Things I Want to Remember about April 2020: a List

The Quiet.

- The slow closing up of the world…

- The Quiet. The beautiful, terrifying Quiet.

- Pink blossoms in full bloom on the corner of 33rd and Broadway, with beautiful Edison bulbs hanging inside them. It took my breath away!

- a two-hour conversation on the phone with Tyne. My beloved friend and mentor.

- An extraordinary email from Ruthy Froch, that left me reeling

- Sending and receiving postcards and letters.

- Watching Trump destroy our country and himself, being filled with anger but mostly extraordinary sadness; and a fire in my belly to do everything in my power to contribute to changing the future.

- The passing of my friend, colleague, and inspiration, Terence McNally. 

- And how many wonderful texts, emails, phone calls, and conversations with those who shared his days his passing inspired, and how grateful I feel to have been lucky enough to have been in his circle. 

- Lessons from Tati (Eat that snack. Take the nap. Don’t morally assess anything. Don’t do. Be.)

- The incredibly somber moment Alec and I stopped in our tracks as we came across the impromptu refrigerated morgues outside on the sidewalk of Mt Sinai Queens.  

- Everything I learned whilst teaching

- Learning that thinking outside the box about how to stay connected whilst apart has provided all of us with huge new ideas and experiences never previously explored. Digital classes, weddings, funerals, birthdays… a way to be included where we’d previously assume one could not be included.

- Cooking with Alec

- Watching “Sister Act” with Alec and bursting at the seams with joy [and full choreography performed at 100] sharing it with him

- Dawn FaceTimes with Bobby every Tuesday.

- The birds that are starting to figure out that our bird feeder is a new local hangout in the neighborhood (and of course, Tati’s response…)

- This new concept of time... 

- The freeing, masked, frightened and dangerous walks we took, almost every day

- Supporting Etai. And Alexandra. Proverbially holding them.

- Alec, making a sweet little breakfast (grain-free) toast and egg every morning, and brought it to me on a blue plate and with the proudest grin. 

- Confronting The Quiet. 

- ...and welcoming it, too. 

- The discovery that "returning to normal" is not possible, and not going to happen, and the accompanying grief in response to that reality...

- ... and Yet. Yet. The recognition that our world's "normal" was not sustainable; our planet could not survive it, our bodies could not endure the stress, the hustle, the culture of lack. That we have been forced to face the consequences of our actions and thus, must build a new world. We have thus been invited--inside this horrendous global catastrophe filled with plague and fear and death-- to imagine a world with less hustle, less poverty, less inequity, and filled with more compassion, fairness, empathy, and wellness for ourselves and our one and only planet.

- Dawns. Lots of Dawns.

Spring isn't canceled.

Mentorship: Modern-day Alchemy

Introduction

Some mentors are easy to spot: they work for the Y, they have an office, a piece of paper that says they’re “allowed” to be looked up to and followed.

Often, they also have a specific connection to a vocation, like the apprenticeship model of ye olden days.  A young up-and-comer with reasonable potential, a fair amount of chutzpah and a spark of fire in the their belly dutifully reports to the workplace of Ebenezer Scrooge to learn a trade (hopefully with more coal and fewer ghosts…)

In modern times we have less and less of these relationships. The internet has become our universal teacher and connect-er—an “apprentice” can learn almost anything from the world wide web— from make-up tutorials and de-husking corn, from tiling your own bathroom to the intricacies of complex computer fixes. We no longer look to others we know—but to helpful, anonymous strangers.

I’m not complaining. I’ve credited YouTube countless times for assisting me in getting shit done (thank you for helping my mom reverse flush her engine core The Internet!)

But what gets lost is palpable— a relationship cherished and nurtured since Ancient Greek times, ingrained deep in the mire of our culture: true mentorship.

And what, truly, is mentorship? Traditionally it is defined as a relationship in which a more experienced or knowledgeable person helps to guide a less knowledgeable or experienced apprentice (sometimes also called a protégé—or, in contemporary times even referred to wryly as a “mentee”), so that the master’s knowledge and mastery becomes that of the protégé, giving them a launching pad with which to create their own path to individual mastery.

A great mentor knows where to focus attention, how to properly challenge the protégé; providing the most productive and meaningful kind of insight. Great mentors provide immediate and realistic feedback on the protégé’s work, so they can refine their skills in a streamlined and often, transcendent manner.

But those are all big fancy words.

True mentorship is above all, an interconnection based on Ye Olde Human Interaction; a learning partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wishes to learn on a deeper level. One in which the tribal elder exceeds the practical role of teacher—that is to say, one who passes on factual information—but goes beyond to the highest reaches of human connection.

In essence: the way one can spot a mentorship is that in its presence, both parties are forever transformed.

*

Tyne and I

I first met Tyne Daly in March of 2010, when I was fortunate enough to be cast as Sophie DePalma in Terrence McNally’s Master Class at The Kennedy Center as part of a festival titled “Nights at the Opera”—a trilogy of McNally plays about McNally’s greatest passion. On day one I learned my first lesson from Tyne:

    “Hey kid: breathe. It’s free.”

Not bad advice for anyone, let alone someone who probably hadn't exhaled since 1991. 

