Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Debbie Landis-Sigler and Matt Kush of Stagecrafters' 'Frozen'

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Exclusive Interview: Debbie Landis-Sigler and Matt Kush of Stagecrafters' 'Frozen' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Thank you so much, Debbie and Matt, for joining me today to discuss Stagecrafter's production of Frozen.
• 0:04
  How are you two doing?
• 0:05
  Great, good to see everybody.
• 0:07
  good.
• 0:08
  Yeah.
• 0:09
  You two just had uh your opening weekend for the show, which was, got to see it.
• 0:13
  It was fantastic.
• 0:15
  How does it feel, Debbie, to kind of be out of that first hurdle?
• 0:18
  It feels wonderful.
• 0:23
  A lot of work went into this one.
• 0:26
  It was a little tense at the end there with all the technical effects, but it feels great to share it now.
• 0:34
  It's an absolutely huge show.
• 0:36
  know, you kind of got to see that when it was on stage.
• 0:38
  There's so many things going on all the time.
• 0:40
  It is, and when you think about the fact that everything was done by volunteers, mean none of us are professional here, it amazes me.
• 0:49
  um It was a little uh nervous on opening night, but it did come together and very proud of it.
• 0:58
  Matt, how was that opening weekend for you?
• 1:00
  uh The opening weekend was absolutely fantastic.
• 1:05
  Like Debbie said, this was a big undertaking for all of us.
• 1:08
  And we knew that from the beginning and we kind of really set the bar for ourselves, not just because of the magnitude of the production, but also because we knew that we were
• 1:18
  going to be the first ones in Southeast Michigan to do this production, the full Broadway production of Frozen.
• 1:25
  So we set the bar really high for ourselves.
• 1:29
  Um, and so, um, like Debbie said, with all the technical things, with the immense amount of music, uh, one of the largest orchestras from a music standpoint.
• 1:40
  So one of the largest orchestras that we've ever had, um, just a really, you know, it's, it's taking something that's very cinematic and bringing it to stage was a huge
• 1:51
  undertaking, but, it couldn't have gone any better.
• 1:55
  I think, uh, this, this, this.
• 1:58
  this weekend from all parties involved.
• 2:01
  Real quick too, you just came off of a run for the Prince of Egypt, which was another big show.
• 2:05
  You did two big shows back to back here.
• 2:08
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment.
• 2:12
  m Actually, I just love this whole idea of like animated things brought to the stage.
• 2:19
  um I love challenges.
• 2:21
  I was so excited when Debbie reached out.
• 2:24
  Debbie and I had never worked together on this and Debbie reached out.
• 2:28
  She took a leap of faith by partnering with me and we really...
• 2:33
  we set out to make something big.
• 2:35
  But yeah, I definitely love this sort of thing.
• 2:39
  I love the music, I love the orchestration, I love how cinematic it is.
• 2:45
  So I'm all about it.
• 2:49
  Debbie, what was it about Matt that you were like, has to be the musical director for the show?
• 2:54
  Well, we hadn't, like Matt said, we hadn't worked together before, but his reputation preceded him.
• 3:00
  um Very dedicated, knows what needs to be done, um treats the cast very well.
• 3:07
  Just um an all around good guy to have on the staff.
• 3:12
  And everybody was right.
• 3:13
  It was great working with him.
• 3:15
  Very dedicated to detail.
• 3:17
  I will never uh say the words, the letters K and Q again without thinking about him because how important it is to
• 3:24
  for the pronunciation and the songs, but it was great.
• 3:27
  It worked out beautifully.
• 3:30
  You know, Matt had mentioned the cinematic feel of this.
• 3:33
  And Debbie, you really are bringing uh an animated classic.
• 3:37
  You know, it's a classic at this point for Disney to the stage.
• 3:40
  What was that like for you?
• 3:42
  um Well, the fact that our original season didn't contain Frozen, we were awarded the rights and placed it in the season.
