Is Anybody Listening in 2017?
Oh my! Here we are in the New Year, and it’s hard to believe that we are already a month into 2017.Where does the time go?Where DID it go?Where did 2016 go?
There are an infinite number of answers to those questions.For me, however, 2016 was defined by three words:“Is Anybody Listening?”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vemvcrl7E0s&w=560&h=315]
“Is Anybody Listening?” is the title of a concert and webcast project created by Peter Link that I am privileged to be a part of along with Jenny Burton and a 9-member cast. We had our first performances in September and October of 2016 after a year of development and fundraising.
The first steps of mounting this concert started at the end of 2015 with a full-on Rockethub crowd funding campaign to our Watchfire Music family and fans of Peter Link, Jenny Burton and Julia Wade.These folks launched us into 2016 with the ability to get started on developing “Is Anybody Listening?” in earnest.
From January to May 2016, Watchfire Music raised funding for the first stage production and webcasts. (Find out more here.)
In June and July, we began a New York casting process which completed the show’s ensemble cast.Jenny Burton and I were both truly privileged to sit in on auditions where we experienced many wonderful performers share their talents with the casting director, producers, writers, composer and director.It was a fascinating and exciting experience.It reminded me of all the auditioning I have done and will do again -- it's a huge part of a performer’s work portfolio.
Once the show was cast, we moved into preparation for rehearsals.In August, we entered a 5-week intensive rehearsal period at the Sheen Center with the full cast and crew.
As with any new musical stage production, during the rehearsal process, songs and script were constantly in development.They were rehearsed, rewritten, added to, trimmed down, and more.The rehearsal period happened at break-neck speed.Suddenly, Tech Week was upon us with back-to-back 10-hour rehearsals each day.And then … Opening Night!
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The show found its legs as word spread between our 4 performances over a 2-week period.We finished with packed houses and even garnered a beautiful and unsolicited review from a respected New York critic.
The audience responded in spades too.The cast and production team would gather each night after the performances to greet the audience, and – no kidding – we were still standing there talking with audience members an hour and a half later.
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Why?Well, “Is Anybody Listening?” is designed to reach out and engage all of us -- audience members and performers alike – to raise our individual and collective consciousness in the pursuit of healing the world’s ills.
Judging by the long conversations held in the lobby each night after the performances, our audiences were excited, activated and engaged.
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Is Anybody Listening is a concert of social justice for some.It’s a concert of spiritual awareness for others.It’s a wake-up call to action for all us to look at some of Planet Earth’s most pressing issues and to find a higher way to resolve them.
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So that's where 2016 went.
And now here's where we're headed in 2017:
Plans are in motion to mount the show again for an extended run -- dates TBA in late spring and summer 2017.
Webcasts begin this spring.Stay tuned – dates are being finalized, and we’ll let you know when and where to log in – digitally, of course!