I sat in the bowels of The Kennedy Center smack dab in the middle of what I now fondly refer to in public as "a period of extraordinary personal change" but what in private I recall as akin to ripping off my own skin. It was alchemical transformation and adversity, the very best kind of ass-kicking grow-up-or-else kind of moment. 

A gaggle of beautiful actors were all gathered together in our Nation’s capital, who, as it happened, were all also a period of the exact same nightmarish skin-ripping life exercise for all of our company, including Tyne. Marriages were over, pregnancies discovered, apartments lost, loved ones passed on. What an operatic-sized palaver. The details of that are unimportant, suffice it to say everyone was going in through it, looking-up-to-see-the-bottom kind of struggles. Heart-broken, grief-stricken, stupefied, broken-up-with, lost, and God-oh-God: out of town. 

Despite what could have been a group of suffering individuals in their isolated pools of light, we somehow made the collective choice to come together, and feel like shit as a collective, and allow the art to move through us and heal what was left of our hearts. Heck: it beat isolating ourselves in our individual misery-soak hotel rooms. (I mean, it was 2010—we still had to pay extra for WiFi...)

The climate of tenderness that surrounded that process was a kind of an aperture into the deepest recesses of human vulnerability.  It was then I learned my second lesson from Tyne: 

     Q: What does it mean to truly be a leading lady?

    Tyne: “Two things only: a leader, and a lady.”

We were brave because she helped us to be, and because she encouraged us to be and bring our highest selves to the process, it lead to our greatest work, a Broadway transfer, not to mention  lifelong relationships.

But what happened between Tyne and I specifically was magical. We shared something on a deeply spiritual level; had a connection in our eyes that I lack language to express. And as Sophie learned from Callas, so did Al from Tyne, and all the combinations therein.

The day we meet Sophie DePalma in Terrence McNally’s beautiful play, she has a great deal to prove—to the Julliard faculty. To her classmates. To Bellini. To that hateful ex-boyfriend we know nothing (and everything) about. But the day we meet her, all of that is secondary. That day Sophie has everything to prove to herself. And when I first met Sophie, so did I.

Tyne trusted me enough to bestow upon me the honor of truly playing with me.  Playing in the fencing-master-tossing-a-rapier-at-the-student-who-has-some-potential sense of the word.  She picked up her blade and challenged me with a valiant, open heart and a wry smile. To this day, it was the best match of my life.

She treated me like an equal (on and off stage), and I endeavored to deserve that honor. Her “game” improved mine, and what we created together is, without exception, my greatest, and most precious creation. We played the kind of “Deep Chess” Lawrence Ferlinghetti talks about in his poem of the same name:

“For you must play deep chess
Like the one deep game sparky won from fisher
And if your unstudied opening is not too brilliant
You must play to win
Not draw...”

Her Callas was towering, tender, monstrous, human, vulnerable, honest, and ultimately, incandescent. 

 As long as I live, I shall never forget it.

*

Mentorship: Modern-day Alchemy

It is known fact that when we admire people, we become more impressionable to everything they say and do.  We pay a fervent attention, a deeper kind of regard, and because our souls are engaged, it allows for a more powerful kind of learning.

After the run of (the aptly titled) Master Class in Washington, I was at a loss for what to do with my life, more specifically, where to live next. I had spent the last decade or so in the United Kingdom, and did not have a base in any American city…

…So what did Tyne suggest? Why, moving in with her of course. What followed was (yes, as you probably imagine) a series of Auntie Mame-like tales of absolute joy, friendship and epic learning—a back-and-forth dynamic that fueled, and perhaps healed, us both. An electric spark that only burned brighter as I gazed deeply into her mirror.

Lessons like going for walks:

    “How about we walk from the top of Central Park to the bottom? All we need is the right shoes and the right ATTITUDE. Which, come to think of it, is all we ever need…!

Lessons like, believing in your own longevity:

    “Long after the world has forgotten so many, I am going to come see you play Cleopatra. Just keep going kid.”

Lessons like:

    - day trips
    - poetry recitations
    - how to make the perfect ginger beer
    - Countless trips to concerts and the theatre (naturally)
    - Poker night
    - An actual 'Twelfth Night' ritual (where we invite everyone over, and we eat and drink the very last bits and bobs from every tupperware and wine bottle til nothing is left) 
    - The listening of radio plays
    - Writing
    - Discussions of theatrical greats of yore
    - The moving of my 110-year-old Chickering piano to her New York apartment, where it currently still lives.
    - Tarot card readings

And, when my heart broke recently in the presence of another theatrical experience, she offered the following:

    “You are gonna be heartbroken, beaten to death, crushed to a pulp, disappointed and obliterated. But other than that? You’re gonna be okay.”

*

Life is ephemeral. So is the theatre. We cannot hold it in our hands. We all love that which vanishes. The play must end. The company shall disband, life will march on.

And just like the ephemeral theatre, thus is life: our time here on earth for learning and growth is finite. Nowadays we often think it is admirable to “become ourselves” all on our own, to DIY the apprenticeship phase of development and emerge fully formed as if artistry and mastery hatch out of an egg with no visible signs of effort or training.

I encourage you to humble yourself to the apprenticeship process, for without role models, teachers, parental figures and mentors, we can waste valuable time attempting to gain knowledge from un-serviceable sources.

