Have you ever felt the powerful embrace of a song, tugging at the very threads of your personal values and life experiences? That's the journey songstress Jenny Lynn Stewart invites us to embark on as she shares her year of triumphs and transitions at the Tarrytown Theater. With her, we traverse the landscapes of identity, creativity, and the pulsing heart of New York's artistic scene, all the while discovering the sustaining force of setting boundaries to prevent burnout and embracing change.
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Have you ever felt the powerful embrace of a song, tugging at the very threads of your personal values and life experiences? That's the journey songstress Jenny Lynn Stewart invites us to embark on as she shares her year of triumphs and transitions at the Tarrytown Theater. With her, we traverse the landscapes of identity, creativity, and the pulsing heart of New York's artistic scene, all the while discovering the sustaining force of setting boundaries to prevent burnout and embracing change.
Picture the scene: a crowded New York subway platform transformed into a makeshift stage, where hidden gems of performers offer unexpected lessons in professionalism and passion. We unravel these moments with Jenny, exploring how music from the Golden Age continues to strike a universal chord, and how performers like her keep the legacy of cultural icons like Irving Berlin alive. This episode is a tapestry of stories that remind us of music's enduring power to connect across generations and cultures.
Finally, we contemplate the broader horizon where music and cross-cultural understanding entwine. Jenny's insights from her sing-along events showcase the arts as a bridge between diverse communities, while her personal anecdotes illuminate how music can shape our moods and character. This episode is a symphony of ideas that celebrate the shared human experience, inviting listeners to reflect on their own authenticity and the values that resonate within their lives. Join us for an exchange that honors the transformative power of art and the enduring quest for self-discovery.
Jenny Lynn Stewart | website | Instagram | YouTube
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Transacting Value Podcast (21:13) | website | Wreaths Across America Radio
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All rights reserved. 2021
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Transacting Value, where we talk about practical applications for personal values when dealing with each other and even within ourselves.
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Where we foster a podcast listening experience that lets you hear the power of a value system for managing burnout, establishing boundaries and finding belonging.
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My name is Josh Porthouse, I'm your host and we are your people.
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This is why values still hold value.
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This is Transacting Value.
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I could rip myself apart if there was a mistake made in that production.
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It's a live performance.
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And then I realized wait, I've got the next performance.
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If I'm dwelling on what just happened, I will be present for the next performance, and so I have to let it go.
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Today on Transacting Value, we've got a pretty special treat.
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The lady who's coming back to have this conversation with me today actually was on the show a year ago and for anybody who's been alive at least the last few years understands a lot can happen in a year and, as a matter of fact, in her case she took on hosting, at the Terrytown Theater in New York, a sing-along musical to the sound of music.
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She's done productions in the past all over the world for the sound of music actually his Mother A bbess and, if you heard our previous conversation, she also grew up to parents that fought in World War II and everything that had to come with that kind of a transition.
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So if you're in the mood for trying to figure out creative outlets, how to process with different transitions, identity crises, finding resonance in different characters, finding entertainment in different outlets, I'm telling you this is the conversation you don't want to miss.
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Now, her name is Jenny Lynn Stewart.
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She's the heart-stirring songstress, Manhattan Diva.
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You can find her all over the internet and, without further ado, let's get to her conversation.
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I'm Porter, I'm your host, and this is Transacting Value.
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Jenny, what's going on?
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How are you doing?
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I'm doing great.
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I'm so happy, porter, that you have asked me to be on Transacting Value Podcast again.
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I had such a great time last time and I expect the same now.
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Oh, absolutely Absolutely.
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Our hospitality, as far as digital real estate's concerned, is totally above par.
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So I'm glad you came back, I'm glad you took some time out of your weekend and at the time of this recording, where are we at Mid-May?
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You know what?
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Let's start here.
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What's going on in your life.
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Take a couple minutes, give us an update what's going on and even for maybe our new listeners, who you are, where you're from, you know what sort of things have shaped your perspective.
