Just Enjoy

I got a call from my friend Melanie Michaud yesterday.

Mel’s a wonderful designer I’ve come to know through our work on Persephone Production’s “Far From the Madding Crowd”. I played William Boldwood in that great play and Melanie costumed everyone with brilliant skill, to beautiful effect, and on a tiny budget that most designers would find impossible to manage. But Melanie is a rare and wonderful person who always goes the extra mile (and then some), so she borrowed clothes from several sources, and the most beautiful dresses were carefully hand-sewn original pieces. Melanie is an Artist in her field.

We became good friends during the run of the show, and I was so flattered to learn that teenaged Melanie had a crush on my Marius in “Les Miserables” so many years ago. She watched my significant transition from young romantic leading man to much older romantic madman, and noted, with a smile, that she could still see a hint of Marius on stage. And as I prepared to audition for the role of Javert in the upcoming revival of “Les Miserables” in Toronto, she listened to me sing “Stars” and “The Suicide” over and over, and always offered encouraging compliments. We were both huge fans of that great musical and of musical theatre in general, and on this basis our friendship was solidified.

When Mel found out I was fortunate enough to be associated with Music Theatre Montreal, and that a workshop of my own show, “The Virgin Courtesan”, written with composer Blair Thomson, would be coming up in the fall, she emphatically told me that she wanted to be involved. At that time, though, I told her that I didn’t imagine we’d need a designer. But Melanie is persuasive, and so wonderfully enthusiastic, and after a couple of mini-pitches she won me over completely to seeing the difference a unified visual presentation could make on the workshop.

Melanie was volunteering her time, her talent, her Art, to help make her friend’s show the best it could be. And she told me that she could work miracles with the cheapest cloth. I already knew that. So I pitched Mel’s participation as part of the Creative Team to the producers at Music Theatre Montreal, and I was so glad when they agreed to work some modest design costs into the budget of the workshop. They’re pleased to have Melanie aboard too.

So Melanie called me yesterday. Her slate is clean for a little while, and she’s ready to start working on “The Virgin Courtesan”. We agreed to have a little creative meeting on Thursday, to toss around a few ideas. Again, I thanked her for her participation, and she reminded me that it’s worthwhile to her that the presentation looks as beautiful as it can. “You never know what can happen with this show”, she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

It reminded me of my other musical love-child, “AutoPortrait” which was commissioned and workshopped by the National Arts Centre of Canada. With a cast of 20 of Canada’s best musical theatre performers, the workshop was thrilling. I finally saw that the show, which I wrote with composer Daniel Boulerice, worked well on stage. The non-linear story-telling, the multi-generational actor changes, the music all worked beautifully in front of an audience… and I was so sure that a full N.A.C. production was the next logical step. But, as effusively complimentary as the powers-that-be were at the time, a production of our show just wasn’t in the cards…due to Federal Budget concerns, you understand.

We shopped “AutoPortrait” around as much as we could, but a new musical by an unknown Canadian writing team just wasn’t getting anyone’s attention. That wonderful show is collecting dust on a shelf.

“You’re right, Mel. It should be beautiful. This could be the only time we ever see it on its feet!” I said with glass-half-empty realization.

But that wasn’t at all what Melanie meant though, and I knew it, and so we happily talked about how this workshop, with its fantastic cast of dedicated performers, could be the discovery of an exciting new show. My glass refilled with enthusiasm. “You never know what can happen with this show”, means that the stars often do align, and the right people can be sitting in the house. A professional producer might fall in love with our “Virgin Courtesan” and court her favour!

“Whatever happens, just enjoy” Melanie said, and again I could hear the assuring smile in her voice.

“That should be the motto for our workshop: Just Enjoy” I replied.

With wonderful people like Melanie on our Creative Team, I’m already enjoying myself.

Being Catholic

I was visiting my parents’ cottage this past weekend, and on Sunday we went to the little country church where my folks were married. We were asked to prepare music for the liturgy, as it was a special occasion; the annual Church Picnic, so we did. It was nice.

It’s always a strange little homecoming experience for me to sing at mass. I enjoy making music with my family on these occasions… and I appreciate that we are offering our gifts sincerely. I love the expression that to sing is to pray twice.

It might come as no great surprise to you that I was raised a good Catholic boy. I went to a horrible Catholic high school because it was Catholic. I was a music minister in my church. I even considered the priesthood at one point. But then, I just seemed to turn a corner, and my personal perspective on the religion I was raised in changed. Suddenly, it all seemed controlled, fabricated… insincere.

I was a Catholic, so I was discouraged from becoming a third-world music missionary with a multi-denominational evangelical group. I was a Catholic, and I had to respect the sacraments, so I could not pay to marry a nice Irish girl so I could get work papers for performance opportunities in London. I was a Catholic, and so I had to keep secrets, and hide or deny my personal relationships. I was a Catholic, and so I was meant to trust an ancient, flawed, and often famously corrupt institution’s dictates on my morals and politics. I just couldn’t keep the blinders on anymore, so to the chagrin of my parents, I became a “Lapsed Catholic”.

I still enjoy the spiritual communion of people in Church, though; I still appreciate prayer; and I will always love tradition… so I don’t mind that I went to Church on Sunday. But once again, I was reminded of why I could never fully accept the silliness of my denomination. They are now wringing out the joy from the music ministry.

The one great benefit I gained from my church upbringing was the confidence it gave me to explore my musical abilities. I became a singer because of my church. And I also became a songwriter because of my church. I always loved when our modest little choir took on a new song because, back then, the music for the liturgy was my pop music. I was familiar with many of the writers contributing to my little repertoire of songs I learned to play on my guitar. Inspired, I wrote my own liturgy-based songs for special occasions, and it was encouraged. But now, all that has changed.