Further, be courageous enough to ask for mentorship. There is always a quivering ego involved in asking for help from those we admire, but trust that those with lessons to offer more often than not, truly wish to have the opportunity give back in a meaningful way, they are merely waiting to be invited to do so. Have faith that the process will be mutually beneficial, and remember: no matter what there is nothing to be lost by complimenting a master, and asking for their guidance. 

Above all, while we must always strive to grow beyond those who came before us, we must revere and learn from those that broke the ground originally, and endeavor to honor their legacy; then continue it in our own vision.

*

A Moment

Hours before our first preview on Broadway, Tyne asked me to come down to her dressing room to run our lines together in an "Italianne”— a run of the lines at increased speed. Italiannes are like calisthenic warm-ups for your brain, and with so much talking and nerves high, they are a great tool in moments such as these.

We settled down, placed our bags, zipped our cardigans, and sat down in her room—not yet moved into, not yet her own.

And then, without ceremony, we began.

There was no music. There was no one else. It was just us and the words.

Throughout this experience, I had accustomed myself to criticism—I needed Tyne’s feedback to be a realistic appraisal of who I was as a human being and actor; through that kind of evaluation, we all develop a confidence that is much more tangible.

One might  think that in that dressing room—flourescently lit and unceremoniously dressed—that  this little exercise of the run would be dry, hollow.  But the words were so powerful, and our feelings for those words, and above all, for each other, so unutterably potent, we both directly went ”there."

Tears fell.
Hands were grasped.
It was our own little theatre, our own magic, right there in that sterile little room.

It is in this sacred moment that I realize I have chosen, and been chosen by, the perfect mentor according to my dreams and Life’s mission—the future artist I aspire, endeavor, and dream to become.  The mentor you choose must be allied in the same way.

    "... I want you to imagine you are Amina. This is opera Sophie. You're alone on a great stage. Make us feel what you feel. Show us that truth..."

That's it.
We finished.
There was a silence and in it, we both looked away.

Then she leaned in, held my hand and uttered,

     "I love this. And you."

©clinton brandhagen

Letting it go...

Did you know that Sophie is a derivative of Sophia - derived from σοφία, the Greek word (and philosophical concept) for "Wisdom?" Well. There are no coincidences. Oh Soph, how your wisdom took me, took all of us, in fact, by surprise...


Sophie DePalma has been in my life since November of 2009. Believe it. I just checked through my emails. I first heard and learned "Ah, Non Credea" on a trip back from London when I was still under the impression that I lived there and would be "right back."

Remember that?

And remember when I was late for the audition because I accidentally locked myself in the utility closet? And remember singing "What's The Use of Wonderin'?" followed by the aria, all for Terrence and Stephen and the rest of the Kennedy Center team, and then, in a rush of nerves and nerdiness admitting that you learned the thing from YouTube?

And do you recall walking out of the audition and wanting it so badly but knowing that you had just locked yourself IN A CLOSET and that things were looking a little grim?

And how you met with Kevin Emrick (portentously outside of Manhattan Theatre Club) when you found out that you had, in fact, as if by magic, somehow gotten the job and you celebrated with pickles and matzoh ball soup because suddenly the next few months of your life made some sense?

That was before Washington.
Before the Terrence McNally Triptych.
Before I had really come to grips with "what had happened in London."
Before the first time I fell on my knees with Tyne, Jeremy, and Stephen, rehearsing the aria ... 
Before singing at Terrence and Tom's wedding.
Before staying in Tyne's apartment.
Before committing to making New York City my home.
Before Broadway.
Before I, or perhaps anyone else, even knew that Sophie was going to mean, to be, far more than simply fun.

The day we meet Sophie, she has a great deal to prove--to the Juilliard faculty. To her classmates. To that ex-boyfriend we know nothing (and everything) about. To the girl he walked away with. 

But today, all of that is secondary. Today Sophie has everything to prove to herself. 

And when I first met Sophie, so did I.

I believe that every one of us, no matter what we do, or how well we seemingly do it; no matter our status, security, the number or depth of relationships-- every single one of us fears that we are Not Enough.

And so, in a series of attempts to be "enough" we add to ourselves--  we wear the wrong thing, talk too much, give too much, are too much, because we don't realize that the only way to be? Is to simply Be.

And there Sophie is-- emotionally poverty-stricken and in the wrong outfit. She is overly solicitous, eager and cute, and full of inappropriate one-liners, all in attempt to beg for a scrap of love. . . Sound familiar?

That said, I also believe this: we all possesses a kind of greatness inside of us. Something-- no matter how miniscule it may seem with our own judgmental gaze upon ourselves, it is there. It may be locked away-- tied up with chains inside a cage of self-doubt, imprisoned in anxieties and crushed by fears. But it is there: waiting, surging with a kind of ancient longing. It is holding on for the day you find the courage to burst through.

The truth is, so few of us ever do. That is okay. That is allowed. But when it happens, it is a trans-formative, deeply miraculous thing. 

The day we meet Sophie? She does it.
It happens.
That miracle.

Callas demands "juice, passion," Self from Sophie. Callas' techniques may be clumsy, violent, harsh, oddly caring and sensitive, definitely unpredictable, and probably accidental, but it doesn't matter. What they find together touches upon the wisdom derived from that ancient longing. Sophie gets it. And both are transformed. Or shall I say, all are transformed? Yes. I think that is accurate, for we all take that journey with them. I know that I shall never be the same myself.

