Recording Live

This is starting to feel like the most massive undertaking I could have ever forced upon myself. Some things are set, some things are up in the air, somethings have yet to start. I feel as if everything is going according to plan, and yet there is a giant fear lodged deep in my subconcious that says this whole thing isn't going to happen. Well I'm going to make it happen bitches!

I've told some people, but the truth of the matter is that I'm recording "Reporting Live" this upcoming November/December. I'm having the recording done at Dubway Studios with a cast of 16 singers and (get this) an orchestra of approximately two dozen musicians.

How, you might ask?

I have no idea.

But it's going to happen. I've already recruited 95% of the cast and they are good to go. Dubway is giving me an astronomically low rate for their INCREDIBLE studio space that they JUST built in the Financial District. As for the orchestra, I have about 10 musicians set in stone. But the important instruments (like the enormous violin section) is still proving to be extremely troublesome. I'm emailing musicians every day, posting advertisements and listings all over the internet and Manhattan. Getting musicians is always troublesome when you're not paying them.

Still, the overwhelming support I'm getting from some musicians is incredible. It's just a shame that a lot of them play guitar.

My friend Zach Brown is orchestrating the entire show. Considering it's a musical with about 23 songs, and over 200 pages of piano sheet music, it's no small task. But he's doing an incredible job.

In case you don't know the show, here's the summary that I've been using so far:

Christine Chubbuck was a real-life television journalist from the early 1970’s. She was smart, attractive, young, and passionate about her work. However, in 1974, Christine made history by creating one of the most disturbing broadcasts ever seen on television. “Reporting Live” tells the astonishing true story of Christine while at the same time following Christine on a fictional journey in a land we have yet to discover. After she passes away, Christine wakes up in a desert with barely any sign of other people. However, she comes across an odd and lonely man who says he can help her. The two embark on an epic quest in a strange world for one reason: to find a way out.

I directed a full production at NYU last Spring and it was an incredible experience. I had brilliant actors, amazing designers, an incredible stage manager, musical director, and producer. And despite it's length, the show turned out to be pretty decent. Oh screw it. I was damn proud of the show. I know it needs work, but for what it was, I was incredibly proud.

So what now? Now I need to send the script/score to theater companies, producers, festivals, etc... But the most important component to all this work is the CD I send that has all of the music in the show. Most of the time, composers will send crappy records of people singing to a keyboard using GarageBand. But I don't want that. I want the real thing. I want people to listen to the CD and have the strongest sense of what this show can be.

I've heard some people tell me that a recording this massive is unnecessary. Does that bother me? Not at all. But a recording this massive is what I want. And it sure as hell can't hurt the show. This show, at least to me, feels epic. It goes back and forth in life and death, jumps around time, tells the biographical story of a real individual, and explores a fantastical world with rules that bend nature as we know it. And no, it's not 20 minutes long. I want producers to hear the REAL sound of the show, and for everyone to understand that this is in fact, a show to produce.

I'm really proud of this show. Other things I've worked on... not so much. But "Reporting Live" means a whole lot to me. Thus tons and tons and tons and tons of work is in store for this recording. It's going to happen. I'm making it happen. And with such incredible people helping me on this, it HAS to happen. And I can't wait.

Let's do this.