Uncharted Musical Territory

Ars Nova has continually been the place to be when you're looking for new, exciting theatrical works of genius. Their Uncharted series, concerts presenting the work of up-and-coming composers, was often a go-to source for discovering new writers. This year, Uncharted comes in the form of a development incubator, a writers group based on their playwriting meet-up, PlayGroup. With artistic director Jason Eagan's promise of beer and pizza and regular meetings, the four selected writing teams to participate in the inaugural writers group will develop new works to be presented and showcased over the course of the next year.

If you read the blog, many of these names will sound familiar. Still, here are the writers and some songs they performed at the kick-off concert:

Shaina Taub -- Shaina Taub is known for her smoky vocals, folksy melodies, and whimsical lyrics. Her Greek song cycle The Daughters features some banging tunes for female powerhouses, and her EP, What Otters Do, is a common selection on my iPod.

Charles Vincent Burwell and James D. Sasser -- I was probably least familiar with Sasser and Burwell going into this concert, but the songs they played from their modern day Cuban musical, Cubamor, quickly made an impression. With some diverse styles of music and bilingual lyrics, I'm most curious to hear what comes from this team next.

Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson -- She wrote the critically acclaimed Warhol musical POP!; he's known for his subversive subject matter and deliciously complex songs. Together, they're writing an adaptation of independent horror film Teeth, which should prove interesting.

Gordon Leary and Julia Meinwald -- This duo never fails to produce rich songs for complicated characters, and their musical Pregnancy Pact never fails to showcase this. Excitingly, there seem to be a few new projects on the horizon for them, so here's hoping for more new work soon.

All I Want For Christmas

Holiday shopping is always a stressful exercise, but during a time when it's the thought that counts, why not use this as an opportunity to share new music and writers with your friends and family?

Like last year, the go-to gift for any lyricist/composer/librettist in your life was Sondheim's first book, and this year its companion, Look, I Made a Hat, is hitting the shelves again just in time for the holidays. You can even get the "Hat Box" with both books -- if your musical theatre enthusiast hasn't already beaten you to the punch.

When it comes to recordings, there are a few go-tos that are topping my personal wish list and are becoming staples on my gift list for others. For stocking stuffers, look no further than Shaina Taub's EP, What Otters Do, which will be sure to charm any folksy, jazzy fans for only $3.99 a pop. Today also marks the official release of The Burnt Part Boys cast recording, a gorgeous little show that I loved at Playwrights Horizon last year (What are the chances for a recording of The Shaggs come next year? Now that would be a Chrismakkuh miracle). And if you or anyone you know doesn't have a copy of Kooman & Dimond's Out of Our Heads or Georgia Stitt's My Lifelong Love, you should get on that ASAP.

For a more creative gift that also supports new artists, try taking part in some crowd funding projects. Right now, Ryan Scott Oliver and Matthew Murphy are raising money through Kickstarter for a recording and performance of their show 35MM, the project that gave birth to favorite songs like "Hemming and Hawing," "The Ballad of Sara Berry," and, yes, "Crazytown." Depending on your donation level, you can score swag like the finished cast recording, signed posters, and even a limited edition photo print. You can also support the Steampunk musical, Futurity, by band The Lisps as they work to produce a cast recording of their show. Use the Kickstarter campaign to pre-order the album for loved ones, and follow it up with tickets to their Joe's Pub concert on December 16th.

If you would rather treat your friends to some quality time, drinking in the holiday spirit, there are many winter concerts on the horizon. My New York Christmas tradition involves Joe Iconis and family debauchery at Ars Nova for the Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular. Strapped for cash? Check out free concerts from a ton of new musical theatre writers as a part of the Broadway's Future at Lincoln Center and at the NYTB D-Lounge on December 11 and 12.

As the year winds down, it's nice to remember what the holidays are all about: family, friendship, love, and good will. How can music not make its way into that equation?

Wrapping up The Fringe and looking towards what's up next

Sadly, Hurricane Irene cut this year's Fringe Festival a bit short, canceling this weekend's performances with the MTA shutdown here in the city. I do, however, want to send out congratulations to all the shows, many of which received great reviews and mentions throughout the last 2 weeks. Also, many were highlighted with The Fringe's Overall Excellence Awards, which are listed here. [EDIT: Looks like a spoke a little soon -- The Fringe Encore Series has just been announced. If there was a show you missed, see if it made the list here.]