Perhaps that is why I love Sophie DePalma so much-- hers is a tiny story, but one as old as the world. A story of hope.

"They should teach us a lot of things they don't."

Life is ephemeral. So is the theatre. We cannot hold it in our hands. We all love that which vanishes. The play must end. The company shall disband, life will march on.

So here's to you, Sophie, and all others like you.
It has been my honor to tell your story.

Remember the links.
Remember a pencil,
and above all, remember,

"It's all there, Sophie. These composers knew the human heart. All we have to do is listen..."

*

To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

  -  Mary Oliver

 

On Camera: Playwright Terrence McNally

Enjoy the lauded playwright, (and my dear, wonderful friend) Terrence McNally discusses the life, career, person and persona that was and is Maria Callas, the central figure in his play Master Class, now on Broadway at The Samuel J Freidman Theatre starring Tyne Daly as Maria Callas, with Sierra Boggess, Jeremy Cohen, Clinton Brandhagen, Garret Sorenson and lil' ol' me.

Enjoy.

I've Been

Al & Sierra: toes in the sand

re-discovering Sophie De Palma!

drinking peach martinis with Tyne.

engaging in "The Adventures of Sophie & Sharon" with fellow Master Class-er Sierra Boggess, which includes:
     18 holes of mini golf
     visits to The Intrepid
     shoe parades
     deep-and-meaningfuls deep into the night
     planning our epic dressing room
     and biking the entire isle of Manhattan.

...speaking of which, filming "The Last Street in Manhattan" on Law & Order Criminal Intent and adoring it.

the freakin' Squad Room!!

Rocking adulthood.

Writing. Every day.

Meeting my hand twin: English actress and singer Gina Beck. It was pretty crazy.

Running along the East River. Every day.

Singing like never before!

Staying healthy.

D.I.Y-tastic! WHO INSTALLED (with her fierce-as-you-know-what-DIY-tastic-Mommy) 4, count them FOUR of HER OWN CEILING FANS WITH ONLY MINIMAL ELECTRICAL DRAMA?! (Okay. Look. There was only one teeeeeeny tiiiiiny fire which required professional attention and that was only because the wires were over 100 years old...) BUT WE DID IT AND I SIT HERE TYPING BY THE COOLING BREEZES COMING FROM MY CEILING....

dying Easter eggs with pals! 

Having the most incredible week-long reunion with my brother, sister-in-law Maggie, Maggie's mom Leslie, nieces Hannah and Madison, and my Mom in The Big Apple. Magical.

Really plugging into New York City: The Big Apple (as I enjoy calling it...)

Reuniting with the Hello Again family ON "The 12th of Maaaaaay..." (dorks.)

the gang reunites

Enjoying watermelon season. YES. A lot. 

Seeing all sorts of theatre.

Loving Brother John Glover in the city of Brotherly Love. (This, specifically included, in order... 1. Tyne had no lipstick (?!!) 2. Glove and I offer to have an adventure by running across the street and buying her "Diva Red" from the Mac store 3. which Glover subsequently tries on...declaring "Patti Lupone taught me about Diva Red when I was playing Bunny the Drag Queen..." 4. We quoted Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker when agreeing we were on an adventure, this engaging in "PUDDING" 5. Ultimately, we were clique-y today. Guilty.)

whhhhhaaaat?!

Riding to Philadelphia IN. A. STRETCH. LIMO. BY. MY. SELF...

...and back to New York with Marc Bruni: a man I barely knew but we now know EVERY detail of one anothers' life stories. Fact.

Oh yeah, and I've been making my debut on THE BROADWAY.

Master Class on Broadway

First Tech Week on Broadway

Never in all my life have I experienced so pleasant, stress-free and flat-out dreamy a tech week.

This company, valiantly spear-headed by our immaculate leading lady Tyne Daly and charismatic fearless leader, director Stephen Wadsworth, has engaged with one another, taken care of each other, and managed to finish every aspect of this beautiful Broadway show ahead of schedule without a single tear or raised voice or actor meltdown.  We are all still passionate, energized and completely in love with one another.

That is a miracle.

...So. Tuesday the audience arrives and we all eagerly await our "seventh character" and look forward to telling and sharing this story with all of you. Here's to my first tech week on Broadway. I hope and trust it will not be my last. I am a lucky and grateful lady.




all photographs by Clinton Brandhagen

* * *


Terrence McNally’s music-kissed biographical drama about opera diva Maria Callas, Master Class, begins previews as Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre June 14.According to MTC, “McNally’s award-winning play about Callas takes us to one of her famous master classes where, late in her own career, she challenges the next generation to make the same sacrifices and dare to rise to the same heights she did, making her the most celebrated, the most reviled and the most controversial singer of her times.” Tyne Daly leads a cast that features Sierra Boggess, Clinton Brandhagen, Jeremy Cohen, Alexandra Silber and Garrett Sorenson. Stephen Wadsworth directs.

This is what it is all about...

Today was the best rehearsal day I have ever experienced in my life.

For so many reasons.

I have walked on Broadway stages before. I have even performed on them. But there is nothing like stepping onto a stage you are going to live on for a while, for the very first time. And this time? This time, that stage is on Broadway. And there is no way to describe it but it is simply different. As I walked into the theatre I clutched Jeremy Cohen's hand-- Sophie and Manny reunited on the Great White Way. "I will never forget this moment," he said. I couldn't agree more.

