Marie is in Evanston

Dear friends, family and supporters,

At long last, I come to you again, and once again from a new home. I have officially moved to Evanston, IL and started my Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University. I was thinking about writing an update before classes started, but as I am sure you can imagine, there’s never a dull moment in the life of Marie!

I will start this update though with a recap of my wonderful final months in NYC, the summer and some of the things buzzing around in my head.

Second City

Earlier this year, I had second thoughts about leaving Brooklyn, leaving New York and going back to school, and not because of cold feet, but because I had found one one the most inspiring artist spaces of my life and some of the coolest, silliest friends, a group of people with whom I felt a shared humanity and never wanted to let go of. I found these people at the Second City Training Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In January of this year, I started the Improv level 1 class at the brand New Second City in NYC and for the next 6 months, I was part of a cohort of brilliant, fun artists and our friendships grew even as our group did with each subsequent level of improv we entered (I did levels 1-3 from January to June). I loved laughing with and at and being laughed at by these people. We shared something really special and we were intentional about sticking together, continuing to work together and laugh together. So much so that the thought of staying in NYC and continuing to freelance and teach as I had been doing in order to stick with this group definitely crossed my mind. 15 years of classical music training, but my soul was drawn to the theater, the comedy stage.

This means something. Though I thought I had clear ideas about which I wanted to focus my doctoral study and research (songs, history, language, culture, etc..), this deep love of laughter and improvisation has helped me reconsider and I have been feeling more and more drawn to studying the intersection of improv comedy and opera. The two (arguably) came from the same root: Italian theatre, commedia dell’arte. So how can the two reunite centuries later. Of course, there are brilliant improv musical groups, and I hope to study with them while I am here in Chicagoland, the home of American Improv Comedy. Anyway, I could go on about that, and I will, I am sure in my research, but for now I will try to stay on track with this update.

All of that to say, I miss my improv friends and I am so grateful for those special relationships and for the ways that many of them will continue over our lives.

Marble

The Marble Choir at Marble Collegiate Church has been my church-job home since 2018, when I started singing there under the direction of the wonderful Ken Dake. I have made so many amazing life-friends from this group, including, but not limited to, my New Jersey Mom, Joan and my singing sister Tesia. And I have had a few friends join the choir and getting to work together really added a lot to and deepened our friendships, such as my two lovely soprano darlings Yvette and Sydney. So many other friends and special connections in that group, including with our new music director, Michael Hey, who is a real Mensch and deeply talented musician. Michael gave me a lot of artistic space to work at Marble this year and I got to sing to that congregation from my musical heart languages: hymns and improvisation. I am so grateful for the love and support I have felt from the Marble family and for the space they gave me as part of their Sunday worship.

All Angels

On the topic of church, All Angels Church on the Upper West Side has been one of the greatest gifts of my NYC life, even though I was only there for a year. I visited with a friend in August 2023 and knew immediately that it was what I had been looking for for years. I was offered support and love and never once asked to sing at church. I got involved in a house church and started to really get to know people. I got to practice in the sanctuary on Tuesdays, which in NYC is a huge deal. I led singing at the women’s retreat alongside fellow classical musician, Hsing-ay, who was in my house church. I was loved there. It was both a church full of New York in every way: quirky, diverse, philosophical, open; and countercultural to New York in every way: gracious, generous, trusting, loving, kind…My final Sunday there, there was a special blessing of departure for me and the prayers of my house church made me feel so surrounded by love and support, whether brunette or blonde ;-)

I should mention for those of you who do not know, I had my hair dyed blonde at the end of May! It is the first time that I have ever not had brown hair and I love it for this season of my life. Many have asked why blonde?  And the answer is very deep and philosophical, like every decision I make: because when I was probably 10 years old, I heard Tyra Banks say, on America’s Next Top Model, “Every woman should go blonde at least once in her life.” That’s right folks: I had been sitting on that for 20 years of my life. Look, I am good for my word. I may not get something done right away, but it will get done. And this moment was the moment. Going back to school and not into a “professional” environment, I had the space for my hair to look terrible! But it doesn’t, and I am enjoying the adventure right now of being blonde.