• 3:51
  And of course I would have loved to have a little more time to pay attention to it, but I think it was...
• 3:59
  It was a challenge for everyone involved and the amount of dedication, the amount of desire to take this show and bring it live.
• 4:06
  um A lot of the littles that come see it have never seen it live.
• 4:11
  They've only seen the movies and their response over the weekend was, it's kind of the reward for bringing it here and it just worked out beautifully.
• 4:21
  There was a lot of little kids around me.
• 4:23
  And granted, this is a show geared towards family, but they were all, and not only were they dressed up, but they were, every song that they knew they were singing along with, it
• 4:30
  was such a cool environment to be a part of, to see that.
• 4:34
  I I deal a lot with feelings when I direct and I have been rewarded a thousand times over because the feel of the show and the emotions that the audience is experiencing, it's just
• 4:46
  phenomenal.
• 4:59
  Yeah, you know, like I said, we really set the bar high for ourselves.
• 5:04
  We knew the magnitude of the show.
• 5:06
  We knew it would be, from a vocal standpoint, we knew it would be very challenging.
• 5:10
  both for our lead actors and actresses, as well as a big ensemble show.
• 5:16
  This is a big, big ensemble show with lots of harmony, lots of really hard music to learn.
• 5:23
  And so I knew that mentality going in.
• 5:27
  I didn't necessarily like map out how I was gonna do rehearsals.
• 5:31
  um I just kind of took a look at what I knew would be.
• 5:35
  some of the more challenging numbers and tried to put a lot of energy into those.
• 5:40
  it's, it's funny because you end up spending a lot of time on some small details that you hope that they pay off in the end.
• 5:48
  And you just hope that like, well, I got to make sure I have time to get through everything.
• 5:52
  Um, I think about our first rehearsal and in my head, I'm like, you know, we'll, we'll at least get through act one on the first rehearsal of going through the main ensemble
• 6:03
  numbers and
• 6:05
  We got through the first song and that was kind of like, that was my own like, okay, this is actually even more challenging than I think I had in my head.
• 6:16
  um I knew it was gonna be allotting.
• 6:19
  You just kind of make sure you carve out the time and do everything you can to reinforce it with your cast between rehearsals as well.
• 6:29
  When you mentioned that, like, cause this is a huge show, there's so many people up on stage, there's some really big numbers.
• 6:34
  Does that make it more difficult to like really nail down the songs when there's a lot more people on the stage and there's different harmonies and stuff going on?
• 6:41
  Ah, you know, yes and no, because uh from a vocal standpoint, voices are like colors in the rainbow, and the more voices you have, the more colors you can fill in on that
• 6:53
  rainbow, and so you get a fuller sound.
• 6:56
  But it's also, makes it more challenging to really kind of be detail-oriented and notice all the small things, you know, if somebody's not necessarily...
• 7:07
  singing the right notes, there's not a 100 % guarantee that I'm gonna hear that because it might get kind of swallowed up in the grand mix, but that's also a good thing as well.
• 7:18
  And as Debbie said, there's always, there's not enough time, you know, ever to really feel like you can nail every part down.
• 7:25
  So Debbie, what is your approach to directing?
• 7:27
  So obviously you said you got the script kind of late.
• 7:30
  It wasn't originally on the season.
• 7:31
  So what was it that you felt like really needed to be nailed down for this production?
• 7:36
  I think, like again, I do a lot with how things feel and what we, we were looking for people who wanted to do the same thing, to get that emotion, to get all the, the, the
• 7:47
  goosebumps and the hair standing on the back of your neck.
• 7:50
  You need dedicated people who are in it as much as, you are.
• 7:55
  I do have to send out a, a,
• 7:58
  a yay to Maria Murray, was our choreographer.
• 8:01
  There are so much movement in this show and one scene just kind of melts into the next.
• 8:08
  we've worked together a couple of times and it's like she's in my head.
• 8:12
  I can't dance, but she knows what I want on the stage.
