“Being awake is more than just the
opposite of sleeping. You have to be awake and open to experience all the wonder, pain, possibilities, pricks,
scratches, bumps, bruises and also joy.
and they would translate it from mono-language to a bi-lingual (English and American Sign Language) play. The Adaptation Theatre in North Hollywood has woofers under every seat so the audience can feel the base in their butts and physically experience the show. On the GrooveLily soundtrack for Sleeping Beauty Wakes an immediate standout that I loved was the sassy and jazzy song “Trouble.” I love that song too! It’s been cut. The score is really, re-
”
ally different from that album; I think we kept about five of the original songs. Let me think, “Uninvited,” “Drifting,” “The Wheel Goes Round,” “You Make Me Feel Awake” and “I Dare Say I’m in Love.” We recorded that album to preserve the show at that time, to have a record of some of our favorite songs before we made cuts. So musically this is almost a completely new show compared to what you started with Deaf West Theatre. In what other ways has the show evolved? It’s interesting, with our first play, Striking 12, you can
When she puts it on, it’s a signal that it’s time for a break and a date. Great idea! So you’ve got this show, throw in four or five GrooveLily concerts this year and a 5-year-old son, you two stay really busy. As a creative artist you have to keep treading water or else you’ll drown. I’ve got a bunch of irons going in the fire at once. You never know which one might spark someone’s interest. So, this show was certainly a spark—it was first commissioned by Deaf West. How much did the idea of playing to a deaf audience or including deaf cast members impact your sound/ instrument choices for the musical score? When Deaf West asked us to write the show, they specifically asked us not to think about that aspect, but instead to write the best musical we possibly could
look at the original half-page sketchy outline for the show and still see it is the same show. The songs have gotten better. Sleeping Beauty Wakes has changed so much that even the outline is not similar. Now, in a more traditional way, the band is off the stage in the pit and actors take center stage singing and acting. So how do you like being off the stage, watching your show?
SLEEPING BEAUTY —PRICKED BY A SPINDLE In the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty an evil fairy puts a spell on our beauty as an infant. If her finger is pricked by a spindle, she will fall into a deep sleep and not awaken. Her parents and the three good fairies do everything in their power to keep her safely hidden from the world and away from spindles. Brendan Milburn notes that in this modern retelling, “Sleeping Beauty intentionally seeks the spindle, hoping that if she falls to sleep the clock will stop ticking and she’ll prevent an event from happening.” So perhaps the bigger question is what happens when she wakes?
I feel like a million dollars, there is no better feeling
than standing at the back of the house, seeing the audience; people leaning forward in their seats, people with their heads nodding…that magical moment when everything clicks. Musical theatre provides something other forms of entertainment doesn’t—the feedback loop between the actors and the audience that makes a play come alive. I am addicted to that electricity.
SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES Runs July 19 - August 21 at La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre. For tickets and more information call 858.550.1010 or go to
lajollaplayhouse.org - Join us for OUT AND ABOUT on July 28
THE JONATHON LARSON GRANT AWARD Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda are two-time winners of the Jonathon Larson Grant Award. Larson wrote the acclaimed show RENT and the award is given annually by his family in his memory. The award comes with funding and is intended, as Milburn put it, “for a starving artist on the brink of greatness.” Their award plaque acknowledges their “vision, talent and dedication to a career in performing arts.” Learn more at ameri-
cantheatrewing.org/larsongrants
JULY 2011 | RAGE monthly 19
Bryce Ryness as “Orderly” and Aspen Vincent as “Beauty” in SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES
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