Guest Blogger: Parker Hughes

Recently I spoke with an old friend of mine. We met when we both performed in a local theatre production of Cinderella. Being the high-class hipster wannabes that we are, he suggested we share a coffee and chat a while. So, I ordered myself a french vanilla and caught up with my buddy. He'd been up to a lot since he graduated high school, he told me, and that there was a delightful little community theatre by his apartment that he was dying to take me to. "Parker, they are sooo good! Their production of Rent was BROADWAY CALIBER!" 

Inspiration comes from strange places! For me, it seems to come from people saying profound things on accident. Today's 'out of context life lesson' comes from Rupaul's Drag Race contestant and all-around wonder woman, Mrs. Kasha Davis. Do yourself favor and check this lady out, because she is an absolute doll. Sweet, funny, talented, and charismatic, Mrs. Davis is a terrific entertainer and personality. The other day she appeared on YouTube's WOWPresents's segment "Ring My Bell," where callers can phone in and speak with drag icons. Right off the bat, Mrs. Davis shows her wise and caring side when a caller named Houston requests some advice for people just starting out in drag. She tells them, "Number one: there's a lot of gals out there that have paved the way - watch them, get some ideas, pull from those. Number two: practice, practice, practice! And number three - just own it! Whatever it is you're going to do, own it and love it and everyone will too!"

I can't use a hammer. I don't know how to use a power saw. I'm not familiar with how mics work, and probably would not be able to mic myself, let alone anyone else. The most  know about lighting is pulling a cord on a lamp. But that's okay, because I'm an actor. I'm a writer. I'm a dancer, and I'm a director. I'm much better at "painting the picture" than painting the set piece. However, don't think I'm neglecting tech all together. My senior year I plan to tech my first show, but for now, I'm content where I am. There's also the fact that I'm not very good at tech. I don't know what makes me bad at it, I just know that I am. But there are people out there who are brilliant techies. I mean, absolute technical geniuses. It amazes me, seeing as tech theatre has protocols and rules and directions, and yet holds so much creativity.

Many may not be familiar with the musical Ghost. Ghost is the musical adaption of the 1990 movie by the same name, written by Bruce Joel Rubin. The musical garnered incredible attention over on Britain's West End. The show's music and overall structure is very different from most classic musicals, with much of the music shouldering away from the typical "show tune" genre. What audiences hear will sound more like Christian Rock, Gospel, and even Disco. "[The music] is definitely more demanding," says music director Kyle Carozza, "the vocal ranges necessary are higher, and there gets to be well over eight parts at some points. I don't dislike it (the style of music), but I like the big, belty, vibrato type of musical theatre better." When I prompted Kyle about whether or not teaching this genre was harder, he surprised me by saying, "No, I think it's somewhat easier. It's more choir-like and isn't as intricate as some musical theatre."

"… That's not what an ensemble is," said Kyle, my student music director. He wasn't talking about anything particularly profound, he was just pointing out that a company that doesn't blend and cut off together isn't what we need to be. But it got me thinking… What is an ensemble?