I'm one of six writers participating in the Contemporary Theater Company's Sixth Annual 24-hour Play Festival, January 8 in South Kingstown, RI. The writers will get some instructions at 12 midnight on the 8th, we turn in our plays at 7am, and then the directors and casts work on the shows for the rest of the day, culminating in a performance at 8pm that evening. I have never done anything like this, which is precisely why I am doing it. I'm a little unnerved about it. Could be entertaining, could be a trainwreck. Either way, I'm in!
Why yes, I teach
Want voice lessons? I teach in Charlestown, Rhode Island . . . with two shiny new annex locations coming soon to West Kingston and Westerly!! Contact me through this website. Prices are low, quality is HIGH!
Dr. Zauberflote
Hello friends, I'm in the middle of two shows at the moment! It's been great working with Connecticut Lyric Opera on their production of Die Zauberflote . . . .here are the Three Ladies, minions to the Queen of the Night.
And I'm working on Seussical: The Meussical at Courthouse Center For The Arts . . . it's a great show for families. Click here for tickets. They'll sell out FAST.
Happy Thanksgiving. . .. .I'm the kind of gal who has to keep herself from putting up the Christmas tree on the afternoon of Thanksgiving. We'll see how long I last. I predict I will cave on Black Friday.
Marry The Man Today -- or at least this week
Hello friends, Two good things coming up . . . my impending wedding and . . . I'll be singing First Lady in Die Zauberflote with Connecticut Lyric Opera! Performances are in mid November and early December, all over Connecticut. I'm excited to sing First Lady for the first time! I just wish the first rehearsal wasn't . .. .the day after my wedding. Oh well, every day's a honeymoon, right? ;)
What's A Lady Like Me Doin' In A Joint Like This?
Well . . . turn your volume WAY up. I'm cutting and editing the tracks from "I'm The Queen And You're Not," my April 29 farewell recital at an Unnamed Midwestern College That Educates For Liberty. Someone asked me not to mention the college by name if I uploaded tracks from this recital onto, say YouTube. I guess they feared that if people knew I was singing there, no one else would want to go there! I'm using Garage Band to try to fix some of the volume swings in the recording, but it's slow going. If anyone can recommend an easier audio editing program, I'm all ?. . . ears!
This is the second song from the show . . ?I opened with the Queen Of The Night's first aria -- but the sound really fluctuates so I'm not posting it yet. Then, I segued into this funny tune by Murray Grand, then into a little patter. Aren't sopranos hilarious?
Musical Theater Merry-Go-Round
Hello friends, I'm pleased to announce that I'll be music directing several shows with Courthouse Center For The Arts in their 2010-2011 season. First up is Seussical, which plays December 17, 18 and 19. Whenever I think of Dr. Seuss in "performance," I think of this and smile.
In 2011, I'll music direct Grey Gardens, Runaways, Happy Days: The Musical and Annie.
I'm also looking for more playwriting opportunities. . . working for this guy,?aka Mr. Big my fiance . . .singing here occasionally . . .and auditioning for this local opera company in Hartford, CT.?I like Hartford because my sweet mezzo friend lives nearby!
I'm still working on dividing up my "royal recital" and slew of springtime performances into digital bites suitable for YouTube. As the 'Net is my witness, I'll have it done . . . . .soon.
My favorite websites
Hello friends . . . I've been in The Ocean State for a month now . . . ?settling in! I've just concluded a month of teaching vocal technique to young performers. These talented kids have a "really big show" next week! I started working on the music with them this week . . . it was fun to share music history with them -- they'd never head of Cabaret except for this. It's been a while since I've taught tweens . . . it's exhausting, but in a good way. I only had to do two or three Tween Smackdowns for talking during rehearsal.
I'm still planning my wedding to Mr. Big, so I spend time online looking for the perfect little hair accessory (still looking) and flower ideas, and when I can't stand that any more, I flee to my favorite blogs and websites. I'm listing my top favorites here.
1. Conversion Diary.?Raised atheist, Jennifer Fulwiler is now a practicing Roman Catholic. How on earth did THAT happen? Her blog makes a lot of the head-scratching questions about faith and Catholicism easier to think about. (She's also writing a book.)
2. Christus Vincit. Brian Michael Page is an organist, composer and self-proclaimed "Snark" living in -- Rhode Island!! I found his blog several years ago while googling "terrible liturgical music" after a particularly rough weekend, and I landed in a wonderful sinkhole of snarky comments about bad sacred music and how to battle it. Other bloggers are more diplomatic, but I like Brian's misanthropic tone. I can't believe we now live in the same state. We haven't met yet, but that's but a matter of time. Brian. . . we're gonna snark at a Starbucks soon, man.