There we were, on the stage, and everyone was so excited! Garret [Sorenson], who has sung on some of the most prestigious operatic stages on earth was as gleeful as a child in a 650 seat house. Sierra [Boggess], returning to Broadway after a stint in our beloved London was orchestrating the picture taking and "moment marking" like a gleeful big sister watching her siblings going to Prom. We shouted! We squealed! We hugged. We allowed ourselves to feel the moment. We are an exceptionally loving and jolly bunch.

We returned to rehearsal and achieved a new kind of theatrical divinity none of us could ever have dreamed possible. The already magical scene reached new depths, new heights, new glory, and we all felt it (there is no way to articulate these tingly moments in the theatre, the closest comparison I can offer is that feeling of kissing a person who is the one...). Progress. Catharsis.

But then, as if all that were not enough, I had a singing session that accessed a quality in not merely my voice, but in my self, that no words could ever articulate. Suffice it say that I sang like never before.

I returned home that night to my family, all visiting from California-- my mom, my brother and sister in law, my two little nieces, and created more memories. Food, laughter, stories at bedtime...

I don't know if I can find the words to describe the quiet perfection of May 19, 2011 exactly, but perhaps finding those words is not important. This kind of contentment, happiness, peace? It is a quiet thing. It requires no language, only silent inner knowledge, like a candle glow of contentment.

Reader? This is what it is all about.
This is what life is all about...

class in in session...

Sometimes there is just nothing to say...

So...I'm not gonna lie: I burst into tears when I got this in the post today. 

I cannot believe I am fortunate enough to be involved in such a beautiful event, honoring so special a person, and with such distinguished people. 

Yep, I cried. 

Dork. 

But a grateful dork. 

I've Been...

Still Adjusting. Still capital A.

Enjoying the cold beverages and dessert treats of summer. Mmmm.

Returning to my beloved Detroit. It's home.

Making my own breakfast cereal (thank you Fran!)

Road-tripping it with Lance! (including chasing a stranger off the road, and a trip to Frankenmuth Christmas Wonderland...)

Returning to Interlochen Arts Camp. "Sounding the call" for the first time in 8 years! I am, and will always be, an Interlochen LIFER— and bleed blue.

Weekending in Conneticuit. (Fine) and spending that time almost exclusively in a hammock.

Adventuring to the beautiful Bershires for the first time, and indulging in picnic-ing to Mahler 4 at Tanglewood

Meeting my idols: (ummm Barbra Cook anyone?!)

Having crazy 'New York' days. Example:

1. shot a commercial 
2. came home and went for a long run then 
3. discovered I had locked myself out of my apartment... so I 
4. crashed a party on the first floor of my building and 
5. climbed through their window to 
6. climb fire escape 4 stories and
7. BREAK IN to my apartment.  
8. BOOM! I AM A NINJA!!

...Consequently doing a celebratory Ninja dance.

IN. MY. CAVE. (So sorry friends, it is how I cope with difficulty! So appreciative of everyone's patience!)... but really getting to the bottom of some nitty-gritty stuff.

Celebrating 27 years in classic Silber-birthday-induced-anxiety mode.

Enjoying what can only be called Team British Invasion at the very chi chi Bar Centrale. A grand early birthday tête w/ Alexander Hansen, his gorgeous talented wife Samatha Bond, Ruthie, and our shared friend and manger Jeff. [w/Cheno, Lapaglia, Lane, Hayes SJBlock sightings]

...Only to enjoy an incredible cab ride home. The driver drove me "close enough," stopped the meter, then gave me loving, informed tour of Astoria. "Love your home" he said. What a gift.

Loving new friendships (Jill, Kudisch, Brooksher), and renewing old ones (Alley, Dane, Nick, Ari, Alex...)

Booking and filming that commercial babaaaaay...[*celebratory club dancing*]

Journeying by bus! (Ahhhh Americana at it's very... cheapest...)

Enjoying correspondence. (Always a good day when The Bantock drops you an email...)

Celebrating Bastille Day singing at The Metropolitan Room (“Ne Me Quitte Pas” anyone?)

Honoring the journey: One Year. I lived.

Planning and planning Feinstein’s solo cabaret debut. (More information to come!)

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Four: One Last Hurrah

I feel inclined, on Ms DePalma's final day of performance, to share with you one last Sophie Hurrah. She will be missed, but clearly she shall continue to live on... perhaps in her very own Vegas show... you never know... her off stage persona gets a lot of air time... clearly...

Future possibility:

Sophie DePalma: A Road Trip with Sharon
     [includes preliminary scenes composed yesterday with Laquita that go roughly like this:

1.

Sophie: Hi Sharon, um... I heard you live in Ohio and I live in Michigan so maybe we could roadtrip it back together after the semester is over...? I have a car, pop some Rossini in the tape-deck and ride into the Midwest together? ...

Sharon: [pause] No.

2.

Sophie: Hi there Sharon

Sharon: [silence]

Sophie: Okay. Well sooooooo sorry to bother you about this but could I borrow your Norma score? I'm working on Teneri figli and was studying in the bath and whoops! dropped it in and I have a coaching in an hour and.. you know... it would be soooo great if you would lend me yours and I'll give it right back safe and sound I promise! [smiles]

Sharon: [eyes wide, not blinking, stares at her in total whyareyoueventalkingtome astonishment] No.

