, to see if she might float in my swimming pool for an hour or two. She did. And that was that.<br /><br />I am not really certain how or when we became such dear friends. I can look back at the incremental steps, but the whole of our friendship is so much greater than the profes- sional meetings, the moves out West, the friendly coffees, the synchronistic pregnancies (2nd time around), the mommy world, the concerts, the travel, the glamour and the goop. Georgia and I have not just shared a road on our individual journeys these last few years, we have literally at times linked arms, leapt over potholes, penned the traveling music, and more than once, gotten behind the other and pushed. Somewhere along the way, I actually think we influenced each other’s paths....<br /><br />From my vantage point, I have seen Georgia in her many roles: mom, wife, blogger, busi- ness woman, producer, chef, and of course, composer. I am proud to know her – for- tunate to have borne witness to the creation of so much of the music you hear on this collection and even to recognize where some kernels of those song ideas sprouted from in her mind. I have heard first drafts through final mixes. I know her well, and still, the mu- sic surprises me, lifts me and takes me on unexpected journeys. Her singular and inspired point of view, I now know, is simply how Georgia sees the world. How lucky for us that she has the ability to articulate it so eloquently in music and lyrics. It’s everywhere here; enjoy it. Her Lifelong Love is now yours.</span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-78051616096662337452012-01-04T16:50:00.000-08:002012-01-04T17:03:15.318-08:00Why Are You A Writer?I got asked to write a little blurb for The Dramatist Magazine. The Dramatists Guild is one of my very favorite organizations because they exist to support writers. Many of the people I respect most in this business are the people who are on the DG Council, the great playwrights and composers and lyricists of our time. Getting to write for the magazine felt very much to me like finally getting to sit at the grown-ups table.<br /><br />The assignment was to choose one of these three questions and answer it. <br /><br />1) Was there a play/theatrical experience that changed your life?<br />2) Why are you a writer?<br />3) Who would you choose to write the dramatization/musicalization of your life?<br /><br />I chose number 2. Here ya go.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcG8fCBpNR9u9kznsmXGUyhL9LE2NmWJ3xCizo9pl59_maYvm20ZU2oUV-MOhbkaMEm1IGk_czAepLsSyZXPCWb3EQ4PwhUMlxVdQD23aakL3BNmZimFLSxcp-tR1vfonu6Jfr/s1600/CCE00001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcG8fCBpNR9u9kznsmXGUyhL9LE2NmWJ3xCizo9pl59_maYvm20ZU2oUV-MOhbkaMEm1IGk_czAepLsSyZXPCWb3EQ4PwhUMlxVdQD23aakL3BNmZimFLSxcp-tR1vfonu6Jfr/s400/CCE00001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693944702545452130" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4UNgADtpLmn2L7Xs2qg9NVbqmH8R63EjlXGa4FZ3bT7SXpQRzjpKIl6lmjoR1_aojm0f1pj8qBi9QQExfetWTG6mYesRCnVmoAdC7-wWJSRZMmj4-aeDZeMlzPpoQqq78TnY/s1600/DGpage2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF4UNgADtpLmn2L7Xs2qg9NVbqmH8R63EjlXGa4FZ3bT7SXpQRzjpKIl6lmjoR1_aojm0f1pj8qBi9QQExfetWTG6mYesRCnVmoAdC7-wWJSRZMmj4-aeDZeMlzPpoQqq78TnY/s400/DGpage2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693945618994258994" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />WHY ARE YOU A WRITER?<br />By Georgia Stitt<br /><br />My high school yearbook says that I’m going to go to Northwestern and major in Economics. (I did neither.) I guess when I was asked about my plans for the future, the question came during the period of about four weeks in my senior year when I was trying to avoid the inevitable.<br /><br />At age seven I asked my mother if I could take piano lessons. In middle school I signed up to learn the clarinet, and over the course of the next few years I taught myself every instrument in the marching band. People always knew about me that I was going to be a musician. I remember my parents saying, “It’s so easy for you. You don’t have to decide what you want to be when you grow up.” <br /><br />They thought I was going to be a band director, and for a while, I did too, because that’s what musical kids in Tennessee grew up to be. At music camp one summer (yes, I went to music camp), a teacher suggested that since I knew how to play so many instruments, maybe I’d enjoy studying composition. His class was the first time I remember getting excited about a musical idea that came from me. I was fifteen years old, and I spent the summer writing a duet for my violist roommate and me to play on our recital. We performed it; the audience clapped. It was my first composition, my biggest hit.<br /><br />Back in my hometown I became the music girl. I had a gift; I could do something nobody else did. And while that distinction was admired by adults, it also distanced me from other kids. So I read a lot of books. I practiced a lot of piano, especially Bach, which soothed my anguish. I wrote in my journal about how much I was growing to hate this small Tennessee town where nobody understood me. <br /><br />The teenage years played themselves out. The scholarship (for music, not economics) arrived (to Vanderbilt, not Northwestern). While in college, I figured out that the poems I wrote in my journal and the music I wrote at my piano were all trying to express the same ideas. I became a songwriter. I played my songs for people and felt like I had found a way to be known. New York followed, then Los Angeles, where I now sit, once again trying to put words together on a page in an effort to make you understand me. <br /><br />Now a writer of musical theater, I tell my stories through the points of views of other characters, but I’m still always hoping that by connecting to them, you’ll be connecting to me. When I am moved by a piece of theater, or a piece of music, or a great novel or an exquisite photograph, I feel like I understand something deeper about how the world works. I come back to my desk inspired to create something of my own. I write to be understood.</span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-49384963542234038572011-12-07T16:12:00.001-08:002011-12-07T16:15:25.575-08:00TodoMusicales InterviewI just <a href="http://todomusicales.com/content/content_english/3447/georgia-stitt-my-lifelong-love-is-a-deeply-personal-album-for-me/">did an interview</a> with a journalist in Barcelona at TodoMusicales. Reprinted here, in English.<br /><br />‘My Lifelong Love’ is the name of the third album of the American composer and lyricist Georgia Stitt,a collection of songs about love performed by different Broadway stars, such as Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Egan, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Arden, Anika Noni Rose, Laura Osnes, Shoshana Bean and Kate Baldwin. The album was released on the 29th November 2011 by Sh-K-Boom Records.<br /><br />Georgia Stitt - who is married to composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown - has written musical theatre shows such as THE WATER or MOSAIC, and has also developed her career as a musical director, arranger, pianist and vocal coach. Her body of work includes: assistant conductor of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS on Broadway; musical director and arranger/orchestrator for ‘The Broadway Divas’ concerts in New York, California and Australia; and vocal coach for the 2008 season of the NBC hit show ‘America´s Got Talent’; to name a few.