Interlude - June 30
June 30, 2020
Talent show take-off, instant theater and more
Welcome back to Interlude, a twice-weekly digital package of arts, entertainment and love, curated for you by the Center’s staff.
Show us whatcha got!
The Center’s At Home Talent Show is in full swing! One of the first entries is a stellar performance of “Part of Your World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, submitted by Hannah Bradley. Just graduated from Bethesda Christian Schools in Brownsburg and heading off soon to study theater at Ohio’s Cedarville University, Hannah has been a regular in school and community stage productions, and you’ll see why.
So what’s your talent – music, dancing, comedy, blindfolded chainsaw juggling? Whatever it is, pull out your phone, make a video and share it with us and your fellow Center patrons by uploading at bit.ly/CPATalentShow.
To be included in our compilation, please submit your video (recommended length 2-3 minutes) by July 21.
Watch “Part of Your World” performed by Hannah Bradley.
Usher Spotlight: Sandra Abshire
It’s Tuesday and time for another Usher Spotlight, where we recognize the dedicated members of The National Bank of Indianapolis Usher Corps. More than 300 volunteers devote thousands of hours each year to serve the community through the Center and the Great American Songbook Foundation.
This week’s spotlight falls on volunteer Sandra Abshire, who worked in banking in her native U.K. but picked up a new thread after moving to Indiana. Read more here.
Black artists who changed music history
As African-American Music Appreciation Month draws to a close, it’s clear there aren’t enough days to cover the countless black performers and composers who changed music history with their tremendous cultural contributions and artistry. We look forward to continuing to honor their legacies and amplify their voices. For now, our friends at the Great American Songbook Foundation have highlighted a few of the great artists we haven’t yet mentioned:
“When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice.” Sarah Vaughan was affectionately known as both “Sassy” and “The Divine One,” nicknames that reflect the remarkable variety she brought to her singing. Read or listen to the NPR profile "Sarah Vaughan: Vocal Virtuosity."
"The amazing thing about Nat's voice is that it has this kind of incandescent quality to it," music historian Will Friedwald says. "It's like some kind of magic spell is being cast." As a jazz pianist, Nat King Cole was one of the best, but what defined his groundbreaking success was his voice. Read more about Cole here.
“Jazz isn’t what you do; it’s how you do it.” Fats Waller was a major songwriter, composing such songs as “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and perhaps the first anti-racism protest song, “Black and Blue.” Read more about the life and music of Fats Waller in this Syncopated Times profile.
“We are all here to be a service to those who can’t be a service to themselves. We can give people hope and more reasons for being human.” Dionne Warwick’s celebrated career as a singer, songwriter and television host has spanned five decades. Read or listen to the NPR interview “Dionne Warwick, 50 Years in Music and Still Going Strong."
Insta-theater from stars of stage and screen
Since 1995, a project called The 24 Hour Plays has enlisted groups of writers, composers, actors and other talents to tackle the challenge of creating and performing short stage plays in the span of a single night and day. In a new weekly variation on the theme titled Viral Monologues, writers are developing monologues or two-character scenes for actors to record and submit for online broadcast.
So far, the new initiative has featured a host of Broadway professionals as well as familiar film and TV faces such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Cynthia Nixon and Brett Gelman. A new round of entries is posted every Tuesday from 6 p.m. through midnight on the group’s Instagram feed, where they remain viewable for several days afterward. Check it out tonight!