[she walk away, and just before she turns a corner--] and girl, you should stop studying in the bath!

After these scenes Sharon's flight is cancelled due to apocalyptic winter weather and she concedes to go with Sophie on the road trip in order to make it back to Ohio in time for Christmas... with hilaaaaaarious consequences! Thoughts?

*

And other possibilities include:

Sophie DePalma and the Lost Umbrella 

Sophie DePalma: Down Under

Sophie on the Roof

Sophie DePalma's SCHOOL OF ROCK

Sophie Knows What You Did Last Summer 

Sophie at the Bat

Are you there God? It's me Sophie.

Sophie DePalma  Explains it All For You

Basically, Sophie DePalma is the gift that keeps on giving...

*

And a final word from Genius and Director Stephen Wadsworth [pictured left]:

"Sophie takes out full-page advertisement in New York Times (paid for by her Russian mafia sabrillionaire boyfriend): SOPHIE DE PALMA, STUDENT OF MARIA CALLAS, NOW OFFERING VOICE LESIONS.

Only after it goes to press does someone bring her attention to the fact that it says lesions and not lessons.

She is however contacted by several late-career singers looking for a way to wind down.  She succeeds in giving them vocal lesions through the same exercises she used for vocal lessons, they file for workman's compensation on their last job, her husband pays their legal bills, and she becomes quite famous for destroying voices on a tight schedule.  Late in life, after her trial in the Hague on charges of genocide, she tells the Washington Post, "There are so many teachers out there building voices, I thought it would be good to help people destroy them.  I mean, what are you going to do with a great big voice if you're just going to end up in a little room in an old people's home?  Where are you going to put it.  Do you really think the family is going to STORE it?"

xx"

Farewell Sophie DePalma: You were not only a lovely, well-meaning, sensitive girl capable of such depth and feeling... you were also a hell of a hoot. Don't be a stranger.

Over and out.

I've Been

faking it-- Operatically speaking

hanging with the Puritani Quartet in the Greenroom, 1835

getting Sophie DePalma’s score signed by Maestro Bellini himself…

 (...in fact, making up an entire life for lil' miss Sophie DePalma and sharing it with you...and with Stephen Wadsworth... and with the entire company... and with Terrence himself... and... and...and...)

dining with legends

engaging in the spirit of the Terrance McNally Triptych by drinking vodka and sharing tales laaaaaate into the night with Manu and Roe— one of us from each play. Magic.

making some serious new friends.

…And enjoying my love for/of the old ones (up to and including living with Alex & Oliver, visits to DC from Alley, Maro, Santino, Steinmans, Bergen, Mannings, Jessica…)

struggling with solitude
... and with several Achilles heels

achieving incredible new understanding

discovering Honey. Roasted. Peanut. Butter (= WHOA...)


enjoying the epic beauty of the DC cherry blossoms in the most glorious and romantic way possible. "...The blossoms are just comin' down by thereselves..."

(…and, in that light, I suppose realizing I am far further along than I previously thought...)

going for long runs on the Washington Mall (Memorials Lincoln to Washington to Capitol to Vietnam and back to Kennedy… how boring…)

 feeling patriotic

making it up as I go along with Tyne

wearing PURPLE. KNEE. SOCKS.

surviving with Laquita.

“The Girl About Town”

singing around the piano with Malcolm Getts (and Manu Narayan, and Marc Kudish…)

drinking pomegranate champagne
...with Doris Roberts

getting the last bit of it out of my system
     (…and feeling pretty damn proud/excited/great about that)

contacting all my ex-boyfriends… in a single day…

preparing for Chapter 3

eating Oliver's gorgeous, homemade, organic, locally sourced food every single flipping day! (NnnnnnDelicious!)

re-connecting with family. what a joy.

falling in totally love with every. single. cast member. of the lisbon traviata (…and weeping when they leave!)

reuniting with The Alexandra Sisters

experiencing Act 2 solitude (-- the joys and sorrows of

singing at Terrence McNally & Tom Kirdhay’s wedding. Unbelievable.


languishing in the true joy of the season: the reese's peanut butter egg. now also in mini sizes... daaaaaaamn...

Predicting other people’s pregnancies

flashing black finger nails
…and burgundy
…and red…ooo…

falling in love with trains

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Three: More from Sophie DePalma

Inspired by the genius of a certain director, Mr. Stephen Wadsworth...

more titles from Sophie DePalma.

* * *

SOPHIE DE PALMA: GIRL DETECTIVE

[Captions: The Pap, Night Vision, Under the tarmac,
 Hiding in the brush, a clever DISGUISE, "AHA! Up THERE!",
Squished,  Don't freakin' MESS with me... ,  Dusting for prints...]

and

SOPHIE TWO

and

SOPHIE DE PALMA'S GUIDE TO SINGING

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Two: The Puritani Quartet

Golden Age explores the night of January 24, 1835, opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's final opera I Puritani (The Puritans), starring the four most celebrated singers in Europe known as The Puritani Quartet. As the audience, we have a backstage peek at the world behind the scenes on an opening night, exploring not only the ins and outs of being in the theatre, but the ins and outs of being of the theatre. Bellini himself is dying of consumption, but the necessity for creation drives him forward.