<br /><br />Georgia Stitt tells us about her recent album, about her current projects and about her points of view regarding contemporary musical theatre.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE YOUR NEW ALBUM ‘MY LIFELONG LOVE’? </span><br />This album, my third (after “This Ordinary Thursday” and “Alphabet City Cycle”), is a collection of songs about love in its many incarnations: first love, lost love, love of music, love of children, and ultimately, love of self. I have been very lucky that many of my friends are Broadway’s greatest singers, and they bring incredible depth and style to their varied performances. It’s a deeply personal album for me, a collection of many small stories that add up to one big story.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO FOCUS IT ON LOVE?</span><br />It’s not so much that I chose to focus it on love. I write many songs, and part of the process of making this album was matching the right singer with the right song. Once the songs were chosen and the recording was done, I listened to it over and over again, trying to discern what this particular collection of songs had to say. It’s important to me that an album doesn’t feel like a random collection of tunes. It has to have a point of view; there has to be a reason for this particular collection to exist. The title track, “My Lifelong Love,” is about looking back on your life and recalling the moment when you discovered your passion. And it’s about thinking you’re in pursuit of something and realizing, instead, that you have found something even better. To me, that was the metaphor for the whole record.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON WHICH ARTISTS TO TAKE PART OF YOUR ALBUM AND WHICH SONGS THEY WILL SING?</span><br />In some cases, there are just singers that I want to work with over and over in whatever capacity possible. Susan Egan knows almost everything I have ever written and she could likely have sung the whole record by herself. (We just released her album, “The Secret Of Happiness,” which I produced, a few weeks ago.) I have wanted to collaborate with Brian d’Arcy James for years, and the timing just didn’t work out until now. Kate Baldwin and I have recorded several other things together; Heidi Blickenstaff created the role in MOSAIC and I asked her to archive it here. In other cases, I thought about the essence of the song and tried to imagine the singer who most embodied the same characteristics. It took a very long time to line up all of the right people, but I think the payoff is that the singers each bring so much of themselves to the performances of the songs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST MUSICAL THEATRE COMPOSERS IN RELEASING AN ALBUM WITH A COMPILATION OF YOUR SONGS PERFORMED BY DIFFERENT BROADWAY STARS. HOW DID THE IDEA COME UP?</span><br />Oh, I don’t think I was one of the first – was I? I always loved John Bucchino’s record “Grateful,” which came out in 1999 and has some astounding voices singing his glorious songs. And I remember really enjoying the “Unsung Sondheim” album from the early 90s on the Varese Sarabande label, though I suppose that one was curated a bit differently. Believe me, if I were a strong enough singer, I’d have done it all myself. But in a way I think I’m lucky that I have to ask singers to help me, because they bring so much more to the songs than I even knew was there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOW HAS THE AUDIENCE REACTION TO YOUR ALBUMS AND CONCERTS BEEN SO FAR?</span><br />I’m always amazed when there are people in my audiences that I don’t know. I mean, I expect my friends and family to be there, cheering me on. But when there are complete strangers at my concerts or posting their reviews of my albums online, it still astounds me. People seem to respond to the storytelling nature of my songs. They like to go on the journeys with the singers. I write very theatrical material, songs that require acting instead of just singing. And I love it when you can tell that an actor has totally captivated the audience. I am always looking for universal truths. What are the things that connect us all, make us the same in spite of our many differences? I try to identify that in both music and lyric. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">YOU HAVE ALSO WRITTEN SONGS FOR DIFFERENT WEST END PERFORMER´S ALBUMS, AS DANIEL BOYS, CAROLINE SHEEN OR STUART MATTHEW PRICE… HOW DID YOU GET TO WORK WITH THEM?</span><br />I’ve been lucky enough to travel to the UK and Australia to do concerts and teach master classes. A few years ago in London a group called Contempo Theatre Company in conjunction with Alastair Lindsay-Renton, my UK agent, put together a concert and treated it like one of my albums – with a different singer on each song and me at the piano. I met many of my UK performer friends there and continued to stay in touch with them and follow their work. Last year the same thing happened in Australia with some of the finest performers that country offers. Over the years, our paths have crossed in many different ways – both physically and online – and those friendships have blossomed into many different kinds of opportunities, including the albums of the three fantastic performers you listed above. I’m planning to come back to the UK in 2012, and you can bet I’ll be asking those performers to concertize with me again!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU WHEN YOU LISTEN TO ONE OF YOUR SONGS PERFORMED BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD? </span><br />It’s very moving to me, very emotional. When I’m working in an English-speaking country (outside of the US), I ask the singers to use their home accents instead of trying to replicate an American accent. What’s most interesting to me is finding the place where singer and song meet in truth, and that’s easier to find when a singer isn’t hiding behind an inauthentic accent. Everywhere I travel I learn something new about my songs, something I didn’t know was there before. Learning that these songs are bigger than just my own interpretation of them is fascinating and absolutely energizing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">YOUR MUSICAL ´HELLO! MY BABY´ WAS PRESENTED IN THE FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS IN WASHINGTON. HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE KIND OF FESTIVALS FOR DEVELOPING NEW PIECES?</span><br />All of the festivals have their strengths and their weaknesses, but the truth is that musicals are huge and expensive and very few people know how to produce them well. For a theatre to invest their trust and their staff and their money into your piece is a huge show of support. In many cases, the only reason that I finished a rewrite was because there was a theatre waiting to start rehearsal. At every incarnation of your show you learn something about how it works – what the actors need, what the musicians need, what the audience needs. And then, at some point, it’s also necessary to step beyond the staged readings and the festivals and see your show realized in full production. That’s the biggest value of all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL THEATRE? ARE THERE ANY YOUNG COMPOSER YOU SPECIALLY LIKE?