Life in the Pit

16. Magic and Death:The Harp in Theatre - Grace Ludtke, Harp

The harp is one of the most visually stunning instruments to see performed live.  It is also one of the most complicated instruments, enough that usually only harpists or experienced harp composers actually understand it.  For that reason, this episode features a lot more "101" on the instrument than normal.

Our guest is Grace Ludtke, and she talks about what it's like to play the harp in addition to the demands of playing the instrument for musical theatre.  She also reveals that her origin in theatre was as an actor and even running the light board, and we talk about how other theatre experience makes you a better a pit musician.  Grace also has thoughts about how the harp is actually a character, and the various roles it plays in productions from Hamilton to The Nutcracker, to an opera by Francis Poulenc.

We talk about an ensemble that Grace helped create called the North Carolina Harp Ensemble.  You can follow them at www.ncharpensemble.org.  You can follow Grace at www.graceludtke.com and follow her on Facebook or Instagram @harpist.grace

You can comment or find out more about this podcast at www.davidlanemusic.com/podcast or follow on IG/Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.

15. Craving a Challenge - Ronnal Ford, woodwinds and strings

Dr. Ronnal Ford plays two entire families of orchestral instruments, but when asked about his primary instrument he says, "My primary instrument is what I'm getting paid to play at the moment."

Ron has played all of these instruments and more for theatre and other venues.  He is an educator and very active as a performer.  Among his projects is The Ron Ford Orchestra.

He also describes how major illness nearly derailed his life, career, and quest for a doctorate, and overcoming that.  And as you'll hear every few minutes, he is not only not afraid of a challenge, but is invigorated by it.

You can follow Dr. Ford and all of his projects at https://www.ronfordmusic.com/ at https://www.youtube.com/user/fordronnal and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @RonFordMusic.

Follow the podcast on Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod, and find out all the social links for the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/podcast

14. "Not Afraid of Feedback" - Staging new musicals - Laura Watkins, composer/keyboards

Like all of our previous guests, Laura Watkins has pit experience.  Unlike our previous guests, it is solely because she created the need.  Even though she is accomplished pianist, Laura's experience with theatre before composing and staging new musicals was through acting.  She took up music directing and organizing a pit with musicals such as Comic-Con:The Musical and Glass Ceilings, the latter which is an important story about forgotten women of history, and was about to enter its 2nd week at the Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles.

Laura shares her theatre story and talks about the creative process and development necessary to creating and staging a new musical.  You can find out more about Laura at https://www.laurawatkinscomposer.com/

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13. Cruise Ship Bands "The Wild West of Music" - James Hodson, guitars

Would you like to know more about playing an instrument as a career on cruise lines?  There are some strong crossover with pit musician skills, and that is our main discussion in this episode.

James Hodson lives in Melbourne, Australia, and has had a varied career that began playing trumpet and touring China with the Australian Concert Orchestra.  During this time, he began a popular YouTube channel called The Stringdom.  He then began a 5-year career as a musician for several cruise lines, and has been to all 7 continents.   He now is a headline entertainer for cruises.  And, of course, he has experience and a fondness for the traditional theatre pit!   Finally, we both contributed original music to Lock-In: a socially distanced film produced by Spring Theatre from Winston-Salem, NC.  You can find links to my full original score at www.davidlanemusic.com/music.

Apologies in advance as we geek out over the symphonies of Sibelius at the end!  Follow James at https://www.jimhodson.net/

Follow the podcast on Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod or at www.davidlanemusic.com/podcast.

12. The Pit vs the Spotlight - Deena Rizkalla, violinist

Deena Rizkalla currently lives in Nashville and plays the violin for local theatre productions, including national tours of Phantom of the Opera and Hello, Dolly! as they have come through the area.  She describes how that process works and what the expectations are.  She has also toured the country as an on-stage violinist (and singer, dancer, etc) for a theatrical-style group called Barrage 8.  Most recently, she has formed a band called The Winterbirds.

You can follow Deena on Instagram @darizkal. You can follow her band The Winterbirds on Instagram @winterbirds_band or Facebook at www.facebook.com/Winterbirdsband, and the podcast itself on Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.

11. "Listen, Learn, Love" - Maggie Gallagher, music director, voice teacher

Maggie Gallagher has been influencing multiple generations as a school teacher, voice teacher, actress, and a music director.  At the age of 73, she may be retired but she still enjoys the challenge of the theatre, and shares the stories of her time on stage as well as her time in the pit.

 

As a reminder, you can follow this podcast on Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.  Please rate and review, and share with your friends!

10. "You can't stop once it starts" - Tony Steve, percussionist/composer

Dr. Tony Steve is a professor of Contemporary Music, Percussion, and World Music at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL.  He has a lot of experience in the pit as a percussionist in New York, Europe, and in Florida where he is often contracted to play for national tours as they visit the area, including Wicked which he has played multiple times!  (Instrument demos included!)  Tony also composes new music for silent movies, and talks about how pit musician skills come in handy for that endeavor.  Tony also talks about why he is such a big advocate of having union stagehands on a gig.  You can follow Tony's career at https://www.facebook.com/tonystevepercussionist/.   You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.  

9. "Do Your Homework" - Randy Mintz, bass

Randy Mintz is recently retired after being a band director for 43 years.  He has also spent most of his adult life playing for musicals, mostly on bass.  Aside from keyboardists and maybe drummers, no instrumentalist is in higher demand for a show than a bassist.  Randy is a friend and has been a regular in my pits since my very first show, but his career has included military bases, Puerto Rico, and perfecting the band program he created.  Because he taught at a school with a strong theatre program that encouraged student involvement, you can hear how Randy has introduced multiple generations of high school students to their first pit experiences.  Be sure to follow the podcast @LifeInThePitPod on Twitter or Instagram.  You can comment on podbean or through the website, davidlanemusic.com/podcast.

8. "Exciting but Terrifying" - Kate Hopper, French horn

Kate Hopper plays French horn, and has all the qualifications to play in any ensemble of her choice, but prefers the world of musical theatre!  She also does part-time orchestra contracting for shows, and balances her work life with having a non-music day job, being a caretaker, and struggling with a chronic illness.  Listen to hear the ways that Kate overcomes her daily struggles, and why playing for theatre is such an important part of that!  Be sure to follow the podcast @LifeInThePitPod on Twitter or Instagram.  You can comment on lifeinthepit.podbean.com or through the website, davidlanemusic.com/podcast.

7. "My Book Had Been Left in Texas" - Brian Blauch, reeds player

Brian is our second reeds player (multiple woodwinds) to be a guest on the show, but this is the first time we've taken here to dig into what that's like.  He also was a member of national bus touring groups for several years, and has some great stories!  Brian is also an enthusiastic collector of the ocarina which, as he mentions, although it is not a common instrument in theatre, it does make an appearance in a show or two. Soon after this episode airs, you can see pictures of his collection on Instagram @LifeInThePitPod.  You can check out some of his videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/bkblauch/videos.  Please rate and review if you are enjoying this podcast, and subscribe/share.