Ryan Performs in Places: Little Voice

If I wanted to, I could stand and breathe in the sunny air, letting it fill my lungs with the cool ripple of the sheer water's surface. I could open my body to the space and sing so loud it would fill the whole bay with notes and words and soul so it would fill the whole bay all the way to the mountains in the distance and reverberate to the heavens. But for now I'm a tiny voice sitting on the rocks, waiting for an opportunity.

Peace out!

Ryan Performs in Places: Hairspray

I was in a flash mob this weekend to promote Lyric Theatre's Hairspray which opens next weekend on November 10th. I am in the show, and the cast and crew is super talented. This is going to be an awesome production especially since we've been rehearsing since August.

Here's a promotional video done by local Vermont newspaper Seven Days:



Hope you can make it to the show! See you there.

Peace out!

Halloween Playlist

This year I am totally into the Halloween season. This October seems so incredibly creepy especially with the rainstorms and constant black clouds we've had in the sky. I've been smelling pumpkin spice and drinking hot apple cider for the past month, and I can't wait to unveil my Halloween costume this weekend. I've made this awesome Halloween playlist this year to get me even more into the mood. Enjoy:

"Helter Skelter" from Across the Universe
"Spoooky Mormon Hell Dream" from The Book of Mormon
"Bloody Mary" by Lady Gaga
"Cannibal" by Ke$ha
"The Woman's Dead" from Curtains the Musical
"Slipping" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
"Monster" by Lady Gaga
The whole soundtrack from Rocky Horror Picture Show
"Thriller/Heads Will Roll" from Glee
"Battlefield" from Cirque du Soleil's Ka
"Be Prepared" from The Lion King
"Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)" from Little Shop of Horrors
"Run Like, Um...Hell?" from Lost
"Monsters Are Such Interesting People" from Lost
"El Tango de Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge
"I'm Alive" from Next to Normal
The whole soundtrack from The Phantom of the Opera
"Rude Boy" by Rihanna
"The Dark I Know Well" from Spring Awakening
The whole soundtrack from Sweeney Todd
"E.T." by Katy Perry
"Thriller" by Michael Jackson
The whole soundtrack from Wicked
"Disturbia" by Rihanna

Hope you have a rocking start to your Halloween. Be spooky, be kooky, and have fun!

Peace out!

Ryan Performs in Places: Music Hall

"Out There" from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Alan Menken

A freewrite I wrote yesterday for my Creative Writing class:

The concept of “art” means something different to everyone. It’s the emotion of something that brings art to life. When you create something that has an emotional impact on somebody or something, that’s art. It can be anything: dance, music, theatre, painting, sculpting, it could even be something as simple as a good dinner. Or for some art can be a sports game or a nice day. It is a moment, a simple, clear, and beautiful moment that sparks a heavy emotion. To me, life itself can be a high form of art. It’s God’s art in a way, because it (of course) sparks heavy emotion in all of us. But then again, what if art didn’t mean that to someone else? would that change the very concept and illusion of what art was. What if that painting wasn’t art? What if that chicken dish isn’t as beautiful as a Rembrandt or as thrilling as a hockey game? Then that would make art perceptive. Art would have to based on the individual’s perception on the world. That concept in itself is a thing of beauty, and therefore art. Here we find a cycle, just as precise and complex as the water cycle, but entirely based on the spectrum of human emotion and spirit. Yes, I mentioned spirit. For where does art exist if not the very soul of human beings? Where can art come from? Sure, there has to be some sort of logical, scientific explanation for where art comes from, some random synapse in the brain that triggers an emotional impact or the urge to create, to make, to do, to perform, to sing, to dance, etc. But what if…what if we just took a moment to ponder the wonderfully amazing idea that art can exist elsewhere. It can reside in a glorious tomb, womb, some word of like that…of the soul. Inside of the individual, there is a well of emotion that comes pouring forth from us, and that is where art takes hold. That is where art can capture the imagination. We see it in small children…how their imaginations can create friends and whole worlds. I remember as I child I could imagine that my whole backyard was an enchanted forest, and here I was an explorer of that forest, transcending the mundane of reality and delving into the fantastical. What is wrong with that? why can’t art explore itself in the reaches of humanity that scientists fear to tread? That is how art becomes us. It is the very meat of humanity. It is the very breath of humanity. One of my favorite theatre troupes is the Bread and Puppet theatre residing in Glover, Vermont. Their motto is “Art is Cheap” and that it is the very food for the soul. And why not? If it is made from the soul and produced in the very orifices of the human race, then why should we not take as much in as we can, like food to a starving homeless person. It is vital. It is life force. It is beautiful, wonderful energy. That feeling you get when you hear an amazing soprano belt the high note, when you stare at a painting and see the vibrant and ever so slight brush strokes, when you taste a delectable meal and sigh with contentment.