</span><br />I like that there are so many individual voices coming up through the ranks. I’m a huge fan of Adam Guettel, who has such a unique voice and such a depth of musical sophistication. I like Michael John LaChiusa’s energy and the craft of his songwriting. I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is shaping the Broadway landscape and making it seem like his turf, saying things in ways they have never been said in commercial theatre. I also think there are some younger songwriters who get away with lazy songwriting, but I see actors respond to their material with hunger and vigor. There is such a need for new, good, relevant musical theatre. I applaud anyone who does it well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION OF BROADWAY MUSICALS? IS YOUR AIM OPENING A SHOW ON BROADWAY? OR THERE’S A BETTER LIFE BEYOND BROADWAY?</span><br />I would love the chance to have a show on Broadway. I hope I write several shows that make it to Broadway and into markets beyond. But I also hope I keep having the opportunity to write music in many different genres. I very much like writing choral music and I have several published octavos. I like setting other people’s poetry, and I like recording albums. I would not be opposed to writing songs that get placed in movies and on TV shows, but yes, Broadway is definitely a goal.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">COULD YOU COMMENT ON YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS?</span><br />I just closed a production of my show “Hello! My Baby” at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. That one was written with Cheri Steinkellner (Sister Act), and she and I also wrote the one-act musical “Mosaic.” I have another book musical, “Big Red Sun,” that I wrote with John Jiler, and my friend Jamie Pachino and I are putting together a contemporary musical revue that I’ll develop at Sundance early next year. And there are a lot of new ideas floating around right now, including another song cycle (to accompany “Alphabet City Cycle”), a few new book musicals, and a big studio movie that I’d love to get the rights to adapt into a big Broadway show. Check back into www.georgiastitt.com in a few months and see which one I actually finished!Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-34529180409561627252011-11-28T18:53:00.001-08:002011-11-28T18:56:03.032-08:00My Lifelong Love - November 29th Release!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-7W1mEqVY4EJN6GjTi1NyDulDSpArhg-BLwp2yzLvnjF7FBvEWTsQ9K9DFv52MEr8k3gV6LM-xNNO721prTOrrF203yioFhDFTg-J_TNxvupa41aWXy9f9KVC_gxyShi4tlI/s1600/georgia+COVER.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 353px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-7W1mEqVY4EJN6GjTi1NyDulDSpArhg-BLwp2yzLvnjF7FBvEWTsQ9K9DFv52MEr8k3gV6LM-xNNO721prTOrrF203yioFhDFTg-J_TNxvupa41aWXy9f9KVC_gxyShi4tlI/s400/georgia+COVER.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680245643995315858" /></a>My album comes out tomorrow! <a href="http://www.sh-k-boom.com/georgiastitt.shtml">Click here</a> for all of the information, and I'll post an update as soon as I have a hard copy in my hand! (If you've pre-ordered the album from <a href="http://www.sh-k-boom.com/georgiastitt.shtml">Sh-K-Boom.com</a>, I'm told it already shipped!)Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-64437849216962672982011-11-22T10:54:00.000-08:002011-11-22T10:59:47.423-08:00Blog Radio interview with Trish Causey<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5rt4uvQM1J65UWQ-yI5PwppS2Uat83keFN7jyNA_alCwTSjsh7kn5JGatyKlRB8BDGYGoPMb9Cj4D4wfRtLyMPaiw8CjfZ4-lLlGp9b1A1KT1OSNk4YMq_AFwYGa2P6_tX_0/s1600/168365_10150170769028626_67215713625_8512389_2157964_n.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5rt4uvQM1J65UWQ-yI5PwppS2Uat83keFN7jyNA_alCwTSjsh7kn5JGatyKlRB8BDGYGoPMb9Cj4D4wfRtLyMPaiw8CjfZ4-lLlGp9b1A1KT1OSNk4YMq_AFwYGa2P6_tX_0/s400/168365_10150170769028626_67215713625_8512389_2157964_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677895807745315826" /></a>Loved doing <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/musicaltheatretalk/2011/11/22/georgia-stitt--my-lifelong-love">this interview</a> with Trish Causey, who asked me really musical questions. Also hear song clips from my songs KITES AND CHILDREN and SONNET 29, with shout-outs to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/briandarcyjames">Brian d'Arcy James</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anika-Noni-Rose/221278832473?ref=ts">Anika Noni Rose</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/shoshanabean">Shoshana Bean</a>. Your 30-minute distraction!Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-16578075159396868012011-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:002011-11-11T14:47:44.766-08:00Behind the Scenes "Nina Doesn't Care"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpecO92GSkoBP6TYwLutVTA_LHnfVbds3uT6vwzmqI1URVDkWFC3kizggd4VkFBmoCf3oGQt4I1UMehL-yMXjnUUBTJX6D4QXD1xX0BS-TyEeo8OebPYHShpvsqLD8hjkvbOX/s1600/297782_185556054861827_100002223024699_396317_951759305_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpecO92GSkoBP6TYwLutVTA_LHnfVbds3uT6vwzmqI1URVDkWFC3kizggd4VkFBmoCf3oGQt4I1UMehL-yMXjnUUBTJX6D4QXD1xX0BS-TyEeo8OebPYHShpvsqLD8hjkvbOX/s400/297782_185556054861827_100002223024699_396317_951759305_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673873507682448082" /></a><br />Susan Egan has an album coming out on November 15th, and I produced it! <a href="http://broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-TV-Exclusive-Behind-the-Scenes-of-Susan-Egans-Nina-Doesnt-Care-20111111#.Tr2YQJ8UHzk.facebook">Watch this behind-the-scenes movie</a> as she takes you through the "making of" the music video. And if you watch closely, you'll see not just me, but someone little who looks an awful lot like me.Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-50556277504568157292011-10-24T20:38:00.001-07:002011-10-24T20:40:26.681-07:00COMING SOONMY LIFELONG LOVE, my new album, will be available on November 29th. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQgF_dUgGU8vHybH2ovcRQkHt9xksqCe7jVEIZ1RJkCIPJ__1KxR1WSIW6Ne7VrKrbscRpBhq_jlIVoIftrFFbwuhHvpq6Pv3urW5BHm3KJAP6NuRkPtQsi_5tVeJVgPXppcS/s1600/georgia+COVER.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 353px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQgF_dUgGU8vHybH2ovcRQkHt9xksqCe7jVEIZ1RJkCIPJ__1KxR1WSIW6Ne7VrKrbscRpBhq_jlIVoIftrFFbwuhHvpq6Pv3urW5BHm3KJAP6NuRkPtQsi_5tVeJVgPXppcS/s400/georgia+COVER.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667269372741986930" /></a>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-19224205966127171792011-09-11T13:47:00.000-07:002011-09-11T15:15:41.354-07:00I Can't Believe It's Been Ten YearsI can't believe it's been ten years. I don't want to write one of those maudlin essays about September 11th, because everywhere you look you can find someone who has written one of those. The emotion in them is overwhelming, and I'm not really ready to go there. Not yet. I know there are deep feelings of grief just barely under the surface of my skin, but it feels indulgent to succumb to them. I didn't know anyone who died on 9/11. It was not my personal tragedy. And yet, I lived in Manhattan at the time, in the West Village, and I experienced the attack on the city in an extremely visceral way. It changed me. It changed us. It was just yesterday and a lifetime ago. I can't believe it's been ten years.