Broadway Blogspot's Broadway Grab Bag

As most of you know, I've been working as the Research and Marketing Director for Broadway Blogspot since the web site went live back in April.  Well we're having our first contest!  I wanted to post the Official Press Release so that you can check it out and, hopefully, win some of the cool prizes we're giving away. Let Kim or me know if you have any other questions.  Good Luck!

Here we go:

FROM: Kimberly Faye Greenberg (818) 439-5485

Executive Producer/Creator www.Broadwayblogspot.com

Kimberly@broadwayblogspot.com    

For immediate release, please…

www.BROADWAYBLOGSPOT.com 

Announces “Broadway Grab Bag” Giveaway Contest! 

BroadwayBlogspot.com announces the “Broadway Grab Bag” Giveaway Contest!  From September 13^th, 2010 through October 10^th, 2010, visit  www.BroadwayBlogspot.com each week, click on the contest page, and using the  www.BroadwayBlogspot.com site, answer the ten trivia questions (new questions posted each week) to be eligible to win one of four weekly Broadway “Grab Bag” prize packages!

“GRAB BAG” Prizes offered will include a mix of some of the following: 

A poster and playbill signed by the cast of Billy Elliot on Broadway; 

Two tickets to one of the Off-Broadway Shows: Zero Hour, All American Girls, Danny & Sylvia, the Danny Kaye Musical, Dietrich & Chevalier and Black Angels of Tuskegee; 

Memorabilia from Broadway cast members of Jersey Boys and Billy Elliot;

Direct from University of Minnesota Press, reprints of Meredith Wilson’s Classic Books: 

“But He Doesn’t Know The Territory”, detailing the making of the musical, The Music Man; and

“And, There I Stood With My Piccolo”,  Meredith Wilson’s detailed autobiography which led to the creation of The Music Man;

From our partner, MTIShowspace.com

Hairspray, the original Broadway cast recording, signed by

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman; and

Frank Loesser Centennial Celebration poster, signed by Jo Sullivan Loesser

Visit www.BroadwayBlogspot.com to see what's included in each weekly "Grab Bag" package!  There you'll find the contest rules, regulations and how to participate. 

 www.BROADWAYBLOGSPOT.com is a theatrical resource website designed to inspire, educate and create a sense of appreciation for the people who work both on stage and behind the scenes on Broadway and beyond.  

BroadwayBlogspot.com features three ongoing video series:

"Broadway Backstage" Series - featuring backstage tours of Broadway’s legit theatres and interviews with the creative, dedicated professionals who work behind the scenes.

"The Glamorous Life" Series - an inside look at what it’s like to audition for and pursue a musical theatre career in NYC; i.e. attend auditions, plus get advice from working actors, casting directors, agents, musical directors and others.  It's everything they never taught you in school!

"Broadway Encore" Series - special videos featuring charitable organizations working with Broadway shows, celebrity interviews, personal backstage stories, and more!

See these videos now and coming soon to BroadwayBlogSpot.com:

Victoria Mallory: Original Company - Follies and A Little Night Music

Jim Brochu:  Zero Hour Off-Broadway

Neva Small:  Chava - Fiddler on the Roof movie

Dan Whitten:  Producer/Owner - Tiger Theatricals

Steve Schalchlin:  Big Voice: God or Merman and The Last Session

Jason Howland:  Composer - Little Women-The Musical

Taylor Sternberg:  Jersey Boys on Broadway

Theatrical Gems:  Producers, Actors Fund benefit - Mr. President

Ty Lackey:  Sound Engineer - Memphis on Broadway

Susan L. Schulman:  Theatrical Publicist

Dani Davis:  Producer - Little Women-The Musical and The Lonesome West 

Kolstein Talent Agency: Naomi Kolstein and Laura Packer

Sing for Your Seniors:   www.singforyourseniors.org

PLUS a backstage tour at BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway!

A Little Performing Inspiration, Part 2

So for the past couple of days, I've been in one of my little "funk" periods.  Usually when that happens, I spend a lot of time listening to my iTunes.  Music's always been a bit of a healer for me.  Well anyway, I was playing around on YouTube today and came across this video of Raul Esparza singing Being Alive from the most recent Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company.  This is from the Great Performances broadcast, of the show, on PBS.