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Oh, that's a very loaded question.
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Well, I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan, and that's where I grew up.
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I graduated from University of Michigan in voice performance and before that I have a degree from Michigan State University in television and radio.
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Singing is my passion, it just is.
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I love to sing, I love to entertain people Because, selfishly, I get a lot of wonderful feedback from that.
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And how am I today?
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Well, I can tell you that the sun is shining here today.
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We've had a gloomy day yesterday and it's going to be gloomy tonight and tomorrow, but I love it when the sun shines.
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Yeah, I bet, cause you're.
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You're obviously in Manhattan, right?
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Yes, okay, so I've only been there maybe twice.
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I went to, and this was maybe 20 years ago now, but I went to Ellis Island, which was pretty sweet.
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I found some family members and records there, which was cool, and I learned that the tattoo I got of their last name is spelled wrong.
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Yeah, so it was an informative trip, but also we had a great time in the subway.
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That was probably one of my favorite points.
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We were there for a week.
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I went to the Met that was cool Wandered around, got pizza and some touristy things, and Ellis Island, which was pretty sweet, but we were in the subway and the performers that were down there were awesome.
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I mean, like, don't get me wrong, you can go to coffee shops, you can go to pubs, you can hear live music, but it's just not the same.
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I don't know if it's the acoustics or the New York water or the bagels in their diet, but something.
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It was a totally different experience.
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People were actually supporting people.
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You know what I mean and I don't want that to sound like obviously, people support people.
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Porter, what are you talking about?
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Like, these are people that are peddling, for an income in some cases and busking right.
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Yeah, yeah, right, yeah and playing in the subway and live music and songs, mostly their own compositions, some remakes and making, I'm assuming, by New York standards not a decent living, but they continue doing it.
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Well, some of those people they have I wouldn't really call it a competition.
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You have to apply to do that.
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If you saw, some of them probably had the banners that said music under music under New York or not music underground, something like that.
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Yeah, and they display it.
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So they have gone through a process of selection and the people who make those decisions think about what's going to go over the best in the subway system.
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I've met by actually, I met a violinist underground and we did a couple of gigs together.
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So I mean, I just never know.
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Yes, they're all really good.
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People really support them.
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Yeah, I thought this was just an informal thing.
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Like you know, homeless people find an accordion and go play in the subway.
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Is this like a professional?
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There might be some people that do that, but it is organized.
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Yeah, wow, no, I had no idea.
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Well, yeah, sure, sure.
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I think if it were any more formal it would lose its appeal.
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Exactly, yeah, exactly, well, okay, so now saying that, well, we're talking appeal.
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So, for anybody who's new to the show, jenny was on, I think, maybe just over a year ago, last summer, maybe, or or 2022.
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I'm not sure.
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Off the top of my head, it was March, it was March March of 23, 23, yeah, yeah ,M arch of 23, so just over a year ago.
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Uh, we talked about the enduring value of Broadway and, all things considered, because that's obviously your preference right now Broadway, and geographically where you're closest.
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But there's a lot of depth and, like we just talked about community in performing, right, but as a creative outlet, not everybody is comfortable performing.
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So what's the appeal?
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Because obviously the being a performer is not the commonality.
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I think it's knowing inside, because I certainly dealt with nerves over the years.
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And, yeah, you know it's knowing inside because I certainly dealt with nerves over the years.
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And, yeah, you know it's knowing inside.
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You really do have something to offer to people and it doesn't happen overnight, because we do deal with a lot of rejection Absolutely, and you have to have almost like a thick skin, which I had to develop, because at one point you know, when somebody tells you you don't like you, you're like one point you know, when somebody tells you we don't like you, you're like, oh, you know.
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And then you have, yeah, you have to realize, well, that's just their opinion.
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There's somebody else here down the road that doesn't feel that way.
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They just haven't heard you yet, that's it you know, okay, all right, but what about?
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maybe sometimes singing is not your strong suit or painting is actually not your strong?