Peace out!

Autotune

These "Auto tune the News" songs from Youtube honestly get me through anything. I just play them and I can't help but laugh and sing along. The bad thing about them is, they are a really hardcore procrastination tool. Writing a paper: sit down, turn on computer, gather notes, check Facebook, check email, check Twitter, open Microsoft Word, sit there thinking, type my name, type the title, type the date and the class, sit there some more, open Youtube, decide on which one to play next, and play. That's how it goes every time, and then eventually I can make my way back to the paper, but this time I will be more refreshed and vibrant. Who knows? Maybe a little bright and a little more vivid. Then I run and tell that homeboy and back it up and then I start my paper. It works. Try it some time.







Oh jeez, I just found another one in my Youtube wanderings:



Hooray for more options when I procrastinate! I think auto tuning (for those of you who don't necessarily know what auto tuning is, click here) in some cases can be a really cool way to change a song or make a different kind of pitch/noise. Being a singer, I'm really against auto tuning whole tracks or songs, just to make the singer sound better. It totally makes benign all vocal training. It's cheating. If you have training and you have worked your voice so you can produce pitches and sing melodically, then you shouldn't need it. That's why I love Lady Gaga so much. And by the way, there are all these rumors out there that all the singers on Glee are auto tuned. I refuse to believe that. They are all trained singers. And yes, sometimes when the sound mixers are mixing songs they add some auto tune to add a different sound or style. That's the point: when used to create a different sound, auto tuning is cool. It is still considered an art form because sound mixing itself is an art form. Why should auto tuning be cast out? It's when it undermines the integrity of a song that auto tuning goes too far. There's food for thought today. I'm off to class, work (Toys tickets go on sale today), and then more class (Dramatic Analysis midterm today, wish me luck!).

Peace out!

Lazy Weekend

Good morning! I just woke up from a very lazy weekend. It's been a pretty lazy, yet relaxing (and occasionally busy) weekend. Friday I spent my afternoon searching the Bailey-Howe Library here at UVM for a book of eight plays-one of which I have to read for my acting class-and failing. I couldn't find the book at all. I checked the call number five different times using the computer on the third floor. It just wasn't where it should be. Or so I thought. I gave up, and decided I would find the damn book some other time this weekend.

That night, Megan and I went to Burlington Bands 101 at Nectar's sponsored by our favorite local Btown newspaper, Seven Days. It was basically a showcase of local, homegrown bands in the area.

It was pretty fun. Some of the musicians were really good. (Like the keyboardist in the first band. He was absolutely amazing.) The music was fun, except when the music turned country and got twangy. Not my favorite. But it was still nice to be able to get out and go do something. And we got swag bags of free stuff!

Saturday was a very nice, lethargic day. We slept in until around two o'clock and then just sat around besides going downtown for a little while. Oh, and we started watching season two of Heroes (we're kind of behind on the times, okay?). I did get quite a lot of homework done that night, though, which is always a good thing. Except that the Internet was kind of fail. Ashley, Megan, and I went for a walk to the waterfront and sat on a bench and stared out at the water, and we just talked. There's something incredibly meditative about the waterfront. Really awesome. Anyway, yesterday was a little busier. I joined one of the UPlayers officers at the Student Government Association's club workshop because none of the officers could go and I volunteered. Yep, I am that stupid. Anyway, after the boring lecture I went back to the library to find the book in question.

There's something extremely delightful and fun about searching library stacks for books. Most of the books in this library are really old, and everything has that musty smell. It's incredibly quiet, and usually no one else is around in the stacks but you. It makes me feel like one of the Hardy Boys are Sherlock Holmes. One of those guys. For some reason, it's one of those things that makes me really happy. I finally found the book, I had the call number and the shelf location wrong. But the hunt was fun.

After the UPlayers meeting, Megan came up to UVM to watch this film with me that I had to watch for Dramatic Analysis. It was this old production of Shakespeare's King Lear, only it was done in the Japanese style of Noh, Kabuki, Bakukari doll theater, whatever. It was awful. It was pretty fun to laugh and make fun of the weird poses everyone was in and the intense overacting that was going on. On a factual level, I completely understand the style. I don't understand what the point of it is in theater. Like, why does everyone have to scream everything? What does that do? And, I still don't understand Shakespeare. I know, I'm a theater major and I don't like Shakespeare. Whoa. I just have a hard time connecting to the characters emotionally. Their stories have no bearing on me whatsoever. I just don't care. Make me care, Shakespeare, MAKE ME CARE! That's what I'd tell Shakespeare if he was still alive. Oh well...