Just as one festival ends, though, another begins as tickets to NYMF shows will go on sale to the general public later this week (the festival will run from 9/26-10/16). Check out some of the great offerings on their website, and get ready for even more awesome new musical goodness at the end of September.

In speaking of things to come, Shaina Taub's EP, What Otters Do, is now available online (and in hardcopy through her website). If you're in New York, also check out her show tonight at Rockwood Music Hall at 8:30.

Speaking of Shaina Taub, the songstress will be a guest at Eli Bolin's upcoming show at the Laurie Beechman at 8:00 on September 18. They will be joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Harada, Sam Forman, Allison Posner, Greg Hildreth, Anthony Rapp, and Olli Haaskivi -- and with a line-up like that, you gotta get a reservation!

Also, bringing everything full circle, later that week at the Beechman will be a concert version of Bed Bugs!!!! The Musical, which I saw and loved at NYMF 2008. This hilarious show, which was written by Fred Sauter and Paul Leschen, will be performing on 9/20 and 9/21.

So save your pennies and get ready for a month of great new music. In the meantime, I leave you with this great tune from Nick Blaemire's concert at Ars Nova a couple of months ago:

Make a Mess: An Interview with Shaina Taub

With the temperature climbing last week, I feel sorry for anyone who wasn't chillin' at Ars Nova last week Thursday, listening to the breezy, cool music of Shaina Taub. I had heard Shaina perform Eli Bolin and Sam Forman's "I Like Girls," but didn't know that Shaina wrote her own music, has an EP coming out soon, and wrote mythic musical The Daughters until she invited me out for her concert. That was quickly remedied, however, the minute her opening song "Make a Mess" started up (download it on her website for free!) and I was treated to an exciting night of performances from Shaina herself, Jo Lambert, Kate Ferber, Ali Stroker, Grace McLean, Tom Hennes, and Ato Blankson-Wood.

Shaina's music is playful, smoky, and bold and gives voice to a host of female characters that haven't really had their spotlight in musical theatre quite yet. She'll be playing a concert at Rockwood Music Hall on 8/29 to celebrate the release of her EP (and it's good, trust me), and she was kind enough to answer some post-Ars Nova concert questions (and provide some videos from said concert):

Me: What was the process like of picking the songs for your EP? How does writing standalone songs compare with the process of writing songs for a musical theatre work?

Shaina Taub: The EP project initially began as a three song demo, and grew from there into a six-song fully realized recording. Overall, I wanted to give the listener a wide range of colors, trying to create an eclectic, yet cohesive collection of songs. Also, I wanted to make really expansive tracks, with lots of voices and instruments, because what’s exciting to me about recording is creating versions of your songs that are much different than the live experience. Nearly fifty vocalists and musicians are represented on the EP, and I hope that it gives it the communal, celebratory vibe I’m hoping for.

Writing ‘stand-alone songs’ and writing songs specifically for a character in a story are similar processes that have taught me a great deal about each other. I am constantly striving to bring the poetic/abstract element of a stand-alone song into a theater song, and the specific, storytelling quality of a theater song in my non-theater songwriting. When writing a stand-alone song, no one’s going to second guess the deeper meaning of a lyric – cool wordplay can exist for cool wordplay’s sake, which I love. With theater songs, I love the lesson in form – you can’t have any excess fat, no superfluous breakdown just cause it sounds funky. The economy of form in writing for theater is something I’ve tried to carry over into stand-alone songs. Just because it feels good to sing, doesn’t mean the song needs it sung.

Me: Something else you seem to play with a lot is mythology, as your show The Daughters has roots in Greek myths and some of your other songs have strong narratives to them. What is it about these stories that speak most to you? And how do you see the relationship working between storytelling/narrative and your songwriting process?

Shaina: I love myths because they let me fill up an old container with my own perspective. Instead of being directly autobiographical, I can pour my thoughts and feelings into an archetypal persona and hope it resonates a little more widely than my very specific lens of a twentysomething girl in New York. I also love how myth can let you get a little political thematically without making a political statement on any one time and place. With the degree of separation on a personal and social scale, I think the ability to achieve some kind of timelessness is greater.

I try to infuse some semblance of a story in every one of my songs, however masked. Everyone loves a story, and if you can draw them in with not only a catchy tune and snap-able beat, but something in the lyrics that makes them want to know what happens next, all the better.

Me: Being a performer yourself (and having such a great, unique voice!), how does your own vocal style play a part in your songwriting process, especially in your theatrical work?