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You know what I mean.
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Like your mother may think you have the voice of an angel, but ratings may say different.
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You know, like, where's the, where's the threshold and tolerance for the reality check?
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Like when do you just oh?
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I kind of believe, personally, it's the feedback that you get, that you receive.
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I mean, if it's constant, constant, constant negative and you're not and no one's really encouraging you besides your mother, well then maybe you need to, you know, look around a little bit more and see if there's something more that you really excel at.
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That would really make you, make you happy you know, well, okay, but that's overwhelming in itself, because that could be anything at that point, or really that could be anything at any point, or really that could be anything at any point.
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You know I don't disagree with you.
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Yeah, that's absolutely true.
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So you said your parents were in World War II, like both of them were in the military.
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OK, my father was in the army and my mom was in the Navy.
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How did they meet?
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She was a medic.
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No, she worked in the hospitals Vesta Hospital, yeah.
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And then I know she was out in california as well and she was a Pharmacist Mate, I think was her position.
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Okay, parents had to sign for her to, you know, get in the navy, because she actually was too young.
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Oh, my grandfather yeah oh, yeah, yeah.
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So they met actually because my mother came to Detroit for a job at one of the pharmaceutical companies and she rented a room at my Aunt Marion's house.
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Yeah.
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And that's where she met my dad.
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They didn't actually meet like in a war zone during the war, they met after.
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They met after.
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Yes, okay, yes, all right.
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And so by the time you were born, were either of them still active in the military?
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No, they were not.
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You know, I've heard, and I'm sure a lot of our listeners now can attest as well.
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In fact, Jenny, in case you were unaware, the last time we spoke we were broadcasting exclusively as a podcast.
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Now we're on Wreaths Across America radio, we're in Firewatch magazine and we've got local events now here down around Tampa Bay, since I've gotten off my active contract from the Marine Corps, where we're actually physically present as well.
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And so there's a lot of listeners we have, as it's turned out, that have military backgrounds or who have families that were in the military, similar to your experience, you know, some, more recent, I guess, than World War II, but not all for sure.
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And so one thing that I think is interesting I didn't grow up with parents in the military.
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My grandparents were, but by the time I came around, they were, you know, long out of it.
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I came around, they were, you know, long out of it, and so I didn't really have any exposure to a military environment, I guess, unless I was getting rushed around by mom or, you know, told to make my bed or something.
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But when you were growing up, I'm sure, without a doubt and without ever having met either of your parents, that they had plenty of baggage they brought with them into that relationship, just as individuals from a war zone or from any indirect influence into a war zone, but especially a world war.
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What was that?
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Like you remember any of that or did you notice any of that?
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Oh yeah, I remember a lot of it because there was there was a lot of turmoil and I thought about it afterwards.
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And also my, my uncle I think, if you listen to that one speech I gave, this is back in 2020.
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He was a prisoner of war in, uh, Germany and, yes, some one of my uncles was in the Pacific.
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They were, they were all everybody was overseas and, um, yeah, there was a lot of turmoil because I think they had a real problem adjusting, uh, and particularly my dad with alcohol and my uncle, because of the memories I mean, they said a lot of horrible things.
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They, they really did.
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So there was a certain amount of alcohol abuse which was not good.
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Right.
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And you know, and I think you, when as a child I mean you watch all this going around you and I just I think that's how I got into music.
00:10:59.469 --> 00:11:00.051
What?
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do you mean?
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Well, because there was so much turmoil and arguing and all this stuff with them, I just kind of went into my own little room and started singing.
00:11:06.991 --> 00:11:09.688
You know, that was my escape more or less, you know.
00:11:09.688 --> 00:11:10.251
Yeah.
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I'm putting that in very, very general terms.
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But you know, I started singing in the first grade in choirs at school.
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So I was six years old when I became aware that I had a voice.
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All right, folks sit tight, We'll be right back on Transacting Value.