All in all, a pretty good weekend. Hope you had a good weekend too.

Peace out!

Top 10

It's almost time. College is approaching super fast (two more days to be exact), and my packing is all done. On Wednesday, Megan and I took a trip to Plymouth, NH and went to the Walmart Supercenter to finish college shopping and getting some last minute items. We also visited Eden at her new job at Cicero's Cafe in downtown Plymouth. We had an amazing time trekking around town and getting the complete tour of campus. We also went to PHOP (Plymouth House of Pizza) to get some awesome buffalo chicken calzone. It was great to see Eden's place and be able to reference back to something Eden tells us. It was a fantastic visit. Thanks Eden for an amazing time!

So in the spirit of fun and the intensity of move-in day approaching, I want to post something that I've been saving for a rainy day to post. (I guess this works, it's been raining for the past four days.) Here are my top 5 top 10 favorite things, enjoy!

Top 10 Favorite Songs:
1. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
2. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
3. Glitter in the Air - P!nk
4. Life and Death - from Lost Michael Giacchino
5. Electricity - from Billy Elliot Elton John
6. Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson
7. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
8. Poker Face - Lady Gaga (both versions)
9. Single Ladies - Beyonce
10. Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News

Top 10 Favorite Movies:
1. Shout It Out (duh)
2. Mrs. Doubtfire
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Sister Act
5. Finding Nemo
6. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
7. Back to the Future
8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
9. Forrest Gump
10. Singin' In The Rain
(I just have to add to this list The Wizard of Oz, Donnie Darko, Pan's Labyrinth, Some Like It Hot, The Lion King, Thelma and Louise, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Pirates of the Caribbean. I love movies.)

Top 10 Favorite Cities:
1. New York, NY
2. Burlington, VT
3. New Orleans, LA
4. San Antonio, TX
5. Orlando, FL (who doesn't)
6. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Venice, FL (not really a CITY, but still awesome)
9. Montpelier, VT
10. Woods Hole, MA (once again, not really a CITY...)

Top 10 Favorite Broadway Shows:
1. Rent
2. Billy Elliot
3. The Lion King
4. Avenue Q
5. My Fair Lady
6. Little Shop of Horrors
7. Curtains
8. Wicked
9. Sweeney Todd
10. Godspell

Top 10 Favorite Books:
1. Catcher in the Rye
2. To Kill A Mockingbird
3. Harry Potter (all of them...duh)
4. War of the Worlds
5. Eragon
6. Hatchet
7. The Bible
8. The Great Gatsby
9. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
10. The Tempest

Anyway I just thought it would be fun to list everything. The next post will be from move in day so get ready to start this year's college adventures!

Peace out!

Quartet

"The Clean Shaves," "The Sick Pups," and "Plaid:" all possible names for this quartet I have started singing with this summer. Last night we had another rehearsal which went fabulously so we began planning our first gig which will hopefully be open mic night at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury on July 9th. At least, that's what we're planning. The only things we need are more rehearsals, and a name.

I'm really happy I joined this group. And while our repertoire is entirely barbershop, we're having an awesome time. It's also a great way to keep my voice up during the summer, and in fantastic shape for the musical which begins rehearsing soon. (On another note, I've been promoted in the play apparently and given a bigger part. Not that I didn't love the part I had before, but now I get my own solo song, which you can imagine makes me VERY excited.)

Another wicked awesome plus to this group is its director: Mrs. Fields. Mrs. Fields was, and still remains, the strictest teacher I've ever had. She was the director and teacher of the Select Choral Ensemble at Lyndon Institute when Megan and I were both members. Both of us were in Select Ensemble from our Sophomore through our Senior years. We did so much with that group. So many trips, concerts, rehearsals, recordings, and fun/hard times. And Mrs. Fields was there the whole way. She pushed us extremely hard to be the best and to challenge ourselves to create a team that could succeed at anything we put our minds to. She taught me how to be a performer and a leader, and I am forever grateful for everything she has given me. And though there were moments when Megan and I thought Mrs. Fields was absolutely insane, and times when we were pushed to our absolute breaking point, I think we can both look back now and see how things would never have been the same without her. You can imagine my excitement and joy as last night Mrs. Fields, her husband Ross (who is the tenor in the quartet), and I rocked out to Glee's Don't Stop Believin' over Pete's (in case you've forgotten, my dad's car) stereo system. We harmonized together! I'm so happy to be working with her again, and this quartet really is going to be awesome.

We just need a name...any ideas?

Peace out!