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The clip is a little over eight minutes but if you stick it out, I think you'll find it well worth it.  Even if you don't understand the show or even "get" what's going on, it's still a great brilliant performance of the song.  One of those little inspiring songs that makes me love being a performer.  Just thought I'd share with you.  Hopefully, it brings a smile.

Until next time...

The Actor's Journey - My MTI Article

Recently through my work with Broadway Blogspot, I wrote an article for the Marquee section of Music Theatre International's (MTI) website.  My article is called "The Actor's Journey".  Please check it out here.

It's funny that they say it's an "advice" article because I feel as though I shouldn't be giving anyone advice on anything but, it was cool to have the opportunity to write something for someone else.  No one, outside of a classroom, has asked me to write for anything before.  It was a bit nerve wracking but, from the looks of it, everything is exactly how I wrote it.  I think having it judged and edited by a total stranger was what made me the most nervous about the whole thing.

Anyway, that's it from me today.  Let me know what you think about the article.  Hopefully, someone will read it and think that it's helpful.  All it takes is one and I'd be happy.

Until next time...

What's In A Name?

So you may be asking yourself, "Why do you call this thing Gator Music?"  Well, the answer to that is a pretty easy one.  It combines two things that I loved as a kid growing up and still do today.  Allow me to explain...

For those that don't know, I grew up in Florida which is a state the is known for being huge when it comes to football.  There are 3 NFL teams and, from what I can think, 5 college teams at the highest level in the NCAA.  The most important of which is the University of Florida.

I think I was a Gator fan from birth.  You see, my dad went to school at U of F and, as anyone else who went to the school knows, you don't go there and ignore the football team.  It's a bit of it's own religion during the Fall.  On Saturdays, you'll pretty much know what most native Floridians are going to be doing if they aren't working.  The same could be said for the teams that play in Tallahassee and Miami but, they hold no importance to me so, I won't say anything about them.

By the time I graduated from college, I think I had been to about two dozen Gator games.  Two of those games were for the National Championship; one they WON! the other... not so much.  I also had quite the extensive wardrobe consisting of, mostly, orange and blue clothing.  Ahh, good times!  In Florida, football IS a way of life.

Now I have to say, as much as I love football, I was never much of a player.  I played for a couple of years when I was in elementary and junior high but, that was out of obligation.  Playing it, for me, was no good.  I didn't care for being out in the sun and weighed down by all those pads.  Plus, I've never been much for hitting people, as part of a game or otherwise.  But, my love for the game still exists and you could plop me down in any stadium and I'd be "happy as a clam" or "a pig in poo", whichever you prefer.

Now, the other part of the GM name is pretty obvious.  I credit my sisters Cindy and Leslie for inspiring my love for music and performing.  My little hometown of Wauchula was all about the football and not so much with the performing arts.  In fact, my high school (the only one in the county, even today) didn't even have a theatre department.  But luckily, I got to watch my sisters perform and go with them to different shows to stay exposed to those things.  That inspiration and passion for music is what helped determine my chosen career path. 

So there you go, the reason I came up with the name that I did.  As the years have passed, the focus has shifted from more Gator to more Music but my love of both remains.  If you had a blog, what you call yours and why would you choose that name?

Until next time...

One Year Ago Today

Today marks the 1st anniversary of Gator Music!  I'd never had a real urge to write a blog until last year.  Most blogs are written on a specific topic and seeing as I had nothing that I was much of an expert at, I was never sure what to write about.

But then, came the audition day that never was because nothing could seem to go right.  That turned into "A Day Starting With, Ugh" when I HAD to vent but had no one to vent to, at that moment.

My adult ADHD has taken over at moments when I've gone for stretches of a few months without writing anything. But, I've realized that I really like writing and this is best way for me to do it.  Blogging is supposed to be a short writing format so, I can't give up in mid-story.  Plus, it's a good way to express my thoughts whether anyone reads them or not.

So, here I am one year later and still writing.  I've actually gotten more into now that I've decided to post more on my own performing and auditioning experiences.  I've managed 61 posts, in the past year, and this will make 62.  At least, even with the droughts, I've managed more than one per week but I'm going to work to improve that.  I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing and it's made me want to write more.  So, I'm challenging myself to write one post per day but, I make no guarantees.

