Leah Edwards News

Gulfshore Playhouse continues their 10th Anniversary Season with the one-man version of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula, playing December 6 through 22, 2013, with a preview performance on December 5th.

Gulfshore Playhouse continues their 10th Anniversary Season with the one-man version of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula, playing December 6 through 22, 2013, with a preview performance on December 5th.

From the elegant cocktail reception, to the stunning performance, the sumptuous dinner and the extraordinary VIP after-party, Broadway in the Berkshires, Shakespeare & Company's Gala Celebration was a resounding hit! On July 9, Artistic Director Tony Simotes welcomed a full house at the Tina Packer Playhouse (formerly Founders' Theatre) and a multitude of Broadway, opera and dance artists for the spectacular one-night-only benefit performance. Proceeds from Broadway in the Berkshires will support the Company's wide-reaching and nationally-recognized Training and Education programs. Scroll down for photos from the concert!

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces a special one-night-only Benefit Performance of BROADWAY IN THE BERKSHIRES tonight, July 8th at The Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. Proceeds from the event will benefit Shakespeare & Company's internationally-acclaimed Education and Training Programs.

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces a special one-night-only Benefit Performance of BROADWAY IN THE BERKSHIRES Monday, July 8th at The Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. Proceeds from the event will benefit Shakespeare & Company's internationally-acclaimed Education and Training Programs.

When I was first asked to be a guest blogger, I thought my focus would be to provide an operatic perspective on the world of theatre and vice versa. Since there are an infinite number of differences to discuss from the training to the music to the casting process to the productions to the artists themselves, I was pretty set on always being able to find a topic about which to write. But as I found my voice as a writer, I discovered instead that I was relating the similarities in the lifestyles, the subjectivity of art in general and how being an artist, regardless of specialty, is the most wonderful job in the world.

In the beginning, there is an artist and a dream. Then there are lessons and years of practice and graduations and eventually the realization that you're succeeding at making a living doing what you love most. It turns out, though, that that is where the work really begins.

On January 13, 1910, the first American public radio broadcast aired, featuring Enrico Caruso live from the stage of The Metropolitan Opera. On April 15, 1923 came the first commercial screening of a motion picture with sound-on-film. Although it was not the original intent of either, these events made the concept of "popular music" possible.

I love to set out on walks when I'm in a new place. It helps me to familiarize myself with my surroundings and feel more at home when I'm uprooted. But as I approach my 10-year anniversary of living in New York, I realize how little I walk around my own city and take advantage of all it has to offer. I know this is a pretty common problem for most people-when you arrive in a new place you take time to explore and get to know it, but soon enough you settle in to your daily routine and rarely have the time or interest to head out and learn more. In my defense, though, I do travel a significant amount, so when I am in New York, I just want to feel settled and relaxed and comfortable at home. Generally, my last priority is to be a tourist in my own city.

For as long as I can remember, traveling has been a part of my life. My parents took us everywhere from summer cross-country road trips to Caribbean cruises to tours of Israel. Whether by boat, plane, train or automobile, my family loved to take off on adventures and we rarely went to the same place twice. Each trip exposed us to new and exhilarating sights, sounds, cuisines and cultural experiences and although we returned home exhausted, it was always with warm hearts and enriched spirits with lots of memories to recall and stories to tell. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to have found myself involved in a life and career that allows me to continue to travel all over the world and often. Not only that, but now I am part of a much larger community of people who share my itinerant lifestyle. It's strange but fun to have friends and colleagues who travel as frequently as me-people with whom I can discuss my favorite countries, cities and airports and which of those places have the easiest transit systems, best shopping, yummiest restaurants, nicest terminals, and most extensive duty-free stores. It's a delight to know that wherever I am in the world, I will most likely run into someone I know.

You can sleep when you're dead. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard that statement as a response to someone saying that they're tired. Whereas I still agree with this sentiment, I also believe that if I sleep when I'm alive, the outcome of my daily activities is far more rewarding, my focus and clarity is significantly sharper and, in general, my mood and existence (I speak not only for myself, but from the opinion of others) is much more enjoyable. I have found that I have greater success in auditions and performances, which, in turn, motivates me to better myself in my career. I have a greater drive to exercise, which enhances my energy. I also just have a much cheerier outlook on life, which keeps me from turning into an anxious ball of stress, an easy downward spiral to fall into in a city of eight million centers of the universe.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of April 22!

I used to be a skeptic when it came to making an event out of watching the sun set. It does this every day. It always has and always will. So why halt everything and take the time to watch it? And ring a bell, clap and cheer as though it will never happen again? Because it won't. Each day we are presented with a new and awesome display of colors and light that will never be repeated.

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes announces the benefit performance of Broadway in the Berkshires that will take place on Monday, July 8th at The Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA.

If you haven't had the chance to catch up on your theater news, look no further than today's recap of all things theater - exclusive features, interviews, reviews and more! - around the Broadway World for the week of April 15!

When you look up the word family in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first definition you find is: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head. Only after that do explanations regarding common ancestry show up. As a freelance artist, I have chosen a lifestyle where my group of individuals, roofs and heads are constantly changing. Since working in this profession already ensures that I have at least one thing in common with others, it is always a joy to discover other things that make artists tick, and it is through exploring those fancies that you grow from being a cast into being a family. Because I have been graced with such an amazing cast recently, I want to introduce three special people to you. I'm not going to outline their resumes or cut and paste their bios. Please go to their websites to find out what outstanding professionals they are. What I want to share is what incredible individuals they are and how my world is a better place because I met them.

As someone who grew up constantly involved in the arts, it is astonishing to me when I hear people say that they've never seen a(n) [basically, insert art form-opera, ballet, symphony, puppet show, etc.-HERE]. Not only have I been performing since I can remember, but I've been attending performances since long before that. Call me an old soul, but I'm a sucker for the several-hundred-year-old art forms, those means of communication that draw on the visceral needs of the human being. The way babies cry is pretty close to perfect vocal technique, dance-emotion in motion-is what we had before words, and music is a means of expression when speech just won't suffice. These things existed long before we imposed prescribed techniques and defined structures on them.

When I mention that I studied opera and classical piano in school, but am currently pursuing a career in theatre, people often ask which genre I prefer. I respond, and truly believe, that whatever project I am working on is my favorite. This answer has seemed unsatisfactory to some, as though I must have a deep-seated passion for one thing only. In the last few sentences of Master Class, Maria Callas presents this argument: "You must know what you want to do in life, you must decide, for we cannot do everything." Ok, Maria Callas and everyone else, I have chosen music. Music is my absolute favorite thing. I love to listen to it, dance to it, cry to it, sing to it and perform it. Music moves my soul.