<br /><br />My apartment was on West 11th Street, and our block was set up as the headquarters for information about survivors. All the streets downtown were closed to traffic, and if you needed to find out if your missing friend or family member had been taken to one of the nearby hospitals, they sent you to my block. Tables lined the street, like the press tables temporarily set up for picking up tickets at an opening night event. On one side of the tables sat weary officials behind huge stacks of paper. If your person had made it out of the Towers and had been taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, a few blocks away, you came here to find that out. On the other side of the table stood rows and rows of the most worried faces I have ever seen. And the brownstone steps, for blocks in either direction, were lined with people who didn't yet know anything. It was a place for waiting.<br /><br />That was the view from my apartment.<br /><br />On the actual morning of September 11th, however, I woke up in Jason's apartment on the Upper West Side. His phone rang, early. It was his mother, frantic, telling us the world was ending and we should turn on the TV. We turned it on and watched the second plane hit. I remember wondering if my 3 pm coaching was going to happen that afternoon. (It was Alyssa Van Gorder. Funny what you don't forget.) I didn't understand the magnitude of what I was seeing. I had this surreal experience of watching something on TV that was happening only a few miles away. I felt removed from it, like it was a movie, a fictionalized Hollywood horror story. But by the afternoon, the smell in the air made it clear how close we actually were. New York was acrid and pungent for months. You kind of got used to it, which was horrifying in its own way.<br /><br />A few weeks later, in early October, Jason and I flew to Japan with our friends and colleagues <a href="http://broadwayworld.com/people/Sally_Wilfert/">Sally Wilfert</a> and <a href="http://broadwayworld.com/people/Keith_Byron_Kirk/">Keith Byron Kirk</a>. We were doing concerts of our own music <a href="http://www.mawebcenters.com/georgiastitt/docs//2001-09-11_VanderbiltUniversity.pdf">for the 2001 Tono American Music Festival</a>, created and hosted by my college friend <a href="http://kevinsimmonds.com/">Kevin Simmonds</a>. The plane was empty enough that we spread out and each slept in our own row. When we arrived, the Japanese people seemed more grateful than ever that we had made the trip. They wanted to touch us, to feel that we were okay. We had anticipated being ambassadors of music; we wound up being ambassadors of New York and of America.<br /><br />That November, my best friend Lisa's daughter Annie had her first birthday, and I tried to write a song to honor the occasion. The lyric was meant to be a celebration of this innocent young life, and instead it wound up being about September 11th. I never wrote the music. I couldn't find it. I put it in a file on my computer where I put lyrics that I intend to come back to later, when I'm ready. I've never gone back to it. I looked at it this week, in anticipation of today. I certainly see how I could edit this thing, fix it, make the words more original, the ideas less cliche. But I still don't hear any music. Ten years later, and I guess I'm still not ready.<br /><br />I can't believe it's been ten years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">GROWING TO DO</span><br />for Annalise Francis Cole on her first birthday, November 17, 2001<br />Words and Music (?) by Georgia Stitt<br />©2001 Geocate Music (ASCAP)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Annie was born in November,<br /><br />A bundle of warmth to a city of snow.<br /><br />And the world changed<br /><br />'Cause a baby had started to cry.<br /><br />Wrapped in pink and all geared up to grow–<br /><br />That’s how little Annalise said hi.<br /><br /> <br /><br />She giggles, she squeals, she drools,<br /><br />And she laughs at cootchie-coo.<br /><br />We’ve all got some growing to do.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Annie could crawl by September.<br /><br />Pull herself up with her miniature hands.<br /><br />But the world changed.<br /><br />When the city outside tumbled down.<br /><br />Lives and buildings snapped like rubber bands.<br /><br />Annie didn’t even know to frown. <br /><br /> <br /><br />We struggle, we doubt, we mourn. <br /><br />And we grieve until we’re blue.<br /><br />We’ve all got some growing to do.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Sometimes a plane can fall out of the sky.<br /><br />A war can break out in the wink of an eye,<br /><br />And people who didn’t do anything wrong can die.<br /><br />We ask, unanswered,<br /><br />Why?<br /><br /> <br /><br />Annie was one this November –<br /><br />A child full of warmth for a city in fright.<br /><br />And the world changed.<br /><br />When Annie revealed she could walk.<br /><br />Baby steps and holding on too tight.<br /><br />Maybe little Annie’s got it right.<br /><br />And maybe all the rest of it is talk.<br /><br /> <br /><br />We stumble. We stretch. We cry,<br /><br />But in time, we will renew.<br /><br />Baby steps and holding on too tight.<br /><br />We’ve all got some growing to do.<br /><br />We’ve all got some growing to do.</span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-47529693423811579842011-08-10T21:08:00.000-07:002011-08-10T21:48:39.670-07:00HELLO! MY BABY at the Village Theatre in Seattle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdLVc1jIJx95y8MGraInutRZ6Tg0XdK6kWZNASNdhmmvOxC5MRS1TgWkzxRRIcAYOIk4_kzP2MTssxRb7BwfwYtd-rLGA8AsdHShKPYFiwAAwgorVm-oSuyDX9ngeuj7alvA6/s1600/VT_Logo.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 68px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdLVc1jIJx95y8MGraInutRZ6Tg0XdK6kWZNASNdhmmvOxC5MRS1TgWkzxRRIcAYOIk4_kzP2MTssxRb7BwfwYtd-rLGA8AsdHShKPYFiwAAwgorVm-oSuyDX9ngeuj7alvA6/s400/VT_Logo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639445647235739490" /></a>
<br />It's super exciting to have a show in a festival of new musicals, and Cheri Steinkellner and I are lucky enough to have had that experience a few times now. After having had readings at <a href="http://offbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/Halston_McGillin_More_Set_for_HELLO_MY_BABY_Reading_329_20100322">CAP21</a> and <a href="http://www.playbill.com/news/article/146694-Musicals-by-Georgia-Stitt-Gaby-Alter-Itamar-Moses-Find-Warmth-at-Goodspeed-Jan-14-16">Goodspeed</a> and a youth theater production at the <a href="http://rubicontheatre.org/Page.aspx?pid=358">Rubicon Theatre</a>, this week we are at the<a href="http://www.villagetheatre.org/festsched_vo.php"> Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals</a> in Issaquah, Washington, just outside of Seattle. Here's the view from where I sit right now.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIO_NKfM73bqSsTicv5ayo6-bvs_u0h9cmmWTv4X3da4dU41cpGTdPNix5C0r6fhJHlcv5xtzLUCoKO0wP6KvhexkQk3689i7uQ43K-mJzEYzPP8F8imoFGG7_hcUoMtQXjFO_/s1600/My+HipstaPrint+0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIO_NKfM73bqSsTicv5ayo6-bvs_u0h9cmmWTv4X3da4dU41cpGTdPNix5C0r6fhJHlcv5xtzLUCoKO0wP6KvhexkQk3689i7uQ43K-mJzEYzPP8F8imoFGG7_hcUoMtQXjFO_/s400/My+HipstaPrint+0.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639447097300365890" /></a>That's the end of the first act, where Frances and Junior realize they might be falling in love. But as usual, shenanigans will conspire to keep them apart until the end of the second act. I hope you all get a chance to see the show eventually. We've got a lot of development opportunities coming up, and I'll blog about them as they materialize. I can't announce (ahem...) until the theaters announce... but it's looking more and more like there will be<span style="font-weight:bold;"> things to announce</span> very soon. How's that for cryptic?
