At the tail-end of my music degree, back in 2022, I had the idea of writing a hand full of songs and placing them in a narrative context ("it's called Musical Theatre, honey").
My initial project was conceived as a 3-4 song, 20-30 minute one woman show, but I quickly realised that I would need more than three or four songs to do justice to the relational theme that I had chosen to explore: 'Personal Agency in Toxic Relationships'.
After I had written a bunch of songs, my songwriting tutor at the Conservatorium of Music, Mia Palencia (who is an amazing musician and wonderful human being) connected me with Hobart-based Musical Director Andrew Morrisby.
Rehearsing and workshopping these songs with Andrew (pictured above) was an eye-opening experience: in musical theatre the song is the actor's script, the entire performance is driven by emotional truth, and the musical accompaniment is completely in service of that truth.
This approach was so honouring of my songwriting, that my step into musical theatre has felt like musically coming home, walking into a creative space where my (theatrical, dramatic and heartfelt) artistry fits naturally.
Since completing my degree, a year and half ago now, I have continued to work on this project, writing a total of nine songs. Andrew's support in workshopping and recording these songs with me has been legendary.
The photos above were taken earlier this month (April 2024), when we had a (demo) recording session, to capture the four songs that we hadn't tracked yet.
I'm so excited about this project and how its shaping my songwriting and my artistry in general. I'll keep you posted on developments. In the mean time, here's more on the Show itself, which is titled ‘I Do(n’t)'.
Renaté