We share a Greenroom with them.
The 1970's meets 1835.
It's pretty weird. 


* * *



So. There they are in the Greenroom shared by 1970's New York City and 1835 Paris.
A coffee machine.
A few dozen puzzles.
A spades game in the corner.
Theatrical posters along the walls from present day to days of yore.
The day was inevitable.
The day was today:

Sophie DePalma meets her idol, soprano Giulia Grissi...in the company of her fellow Puritani Quartet members-- baritone Tamburini, bass LaBlanche and tenor Rubini.

[excited face!!!]

SCENE 1

[Sophie gathers herself as best she can, pulls up her knee socks, and appraoches Grissi, perhaps including herself in Grissi's personal space juuuuuuust a touch...]

Sophie: ...Omygodyour Adalgisa in Maestro Bellini's Norma was leeeeeeeeegendary...

Giulia: Haha! [coy light laughter complete with theatrical head-shaking and hand flicking] ...Yes.

Sophie: May I touch your necklace?

[pause]

Giulia: Um. [she blinks] Certainly...

[she removes it]

Sophie: ...and would you sign my score?!

Grissi: eh?

Tamburini: What's that magic flashing box?

Rubini: [aside] perhaps she will not see me stealing her jewels while the magic box flashes...


* * *

SCENE 2


Sophie: Ooooooooh...

[Giulia's left hand pulls the jewels iiiiimperceptibly away...]


Giulia: Careful Sophie! Careful now my dear! These were given to me by Rossini.

Sophie: they WERE?!

Giulia: Oh yes, after my performance of Semiramide in Paris. Gioachino has wonderful taste in jewels.

Sophie: --what about the one you are wearing?

Giulia: my good luck necklace from my stage debut as Emma in Rossini's Zelmira in Bologna in 1828. From my sisters.

Sophie: and the earrings?

[she moves to touch them]

Giulia: Ah-Ah-AH! No touching! NO. TOUCHING. NO TOUCH! [she gathers herself: a deep breath before,] They were a gift from an admirer in Milan after the premiere of Norma.

Sophie: and what about your tiara...?

[pause. deadpan.]

Giulia: It's mine. We must dress for the job we want my darling-- haven't you ever heard that phrase...?

[she examines Sophie briefly...]

...perhaps you haven't...

FIN.

Let's Talk Live

Yesterday's Washington DC morning show broadcast Let's Talk Live discussing Terrence McNally's Master Class at The Kennedy Center, Maria Callas herself, and this very blog with Doug Mckelway.

Enjoy!

He loves and He loves...

Love. Oh Love.

Here is how it went down. (Talk about shotgun wedding...)

T&T: "So...we're getting married tomorrow morning and it would be nnnnnnnnnnnnDelish if you could join us.  We'll meet at the stage door at 10:45am and walk over to the river.  The ceremony will be brief.  No pressure...just know we'd love to have you join us.
xoxox Tom
 

PS Do you have a number for Tyne? We discussed the ceremony briefly but I don't know how to reach her."

*

Al: "OH my word I would be so honored to be there. I have to move an interview around but it is HAPPENING. So much love to you both.
“What a day what a day”
A xx"

*

T&T: "We'll be done by no later than 11:45am.  NO PRESSURE...we fully understand if you can't...but know we'd love to have you there if you can join us.  Tyne, Malcolm, Glover and you.
xoxox

I spoke with Tyne. She's reading a sonnet.  Wanna sing snippet of a song? Any song? Geeezz...we're really throwing this together here.  Oy!
xo"

*

Al: "I want to sing!!!
I can't believe you are asking me to sing. Give me 10 minutes I'll come up with options and you can pick??
A capella of course just checking--- because if there was a piano... by a river.... Malcolm could totally play it... but I'm realizing it's by the river and I'll stop typing now and look for a capella songs. okay! brb"

*

T&T: "Yup, it's by the river so a capella. But please know there is NO pressure
(Btw the thought of Malcolm playing while you sing is a total dream.)
Going to bed now...
Love you! Xo"

*



And so we did. We gathered at the stage door and made our way to a glorious tree on the banks of the Potomac. Tyne wore blue. She recited a sonnet and handed out flowers from our set. Glover wore a t-shirt that proclaimed Love Conquers Hate. Malcolm brought sunflowers that reminded him "of Harold and Maud." There was laughter. Tears. Here's to love.


*

...Musical duties were executed by Callas’ first student “victim,” Alexandra Silber. “She sang ‘He Loves, and He Loves,’” said McNally, “but don’t tell the Gershwin estate.”

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part One: Maestro Bellini

So what happens when Sophie DePalma of Terrance McNally's Master Class meets Bel Canto composer Vincenzo Bellini of Terrance McNally's Golden Age? A world of fun.

Here at The Kennedy Center Nights at the Opera festival, we are exploring three of McNally's plays only all about the world of opera. But the connections between the pieces are not tenuous-- there are even some lines throughout the three plays that are early identical. The connections are beautiful, touching, delightful.

Golden Age explores the night of January 24, 1835, opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's final opera I Puritani (The Puritans). We follow Bellini himself throughout the evening.