3. Musica Sacra. The go-to website for all things related to Gregorian chant and traditional sacred music. I attended the Sacred Music Colloquium hosted by CMAA back in the mid 1990s, after I converted to Catholicism. . . ?I still use the skills I learned there. Glad to see that the Colloquium is thriving!
4. Cote de Texas. "Interior design porn" for those attracted to Americanized French decor. Won't ever do it in real life but there is no harm in looking, right? Unless it leads you to buy?here. Then, you have a problem and you need professional intervention.
5. Intimate Weddings. This site helps me maintain perspective as I hurtle into planning my fall wedding. It reminds me to focus on?the relationship and the marriage, rather than the wedding. (Been there, done that.) Small is beautiful! It can be done!
6. And here's the polar opposite. Good for flowers, but awful in other respects because it makes me think I am a Bad Bride for not canning my own preserves as wedding favors. Why do we have wedding favors, again?
7. Garden Design is my new favorite magazine . . . I still like Fine Gardening and Better Homes and Gardens but I love the ideas I'm getting from this one! And the blog is great, too.
What? Did you think I'd tell you that my surf history also includes visits to here, here, and here?
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Hello from the Ocean State!
I'm all moved in to my new home in Rhode Island. I'm getting married here in October. I'm in a beautiful house near the ocean, with four cats, a dog, a snake, and lots of weeds to pull. I'm teaching part time at Courthouse Center For The Arts.
And now . . I'm looking for new adventures. I'm a Catholic looking for a parish, a classically trained soprano cantor looking for a choir loft and a priest who likes "Ave Maria"s, an organist looking for an instrument. I'm a performer looking for a stage, a writer looking for a story (and some quiet place without boxes around, to write it!), a teacher looking for students to inspire. I'm a gardener looking for flowers and back yards to delight me, a traveler looking for new places to explore, a mom of a tween and a stepmom of a kindergartener looking for support and advice, a divorced woman looking for prayers as I take the ultimate leap of faith into the future.
So. . . email me, if I don't find you first. ;)
EnJP72
Soprano At Ease
All done! What a great time that was . . . I enjoyed singing for the last time (?) at Hillsdale College . . . ?I will post some sound files when the recordings are sent on . . . thanks to all who came out. Here's a shot of The Queen and her Prince, apres-show. Thanks, Jim Rowen . . .
And now, what? I'm moving to Rhode Island for a very good reason . . . will be working here for the summer . . . come sing with me . . . and after that, we'll see. ;) I have a few ideas. . . . but first, a nap . . .
Hilarity Ensues!
Oi! Oi! Tryouts for "Bride and Flatulence" (and all the other student directed plays and student written shows) are this Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:30pm, Hillsdale College Black Box. Here, a little bit of "Bride" for you.
BRIDE AND FLATULENCE:?A Short Play With Music By Eden Casteel
SCENE ONE: THE BALL
EMMABETH FAIRFAX, 18, headstrong and prejudiced
MARYJANE FAIRFAX, 20, deliberate and sensible
FITZWALTER DARBY, 24, taciturn and really really rich (he shows up later)
A Regency era ballroom, suggested by several elegant chairs and perhaps some potted greenery. Beautiful young sisters Emmabeth and Maryjane Fairfax sit on chairs side by side, drinking punch from glass or ceramic teacups. Minuet music plays in the background during the scene.
MARYJANE: Emmabeth, you look like you are ready to shout to the sky. Whatever is the matter?
EMMABETH: I have just been humiliated by Mr. Darby.
MARYJANE: You mean, the wealthy Mr. Darby of PennybrookEstate?
EMMABETH: No, the rude Mr. Darby at the other end of the hall. But I suspect they are one and the same.
MARYJANE: Are you certain it was a calculated effort to hurt you?
EMMABETH: I happened to find Mr. Darby standing next to me, so I asked the gentleman if he cared to dance, and he immediately said, ?No.? I innocently asked him ?why?? and he replied, ?Find a looking glass.? The impudence!
MARYJANE: That is rather rude. Even for a rich man.
EMMABETH: Ten thousand a year can?t purchase good manners.
MARYJANE looks across the room: He does not seem arrogant now. In fact, he seems rather strained.
EMMABETH: Yes, is very tiring to appear to be suffering the happiness of the lower class as they dance in front of you.
MARYJANE: Your tongue rivals the punch for tartness, my sister. Emmabeth smiles at her Good heavens, Emmabeth!
EMMABETH: What is it?
