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 May 14, 2021

49. "Strategies for Success in Musical Theatre" - Herbert D. Marshall, music director

Friday May 14, 2021

LIFE IN THE PIT does its first episode on a book. The book is "Strategies for Success in Musical Theatre: A Guide for Music Directors in School, College, and Community Theatre" by Herbert D. Marshall, published with Oxford Press and available as an e-book through Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and other major outlets. Dr. Herbert (AKA Butch) Marshall is a professor of music at Kent State University, and has written this book, which is a wonderful resource for any novice music directors, or anyone who would like to polish their craft and explore new ideas!

Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod. Visit www.davidlanemusic.com/podcast for more info or to send feedback regarding the podcast. You can also donate through the website. This podcast is currently ad-free, so all donations are gratefully appreciated. Please leave a rating and a review. Thank you for listening.

Friday May 07, 2021

48. Singing for Cirque Du Soleil - Rochelle Collins, vocalist

Friday May 07, 2021

Rochelle Collins lives in Las Vegas, NV where she has been a performer for Cirque Du Soleil for 19 years, first for the show MYSTERE, and currently for KA. Her work as a vocalist puts her onstage (and over stage) in the spotlight, but she also performs as accompaniment to the action (in other words, as a pit musician). She talks about what it's like to rehearse and perform a show for Cirque, and we also briefly discuss her other theatre career with shows such as Oklahoma, Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof, and other shows and operas. You can hear a sample of Rochelle's work with Cirque du Soleil at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXEXkBZtJCg

Friday Apr 30, 2021

47. The Itinerant Music Director: Steven Zumbrun, music director, keyboards

Friday Apr 30, 2021

Steven Zumbrun has been everywhere because of theatre, and has so many stories to tell! He's played for shows based in the Springer Opera House in Columbus (GA), the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, the Totem Pole Playhouse in Pennsylvania. In addition to playing keyboards and music directing, he also is a performer onstage with acting, singing, and tap dancing! His stories include creepy high school theatres, a flood, a bus crash, and more. Steven has truly had an interesting life in the pit, and has an eloquent way of sharing! Check out his fun experiences!

Friday Apr 23, 2021

46. "The Best They Can" - Trevor Landreth, percussionist

Friday Apr 23, 2021

Trevor Landreth is a percussionist and educator in the Greater Wichita area. In addition to playing in the pit, he teaches high schoolers and college students in not only percussion, but also drum line, something we haven't given a lot of attention here before. In his spare time, he also co-hosts a podcast about movies called The Couch Critics.

Friday Apr 16, 2021

45. "I just love playing!" - Mary Ann McSweeney, bassist

Friday Apr 16, 2021

Mary Ann McSweeney has played enough shows on Broadway to be really close to having played in every physical theatre on Broadway. She's the original bassist for Avenue Q, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Far From Heaven, and Silence. But she has subbed for periods on dozens of other shows including The Book of Mormon, Sister Act, Next to Normal, Miss Saigon, Billy Elliot, Newsies, and many more! We talk about her phenomenal career as a Broadway bassist, her side projects, how she gets around NYC with such a big instrument, and what new work she's picked up during the pandemic. As a bonus: we have listener questions starting at 42:44!

Friday Apr 09, 2021

44. The Gear You Need to Get Started - Brady Aldrich, multi-instrumentalist

Friday Apr 09, 2021

Brady Aldrich lives in Wenatchee, Washington, and has music directed and played shows on keyboard, trumpet, drum set, and percussion. He has also done technical theatre particularly from the aspect of the sound, and we talk about what goes into sound reinforcement for the pit. Our main focus is going down the list of what music directors and keyboardists need as far as technology to get started and have a good chance for success. Before you shop at your music store, consult this episode.

Friday Apr 02, 2021

43. Music Directing as a High School Student - Sachio Nang, music student

Friday Apr 02, 2021

Sachio Nang played in the pit for all of his musicals in his Chicago area high school, including Rent, Les Misérables School Version, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid, and Little Shop of Horrors. On the latter, he asked for the experience of leading the pit orchestra as a keyboardist conductor for the show, and this was a group of hired professionals...being led by a 17-year old student! We chat about that experience, along with his general high school music experience and the early stages of what comes next in his career. Sachio is currently a freshman at Oakton Community College. He also coordinated an international video project in 2020 called A Song of Hope, a video that went viral on YouTube and received media attention, and is working on a similar project for this year called "You'll See".

You can find that and many other videos on Sachio's YouTube Channel

Friday Mar 26, 2021

42. "A Well-Stocked Tool Kit" - Shelagh Abate: French Horn

Friday Mar 26, 2021

Shelagh Abate is a Broadway veteran who plays the French horn. She has opened the productions for Disney's Frozen, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Honeymoon in Vegas, Anastasia, Evita, Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, and other shows as a principal and a sub. We talk about "snow calls". Shelagh talks about the need for a well-stocked tool kit for a pit musician, and how even in Broadway the pit musicians are "smashed in the pit like contortionists!" Also, for the first time ever(!), we answer listener questions that were posted in advance (around the 40:45 mark). Check out more about Shelagh at https://shelaghabate.com/

Friday Mar 19, 2021

41. "Drama Has Always Been Part of My Life" - Andy Mock, pianist

Friday Mar 19, 2021

Regular listeners of this podcast first heard Andy Mock's voice on the bonus episode on CTG's Wizard of Oz that followed Episode 26. Andy has worked with a number of theatres and schools in the Greensboro area, and we have a fun conversation talking about some of the things that distinguishes a great accompanist aside from piano technique and music reading.

Friday Mar 12, 2021

40. "In New York...you say yes!" - Andrea Neumann, trombone

Friday Mar 12, 2021

It's our first full Broadway episode, and the guest is trombonist Andrea Neumann. For much of two decades, she has been a very active musician in the NYC area, playing for the Brooklyn Orchestra, Empire Band, Westchester Symphonic Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, and so much more. She has also played the trombone book in the Broadway productions of Aladdin, The King and I, Amelie, and Fiddler on the Roof (both the traditional version and a special production in Yiddish). Andrea talks about success and failure on the road to becoming a regular in the pit!