Thursday, August 03, 2006
My God Daughter Evalyn
It's time I wrote of her. Because it's time I began to know her better and , maybe, since her dear mother Karen reads this blog, she will lead little Evalyn to it so that she can get to know me: through my writing about her!! Karen recently wrote me that she wants me to know little Evalyn better...and of course i do want that as well..
It was a rare blessing in my life the day that Karen Samuelson walked into my first class at NYU....or was it the 2nd? I do believe it was the first class that was given me to create in my own way, in order to amalgamate the various styles of the transfer students who were coming over from other NYU Studios to what was ,then ,the Musical Theater Works School...(in due time, it evolved into what is now CAP 21). So, there we all were....a huge class by any standard...some 18 or more....all with different training backgrounds, varying approaches to the techniques of putting a character together fo the stage...young actors from Adler, Atlantic (that was Karen's), Playwrights Horizons, Circle In the Square,etc....the one thing drawing them together: their desire to sing and act at the same time! Their love of music. Their star-struck passion for the Musical Theater. And the one thing in my favor as a new teacher? I knew how they felt!
I had had a brilliant graduate class at University of Minnesota, taught by the astonishing Wesley Balk, called LYRIC THEATER, and it had gotten under my skin in a deep way, changed my understanding of what acting could be...because his true love was the Opera, Wesley devised a way to teach us to understand that music was script and script was music...the first time I had ever encountered the idea! That ALL OF IT IS SINGING in one form or another! And I remember outrageous fun in that room. Darling Tovah Feldshuh was in Wes's class with me, and I recall her melting like an ice cream cone while singing a song, at Wes's command, and even then she was brilliant!
So when it came time for me to teach, I decided to explore that theme: music as script....script as music...the monologue as a song..the song as a monologue...and with this class of transfer students, it was the ideal entree into their various fears and creative terrors. Why? Because those who had done some Shakespeare study or Chekov, had never really sung a musical number, and those who had done all their highschool musicals had never come near Shakespeare or the Russians...so, from day one, since I decided to use Shakespeare, Chekov and songs from the American Musical Theater as class materials, everybody was terrified all the time, and that was great in a sort of obtuse way! It certainly left students open and vulnerable to whatever was truly in the room for themselves and this is always good.....
So, little Evalyn, I met your Mom when she came to class to learn how to be a singing actor! She used to tell me that she and your Dad would put on various records and CD's of shows and sing out loud to them and dance around their apartment! I wish I had been a fly on that wall!! You see, I knew your Mom and Dad when they were dating at NYU, and as your Mom and i became friends as well as student/teacher, she made sure i got to meet the boy she was really beginning to like a lot! I remember the time I first met your Dad, and I remember thinking how handsome he was, and that Karen deserved such a good-looking boyfriend because she was such a pretty girl! AND SHE WORKED SO HARD IN MY CLASS!!
Anyway....by first becoming teacher and student, your mom and I then became friends, especially after she came to study with me privately and worked really hard for me as she figured out her life in New York City, and what her future would hold....I felt so honored being part of her thought process and her continuing life after College, as she figured out her next steps in her life. All I wanted was for her to be happy.
And she was happy, especially after she knew you were coming along!!!!
Tune in soon, for more !
It was a rare blessing in my life the day that Karen Samuelson walked into my first class at NYU....or was it the 2nd? I do believe it was the first class that was given me to create in my own way, in order to amalgamate the various styles of the transfer students who were coming over from other NYU Studios to what was ,then ,the Musical Theater Works School...(in due time, it evolved into what is now CAP 21). So, there we all were....a huge class by any standard...some 18 or more....all with different training backgrounds, varying approaches to the techniques of putting a character together fo the stage...young actors from Adler, Atlantic (that was Karen's), Playwrights Horizons, Circle In the Square,etc....the one thing drawing them together: their desire to sing and act at the same time! Their love of music. Their star-struck passion for the Musical Theater. And the one thing in my favor as a new teacher? I knew how they felt!
I had had a brilliant graduate class at University of Minnesota, taught by the astonishing Wesley Balk, called LYRIC THEATER, and it had gotten under my skin in a deep way, changed my understanding of what acting could be...because his true love was the Opera, Wesley devised a way to teach us to understand that music was script and script was music...the first time I had ever encountered the idea! That ALL OF IT IS SINGING in one form or another! And I remember outrageous fun in that room. Darling Tovah Feldshuh was in Wes's class with me, and I recall her melting like an ice cream cone while singing a song, at Wes's command, and even then she was brilliant!
So when it came time for me to teach, I decided to explore that theme: music as script....script as music...the monologue as a song..the song as a monologue...and with this class of transfer students, it was the ideal entree into their various fears and creative terrors. Why? Because those who had done some Shakespeare study or Chekov, had never really sung a musical number, and those who had done all their highschool musicals had never come near Shakespeare or the Russians...so, from day one, since I decided to use Shakespeare, Chekov and songs from the American Musical Theater as class materials, everybody was terrified all the time, and that was great in a sort of obtuse way! It certainly left students open and vulnerable to whatever was truly in the room for themselves and this is always good.....
So, little Evalyn, I met your Mom when she came to class to learn how to be a singing actor! She used to tell me that she and your Dad would put on various records and CD's of shows and sing out loud to them and dance around their apartment! I wish I had been a fly on that wall!! You see, I knew your Mom and Dad when they were dating at NYU, and as your Mom and i became friends as well as student/teacher, she made sure i got to meet the boy she was really beginning to like a lot! I remember the time I first met your Dad, and I remember thinking how handsome he was, and that Karen deserved such a good-looking boyfriend because she was such a pretty girl! AND SHE WORKED SO HARD IN MY CLASS!!
Anyway....by first becoming teacher and student, your mom and I then became friends, especially after she came to study with me privately and worked really hard for me as she figured out her life in New York City, and what her future would hold....I felt so honored being part of her thought process and her continuing life after College, as she figured out her next steps in her life. All I wanted was for her to be happy.
And she was happy, especially after she knew you were coming along!!!!
Tune in soon, for more !
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