Japan

In March, my oldest sister, Anna, had a baby! Haruyoshi Jesse Ito. He is a cute little guy. I was adamant about family going to help and support her in the early months, and thankfully stepmomala Kendra was able to go right after Haru was born. I wanted to stay for a longer period, so I went in July for three whole weeks. It was weird to be gone from NYC for that long when I was going to be leaving so soon, but lemons and lemonade. So I took my lemons and studied Japanese for about 10 weeks before my trip, brought my mini keyboard and taught my students from a Karaoke studio, lived my best matcha life and helped Anna with a lot of cooking, laundry and dishes. We had a few little adventures, lots of laughter and visits with Kosuke’s family, and I even sang at family friends’ Mark and Stephanie’s international church in Kobe! That was a fun and special experience. It was very meaningful to be able to spend all that time there and to support Anna through a tough stage of motherhood: the three-month slump. I may be making that up, but it makes sense. After three months of giving every ounce of your energy to your child, the honeymoon phase is over and this little noise-machine hasn’t become any less dependent. The smiles have begun though. And this auntie discovered some tricks that worked well with little Haru- the bounceroo and sing. Folks, if you need improv experience, babies are a great outlet for that energy: songs, stories, conversations in whatever languages you speak; the baby doesn’t know if you mess up!

Anna and I subsequently flew back to the US together (with baby Haru in tow) and spent two days in NYC enjoying some fun food and culture before heading to PA for a big ol’ family gathering.

Final Month NYC/Friends

My final month/weeks in NYC was beautiful. Believe it or not, I made some new friends and was like, “Dangit! I want to talk to these people more!” and I felt hugely celebrated by long time friends. There were several goodbye parties where I was thoroughly in denial and just enjoying a party with my buds in Central Park, or Kevin’s apartment. Good-byes are weird for me because I live so much in the moment and in the future. I don’t think about how I will miss the present, or too much about the past. But now, a month out, I am missing my NYC friends. Missing cocktail nights and deep life discussions, improvising on the Spiderman breakup-scene bridge, hosting dinners and serving a new New York Times Cooking recipe, walks and talks in Central Park, trying a hip new spot and beaming love onto the friend you are with, talking philosophy over port, parfaits or Happy Hour at your beautiful past voice teacher’s favorite cafe. And portmanteaus at Willy’s, the name of which was changed for privacy reasons. Those reasons being my 31-year-old memory. Now as I think back on those weeks, I can’t believe so much love could even fit into such a short period of time. I love you all. And I want to type all of your names, but I will inevitably miss someone who and I don’t want anyone to feel overlooked!!!!

Move

I left New York for New Jersey for a week, where I stayed at Joan's Spa, a mythological part of Jersey where no bad things can happen. And then it was time to really say good-bye and I drove to PA, where Dad and Kendra met me. We loaded up a Uhaul (my stuff had been in storage there over the summer after my lease ended in Brooklyn at the end of May- don’t worry about it, it all worked out) with the help of my 10-year-old nephew Yonah. My sister Grace’s kids are amazing, I just have to say. She’s a friggin great mom.

Dad, Kendra and I drove the U Haul and the Toyota Yaris (a trade with my stepbro Ethan, who now has Merlot, the merlot-colored family Honda Civic with nearly 300,000 miles of 100% love and 0% air conditioning) across PA, OH, IN and into IL. The three of us unloaded and moved my stuff up to my 3rd floor apartment- including the pull-out couch- with NO INJURIES. Pause for applause. Thank you. There was a close call with my shins, but thankfully my mother insisted on a lot of milk as a child (because osteoporosis runs in the family) and these bones are indestructible. Dad and Kendra are champions. And we are truly Mennonites for having done all of that.

They stayed another day and we enjoyed Lou Malnati’s pizza and walking out to the lake. I am so grateful to have support this way.

Beginning

Orientation was not the WILDCAT WELCOME we had as freshman, where you meet all your new friends and do lots of fun things! It was information meetings and filling out I-9 forms. It was practicing for my upcoming performance in VA in October and teaching lessons with the best dang view I have ever had from a  practice room. It was discovering that my favorite part of the library will be being renovated all year. It was knocking some nails into the walls and hanging artwork- the truest sign that there is no turning back from this living situation. It was attending the Mennonite church a 5-minute walk from your apartment and discovering that it is everything you want in a church. It was registering for classes and getting scared out if your mind by the syllabus of one of them, contemplating whether or not you should stick with it while registering for a different class in case things don’t work out, and ultimately deciding that you will be happier if you suffer and committing to the hard class.

Classes started this past week. My head is reeling. I know I am in the right place at the right time doing the right thing, without a doubt. I feel at once supported, challenged, encouraged, respected, overwhelmed and excited. I am at the same time taking a research class for musicology PhDs and basic Italian (but the intensive course!). I am learning a whole new technique with my voice teacher (Steve!) and mentoring undergraduates in his studio. I am getting to know the library again and carrying a lot of heavy stuff back and forth from home and school each day. This is going to be a good era.

Thoughts of what to call this blog now? Marillinois is kind of high on my list at the moment, but I am open to suggestions! MarieMA (like DMA)? Universimarie? Maricago? Please send help.

All my love,

Marie