So, I want to say, "Thank you!!!" to those of you who've been reading along for the past year!  I got bored one day and started a Facebook page which is here.  Feel free to "like", if you want.  Also, if you have any thoughts on any of the posts, feel free to tell me.  Good or bad, I like the interaction. Besides, it might give me an idea for another post.

Until next time...

A Little Bollywood In Your Life

So last night, I saw my first Bollywood movie.  Now I guess, I've always had a certain image of what I expected a Bollywood film to be like.  It's hard to describe but, if you saw Moulin Rouge and remember the show they were rehearsing, "Spectacular Spectacular".  It was the show that Ewan McGregor's character was writing, throughout the movie.  Well, that's what I've always thought Bollywood to be like.

But last night, I saw a movie called Dhoom 2.  And let's just say, it was far from what I expected from a Bollywood film.  To make it easier, let me give you the Wikipedia rundown:

"Dhoom 2: Back In Action is a 2006 Indian Bollywood action film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra at an estimated budget of Rs 350 million.^[1] It is the second film in the Dhoom series. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra star in the film as buddy cops Jai Dixit and Ali Akbar Fateh Khan, respectively. The duo attempt to capture Mr. Aryan (Hrithik Roshan), a professional thief whose passion is to steal rare and valuable collectibles using high-technology gadgets."


Ok so, big action movie with singing and dancing... It's the coolest thing I've ever seen!  Other than the fact that, almost everyone, speaks Hindi, you wouldn't even know that the film is Indian.  I know this isn't what most Bollywood movies are like but, it left me wanting to see more of them.


As you can see, this isn't a review.  It's more of a "this is cool and I wanted to share."  Anyway, I posted a video from the opening credits so you can see what I'm talking about.  Hrithik Rashon, one of the stars, is the one singing.   Let me know what you think.




Until next time...

Social Networking: Blessing or Curse?

Just a scant few years ago, my parents and I lived about half an hour outside of my hometown.  We were, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere.  You see, my dad was a ranch foreman and, as part of the job, we lived in a house on the ranch.

It never really bothered me living so far away.  I entertained myself singing with the radio and acting out whatever was on TV at the time.  Plus, I had my four-wheeler if I had an urge to go anywhere.  

By the time I was in 7th grade, we moved into town so that my parents could focus on the business they had bought a few years earlier.  It was then that I got my first "real" taste of social networking.  In junior high, everyone fit into a particular "network" (or clique, as they were called in school).  You had your Preps, Scrubs, Geeks, Jocks, etc.  Whatever school you went to, I'm sure you had your own version.

Your life was determined simply by what you wore and the company you kept.

Fast forward to today.  We now have tons of social networks right at our fingertips!  All you have to do is turn on you computer or phone and you have access to Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Stumbleupon and a ton of other sites with which to network.  To me, it's a beautiful thing.

No more do you have to worry about what others think of how you look or what you're wearing because they only see what you choose to show them.  They don't need to know that you're sitting in front of your  screen in a dirty shirt with bed head and Cheetos on your fingers because they only see your profile picture.  Plus, it takes the awkwardness out of having to make small talk.

Of course, there is the other side of the coin... You're sitting in front of your screen wearing a dirty shirt with bed head and Cheetos on your fingers because people only see your profile picture.  Doing anything productive takes a back seat to tweeting and updating a status.  

How do I know this, you ask?  I'm just as guilty as anyone.

I've been scolded by friends for "checking in" on Foursquare when I should be talking to them.  I've also been told that I sometimes share too much in my tweets.  Yes, I'm a member of several of these networks.  I could say it's the "research" that I'm doing for my work with Broadway Blogspot but, let's face it... I'm hooked!

What can I say?  They're fun!  And hey, I have to be allowed one vice right?  I mean, besides caffeine.  Make that two vices.  

So if you'll excuse me, I need to post this here on Blogger so that I can share it on the new FB page I created.  Then, I need to check in at my location on Foursquare.  After that, I need to respond to a friend request from a guy that I sat next to in elementary school.  Somewhere in there, I may fold my laundry before I tweet about what movie I'm gonna watch.  Don't roll your eyes; you're doing the exact same things.  That's why we're all friends and able to share this habit with each other.  Because after all, isn't that the purpose?  To share what we think and feel with those we love...and rest of the world?  

Until next time...