• 8:15
  And between her and Matt, it just kind of melted all together.
• 8:19
  But it's visual.
• 8:22
  Disney is very visual.
• 8:24
  You have to make sure that you've got all the lights and the special effects.
• 8:28
  The costumes are very important.
• 8:30
  It's just kind of driving the bus and having all these great, talented people sitting behind you just supporting you to get this ah show like this up.
• 8:42
  It's very interesting too, like you said, about the costumes and stuff like that and the effects because people really do expect to see those things on stage.
• 8:50
  And not only did you guys nail the costumes, like those were spot on, instantaneously you knew exactly who each character was, especially at a young age.
• 8:58
  um That was really cool to see them kind of enjoy that approach to uh seeing Frozen on stage there.
• 9:05
  Yeah, so many people responsible for the show being a success.
• 9:10
  It's amazing when you think about it.
• 9:12
  And again, they're all volunteers.
• 9:15
  They're doing this due to their dedication, their love for the show, wanting to participate.
• 9:21
  It's just amazing.
• 9:23
  I mean, that just shows you how passionate, you know, not only just stage crafters, but the community theater scene is that they're working diligently to bring this to life.
• 9:34
  It sounds like you have a very collaborative approach to that.
• 9:36
  It sounds like everybody has their pieces.
• 9:37
  You have the vision kind of what you want in your head when everybody else kind of takes and runs with it.
• 9:41
  That's right, it's very important to surround yourself when you're doing something like this with good, dedicated people.
• 9:46
  And I think I did it this time because it was a great collaboration and a lot of people, a lot of hours.
• 9:53
  uh
• 9:55
  So Matt, actually think, I'm gonna give a shout out to Adam Gray real quick because he was talking to me after the show and he was mentioning, he's like, when you do this interview,
• 10:02
  you should probably mention the fact that there's a lot of choral parts to this and that Matt works with, you know, being a choral director as well.
• 10:09
  So how do you feel like your approach to maybe highlighting the choral tones throughout the show may be different than your day job or just um is, it helps to highlight some of
• 10:18
  that, that you have the experience?
• 10:20
  I truly loved that component of this show and it really helped me to kind of like dig in more as a choral, I have an extensive choral background and I loved, there's one piece in
• 10:36
  particular, it's called Queen Anointed.
• 10:41
  It's this really traditional.
• 10:44
  coral style and blending and it's almost like acapella and it's just so beautiful and I love that.
• 10:50
  But then I also love, um you get this very like, there's this Scandinavian sound where it's very forward and nasally too that we really get to delve into.
• 11:02
  And it's great to kind of work with the cast on the contrast between those two sounds.
• 11:07
  And as a coral guy, I just totally like geeked out.
• 11:11
  um at the chance to share that because typically music theater has its own like unique uh vocal style.
• 11:20
  You know, I mean, to the point of where people will say, oh, sing it more in a musical theater style, which is typically brighter.
• 11:29
  And so we get to really kind of span the gamut of like choral sound and different colors of that sound.
• 11:36
  And so.
• 11:37
  I love the chants and that's where I really got to dig into as Debbie said, like even the consonant sounds as I was listening to the soundtrack, it really stood out to me how
• 11:49
  important more so than most shows, like how important that was and how that added to the richness of the sound or again, that like Scandinavian like forward sound as well that we
• 12:02
  hear from like the hidden folk and that sort of thing.
• 12:06
  You know, wouldn't necessarily, like an outsider, I've never done any acting or any singing, but like from an outsider, you don't always think about those things when you
• 12:13
  hear the show kind of like frozen.
• 12:15
  But like there's so many layers to how they're approaching the music that makes it so unique for this show.
• 12:20
  So you also, we both talked, we all talked about the cast.
• 12:23
  You have a credible, incredible cast.
• 12:25
  Debbie, what is it like working with them?
• 12:27
  Because you, I mean, you guys cast a very great group of people who really embody these characters.
