Information about Eigg the Musical

It's that time of year again, time to put a bow around your latest work and submit it to the plethora of music theater festivals, camps, universities, etc. for the upcoming season. You never know how your show will line up with the vision of the various committees, but by chance this year I saw a post for the Edinburgh Fringe and after a little research, some back and forth eMails, a few phone calls and a pitch we were in. Our show has a real Scottish flavor to it and it'll be a perfect addition for this year's festival. 

A while back a read an article about a small island in the Hebrides called Eigg and the music just started flowing out, which is always a good sign; anyway, I've been working on it with playwright Mark Sbani for quite some time now and we decided to stand it up for the festival. We've setup a news blog and several social media pages/groups for the show (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) to help people follow along. Pick your favorite one and let us know what you think!

New 2023 Canvas Rebel Interview

Here's a link to a short interview with me and Canvas Rebel Magazine. There has been a lot of activity lately with the Edinburgh festival announcement, but this article is really more about the personal side of music theater projects and offers some of my thoughts for people considering a career path in musical theatre. The interview actually took place last year and is just now getting out there.

2023 Canvas Rebel Interview

I've always found it intriguing to see which parts of these interviews the publisher decides to use. My guess is Canvas Rebel tries to focus on the things that creative people undertake that might inspire others who are working through the same sort of issues and/or circumstances. I think it's nice that they draw attention to the personal side of the creative process and look for things that might help others with their own journey.

360° video stroll in Central Park New York

Here's an immersive 360° video from Central Park in New York City. I entered the park at Columbus Circle and just took a leisurely stroll with my camera on a selfie stick. It was overcast and the quality of the first generation Insta 360 is what it is, but at the end of the day, I think the video provides a pretty good experience of walking through the Central Park on Thanksgiving weekend this year. I exited the park near the Simón Bolívar statue at 6th and 59th street and it started to rain on my way back to the hotel in midtown.

360° Video of Time Square in New York City

Here are a couple of 360° immersive videos from Time Square in New York City. There are plenty of places to take pictures, but they've added several convenient platforms to the northern and southern ends of the area for taking photos and it's easy to get to the highest point and lift your selfie stick high in the air. It was a good day with mild weather and blue skies peeking through here and there too. The atmosphere in Time Square is very international and a good place to capture the diversity and culture in New York.

"WYSIWYG Finale" released

Here's a master track for the "WYSIWYG Finale". It's the last 5 minutes of the show and closes the loop for all the character threading. We even included an upbeat curtain call that rocks. The finale starts with April lamenting Carl's initial reaction to meeting her in the real world. Ron emerges and serenades the audience at the piano with a closing soliloquy. Denise turns to Ron and lets him know that she's willing to work things out with him.

Ron searches for the answer through song and April breaks down and starts to cry when Carl returns to give her some support and advice. He tells her that she is a real as anyone he has ever met and she deserves love, but that she can't go around living her life defined by others, then suggests that they all logout and login to life, she closes her laptop and they all sing together. (What You See Is What You Get).

It's sung by Blake Nawa'a, Carolyn Jordan, Tony Domenick with a cameo from yours truly. (October/2022) Here's a link to download the Sheet Music for the "WYSIWYG Finale" to follow along. Use the icons below to listen to the song on your favorite streaming service. 

SoundCloud

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YouTube

Concept Album for the WYSIWYG Soundtrack Complete

That's a wrap! We've finished the concept album for the WYSIWYG soundtrack (21 songs - 67 minutes). It's been a little over two years now. We completed the first track (August 2020) as the pandemic was hitting full stride and now the soundtrack is complete (November 2022) as the virus slows to a crawl. The project was orchestrated, recorded and mastered remotely with participants from all across the country. Thank you everyone! 🎭

April Alsup · WYSIWYG Show

NOTE: also available on the major streaming sites on 11/11/22

Here's a list of all the people who participated: David Traugh, Blake Nawa'a, Antonio Domenick, Jessie Sotwick, Sienna Stocky, Joe Columbo, Luke Columbo, Joe D. Castro, Jody Haught, Kelsie Bedard, Carolyn Jordan, Anne Jennes, Brandon Bill.

"Mañana" released

Here's a master track of "Mañana". It closes out the prologue and it's a classic music theatre "want" song. It's similar to how Ariel sings "Part of Your World" to express her desire to become human in the beginning of Little Mermaid. WYSIWYG's main character (April) wants to get off the Internet and be accepted as a woman in the real world, She wants to fall in love with a man and take on the same sort of challenges that all women face. It's sung by Blake Nawa'a, Carolyn Jordan and Tony Domenick (October/2022). Here's a link to download the Sheet Music for "Mañana" to follow along.

SoundCloud

Spotify

Apple

Amazon

YouTube