Tis the season to be inundated with work!
Holiday parties, celebrations, club dates and general entertainment have been keeping me exceedingly busy lately.
Soular had its busiest month – ever, I think – in October, but November and December have also had their fair share of weddings, parties and club dates. The band still rocks as hard as ever and I’m thrilled to be involved with an ensemble that performs consistently at such a high level!
Dueling Pianos (www.duelingpianos.ca) still keeps me pretty occupied too, and that’s been fantastic. I’ve been working with some really talented entertainers, primarily Mark Kersey and Alec Steinwall, and playing with them has been an incredible learning experience! They know thousands of songs, but it’s not just the material… it’s the way in which it’s presented. I’ve learned so much about showmanship from these guys! It’s mind-boggling.
I’ve also been playing fairly frequently for Curtains Down (http://curtainsdown.com). It’s an open mic night hosted by Toronto actor/singer/personality Jenni Burke. Singers of all ages, skill and careers level show up and strut their stuff for a few songs… I’ve had to brush up on my sight-reading, that’s for sure! Working with Jenni is a real treat because of her amazing voice and larger-than-life personality. It also allows me the chance to rub elbows with some of Toronto’s finest talent.
Another interesting thing happened in October: Statlers re-opened under new management (www.statlersonchurch.ca)! I was approached and asked if I’d be interested in running an Open Mic night of my own on Wednesdays there. Naturally, I said “of course!” Since then, I’ve played 5 weekly shows there on Wednesday nights, and it gets better each time! Playing for novice and semi-professional singers, goofing around at the piano, and teasing bar patrons are all part of the gig too. Often, I get to fill in the space between performers by playing requests from the audience… I love it!
Lastly – and this is pretty exciting for me – I got to be part of a stage production this past weekend! A friend of mine – Megan Nutall – asked me several weeks ago if I was available and interested in playing a show with her and two other people (Miranda Plant & Daniel James). It turned out to be one of the most fun and creative experiences I’ve had on the stage! We met several times, went over the material, and created a storyline around the songs. The basic premise is that we were doing a stage show of a 50s radio broadcast. In addition to accompanying the singers during the performance, my role also included singing several songs throughout, a few lines here and there, as well as having an improvised argument with the obscenely talented Miranda Plant. The “argument” was followed by a hilarious version of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, in which Miranda and I sing alternate verses at each other (and respond)!
This was the first time I’d been on stage since Jersey Boys closed a few months ago. It was also the first time that I’ve had lines and choreography since my cruise ship guest entertainer days nearly 5 years ago… and it felt reeeeaaally good! The audience loved us and by all accounts the show was a success. The Technical Director of the theatre, Graham Maxwell, was also phenomenal and super-fun to work with.
The rest of this month will see me busy with holiday parties and other performances. 2010 has been fantastic and my only New Year’s Resolution is to have an even better 2011!