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<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Set on the sidewalks of New York in the 19teens, Hello! My Baby is a riotous new-fashioned musical-comedy chronicling the beginnings of that original all-American art-form: Popular Music. A new take on the classic songbook musical, H!MB updates the greatest hits of Berlin, Gershwin, Kern, Cohan, and a score of others, weaving them into a timely romantic farce that sings to all ages.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MvwnOCnZ3wmxV_85Qp_cHYebDB694s2GihyBb7ejr1TXuxjpU6-Yf0elsv8QOCCsYYGGzeIwjokuhzvkF03IVQFSyASlbGqgoz82FgBPbJHDzgGvLYO6Rum5tHW3_gTzv9xK/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MvwnOCnZ3wmxV_85Qp_cHYebDB694s2GihyBb7ejr1TXuxjpU6-Yf0elsv8QOCCsYYGGzeIwjokuhzvkF03IVQFSyASlbGqgoz82FgBPbJHDzgGvLYO6Rum5tHW3_gTzv9xK/s400/photo.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639453779294698786" /></a>
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<br />HELLO! MY BABY
<br />Book and New Lyrics by Cheri Steinkellner
<br />New Music and Arrangements by Georgia Stitt
<br />Directed by Rich Gray
<br />Music Directed by RJ Tancioco
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<br />Sunday night, August 14th, 7 pm
<br /><a href="http://www.villagetheatre.org/festsched_vo.php">More info here</a>
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<br />Follow HELLO! MY BABY on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HelloMyBabyTheMusical">Facebook</a> or on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/HMBTHEMUSICAL">Twitter</a>.
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<br />Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-47973225491749986272011-07-22T08:51:00.001-07:002011-07-22T08:52:45.987-07:00Songwriting Master Class in North HollywoodEveryone's process is different, and we all know something about how to write or else we wouldn't be <a href="http://www.anmt.org/bootcamp.asp#">here</a>. But how do we write on a deadline? What does it mean to have technique? How much do we depend on our collaborators, and how much do we push them? In this two-day workshop, we will tackle a number of songwriting challenges. Exercises (depending on the desires of the group) could include writing a simple and clear 32-bar song, writing a song based on someone else's experience, writing a (not boring!) list song, writing comedy, writing a song for a character in a found photograph, setting a piece of poetry, and/or writing lyrics to a pre-existing melody or writing music to a pre-existing lyric. Ideally, we will do some small group collaborating and assuredly we will have some overnight homework. Writers must be willing to attempt to write both lyric and melody even if experience is more significant in one area than the other. (Participants need not be pianists but must have some way (sing? guitar? demo?) to present original music.) Think 'theater games' for the writer. Class needs a minimum of four participants.<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />SONGWRITING MASTERCLASS with Georgia Stitt<br />Instructor: Georgia Stitt<br /><br />Saturday/Sunday 2pm to 6pm<br />July 23 & 24<br />Course Fee: $195 (Early Bird/ANMT Member Fee: $150)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.anmt.org/bootcamp.asp#">CLICK HERE TO REGISTER</a>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-33713138065283048582011-06-20T10:36:00.001-07:002011-06-20T11:02:09.580-07:00Censorship in TexasI received this letter from my friend <a href="http://www.kaitlinhopkins.com/">Kaitlin Hopkins</a>, who is the head of the musical theater department at Texas State University. I am sharing it here. Regardless of your thoughts on religion or gay rights, these are issues of censorship, hatred, bigotry, and misinformation. If you are in a position to support Kaitlin and her student, I encourage you to do so. Thanks. G.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dear Friends in San Antonio and Austin (and a few in New York/LA too),<br /><br />One of my students is working at the San Perdro Playhouse in San Antonio, Texas where they are doing Terrance McNally's play <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi_(play)">Corpus Christi</a>. <br /><br />It was greatly upsetting to hear that protestors were showing up every night of the run (thru July 10th) due to the subject matter. If you are not familiar with the play, it depicts Jesus and the Apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas.<a href="http://qsanantonio.com/corpuschristi.html<br />"> See photos of the protests</a>.<br /> <br />My student Joe (who is in the production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in other theater space there) was squirted with holy water by a Catholic woman in the crowd last night trying to get into the theater. I am not sure if she thought it might melt him like the Wicked Witch, ensure he not burn in hell or just give him some relief from the heat in Texas right now but regardless of her reasons, I am asking friends to help in whatever way you can to show support for this play, the theater and this company of actors and director who are going through this. Last night the casts were not allowed to leave the theater once they were in the building.<br /><br />Those of you that are in the area, please go support the production and let your friends know about it. I am notifying the two student organizations on the Texas Sate campus that support the gay student community here, LAMBDA and the Bobcat Equality Alliance so they can lend their support and stand in solidarity with this company. This breaks my heart, I have many gay young men and woman students here who need to know they are not alone and can be who they are and not be humiliated or punished for it.<br /><br />Those of you in New York: if you have blogs or in any way can let people know, I would greatly appreciate it. Last night the protest crowd was about 30 strong, some with signs that were just awful. My guess is the numbers will increase next week. I am hoping to get this company some support. </span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-3754974432755268912011-06-11T22:04:00.000-07:002011-06-11T22:05:47.300-07:00Internet Piracy of Sheet Music Panel at the Dramatists Guild Conference<iframe width="400" height="340" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/newplay?layout=4&clip=flv_c7cb638f-3513-4874-b35b-22c1b650248f&autoplay=false" style="border:0;outline:0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><div style="font-size: 11px;padding-top:10px;text-align:center;width:560px">Watch <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="live streaming video">live streaming video</a> from <a href="http://www.livestream.com/newplay?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="Watch newplay at livestream.com">newplay</a> at livestream.com</div>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-66690723239374362222011-06-07T11:48:00.000-07:002011-06-07T11:59:41.936-07:00How To Treat Your PianistOh my goodness she makes me laugh. I do not have issue with point number 6, though. Do you?