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00:12:27.926 --> 00:12:31.772
So I was six years old when I became aware that I had a voice.
00:12:31.772 --> 00:12:34.736
Wow, so Six, isn't that wild?
00:12:34.736 --> 00:12:36.078
Yeah, yeah.
00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:43.899
Yeah, I think at six I realized that I should probably start wearing slip-ons if I wanted to keep up with the rest of the class.
00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:49.556
That's the extent of my growth, I think at that point that's crazy.
00:12:49.556 --> 00:12:57.332
Okay, and so you had this innate talent to sing, found you had a passion have I ever told you this that?
00:12:57.572 --> 00:13:04.714
um, so in D detroit the houses where we lived at one point were really close together and right next door.
00:13:04.714 --> 00:13:11.443
Uh, his name was Billy, I don't know his last name or anything, but his bedroom and my bedroom were kind of next to each other.
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I don't know, maybe it was three feet.
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Whatever it is that they separate houses and I don't know.
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I started singing to him one night and he had a troubled childhood, I could hear his parents were not very nice to him and then he'd always want me to sing to him at night.
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It was really weird.
00:13:27.385 --> 00:13:33.591
But that also was like oh, this little boy is enjoying that I'm singing at six.
00:13:33.591 --> 00:13:36.653
So that made a lasting impression on me.
00:13:37.315 --> 00:13:43.418
Interesting, and then somehow, fortuitously, you end up taking the Sound of Music worldwide.
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That's what ultimately happened, but that certainly was not in.
00:13:47.048 --> 00:13:49.254
You know, I never really thought about that.
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I was going to do that.
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Really.
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Yeah, I didn't ever, never really thought about that until I loved the Sound of Music when I first saw it.
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And when I was a little girl my mother took me to see the King and I the movie and I was really taken with that and I just always loved singing and I was always very, very shy, very, very shy and that's why my first degree is in television and radio.
00:14:11.731 --> 00:14:22.035
I was taking voice lessons at Detroit Conservatory of Music and my teacher said you know, you really need to major in music, you need to go to a school like Juilliard where people are going to pay attention to you.
00:14:22.035 --> 00:14:24.592
And I'm like, oh no, no, I can't do that, I'm too shy.
00:14:24.592 --> 00:14:37.120
And I remember she knew I was telling the truth because she had this little recital and I put put up there and say, Hey, Look Me Over you're familiar with that song, Hey Look Me Over, I'm not.
00:14:37.140 --> 00:14:37.422
No, she told me.
00:14:37.422 --> 00:14:37.682
She almost.
00:14:37.682 --> 00:14:39.648
Yeah, she said I almost fell off my chair.
00:14:39.648 --> 00:14:46.529
Here you are, this really shy person and you get up there and sing hey, look me over, lend me an ear.
00:14:46.529 --> 00:14:51.605
So I guess I was always struggling for that, you know, for that to come out.
00:14:51.605 --> 00:15:01.900
So I had my degree in television and radio and I was working in radio and in music mostly music, although I did have my own little radio show, interview show, but I would call that not significant.
00:15:01.900 --> 00:15:05.232
I just could not walk away from music.
00:15:05.232 --> 00:15:10.149
I just couldn't and I just loved it too much and I started studying again.
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I just loved it too much and I started studying again and my teacher again said you know, it's not that often that somebody comes along to have something that I really think you need to go back and study music and do this and get into this professionally.
00:15:22.465 --> 00:15:24.773
And so that is what I did.
00:15:24.773 --> 00:15:28.908
That's when I auditioned for the University of Michigan for the voice performance.
00:15:29.529 --> 00:15:30.091
How long ago.
00:15:30.091 --> 00:15:31.495
I guess.
00:15:31.495 --> 00:15:34.370
How old were you when all that happened, when you finally decided I'm?
00:15:34.389 --> 00:15:34.892
going to do this.
00:15:34.892 --> 00:15:36.630
That's one thing I don't share with people.
