Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Hey Now, The Fair's a-Filling

For the last little while I've had my nose to the grindstone, working on the music I'm writing for Ben Jonson's play Bartholmew Fair, which will be running this coming season at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. I love working there - this is the third play I've scored - but it's a ton of work. We start meeting before the previous season is even over, and spend months going through the text alone and with the director, Antoni Cimolino, coming up with ideas for musical themes, styles, and where the cues will happen. Then, I sit down with guitar, keyboard and computer and start procrastinating. Well, it's all come to fruition now. Over the past several weeks, I've been out in Stratford at least once a week working with the cast on the songs (there are three songs built into the text, plus I've written incidental score music to help with scene transitions, and to play underneath other sequences as well), and we go into the studio next week to record all the instrumental score tracks.
I've posted one of the songs, in demo form, on both my Facebook page and on Last.fm, so you can get a taste of what I've been doing lately. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you can make it out sometime this season to see the play, along with some of the other great productions going on this year.

5 comments:

  1. While you were in stratford, did you happen to stop the DQ for a peanut buster????? I thought it was you but the girl I was working didn't think so, so we didn't say anything!!!! Not that we probably would have anyway but just would like to know if it was you!!!!!!
    Thanks

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  2. Hey Steve,

    I just came across your blog, and have enjoyed catching up....I know you hear this all the time, but we met a looooooooonnnggg time ago....in East York! :) I was happy to read that you are doing work in Stratford this summer. My daughter just got accepted into an internship/camp program there this August, and is looking forward to all that she will learn. Now she is also hoping to meet you!! :)

    Good luck Steven, and I hope to read more!

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  3. Umm... I see no Buffalo dates here! Please rectify this as soon as possible!

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  4. Lord. I love the guy who's dancing like a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot in the left side of the screen. Despite the annoying move from OH to NC this summer, my husband and I are going to try and take some time to get up to one of the festivals. Thanks for posting the dates!

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