Marie's a Comedian? Improv, Canada, Pierrot Lunaire

Listen, folks, it has been busy. If you have ever freelanced or if you have ever lived in NYC, you understand.

My improv class ended, we had our class show and so many of my friends came out to support- including a few I hadn’t seen in SOME time. It was delightful to feel the love for this “side art” that I have been busy with. The truth of why I haven’t written so long is only partially the busyness. The other part is that I have been furiously writing other things, namely, a solo comedy show and essays for Juilliard’s DMA applications. That is right, friends, here I publicly state that I am applying to become a Doctor (of musical arts), and I have my sights set on what is probably the most competitive program thereof.  Writing with the intention of being clever has been a new adventure, even though every comedy mentor I have mentioned this to says not to try to be clever. For those of you who read my blog though, you will know that while it may sometimes elicit a small chuckle, rarely does any of my writing land with a cackle. But when I set my mind to the pursuit of humor, I think it is very clearly distinct and sometimes even quite humorous. 

Last I wrote, I mentioned working on three performance projects. Interestingly, several of these have changed or been postponed in lieu of LIFE. I certainly have not been idle. I recently returned from my second trip to Nova Scotia this year, where Mary and I completed a marathon week of rehearsals, performances and a recording, without a day off between them. We always enjoy our time together immensely, both in music making and just the delights of every day. We ambitiously took on major repertoire shifts each day: rehearsing for a song recital, rehearsing Pierrot Lunaire, performing a song recital, rehearsing Pierrot, recording songs and arias, rehearsing Pierrot, and finally performing Pierrot the night before I flew back to the US. Everything was successful- we made great music. I was deeply inspired by the commitment to Pierrot- it was put on by Inner Space Concerts: chamber music performed in homes in Halifax. But this was not just a concert. Between Jack, the artistic director, our flutist and creative visionary who get stuff done, and Jon, our conductor who had clear vision for a multisensory experience of Pierrot, and me, I had just a couple of ideas, and then rest of the incredible ensemble, such great sports, and finally Michael, our host who was down for anything, we produced a Pierrot for the ages. The ensemble was professionally face-painted as commedia dell-arte clowns, while I donned progressive make-up to mirror the shifts in each of the 3 books of songs. Colored beverages were served before each of the books, also to represent the colorful shifts of theme: white wine (moonlight), red wine (blood), and absinthe (homeland). And then we did a really bang up job. I was very proud of the experience we shared. I always consider it an utmost victory when people come in expecting one thing and leave in complete awe, expectations smashed and exceeded. I certainly left inspired. Who will host my next multi-sensory concert experience?

But watch out, too, because Marie’s Comedy may be coming to you! (rhyme intended). I have been writing this solo show that tracks my culture as a Mennonite, as an opera singer, and as a human who experienced deep loss and new life. It will make you cry- hopefully also make you laugh… that part is still in the works, but hey, I think I am pretty clever ;-)

I took so much away from my improv class. The art and the humans involved. Coming from the classical music industry where people take the art and themselves very, very seriously, it was deeply refreshing to take part in an art that is the literal opposite: the less seriously you take it, the more successful it will be. Additionally, I have discovered in the last couple of years how I do not process my emotions in the moment and thus I will very often react in the way that I perceive the people around me would like, rather than how I feel. Thereafter, I process the emotions and sometimes feel a certain amount of guilt for I reacted because it wasn’t true, I just had not processed the emotion yet. This diplomatic manner of reacting can serve me well in the classical music industry, but it can also hinder a certain amount of independent, creative thought. In my personal life, it is a beautiful way to listen to friends and empathize with them, but when it comes to expressing my own thoughts pertaining to relationships, it will often trip me up. In improv, you must think on your feet and process and react to unexpected information immediately. I felt challenged by this in so many good ways and even started to see myself speaking more of my mind in the moment than I usually would. It is a work in progress.

Our class, Improv Level 1 through the Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC), had an excellent teacher who created a safe environment that facilitated a deep, interpersonal team connection. I miss my classmates so much since we had our show and don’t see each other every week anymore. I miss the improv outlet too, so I am hoping to be able to take another class after the holidays, if the timing works out. We had so much fun. I laughed so much, delighting in the hysterical imaginations and successes of my new friends. We ended up performing our class show on the mainstage of the BCC and filled the place with our friends.

I also took a Solo Show Writing Workshop whilst enrolled in this course, at the People’s Improv Theater (PIT), and thus my solo show emerged. Our teacher, intrigued by my unique perspective as an opera singer, offered to direct my show and now I am fully committed to making it happen. Hey, a creative outlet is a creative outlet. It will be very different than anything I have done before, but it is marrying my writing, performative personality and need to create in a fresh way. I also can’t wait to find ways to merge this into the concert production that I do.

Back to Nova Scotia, Mary and I laughed for a week straight at her incredible stories from her position as a staff collaborative pianist at Acadia University, at the silly things we do or say (a certain memory of Marie’s “professional scarf” bled over from my trip this past January, ceaselessly eating apples because they have the same pH as your throat [shout out to Terry Brancaccio and Renay Conlin for that tidbit of singer info!], and more…), three trips to Tim Horton’s for coffee and doughnuts on our drive to Halifax for Pierrot rehearsals (apparently Canadian’s don’t regularly eat Maple dip doughnuts????? Only American tourists like Marie???), and let’s not forget Marie’s concert day frantic memorization of English lyrics (tellmethetruthaboutlove at top speed) whilst chaotically doing sit-ups in the living room because of caffeine and performance adrenaline. Mary is a perfect host: she leaves me to my owns devices, makes fun of my weird and we make beautiful music and eat leftovers together for a week. It works great. And it is always hard to say goodbye. We graciously had one afternoon free and we waltzed around downtown Halifax, but otherwise, we were working our butts off every single day.

I have been teaching, writing and studying ad nauseum. I have been to some wonderful and inspiring concerts that my friends performed, and a few that left me wondering why and how. I went to a pumpkin patch and apple-picking with friends, baked cookies and reconnected with friends over tea and yummy food. I am taking barre and yoga classes. I’m feeling strong and healthy. I laugh a lot. I love a lot.

Look folks, I am full of joy. I am living. Yes, I am busy, stressed and often needing to remind myself to slow down and rest a bit, but I am thriving. Thirty, flirty and thriving.

AND I have a few performances coming up:

Tuesday, Dec. 5th “A Thrill of Hope” Song recital with pianist, Melody Fader in SoHo (NYC)

Saturday, Dec. 9th “A Thrill of Hope” Song recital with pianist, Melody Fader in Lancaster, PA

Please, please, please reach out to me if you would like to attend either fo these performances and I will get you more information. Mary and I also discussed touring together again, so maybe 2024 will see more of our little duo all over the place 🙂

Marie in NYC

PS I finally got to meet my niece Nia Delp, who was born after I left PA in July <3 I had a lovely little visit to  PA before I headed to Nova Scotia. Almost forgot my passport, but DIDN’T.