More risotto balls and revelatory insights with the extraordinary writer
of Ordinary Days.
By Michael
Ruby (Writer)
When last we
blogged, I was sharing highlights from my conversation and West Bank Café
snacking session with the incredible Mr. Adam Gwon. (You can read Volume 1 here.) Here is the conclusion,
featuring some optimistic observations about the state of musical theater and
pure proof that anything is truly possible.
You’ve talked about how visiting The Met helped to
inspire you when working on Ordinary Days.
Where else do you find inspiration?
When I was
writing Ordinary Days, I was in the
midst of a Dramatists’ Guild Fellowship. One of the mentors they brought in said
that, whenever she gets stuck, she goes to The Met for inspiration to get
unstuck. She also wears a hoop skirt so that no one gets too close to her.
Do you wear a hoop skirt?
No, I do not
wear a hoop skirt. But I do still go.
Where else do you turn for inspiration?
I read a lot
and love reading books. Old books. New books. Red books. Blue books. Writing is
also a good form of therapy, so a lot of ideas come from self-reflection.
*Adam belly laughs. His laughter says a lot but reveals nothing.*
Sometimes there’s a question in life I don’t have the answer to – and I wonder, can I answer it by writing a song about it?
Do you have specific people who are muses, or who
that you love to write for?
I feel like I
have a lot of muses. I have a lot of awesome friends who are also amazing
talents who I can write for and know they’ll be amazing. Two of the many people
who are friends and who are amazing are Kate Wetherhead and Alex Wyse. Both are
incredibly funny, dynamic performers – and really inspiring people. Even when
I’m not working with them, watching them do their thing makes me want to do
what I’m doing better.
(Kate Wetherhead singing "Calm" from Ordinary Days)
I also had the incredible honor of Audra McDonald singing “I’ll Be Here” in her concert tour last year. Hearing her sing that song and meeting her…it was maybe the most exciting moment in my career, seeing her sing my song at Carnegie Hall.
Aside from Audra being Audra, why did it mean so much?
Because I’m
prone to ridiculous self-reflection, I’ve tried sussing out why it meant so
much to me. I think it's realizing the life that your work can take on, a life
bigger than anything you ever imagined for it. It was incredibly freeing as a
writer to realize the sky's the limit. You can write stuff and amazing things
can happen. It makes me bring my A-Game every time I sit down to write now.
Because someone like Audra could sing something I write. So, why not make it as
amazing as I can make it?
Back when we were collaborating on Ethan Frome, you used to have other gigs
on the side. Do you have a “survival job” these days, or are you free to write?
At the moment,
I've been very lucky and I do not have a day job. Honestly, most of that comes
from grants and awards more than royalties from shows. But I do teach! I teach
lyric writing at Primary Stages, and also do stuff now and again in schools through a
number of theaters. I really enjoy it.
How long have you been teaching?
I’ve been
teaching at Primary Stages for three years now. When I first started, I was
quite honestly terrified. I was walking into a room full of people, most of
whom were older than me, and I was afraid I wouldn’t have anything to say about
writing. Turns out, I have a lot to say! It’s not scary anymore and I love
doing it. I’ve had some really talented students.
When you teach, what's your biggest lesson?
I really love form.
It’s important to understand as a lyricist and be able to put form to work in
your storytelling. I have this thing I teach called “Lyric Gestures.” It comes from a directing
class I took in college. It’s based on Brecht, who would create abstract physical
gestures with his actors, and if you looked at a storyboard of the stage
pictures of his production, you could
trace a character’s arc through those gestures. I thought that was totally
amazing and realized it’s something I’ve strived to do in my lyrics – on a
micro level within songs, and also on a macro level writing entire musicals.
What is a great musical theater lyric or melody that
always sticks out in your head?
Like, basically
the whole score of Sunday In The Park
With George. But, particularly “Move On.” It haunts me.
Not like in an “I’ve analyzed this and it’s so well crafted” kind of way; it
keeps revisiting me as I mature as a human being and an artist. This lyric
especially:
STOP WORRYING IF YOUR VISION IS NEW
LET OTHERS MAKE THAT DECISION
THEY USUALLY DO
YOU KEEP MOVING ON
But that whole song! The whole conceit of the present singing to the past about the future. There’s something there that just gets me in the gut.
What do you think is different about today’s musical
theater writers? What do we do differently? What’s changed in our approach to
the art?
I feel like
there is this thing happening right now that is really celebrating live theater
and live performance. In the midst of this crazy age we live in – where
everything is electronic and Tweeted, Tivo’d and Tumblr’d – writers are
capitalizing on bringing people into a room to spend time together. Right now,
there are so many productions that are creating this environmental, immersive
experience. That's why I think so many of our generation have come up in the
world doing concerts even before having productions. Because there is something
so exciting and unique about people being in the same room together, making
music and putting on a show.
(Hunter Foster singing "Favorite Things" from Ordinary Days)
Who of our contemporaries are you a fan of? Who do
you listen to these, besides [your favorite] Tori Amos?
Tori Amos will
always trump all of y'all. Sorry, not sorry.
*Adam smiles with a sweetness and honesty no emoticon can mimic*
Quite honestly, I get inspired by everyone's stuff. And I feel like there are so many distinct voices. I love that. That inspires. That said, I am a huge Joe Iconis fan. I think he’s the bee’s knees. Yes, he's an amazing songwriter and puts on a good show. But the thing about Joe, that dude is so true to himself and true to his voice. Everything he writes is 100% Joe Iconis. And that is so inspiring to me.
Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary. I saw their reading of Pregnancy Pact at NAMT a couple years ago and was so excited by it.
I also think [Michael] Kooman and [Christopher] Dimond are pretty great.
Anything you
want to promote before we wrap up?
I’m doing a
concert at 54 Below this April. It’ll be my first
full-on concert in New York since the Ordinary
Days album release two years ago. Details are coming, but come see it in
the Spring!
NEXT WEEK: Nestled in a faraway corner of a Midtown Starbucks, I sit down with the uber-talented Jonathan Reid Gealt and discuss emotional honesty, the impact of economic realities on what you write and unexpected YouTube celebrity.
Michael Ruby
is a librettist, creative director, pop culture geek, proud dad and Diet Dr. Pepper addict. His musicals and songs have been performed across the U.S. and in the UK. www.rubywriter.com
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