Music ministry in the Catholic Church is being controlled and strangled with an iron fist. Appropriate songs are strictly dictated, and original music is not permitted. The mucky-mucks who wear the tall hats and kissable rings have determined that only three composers’ music will be permitted for use in singing the parts of the mass… and those three composers are not particularly musically gifted. The new dictates are to be upheld by liturgy committees and pin-heads who know nothing about music being a spiritual gift. As a result, some long-time church musicians have quit their choirs… and I applaud their conviction to leave the official squashing of their gifts behind.

So there I was on Sunday… and I didn’t like or want to learn this ugly new mess of notes that was being imposed. And, bottom line, we didn’t have time to learn it. We certainly couldn’t throw in any gentle harmonies that give this kind of work it’s most prayerful feel. So, thankfully, my parents agreed that we should be musical rebels, and we took out some of our “golden oldies”, and we sang these short, tuneful melodies for what may well be a final time in Church. -And then we went back to the cottage, where I taught my parents a new song I wrote for their next mass. While I can be certain no obedient Catholic choir director would dream of touching my musical take on any psalm, I know that my mother will certainly be a rebel once more, and sing it in their little country church that is just grateful for music during the liturgy at all. Whatever works, right?

But, what does this have to do with “The Virgin Courtesan”, you might be wondering. Well, honestly nothing and everything. The Catholic Church of the Renaissance era in Venice figures prominently in the script. Actually, the Church is practically a character in itself, so it warranted research. I discovered that very little of this religion has changed in hundreds of years. The role of women in the Church, especially, is still marginalized to the point of near-insignificance. This is a pivotal point in my story of a young woman’s journey towards self-discovery in a society that is as Church-mad as they are sensually decadent. So much of the past still resonates, that this script has a very contemporary feel to it that I hope will give some people pause to consider the present sad state of the Church.

While my composer partner was sometimes worried that I was writing a polemic about the Catholic Church, the fact that I can imbue our central characters with truth gained from my own experiences is, well… that’s not courting controversy, that’s just writing! If “The Virgin Courtesan” winds up being at all controversial, I say okay! After all, we’re trying to push buttons with our title in the first place!

Finally, as I was leaving the church, passing through the sacristy, the priest, whom I have known since I was a kid, asked me what I was up to these days. I told him I was working on a workshop production of a new show I’ve written entitled “The Virgin Courtesan”. He paused, considering his reply. “Well, I like the Virgin part” he answered.

Offers Made, Replies Coming In

Tara Bissett is the producer in charge of Development for Music Theatre Montreal. It is her job to contact the great folks who came to audition for us, and let them know, either way, if we are offering them to participate in the workshop of "The Virgin Courtesan". The actors' replies are now coming in.

The task of whittling down candidates was tough. First we considered how we imagined everyone being used appropriately in the show. Then, we had to eliminate anyone who had significant conflicts during the rehearsal period. We considered vocal quality; looked at presence and interpretation during the cold read; we remembered smiles; we read the resumes, and eventually, after meetings and phone calls, and careful deliberation, we chose our company!

So far, we've received many happy emails from actors who, like us, are ready to take on the challenge of bringing a new piece of Musical Theatre to life on stage.

I'm so pleased. Those two weeks together are going to be all about getting to know fictional characters who've existed only on the page, and occasionally been given wonderful breath in the recording studio as our demos were being recorded. During this intense period, I will be learning from actors I've helped choose for the workshop. Our rehearsal space will be Venice, it will be Rome, and it will be our classroom. I'm ready to learn.

Workshop Cast Almost Final

We had two wonderful days of auditions. I was so impressed, inspired, and grateful for everyone's time and talent. The producers should be contacting everyone on Wednesday with our casting decisions. Thank you, everyone, for already giving so much of your support to this workshop of "The Virgin Courtesan". Those two days were a gift.

A New Workshop, Auditions Today!

It's been quite a long while since I looked at this blog site, and now I must inform anyone interested, that much has changed since my last post! Blair and I dusted ourselves off from our previous bout with a producer, and continued to work on our show. We recorded some new demos, and I continued to work on the script with Kevin Saylor, my dramaturge. We've remained optimistic, and Blair loves to tell me how clearly he sees our show being produced on a New York City stage, or in the West End of London. He keeps me dreaming big too. And through it all, we keep reminding ourselves that we need to get our show out into the world somehow.

The perfect first step, I've always believed, is to workshop a piece before attempting to sell it as a production. A workshop is a great opportunity for exploration and development for the writers. And having been a part of several workshops of other people's shows, and one previous workshop of my own work (AutoPortrait, written with Daniel Boulerice), I see the necessity and the benefit of the process. Also, having experienced the process with other writers' work, I've always observed and noted how they received creative information from their casts and creative teams. Some writers have resisted, even rejected the ideas and advice of others. Some have been wise enough to be attentive to the information coming their way. That is how I wish to proceed. I will be attentive, I will consider, and if an idea is good... well, heck, I'm gonna take it!

Anyway, I'm so pleased that a wonderful young company has taken an interest in developing "The Virgin Courtesan" in workshop form. Music Theatre Montreal has taken on the project as part of their educational mandate. Blair and I couldn't be more pleased as we prepare to meet candidates for our new 2012 Workshop cast today and tomorrow!

I will try to remind myself to update this Blog from time to time... if only to document the adventure for the sake of posterity! Wish us good fortune, please!

Frayne