Shaina: I used to write songs in an impractical way – using the height of my range in every song, and I ended up with songs that were all the same decibel level – no fun to listen to as a set, and impossible to sustain vocally. In the last year or so, I’ve been working on using high notes and vocal ‘tricks' sparingly, so they have more impact. I’ve become obsessed with playful phrasing and using the sound of the words themselves to inform melodic choices – singers like Adele and Jill Scott are huge inspirations for this. I’ve also tried to be nicer to myself, and write songs that are easier to sing any day of the week.

In theater work, it’s freeing to not be chained to the limitations and specificities of my own voice. Writing for men is the next frontier for me. I am seriously challenged in my understanding of the male voice – something about the octaves and falsetto, and what notes basses and tenors can actually hit – it has always baffled me. The main reason my songs are female-driven are because boy’s voices confuse me. I’m excited to change that though, and soon!

Me: Tell us a little about Political Subversities.

Shaina: Political Subversities is a wildly funny, dark musical sketch comedy show I write for and perform in every Saturday night at the People’s Improv Theater. The company is comprised of ten writer/performers who are among the most unique and hilarious artists I know in the city. We have brand new material weekly, and cover politics, culture and everything in between, always striving to find the humorous, the stupid and the downright absurd in current events. Imagine a Venn Diagram of The Daily Show, Book of Mormon, and SNL, and Polisub is somewhere in the middle.

I’ve been in the group for a year and half, and it’s been a great exercise in writing a lot and quickly. In the show right now, I have a hip hop song about Michele Bachmann, a geniuine pop ballad from the perspective of Osama bin Laden’s widow, and a gospel finale about America being my guilty pleasure. A music video of my song, Political Wife, went viral last fall:

Check us out at: www.politicalsubversities.com

Me: You mentioned at your Ars Nova concert that you recently got on Twitter and like it. What role do you see technology and social media playing in getting your music out there?

Shaina: I resisted Twitter for so long, and now I’m totally addicted. To me, it’s by far the most superior of the various social media outlets – I get news, music, and a daily stream of one-liners from comedians I love. Not to sound too hi-falutin’, but Twitter’s really it’s own art form – you don’t want to be overly self-promoting, but no one cares about every little detail of your day either. I attempt to strike a balance between humor, shameless self-plugs, and sharing other people’s music and videos I love.

I think technology and social media is an incredibly empowering tool for independent musicians. So many bands have achieved huge success just by building their own fan base online. If you make your music easily available on the internet, people respond to that and it has the potential to catch on like wildfire.

Follow me! @shainataub

Me: Any plugs or new projects you want to mention?

Shaina: My EP, What Otters Do, comes out on August 29th! You’ll be able to download it totally for free online, and come to the totally free release concert at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 on August 29th at 8:30 PM!

In the meantime, visit my website for tons of videos, and also a free download of the single – ‘Make A Mess’.

I’ve also recently been commissioned to write the score for a new musical for the Tony-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I’m currently working with them to find a book writer, so expect more news on that soon!

Show me a world that's inside of a world...

I've mentioned Eli Bolin's wonderful work with the Story Pirates on here before, but I originally heard his music in collaboration with playwright Sam Forman on this hilarious song, "I'm Gonna Like This Play," sung below by Jared Gertner:

There's a kind of glee (not to be confused with "Glee") that infuses itself in their music and lyrics -- an energy that courses through the subject matter. Their songs are clever and smart, but always pushed forward by a fresh undercurrent of excitement in the moment. Sam Forman, Eli Bolin, and Benjamin Salka are also the creative team behind the musical I Sing!, which made its off-Broadway debut in 2001 -- and ever since, I feel like I've seen the title song pop up all over the interweb. (The cast recording is available through Jay Records here.)

Sam and Eli are currently working on a project that I'm eagerly anticipating: a musical adaptation of Rob Ackerman's Volleygirls about a high school girls' volleyball team. Having read the play on which the musical will be based, I'm really curious to see what they do with it. I couldn't think of a better songwriting team to really bring the movement of the piece to life through song. Here are some song performance clips from a D-Lounge show:

Gideon Glick and Allison Posner singing "You're Beautiful When You Play":

Shaina Taub singing "I Like Girls":

Watch out for these guys--both in their collaborations and their individual projects--as I think they have a lot more great theatre making in the future. Also, if you're free next Friday, see Eli Bolin's band, Amazing Jellies, for free at PATH Cafe in the West Village at 8 p.m.! Hear more from Amazing Jellies here.