00:15:36.630 --> 00:15:38.751
In my age I was older.
00:15:40.184 --> 00:15:42.692
I just mean when you started, not necessarily now.
00:15:42.692 --> 00:15:46.192
Well, okay, let me ask you this how long ago from now, how about that?
00:15:46.705 --> 00:15:50.354
I graduated in 1981 from University of Michigan in voice performance.
00:15:50.975 --> 00:15:54.192
Okay, all right, so this was late 70s when you discovered this.
00:15:54.192 --> 00:15:57.666
I'm committing to this yeah, okay, definitely Okay.
00:15:57.666 --> 00:15:59.652
And since then, see question.
00:15:59.672 --> 00:16:00.716
you Don't tell your age.
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It's supposed to be a big secret.
00:16:02.892 --> 00:16:03.533
No, I get it.
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I get it.
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Everybody wants to be mysterious.
00:16:05.508 --> 00:16:06.349
You know that's cool.
00:16:07.210 --> 00:16:07.691
Yeah, when I.
00:16:07.691 --> 00:16:10.937
But when I'm 90, I'll tell people, but I'm not anywhere near 90.
00:16:11.356 --> 00:16:31.125
Yeah well, I mean, could you imagine, though, you're holding these performances for audiences and eliciting all this emotion from people and you're like yeah, well also, by the way, I have finally discovered a secret, maybe that the audience is still learning something from a 90-year-old?
00:16:31.125 --> 00:16:33.750
I do still have value and things to contribute.
00:16:33.750 --> 00:16:39.352
There's so many people now that look at the world and they're like well, like you brought up earlier, I don't know what I have to offer.
00:16:39.352 --> 00:16:43.110
I don't know what you know whatever, what my strengths are or who I am.
00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:44.333
Okay, here's the point.
00:16:45.235 --> 00:16:59.673
I, just like I said, I got off my active duty contract a couple of months ago, and so I'm in the Marine Corps Reserves now, and one of the biggest things that I had to wrestle with and I didn't think I would, I thought I had adjusted and prepared fairly well, but I was wrong was well, now what?
00:16:59.673 --> 00:17:00.796
Who am I?
00:17:00.796 --> 00:17:01.817
How do I see the world?
00:17:01.817 --> 00:17:06.596
Because in the infantry, for example, you can't take that to Walmart.
00:17:06.596 --> 00:17:09.047
That gets you arrested, you know, unless you're the cop.
00:17:09.047 --> 00:17:21.015
You can't take that to public outings and events unless you're the security team, or you work for the NRA, or you teach, you know whatever weapons marksmanship skills or something, or you join a private contracting company.
00:17:21.015 --> 00:17:21.965
I guess that's an option too.
00:17:21.965 --> 00:17:34.946
But you know, to reintegrate into society to the point where you're not solely or exclusively even standing on your, let's say, infantry skills, that's tough, and so I had to try to figure out.
00:17:35.750 --> 00:17:36.711
Well, who am I now?
00:17:36.711 --> 00:17:47.086
And I think, to be able to stand there to your point at 90 years old and say, look, I've, I've gone through multiple life transitions and I do still have something to offer.
00:17:47.086 --> 00:17:49.750
And if you don't believe me, why are you crying right now?
00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:58.874
You know like to be able to pull that kind of emotion out of people, and it's not overnight, it's a gradual process.
00:17:58.874 --> 00:18:05.637
So why do you choose to primarily focus on music from, let's say, the 40s and 50s?
00:18:05.637 --> 00:18:07.250
Why is that your go-to?
00:18:08.306 --> 00:18:09.811
Because they're my target audience.
00:18:09.811 --> 00:18:12.818
The 40s and 50s and 60s are B baby B boomers.
00:18:12.818 --> 00:18:15.529
I mean, look, maybe not the 40s and 50s, but they're.
00:18:15.529 --> 00:18:19.928
You know their families, their parents were, and so they were exposed to that music.