<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/__FNCInnSKg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-24651251877198003272011-05-27T23:07:00.000-07:002011-05-27T23:30:09.926-07:00Making A Record<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcBJ72MrRWWNwb-ZlZHlybRjGbLy19zSj7h09zthxyuKKRjVJnJMKszFs7odSi7rna2BvonBJoCze8LfjOKIqQa40FFWc8nHqbQqTw_2VlN_YJR31I-GNaUQ82VIPwcij13oU/s1600/CIMG1983.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCcBJ72MrRWWNwb-ZlZHlybRjGbLy19zSj7h09zthxyuKKRjVJnJMKszFs7odSi7rna2BvonBJoCze8LfjOKIqQa40FFWc8nHqbQqTw_2VlN_YJR31I-GNaUQ82VIPwcij13oU/s400/CIMG1983.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611645783430975426" /></a>Of all the things I do, I think being in the recording studio is my favorite. Of course, it's also the most expensive thing I do, so I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. One of the things that has most surprised me about being a grown-up professional musician is how little of your time is actually spent making music. But when I DO get to sit at a piano and play -- either into a microphone or for an audience or just for the pleasure of playing -- it's the best part.<br /><br />Several months ago this musical theater friend of mine, <a href="http://www.robertcreightonnyc.com/">Robert Creighton</a> (who goes by Bobby, so I'll now start calling him Bobby), asked me if I might like to help him make his first solo album. Bobby has been in six Broadway shows (currently <a href="http://www.anythinggoesonbroadway.com/">ANYTHING GOES</a>) and he's written a show about Jimmy Cagney (called <a href="http://www.CAGNEYthemusical.com/">CAGNEY</a>) that's getting a lot of attention. Bobby felt like if he made a record of old-fashioned songs, people would buy it. Only he didn't want the album to feel old fashioned. He wanted fresh, new arrangements of the songs that were suited to the kind of singing he most enjoys. Bobby knew that that kind of arranging is exactly what I did on my musical <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HelloMyBabyTheMusical">HELLO! MY BABY</a>, so he asked if I'd like to do it for him, as well. <br /><br />I've recorded <a href="http://www.georgiastitt.com/cd_thisordinarythursday.html">my own debut album</a>, and I've played on and written for a lot of other people's albums, but Bobby and I were starting from scratch. He'd say, "What if we recorded 'You Are My Sunshine?" and I'd say, "How do you hear it? Is it a ballad? Is it an uptempo? Is it a solo? A duet? Is it guitar-driven, piano-driven, rhythmic, lyrical? Is it happy? Are you singing all of the verses? What's the right key for you? Do you like the intro or should we skip it?" We did this over and over again until we had a master list of songs we liked and a template for how each of the songs might go so that the album was diverse and interesting but still felt like it all came from the same source.<br /><br />It's interesting to consider that people don't really listen to records the way they used to. In 2007 when I released <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJLLWE?ie=UTF8&tag=georgiascom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000NJLLWE">"This Ordinary Thursday"</a> my record producer told me that I was the first album on their label (<a href="http://www.psclassics.com/">PSClassics</a>) that sold more song downloads than physical copies. It used to be that you could have a hit single on one side of the vinyl and then you could put some less-good "filler" song on the B-side knowing that people would buy it just to get the hit. Nowadays, people can sample the 30-second preview of the song on iTunes, and if it's not as good as the rest of the album, they'll just skip it. <br /><br />As we've been recording, I've asked Bobby to consider the order of these songs. I remember putting on a record in my room and listening to it from top to bottom. But now we listen to music in our cars, on our iPods, while we work out, and there are many more things to consider. Your first track still has to be fantastic, or people don't listen to the second track. But people who listen in their cars often get four or five songs in and then they've arrived at their destination. They might not ever get to the end of the album. And so many people just pick their favorite tunes and put them in shuffle play, so maybe it doesn't matter at all, anyway.<br /><br />Unless it does. Sometimes a person will still put on a record and listen to the whole thing consecutively. Maybe they just want to sit and experience your music, top to bottom, in the order you intended. And for those people, we try to keep in mind that the best albums have flow. They have balance. The tempo, energy, key, and style of one song will lead you appropriately into the next. Great albums are conceived as great albums.<br /><br />So, back in January Bobby and I recorded five songs. And last week, in late May, we recorded seven more. I flew to New York on Sunday. On Monday, we rehearsed all day, making sure we had communicated about all the ideas for the arrangements, making sure we'd thought through the performances. We talked about how singing on mic is so different from singing on stage. On the microphone, I can hear whether or not the singer is smiling. Joy can be captured in an audio performance. We rehearsed Bobby's guest singers. (They are <span style="font-style:italic;">unbelievable</span>... but I won't spoil the announcement for him.) On Tuesday, we recorded the rhythm section - piano (me), bass, drums, and guitar. We recorded most of these things to click track (metronome) so the time would be unwavering. On Wednesday, we brought in a horn section (trumpet, trombone, sax) and recorded them as overdubs to the rhtyhm tracks we'd already recorded. On Thursday Bobby did most of his solo vocals as overdubs over the rhythm and horn charts. And on Friday, we brought in the guest vocalists and recorded them in duets (and in one case, in a barbershop quartet) with Bobby. We spent a lot of time on Thursday and Friday doing rough edits, comping together what we call a "rough mix," which means all of the layers are there, but they are not yet balanced against themselves.<br /><br />So what we have now is like raw footage for a film, and now the editing begins. Next week we start mixing, or balancing the sounds. After that, there's mastering, which is the final post-production step that evens out the levels and keeps you from having to turn the volume up for one track and down for the next. And then Bobby will have photos made and a cover and a CD jacket designed. And then we'll have made a record. Simple as that.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(photo l to r is Eric Davis (guitar), Bobby Creighton, me, Larry Lelli (drums) and Randy Landau (bass))</span>Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-68076100631662803392011-04-28T12:34:00.000-07:002011-08-11T16:50:34.293-07:00College MT Programs?I've been asked to compile a list of colleges that have prominent Musical Theater programs. Basically the list should include any school that would have enough kids studying musical theater that they would book master classes, have a library of sheet music, produce a non-student-run musical, etc. Here's what I've come up with so far. What am I missing? Leave comments! Thanks!