• 12:34
  Um, well, it's awesome.
• 12:36
  Of course, we had over 100 people audition.
• 12:40
  The choices were definitely correct, but it wasn't easy.
• 12:44
  We had a lot of beautiful talent come to the audition.
• 12:47
  But to, I am amazed.
• 12:50
  I've been amazed since I've been doing community theater.
• 12:52
  There's a lot of people that participate in community theater that if they had chosen to, or their lives had gone in a different path, they could have been professional.
• 13:01
  And I feel that way about this cast and uh to have them
• 13:06
  be allowed to express their creativity on a community theater level is it's just amazing.
• 13:14
  um
• 13:16
  Sometimes I sit in awe and go, wow, listen to that voice.
• 13:21
  It just feels like it comes out so naturally.
• 13:24
  They're all very dedicated to the characters and to the show, which of course just makes it even more phenomenal.
• 13:29
  But it was a joy working with them.
• 13:32
  We've had a lot of fun, an awful lot of rehearsals, a lot of hours spent, and it's all worth it.
• 13:37
  And I hope that for the next three weekends, they are reaping the rewards of all their hard work, because they certainly deserve it.
• 13:45
  They do, I mean, it is, are all, they all have a moment to shine, but they all are just super, super talented.
• 13:51
  You know, they would hit a note and you're just like, that's not a note that you would, you know, normally, not that you don't hear that from community theater, but like it is
• 13:57
  very, very talented people.
• 13:58
  You know I mean?
• 14:00
  Mm-hmm.
• 14:01
  So what is a favorite number, Debbie, that you have from the show?
• 14:05
  Like, there's so many.
• 14:06
  There's some that are from the original movie.
• 14:07
  There's some that are exclusive to kind of the Broadway show.
• 14:10
  But which one stands out to you?
• 14:12
  favorites are dangerous.
• 14:13
  um Of course, to be able to present Let It Go live with all the effects and Zoe's beautiful, beautiful rendition.
• 14:23
  I'm not sure if I have a favorite.
• 14:28
  I really don't.
• 14:29
  mean, even...
• 14:30
  um
• 14:33
  Like the entrance, what I really like is like when they all come into the ballroom, that feels very Disney to me.
• 14:38
  And there's that downbeat of music.
• 14:40
  It's like, I'm here.
• 14:41
  I'm at Disney World.
• 14:43
  I'm in the movie.
• 14:44
  um I really don't have a favorite.
• 14:47
  I just love all the music and so appreciative of those that are presenting it.
• 14:54
  How about you, Matt?
• 14:54
  Is there a specific number that is your favorite or that you just enjoy directing every time?
• 14:59
  gosh, there are so many.
• 15:02
  I just trying to think.
• 15:04
  I'd already mentioned that beautiful choral style that we get to do at the beginning of the show, Queen Anointed.
• 15:10
  But one of my favorites is the finale.
• 15:14
  And this is another very Disney-esque moment in the show.
• 15:20
  From just how the color, you get these like twinkly sounds from the orchestra as things thaw out.
• 15:30
  But then you get this beautiful reprise of Let It Go.
• 15:33
  But you get the ensemble and you get the full sound and you get the orchestra.
• 15:38
  behind that and some of the lyrics are just so gorgeous.
• 15:43
  I was sharing this with the cast on opening night, but the line that speaks to me the most and it says about what we do is they sing, let's fill this world with light and love.
• 15:54
  And that is 100 % the reason why we do what we do, right?
• 16:00
  And to sing it and when they sing it every night.
• 16:03
  I get choked up, I get goosebumps from the first time that they sang it to, know, to matinee's I know it's gonna happen every single time.
• 16:14
  I just think that's such a beautiful line and such a beautiful part in the show, because it just brings it all together.
• 16:20
  um And it's everybody coming together, which is what this show, what this process was.
• 16:27
  I mean, absolutely.
