Putting it Together

Once upon a time I was a pianist. Long before I ever started composing, I played (and long before I played, I sang, but that's another entry).  In my senior year of college I got on board as accompanist for the student-run theatre production of Into the Woods by Steven Sondheim. The show was produced and run by my classmates, many of whom were good friends, so of course I wanted to be involved. Having never heard of Sondheim, I thought nothing of it.... After several months of rehearsal and the news that I would be the sole member of the pit, I raised my white flag and checked into the looney bin. I could barely comprehend the rhythms, never mind carry the entire show. I learned my lesson: I am not an accompanist. It stressed me out. I would much rather be the one writing the shows than playing them.

Fast forward five years later to last week in LA when I got a call from an actor friend of mine telling me the second keyboard player for the show he was in dropped out at the last minute and they needed someone to step in. The show? Putting it Together by, you guessed it, Stephen Sondheim. I thought, well, I could certainly use the paycheck, and since the job was only playing random filler parts, it seemed like it would be doable. The first rehearsal was this past Monday and immediately I felt defeated. The majority of the run through I sat with mouth agape as the music flew by me in an incomprehensible Sondheim-grooving tempo.  I remembered why I hadn't done any performing for so many years. What the hell was I thinking?

Despite my reservations (I won't lie, I called a bunch of my pianist friends to see if they wanted the gig) I felt in my gut that this was a job I needed to stick with. Every day I rehearsed with the accompanist and thanks to his coaching (and patience!), we put it together, bit by bit. Last night we opened and I felt totally comfortable. No jitters. Now I know a collection of Sondheim tunes very well, have kicked up my performing chops, and am getting paid for it. Not a bad deal.

You might be wondering how this entry fits into a composer blog. One of the biggest lessons I've learned since moving to LA is that you never know what opportunities might lead you to bigger and better places, no matter how seemingly random and irrelevant they may appear.  The term I often hear is "planting seeds" - you make as many connections as you can, and you wait and see which ones actually take. Of course one must use one's judgment and know the difference between being part of a worthwhile gig versus being taken advantage of. Right now I have no idea what significance this show has, and it may turn out to not have any, but I do know that I'm learning, it's something I feel good about, it's giving me a paycheck, and it could just lead to an unexpected connection.

If you'd like to come and check out the show, visit the theatre's website: TheatrePalisades.org