The Lisbon Traviata explores the world of opera fanatics, the two we meet: Mendy and Stephen are particularly taken with their passion for Maria Callas.

And of course, Master Class is about Callas herself.

All are about art and authenticity. It is a beautiful triptych and I wish you could all be a part of it.

So.

What is one little actress, passionate about her part of this festival and only in Act 1 supposed to do about it all? Um... capture the zeitgeist of the triptych in photographic form of course!

Sophie DePalma, the disastrous wreck of of Master Class, studying at Julliard and working on Amina's famous Ah non credea mirarti from Bellini's La Sonnombula, comes across composer Vincenzo Bellini himself in the hallway! What a coincidence! She is beyond thrilled and, armed with her admittedly beaten up score, cannot help herself: she must ask for his autograph.

[FYI: Things you need to know about the pieces in order to appreciate the following fully:

- Bellini suggests a haircut with the wigmaster to distract himself from the pain of being backstage.
- Sophie is asked by Calls if she is Italian, she responds she is Greek/Italian. (It accounts for her "fiery-ness"...hm...)
- Sophie famously forgets to bring her pencil in a very big way...
- Callas asks the audience about a good beauty parlor for she can't get a good "wash and set in this city"
- and at the end of the act poor Sophie doesn't even know how to get off the stage...]

So. without further ado, here is the dialogue I imagine:

* * *


Sophie: MAESTRO BELLINI! MAESTRSO BELLINI I am a HUGE fan. Ohmygoodness. Um, So. My name is Sophie. Sophie DePalma and I am singing Amina's aria from your Sonnombula right now at school and...and know that my score is a little...um, worse for wear--I sort of dropped it in the tub by accident BUT! That was only because I find your work SO AMAAAAAAZING and was studying in the bath...blaaaah so. Anyway... WOULD YOU SIGN MY SCORE?! I would be SO. HONORED.

Bellini: Um... of course my dear. To whom shall I make it out again?

Sophie: Oh! Sophie. Sophie DePalma.

Bellini: Italian?

Sophie: Greek/Italian. You know I get asked that a lot!

Bellini: Lovley. [he takes up her VERY. SHARP. READYTOGO. PENCIL. and begins to sign]

Sophie: [watching a liiiiittle too close...] ...You can add "darling" if you want.

Bellini: Alright...

Sophie: TO DARLING SOPHIE: THE DEFINITIVE AMINA...

[Pause. He stares at her. Puzzled.]

Bellini: Okay.

[he returns to the score]

Sophie: .....and could you sign it Vincenzo? I've always liked your first name.

Bellini: ... [voice pinched now, eyes not still on the page] With pleasure. [finishes signature with flourish] There you are Sophie DePalma, now off you go. I must run I have a haircut with the wigmaster. I can't get a good cut in this city. I wish you luck.

Sophie: Oh, thank you Maestro! Thank you.

[Bellini straightens his coattails and exits]

Now how do I get off the stage?


FIN.

* * *

Yes. This is what I get up to in Act 2...

Terrence McNally on Master Class

Terrence on Master Class



Also, hear more from Terrence on The Lisbon Traviata and see a clip from his newest play Golden Age.

Meet Sophie...

Master Class
By Terrence McNally
Directed by Stephen Wadsworth

part of Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera

From comedies and dramas to musical theater and movies, Terrence McNally has secured his place among the great modern playwrights. McNally has earned four Tony Awards (Ragtime, Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Kiss of the Spider Woman) and written theater hits from Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune to The Full Monty. For the 2009–2010 Theater season, the Kennedy Center presents The Lisbon Traviata, Master Class, and Golden Age, a special collection of three McNally plays on one of his favorite subjects--the opera.

A Tony winner for Best Play, Master Class stars Emmy and Tony Award–winning actress Tyne Daly as Maria Callas. The cast also includes Jeremy Cohen as Manny, Laquita Mitchell as Second Soprano (Sharon), Ta'u Pupu'a as Tenor (Tony), and Alexandra Silber as First Soprano (Sophie). The play is a portrait of the opera diva told through her recollections of the glories, triumphs, and tragedies of her own life and career. Her voice is gone, her lover is long departed, and her sanity could possibly be next. All she has is a lonely itinerary of master classes and luggage packed full of the memories that are her only travel companion. Her students are the hapless targets of her sharp tongue, while she remains the picture of innocent aristocracy. Master Class shows that while the actress may have left the stage, she will never give up her audience.

Master Class features set design by Thomas Lynch, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by David Lander, and sound design by Jon Gottlieb.

Master Class Announcement

I don't believe I have ever been so excited to begin work on a production. 

Though this is not entirely new news, the official Playbill and Broadwayworld announcements were made today about the upcoming production of Terrence McNally's Tony Award winning play Master Class starring Tyne Daly as Maria Callas at The Kennedy Centre. 

The production is part of Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera, a five-week event featuring three of McNally's plays (The Lisbon Traviata featuring Malcom Gets and John Glover, and the premiere of a new world entitled Golden Age with Marc Kudisch and rebecca Brooksher) performed concurrently on three Kennedy Center stages.

Master Class will run March 25 - April 18, 2010 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater and will be directed by the incredible Stephen Wadsworth. 

I begin rehearsals on 2 March in my nation's capital and literally, I am so excited I can hardly breathe. But I will breathe... from my diaphragm....