<br />
<br />
<br />US
<br />
<br />Abilene Christian University (TX)
<br />AMDA (NYC, LA)
<br />American University (DC)
<br />Arkansas State University (AR)
<br />Avila University, Kansas City (MO)
<br />Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio)
<br />Ball State (IN)
<br />Bates College (ME)
<br />Belhaven University, Jackson (MS)
<br />Belmont University (TN)
<br />Berklee College of Music (MA)
<br />Birmingham Souther University (AL)
<br />Boston Conservatory (MA)
<br />Bowling Green State University (OH)
<br />Brigham Young University (UT)
<br />Brown University (RI)
<br />CalArts (CA)
<br />CalPoly (CA)
<br />Cal State Fullerton (CA)
<br />California State University Chico (CA)
<br />CAP 21 (NY)
<br />Capital University, Colombus (OH)
<br />Carnegie Mellon (PA)
<br />Catholic University (DC)
<br />Catawba College (NC)
<br />Central Michigan University (CMU) (MI)
<br />Chicago College of the Performing Arts (CCPA) at Roosevelt U. (IL)
<br />Cincinnatti Conservatory (CCM) (OH)
<br />Clarion University (PA)
<br />Coastal Carolina University (SC)
<br />College of the Canyons (California)
<br />Colombia College, Chicago (IL)
<br />Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids (MI)
<br />Cornish College Of The Arts (WA)
<br />Covina Center for the Performing Arts (California)
<br />East Carolina University (NC)
<br />Drake University, Des Moines (IA)
<br />Drew University (Madison, NJ)
<br />Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti (MI)
<br />Elon University (NC)
<br />Emerson College (MA)
<br />Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison (NJ)
<br />Florida Atlantic University (West Palm Beach, FL)
<br />Florida State University (FL)
<br />Florida International University (FL)
<br />Harrison School for the Visual and Performing Arts (Lakeland, FL)
<br />Hartt School of Music (CT)
<br />Hollins University, Roanoak (VA)
<br />Hofstra (NY)
<br />Howard University (DC)
<br />Hunter College (NY)
<br />Illinois Wesleyan University (IL)
<br />Indiana University (IN)
<br />Ithaca College (NY)
<br />James Madison University, Harrisonburg (VA)
<br />The Juilliard School (NY)
<br />Lees-McRae College (close to Boone, NC)
<br />Liberty University (Lynchburg,VA)
<br />Loyola University, Chicago (IL)
<br />Manhattanville College
<br />Marymount Manhattan (NY)
<br />Milliken University (IL)
<br />Middle Tennessee State Univ (TN)
<br />Missouri State Univeersity (Springfield, MO)
<br />Montclair State University (NJ)
<br />Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
<br />New World School of the Arts (FL)
<br />New York Film Academy (NY)
<br />New York School of Film and TV (NY)
<br />Northwestern (IL)
<br />North Carolina School of the Arts (NC)
<br />North Dakota State University, Fargo (ND)
<br />Nova Southeastern Univeristy, Ft. Lauderdale (FL)
<br />NYU (Tisch, Playwrights, Steinhardt) (NYC)
<br />Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan)
<br />Ohio Northern University (OH)
<br />Oklahoma City University, OKCU (Oklahoma)
<br />Oral Roberts University (OK)
<br />Otterbein University (OH)
<br />Ouchita Baptist College (AR)
<br />Pace University (NY)
<br />Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College (CA)
<br />Patel Conservatory, Straz Center for the PA (Tampa, FL)
<br />Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
<br />Penn State (PA)
<br />Plymouth State University, Plymouth (NH)
<br />Point Park University (PA)
<br />Rockford College (IL)
<br />Rowan University, Glassboro (NJ)
<br />Samford Univeristy (AL)
<br />Sam Houston State University (Texas)
<br />San Diego State Univ (CA)
<br />Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (GA)
<br />Seton Hill University, Greensburg (PA)
<br />Shenandoah Conservatory (VA)
<br />Shorter College (Rome, Georgia)
<br />Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)
<br />Suffolk University, Boston (MA)
<br />Syracuse University (NY)
<br />Temple (Philadelphia, PA)
<br />Texas Chrisitian University (TX)
<br />Texas State University (San Marcos, TX) new program
<br />Troy University (Troy, AL)
<br />Tulane Univ. (New Orleans, LA)
<br />UCLA (CA)
<br />The University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
<br />The University of Arizona at Tuscon (AZ)
<br />The University of the Arts (PA)
<br />The University of California, Irvine (CA)
<br />The University of Central Florida (FL)
<br />The University of Central Oklahoma (OK)
<br />The University of Cincinnati (OH)
<br />The University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
<br />The University of Findlay (OH)
<br />The University of Florida Gainesville (FL)
<br />The University of Georgia Athens (GA)
<br />The University of Oklahoma (OK)
<br />The Unviersity of Maryland, College Park (MD)
<br />The University of Memphis (TN)
<br />The Univeristy of Miami (FL)
<br />The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
<br />The University of Minnesota (Duluth, MN)
<br />The University of Mississippi (MS)
<br />The University of Missouri, Kansas City (MO)
<br />The University of Montevallo (Montevallo, AL)
<br />The University of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)
<br />The University of N. Carolina Greensboro (NC)
<br />The University of Nebraska, Lincoln (NE)
<br />The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NC)
<br />The University of Northern Colorado (CO)
<br />The University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)
<br />The University of Southern California (USC) (CA)
<br />The University of Southern Colorado (CO)
<br />The University of Southern Illinois (Carbondale, IL)
<br />The University of Southern Maine (ME)
<br />The University of Tampa (FL)
<br />The University of Tennessee (TN)
<br />The University of Texas (TX)
<br />The University of Tulsa (OK)
<br />The University of Wisconsin at Steven's Point (Steven's Point, WI)
<br />Valdosta State University (Valdosta, GA)
<br />Vanderbilt University (TN)
<br />Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)
<br />Viterbo College (WI)
<br />Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
<br />Wagner College (NY)
<br />Weber State University (Ogden, Utah)
<br />Webster University (MO)
<br />West Texas A & M University, Amarillo (TX)
<br />Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)
<br />Western Illinois University (IL)
<br />Western Michigan University (MI)
<br />Westminster College of the Arts at Rider University (NJ)
<br />Wichita State University (KS)
<br />Wright State University (OH)
<br />Yale University (CT)
<br />
<br />
<br />PROMINENT HIGH SCHOOLS
<br />Booker T. Washington- Dallas
<br />Campolindo HS- Moraga (CA)
<br />Dreyfoos School of the Arts- Palm Beach, Fl
<br />The Duke Ellington School (Baltimore)
<br />Episcopal High School- Houston
<br />Hamilton Academy of Music - Los Angeles, CA
<br />High School of Visual and Performing Arts- Houston
<br />Humphrey's School-TUTS- Houston, Tx
<br />Interlochen Academy Interlochen Michigan
<br />LACHSA - Los Angeles, CA
<br />LaGuardia High School (NY)
<br />NC School of the Arts High School Division- Winston-Salem, NC
<br />New World School of the Arts- Miami
<br />NOCCA (New Orleans Creative Center for the Arts)- New Orleans
<br />North Carolina Theatre School Raleigh, NC
<br />Orange County High School of the Arts (California)
<br />Pebblebrook High School (Atlanta)
<br />Pinellas Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School- St. Pete Fla
<br />Stratford High School- Houston
<br />Virginia Governor's School of the Arts- Norfolk,Va
<br />Walnut Hill School for the Arts - Natick, MA
<br />
<br />
<br />INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
<br />The Arts Educational Schools (ArtsEd) (London) (UK)
<br />The Australia Institute of Music (Australia)
<br />Bird College, London (UK)
<br />The Brit School (London) (UK)
<br />Canadian College of Performing Arts (Victoria, Canada)
<br />Central School of Speech and Drama (UK)
<br />Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
<br />Danske Musicla Akademi (Denmark)
<br />Dudley College (West Midlands, UK)
<br />Griffith University (Australia)
<br />Guildford School for Acting (UK)
<br />Italia Conti Academy, London (UK)
<br />Knightswood, The Danse School of Scotland (Scotland)
<br />Laine Theatre Arts (UK)
