Say “yes”
Photo by Andrew Rein
One could never accuse me of being overly linear about my musical career.
But if I were to have one guiding principle it would be this: When people who do good work ask you to work with them, say “yes.”
That is what I said 5 years ago when Preston Lane asked if I might want to write some songs for a play, that he had not yet written, based on an epic poem I’d never read. The result was Brother Wolf, an Appalachian version of Beowulf.
Since that first “yes” we have written 4 plays-with-music together – Brother Wolf, Beautiful Star, Bloody Blackbeard, and the upcoming world premiere of Providence Gap.
It might seem that writing songs for plays would be confining, but it turns out those constraints of time, place and story end up taking my songwriting to places I would not have gone to otherwise.
And while Preston is a single-minded visionary, he is also a generous collaborator. Triad Stage is a courageous supporter of our new works — it’s almost unheard of in regional theatre. I don’t think North Carolinians realize how fortunate they are to have Triad Stage, but I know how lucky I am.
Laurelyn Dossett and Scott Manring, by Andrew Rein
Speaking of luck, our next play, Providence Gap, is all about luck, chance, providence – and love. It opens June 6th and we are having a blast working on it.
In the meantime Preston and I will head up to Minnesota on February 13 to see Brother Wolf at St. Olaf College; we’ll have a little talk-back with the audience afterward.
If you happen to be in the Minneapolis area, say yes, and come on over.
Tags: andrew rein, Beautiful Star, bloody blackbeard, brother wolf, preston lane, scott manring, st. olaf college, triad stage- 31 Jan 2010
- Category: Theater
- Author: admin
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