MARYJANE: Your teeth!
EMMABETH: What is wrong?
MARYJANE: Did you partake of the spinach tartlets at the buffet?
EMMABETH: Yes, they were delicious. I had three of them.
MARYJANE: I can see that!
EMMABETH: How?
MARYJANE: They have stuck to your teeth! You have green lines of spinach between your teeth!
EMMABETH: Horrors! Help me rid myself of them! Maryjane surreptitiously helps Emmabeth scrub out her mouth with a napkin and some gulps of punch. Emmabeth sits, demoralized
EMMABETH: Do you suppose . . .
MARYJANE: That Mr. Darby was gently trying to spare you further embarrassment when he suggested you find a looking glass? Yes, that would be a logical and charitable explanation of his behavior.
EMMABETH: I am still put out. Mr. Darby should know better than to offer a food that would leave his guests open to ridicule.
MARYJANE: The fault lies in the spinach, not in the man.
EMMABETH: I condemn the menu and the man who approved it!
To the tune of ?Now Is The Month Of Maying?
EMMABETH: The spinach tart has shamed me, yet Mr. Darby blamed me!?Fa la la la, fa la la la.?Why should he take offense? My anger is intense.?Fa la la la la. . . .
MARYJANE:?His observations dental were delicate and gentle,?Fa la la , fa la la.?You could choose to abhor it, or simply to ignore it,?Fa la la la, fa la la.
MARYJANE: The crisis has passed, sister. Forgive the cook and forget the faux pas.
EMMABETH stands: I shall wait for you in the carriage.
MARYJANE: Go ahead, dear. I spy Mr. Bingolee and I would like to try a quadrille with him, if he asks me.
EMMABETH: But I have been shamed by spinach! I cannot remain here! Maryjane sighs
MARYJANE: Very well. We?ll depart. She stands and departs with Emmabeth
My favorite photographer
Dear Friends, I've gotten lots of positive comments about the photography on this site . . . visit www.ronaldcowie.com to see more work by this amazing artist.
Yes, he likes opera. He just doesn't know it yet.
Climb every mountain . . .
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.
Eden, Tall Paul, and Small Paul
Prof. Paul Hickfang, RIP
My first and favorite voice teacher, Prof. Paul Hickfang, died February 6 in Columbus Ohio after a brief illness. He was 82.
I met him when I was 13 years old, outside Linworth United Methodist Church. I wanted to sing more solos at my middle school, so my mother dutifully sought a voice teacher. Prof. Hickfang, all 6 feet 7 inches of him, unfolded out of the car. He had me sing a few scales inside the church's choir wroom, and suddenly I was a voice student. Thus began a beautiful 25 year friendship. And, I immediately began getting more solos! (The first one: "As Long As He Needs Me," from "Oliver.")
I remember so many Sunday afternoons, standing in front of the Steinway in his carpeted living room. Teenaged me, trying to make sounds that he approved of. Occasionally succeeding. Him, shoeless but wearing dark socks and dress pants, long legs crossed and swiveled away from the keyboard, pointing to his mouth and saying, "Meh! Like this! Meh!" Or, motioning me toward him so he could punch me in the stomach to see if I was supporting adequately. Or, shouting down to Laura Lee in the basement, "Could you play this for Eden?" Or, holding my hands in one of his and saying, "Good job, Miss Casteel."
Prof. Hickfang truly changed my life for the better. I saw him perform in "La Boheme" and thought, "I want to do that." He understood. He also discovered that I had perfect pitch -- I thought everybody could identify notes without hearing them being played. He sent me to University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to study with his old friend, Patricia Berlin. He sang at my wedding. He named one of his sons after his voice teacher Chase Borromeo, so I named my son after him. He coached me through recitals, roles, performances. He also coached me through life. "How are you singing?" he would always ask. "What are you working on?" He always wanted to know.
After years of really wonderful health, and 22 years of post-retirement voice teaching ("it keeps me young," he said) he suffered a stroke. I visited him before Christmas. I am so glad that I got to hold his hand, and tell him all the wonderful things I was doing. He knew my singing was good and my life was great. And he knew I loved him. And, despite his paralysis, he flirted with my mother as always. He flirted with everyone. Including Laura Lee, his wife.
In two days I will sing at his memorial service. I am honored to do it. Every time I sing a note or teach a student, he is with me. That helps.
Good night, my dear Prof. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Afterglow following a job well done
Well, THAT was fun!
"Bel Canto Cabaret" was a huge success! It was great fun to sing with my dear friends. Thanks to everyone who came to support us, hope you enjoyed the show!