• 16:28
  And it speaks to truly the message behind, you know, Frozen of just that love kind of conquers all, you know, and that you, that love is what's going to unfreeze everything.
• 16:37
  So it's cool that you get, that's a, that is a really poignant moment.
• 16:41
  And I think that a lot of people felt that in the audience as well.
• 16:43
  uh Has there been challenges though, Matt, to music directing this show?
• 16:49
  um Just, I mean, from a music standpoint, I think the, just the large scale nature, the amount of harmony, you know, again, I think we knew the pressure that is on us because I
• 17:01
  think you're about to see this show happen in the community a lot over the next couple of years.
• 17:07
  um And throughout, even throughout more of this season, I know there's already other groups that are going to be doing it.
• 17:14
  And so knowing that was a challenge.
• 17:15
  um From an orchestra,
• 17:18
  standpoint, I mean, we put 18 people in the orchestra pit and the more musicians you add, the more complicated you make things down there too.
• 17:28
  so just, again, I just think the magnitude from a music standpoint is a challenge, but I love challenges and um I'm sure Debbie's going to speak to some of the other challenges
• 17:40
  from a technical standpoint, which I think was probably the stressful point, but
• 17:47
  high risk, high rewards.
• 17:49
  Debbie, what has been some challenges in your respective field of directing here?
• 17:54
  Because like said, there's a lot of moving parts for Frozen.
• 17:57
  There is, and like you had said earlier, when you bring an audience in to see a show like Frozen, they are expecting Frozen with all the bells and whistles and...
• 18:10
  I had a great team of tech people.
• 18:12
  um I told them I wanted everything they could possibly give me.
• 18:18
  um And they did a really great job doing that.
• 18:23
  Our theater here, um backstage is a little bit limited.
• 18:27
  This theater was built as a vaudeville theater where everything was performed down center.
• 18:32
  So we don't have a lot of um side space.
• 18:35
  The stage isn't very deep.
• 18:38
  And I am amazed at what they were able
• 18:40
  to do.
• 18:40
  was, you know, special effects, lights, the set, um sound effects.
• 18:46
  It just all came together.
• 18:48
  And I think sometimes that's the part of this frustration for me that I keep saying that, but I want the public to know, you know, as best as they can what went into this effort by
• 19:01
  a large group of people who, like myself, are just volunteers and are just very passionate about this.
• 19:07
  um So I think for
• 19:10
  what we have here and that we are going to succeed and bring Frozen to the audience.
• 19:17
  They're getting what they expected and that's what you do when you do a Disney show.
• 19:22
  That kind of answers my next question, so I'm gonna throw it to you Matt.
• 19:24
  It's just kind of what are you hoping audiences take away from this production?
• 19:27
  Because as Debbie said, she wants them to take away that magic and all the hard work that it is, and you guys are doing such a great job in the hard work.
• 19:34
  ah But what are you hoping they take away from it?
• 19:37
  You know, I hope that people just take away the magic that it is.
• 19:41
  um I think that's a very important part of this.
• 19:43
  We're putting a message out there.
• 19:45
  It's not, I don't want people to see this as community theater.
• 19:48
  I don't want people to compare this to whatever they're going to see next.
• 19:52
  I really just want people to just take it all in and be immersed by what we're doing and leave just very fulfilled and like feeling that light and that love, right?
• 20:05
  Like that's, you know, that's to me the most important thing that we are doing.
• 20:10
  And I hope that people leave with that feeling, with that smile and just like, wow, like this was everything that I had hoped it would be.
• 20:17
  beautiful answer.
• 20:18
  Thank you so much Debbie and Matt for being here.
• 20:20
  I'm so excited uh for people to see this show.
• 20:23
  Again, it's fantastic production.
• 20:25
  You guys have done a great job.
• 20:26
  So thank you for being here and talking with me.
• 20:28
  Thank you.
• 20:30
  Thank you.
• 20:31
  So Stagecrafters Frozen runs until November 23rd, so get your tickets now from their website and we'll see you at the show.