00:18:19.928 --> 00:18:27.833
I personally love it and I but I've met a lot of people that really love it, and so that's that's actually why, and I love a lot of the songs.
00:18:27.833 --> 00:18:33.847
I love the composers who are no longer with us I irving Berlin, R richard R rogers, C cole P porter, just to name a couple.
00:18:33.847 --> 00:18:35.471
I could go on and on about that.
00:18:35.471 --> 00:18:40.855
I bet you could, and a lot of this music's so romantic, and I really love that too, do you?
00:18:40.914 --> 00:18:59.089
think this is something I I talked with a lady about recently, in the last few weeks that what we do as adults subconsciously, unwittingly or, you know, wittingly, is largely rooted in what we subconsciously identify with as kids.
00:18:59.089 --> 00:19:00.372
Oh, absolutely.
00:19:00.372 --> 00:19:16.634
Do you think you getting into the romanticism of the era and of the music, or maybe even more specifically or more generally, just the music, because that's what your parents grew up with, that's what they knew, that's what you heard, and then you're singing it.
00:19:16.634 --> 00:19:17.737
Are you singing to them?
00:19:18.487 --> 00:19:21.313
no, uh, I don't think I'm singing to them.
00:19:21.313 --> 00:19:22.615
I mean, you talk about me personally.
00:19:22.615 --> 00:19:23.605
Am I singing to my parents?
00:19:23.605 --> 00:19:24.248
Is that what you mean?
00:19:24.248 --> 00:19:24.568
Yeah?
00:19:24.608 --> 00:19:30.349
like when you sing to your audiences or when you or why you favor that genre and the the age of music.
00:19:30.349 --> 00:19:35.278
Is it a connection for you to then and bringing peace to those memories?
00:19:35.278 --> 00:19:36.105
Maybe your?
00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:39.036
connection to them because I see their reaction.
00:19:39.036 --> 00:19:43.804
They really enjoy it and they talk to me afterwards.
00:19:43.804 --> 00:19:48.935
On the 60s on Broadway show I did most recently in January and a person came up to me.
00:19:48.935 --> 00:19:49.817
I sung People.
00:19:49.817 --> 00:19:53.497
That was the last song I sang like as an encore guy for me.
00:19:53.497 --> 00:19:56.707
With that song, B barbara Streisand really made that some Funny.
00:19:56.707 --> 00:19:58.913
Yeah, it's a beautiful song.
00:19:58.913 --> 00:20:02.070
People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.
00:20:02.070 --> 00:20:16.709
And she came up to me afterwards and she had all tears in her, in her eyes, and she said you have no idea the gift you just gave to me well you know, my husband passed away a year or so ago and it just brought back so many memories of my husband and just thank you so much.
00:20:16.709 --> 00:20:18.394
Wow, I just don't know.
00:20:18.394 --> 00:20:21.892
A couple of weeks ago, I did A Bushel and a Peck.
00:20:21.892 --> 00:20:22.854
Have you ever heard that song?
00:20:22.854 --> 00:20:23.997
That's from Guys .
00:20:23.997 --> 00:20:27.249
Yeah, yeah, and I do that, and they do a sing-along.
00:20:27.249 --> 00:20:28.631
That's from the 40s and 50s show.
00:20:28.631 --> 00:20:40.777
Woman came up to me afterwards because I had talked about that particular song and she said you know, I used to sing that to my grandchildren.
00:20:40.777 --> 00:20:42.643
I said, yeah, I know that's, a lot of people did.
00:20:42.643 --> 00:20:43.365
And she said they heard it on.
00:20:43.365 --> 00:20:45.511
There was a state farm insurance, I think in 2017.
00:20:45.511 --> 00:20:46.955
And I think that's where they heard it.
00:20:46.955 --> 00:20:48.652
They kind of resurrected that song.
00:20:48.652 --> 00:20:58.153
They came to her and they said well, wait, you wrote that song, grandma, you know.
