Life in the Pit

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This podcast is devoted to the lives and experiences of instrumental musicians who play for musical theatre. Listeners can hear the stories of what goes on in "the pit" and aspiring musicians can learn what it takes to become a pit musician.

Episodes

Friday Jun 17, 2022

71. NAMM experience and Community Theatre Musician Compensation

Friday Jun 17, 2022

Episode 71 begins with David Lane reporting on his very fun first-time experience at NAMM 2022 in Anaheim. Then he brings up a topic that might be uncomfortable but one that is important and widespread: non-union musicians for community theatre are, for the most part, still being paid the same amount they were receiving at the beginning of the century. David reads comments from musicians all over the nation who have chimed in on this to paint the current picture, and offer some suggestions as to how things might improve. There's also the debate of whether or not they should improve. Are community theatre musicians right to quibble over pay when the actors are often volunteers? Many thoughts are shared. Please feel free to message us through http://lifeinthepitpod.com to share your thoughts and suggestions. This is likely a part 1 of a continued future discussion.

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod. Feel free to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Visit www.lifeinthepitpod.com for more info or to send feedback regarding the podcast. Donations are also gratefully accepted. Please leave a rating and a review on your podcast app. Thank you for listening.

Tuesday May 31, 2022

70a. BONUS: Story of a Big Break - Angela McCuiston

Tuesday May 31, 2022

This is a follow up to Episode 70 with Angela McCuiston, where we chatted about strength and injury prevention for musicians, but we never actually talked about her pit experience. This is a funny story of her "big break", and not in the way that phrase is normally used.

Follow Angela and discover her resources at http://musicstrong.com.

his episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Friday May 27, 2022

70. Strength Training and Injury Prevention for Musicians - Angela McCuiston

Friday May 27, 2022

We might not be discussing performance on Episode 70, but don't skip this week, because a reported 90% of musicians will go through some kind of performance-related injury in their career. Angela McCuiston is determined to see that number go down because of her services as a personal trainer for musicians through her company, Music Strong. Angela is not only a trainer, but she plays flute, alto flute, and piccolo and is an experienced pit musician who lives in Nashville. In this episode, we discuss the common physical problems of various musicians and some of the things that can be done.

Angela's book: The Musician's Essential Exercises: Basic Strength Training for Injury Prevention can be found here.

She has a ton of helpful videos on her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MusicStrongFitnessTraining

Finally, she is the co-host of the podcast: Tuned And Strong.

Friday May 20, 2022

Bonus: Nurturing Your Network or How to Book Your Pit (and not)

Friday May 20, 2022

If you're a musician in any field, your network is paramount! If you're a music director who works a local market and are responsible for filling chairs in the pit for your production, are you taking shortcuts and possibly saving time while sacrificing the opportunity to build relationships? This is a mild rant from host David Lane about a trend he's been noticing. Do you agree or disagree? Please message through our website or social media pages.

Friday May 13, 2022

69. Into the Woods - Jeff Saver, music director

Friday May 13, 2022

Jeff Saver took over music directing sometime around 1988 during the original Broadway run of Into The Woods. He talks about his experiences with that production, his friendship with the late great Stephen Sondheim, and his understanding of collaboration.

Friday Apr 29, 2022

68. 14 Habits to Improve your Music Career

Friday Apr 29, 2022

A lot of talented musicians sit around waiting for work, or struggle with plateauing. Whether you're just getting started or you've been a professional freelance musician for a while and just needing to take an honest assessment and maybe course-correct, David Lane offers 14 habits compiled from himself, past guests, and former listeners that can help make sure that you are doing everything you can control to make the best possible living as a freelance musician.

Do you agree or disagree with this list? Or is there something important that got omitted? Send your feedback through our website or message us on Instagram or Facebook.

Friday Apr 15, 2022

67. Annie and All That Jazz - Arnold Gross, music director and pianist

Friday Apr 15, 2022

Arnold "Arnie" Gross began his professional career as a pianist, and that included working on shows such as Company and Cabaret. For over 5 years, he was the music director for the original Broadway production of Annie. He was also the dance music arranger as well as the on-screen pianist in the 1979 film All That Jazz, starring Roy Scheider and directed by the legendary Bob Fosse. Arnie is long retired from the theatre, but has plenty of stories from this golden age of Broadway and cinema.

The video (mentioned in the episode) of Arnie Gross conducting Sarah Jessica Parker as Annie on The Bob Hope Special can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPJ4T1ysrbQ

Friday Apr 01, 2022

66a Listener Questions - To Accept the Gig or Not, Time Management

Friday Apr 01, 2022

This is the first listener-generated episode, where David Lane answers two questions:

The first question is asking about the pros and cons of accepting a theatre gig that doesn't pay much beyond travel expenses.

The second question is asking about tips for managing a day job, family, and even meal times with evening gig life.

This was produced as a video episode, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/8r113bDw6DA . Be sure to subscribe to our channel for more upcoming videos.

Tuesday Mar 22, 2022

66. The Lightning Thief Musical - Rob Rokicki

Tuesday Mar 22, 2022

Rob Rokicki is a composer, lyricist, and orchestrator - including the musical adaptation of The Lightning Thief which had a short Broadway run but is currently very popular in local theaters around the nation! He chats about the musical itself and gets into some song-by-song musical elements. And, of course...we talk about his pit musicians!

Find out more about Rob and his work at https://www.robertrokicki.com/

Friday Mar 11, 2022

65. Financial Basics for Freelance Musicians - Samantha Absher

Friday Mar 11, 2022

Many musicians are their own employers, to a small extent if not entirely, making a significant of their portion from freelance gigs. While the vast majority of them are great at their instruments, making good decisions with finances isn't a strength for everyone. Samantha Absher of WTF is a Budget (and past cameo guest on an early episode about Terms for Theatre Musicians) is here to discuss some good easy-to-follow advice on savings, budgeting, debt reduction, renting vs buying a home, and more. Life In the Pit listeners can get 30% off her online Financial Success Basics course by visiting https://www.wtfisabudget.com and using the coupon code: lifeinthepit .