<br />Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) (UK)
<br />London Studio Centre (London, UK)
<br />Monash University (Australia)
<br />Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (London)
<br />National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Sydney (Australia)
<br />Performers College (London)
<br />Randolph (Toronto, Canada)
<br />Royal Academy of Music (London)
<br />Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (UK)
<br />Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (UK)
<br />Sheridan (Ontario, Canada)
<br />St. Lawrence College Brockville (Ontario, Canada)
<br />Trinity Laban College of Music and Dance (UK)
<br />The University of Ballarat (Ballarat Victoria) (Australia)
<br />The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada)
<br />The University of Gothenburg, Academy of Music and Drama (Sweden)
<br />The University of Toronto (Canada)
<br />The University of Western Ontario (Canada)
<br />The Urdang Academy (UK)
<br />Victoria College of the Arts (Australia)
<br />Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) (Australia)Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-75128521585263197272011-03-30T16:21:00.000-07:002011-03-30T16:31:15.209-07:00Musical Theatre Talk Radio Interview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GwiTIaeLEs0KAjjxvlb0Vi_Djid5NnG9X8Zi37NjMgaIRSpJyWoOflsChBegJ4xBpqcGbJvWPI8H9c972Mw5ksqq3j1UKUoAqG2IrwSSU6b4VvGnUi9y3FpfZzIB4YkF4a3v/s1600/4ecf7f56-455b-41c3-988a-2d956ccb6218_musicaltheatretalk-logo-300new.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GwiTIaeLEs0KAjjxvlb0Vi_Djid5NnG9X8Zi37NjMgaIRSpJyWoOflsChBegJ4xBpqcGbJvWPI8H9c972Mw5ksqq3j1UKUoAqG2IrwSSU6b4VvGnUi9y3FpfZzIB4YkF4a3v/s400/4ecf7f56-455b-41c3-988a-2d956ccb6218_musicaltheatretalk-logo-300new.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590017510544888818" /></a><br />Listen <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/musicaltheatretalk/2011/03/30/georgia-stitt--composer-lyricist?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d93b0e115c77e1a%2C0">here</a> to today's radio interview. Trish Causey and I talked a lot about writing, music directing, TV work, balancing motherhood and career, and plans for the future. (My part of the program starts at about 8:50.)Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28823443.post-20891754652647625792011-03-24T20:03:00.000-07:002011-03-24T23:31:01.848-07:00Coachings: Pop/RockI give several private coachings each week to actors and singers who book an hour of one-on-one time in my studio. I work from the piano and guide the actors through song interpretation or vocal technique or audition prep. Each coaching is its own unique little thing, but today an actor was specifically looking for a pop/rock song. Ah, yes. That again.<br /><br />Musical theater actor/singer/dancer types are being asked more and more to sing pop/rock, and often they have no idea what to do. They've spent years tap dancing and singing Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sondheim, Charles Strouse, and Ahrens and Flaherty and now they've got a big audition for one of the more pop/rock shows. (Think<span style="font-style:italic;"> Spring Awakening</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Next To Normal</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Rent</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Rock of Ages</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Jersey Boys</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Mamma Mia</span>.... etc.) Actors want you to believe they can do everything, that they are malleable, versatile, skilled chameleons. Sometimes this is actually true. <br /><br />But the actors who have for years relied on, well, <span style="font-style:italic;">acting</span>, are freaked out at the idea that they will be required to stand in the middle of an audition room and sing a pop song. Here's why.<br /><br />The big difference between musical theater songs and pop (radio) songs is they way they function. For the most part, a musical theater song exists to get a character from point A to point B. Over the course of the song, a character will have a realization, make a discovery, choose a direction or solve a problem, leading us from one dramatic scene to the next, keeping the show moving forward. If a musical theater song does not have direction to it, an actor has nothing to play and the show stalls. We audience members don't want that. We are sitting in the seats of the theater, waiting to see what's going to happen to our character. We are listening. We are invested. We do not want to be here all night.<br /><br />A pop song, however, is usually more of an elaboration of a feeling. Pop songs are designed to be sung along with. They make you smile or they make you ache or they make you dance. If you can't sing along to the chorus by the second time you've heard it, it's probably not going to stick. So if you try to <span style="font-style:italic;">act</span> your way through a pop song, it's likely going to be pretty awkward.<br /><br />I remember one coaching where the actor asked, with earnest sincerity, "Won't you take me to... Funky Town?"<br /><br />So here's the challenge. You've got to find a song that lets you rock out like a superstar on stage at Madison Square Garden, but you've also got to convince the panel that you can hold your own in a role in a musical. <br /><br />I'm going to jump ahead and tell you that the answer is, and always is, you've got to figure out who YOU are when you're wearing this particular costume. In the same way that you'd expect to dig deep into your personal experience to figure out where you and Nathan Detroit meet, you've also got to find your inner rock star.<br /><br />Here's what I think. I think the casting directors and the creative teams are asking you to show them what you look like when nobody else is looking. How do you sound when you're in the shower? What's on your iPod at the gym? What's in your car on a road trip? What is the music that you feel, deep in your soul? In today's coaching I asked my singer what pop music (recorded in the last ten years please, and five is better) he belted out in his car. His first two answers were <a href="http://www.maroon5.com/">Maroon 5</a> and <a href="http://www.kingsofleon.com/">Kings of Leon.</a> So we spent some time on YouTube watching the videos of their songs, critically asking ourselves these questions.<br /><br />1. Does this song have enough music in it? Is there an actual melody for me to sing? Is it going to sound decent when it's played on just a piano? Is it in my vocal range? (Or could it be if I raised or lowered it a step or two?) Is it as satisfying to sing as it is to listen to?<br /><br />2. Once I cut the guitar/keyboard/bagpipe solo out of the middle, is there enough song left for me to use? Is there an obvious place to end? Is there a full song here or just a really great 16-bar cut? (Both are useful.)<br /><br />3. Is the sheet music available? (Everything we found today was available for $5.25 at <a href="http://www.musicnotes.com/">www.musicnotes.com</a>.) Important: Is it in the same key as the recording? Or perhaps better still: Is it transposable into a key that's better suited for me?<br /><br />4. Are any of these lyrics going to make the panel cringe? Do I believe what I'm saying? Will I be able to be authentically me when I am standing in that room, singing this song?<br /><br />5. Can I sing this song without just imitating the original recording artist? Or if I DO imitate the original recording artist, do I sound awesome? (God forbid you sound like a pale imitation of the only other person we've ever heard sing this song.)<br /><br />Ultimately, my client and I found a few songs today that he is going to learn, and once we've worked on them a bit he'll choose what's the most effective for him. His goal was to find the thing that would not make him feel like an idiot in the "I-don't-really riff/sing-gospel/rock/improvise" category. If we find that song -- or ideally, two contrasting songs -- we will put them in his book, right after Rodgers and Hammerstein's "If I Loved You." <br /><br />And my client sings a mean "If I Loved You."Georgia Stitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08171556231850162266noreply@blogger.com3