00:20:58.153 --> 00:21:04.073
So it does bring back a lot of memories and stories for my audience and I am a baby boomer and a lot of them are baby boomers or older.
00:21:04.073 --> 00:21:04.615
Yeah.
00:21:05.026 --> 00:21:07.012
And I get a lot of great feedback from that.
00:21:07.012 --> 00:21:11.672
I know that I'm giving them something that they want to hear and that's why they're coming to the shows.
00:21:13.306 --> 00:21:15.755
Alrighty, folks, sit tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value.
00:21:15.755 --> 00:21:24.872
Join us for Transacting Value, where we discuss practical applications of personal values, every Monday at 9am on our website, transactingvaluepodcast.
00:21:24.872 --> 00:21:26.717
com.
00:21:26.717 --> 00:21:29.790
Wednesdays at 5pm and Sundays at noon on wreathsacrossamerica.
00:21:29.790 --> 00:21:32.817
org / radio.
00:21:34.967 --> 00:21:36.413
I get a lot of great feedback from that.
00:21:36.413 --> 00:21:41.071
I know that I'm giving them something that they want to hear and that's why they're coming to the shows.
00:21:41.805 --> 00:22:00.781
And so, with the amount of resonance that you're creating with these audiences and the amount of I don't know, I think of songs, especially that aren't in a movie soundtrack, just songs in and of themselves, where, whoever you are as the listener, whatever point you're in in your life, you are the main character of that song.
00:22:00.781 --> 00:22:03.994
If it speaks to you, then it's your song for that point in time.
00:22:03.994 --> 00:22:07.209
Right, that's right.
00:22:07.209 --> 00:22:14.310
You've sung and performed, and obviously in the sound of music is Mother Abbess as well, all these roles that you've had.
00:22:14.310 --> 00:22:24.140
How do you create that type of meaning and depth, potentially for eight billion people in the world, without ever having met most of them?
00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:29.497
You know, I mean, that's a lot of weight on your shoulders to be able to evoke that kind of emotion and connection and depth.
00:22:29.497 --> 00:22:31.069
How is that even possible?
00:22:31.069 --> 00:22:31.952
How do you prep for that?
00:22:31.952 --> 00:22:32.506
How do you do that?
00:22:32.506 --> 00:22:32.546
I?
00:22:33.188 --> 00:22:35.654
I being authentic myself what do you mean?
00:22:35.654 --> 00:22:40.788
That I'm seeing my raw emotions are brought to that song and that's authentic.
00:22:40.788 --> 00:22:43.796
I'm not making it up to being real and authentic.
00:22:43.796 --> 00:22:49.275
That's it when I sing the song and that I tap into that by my own life experiences.
00:22:49.275 --> 00:22:52.786
Basically I can give you an example yesterday this was in my acting class.
00:22:52.786 --> 00:22:53.667
Yeah, absolutely.
00:22:53.667 --> 00:22:54.750
Did you ever hear that?
00:22:54.750 --> 00:22:57.416
Um, it's a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
00:22:57.436 --> 00:23:03.257
In how many ways the sonnet about loving maybe if I heard it, but I'm not sure how do I love thee?
00:23:03.297 --> 00:23:06.567
let me count the ways I love yes, yes yeah, that.
00:23:07.628 --> 00:23:12.192
So, um, this week I was on a concert of Jerome Kern songs.
00:23:12.192 --> 00:23:28.108
I was with a group of people and I realized I had recited that poem before I went into Can't Help Loving That Man from Showboat that's going way back to and people reacted to it at the concert.
00:23:28.108 --> 00:23:29.011
They said, oh, we really, we really like that.
00:23:29.011 --> 00:23:30.336
You know, we loved your acting in it.
00:23:30.336 --> 00:23:34.256
So I took it and I didn't really think you like my acting.
00:23:34.256 --> 00:23:35.066
I, you know.
00:23:35.066 --> 00:23:43.455
I took it to my class yesterday and this is what my instructor said and I thought, when I was, you know, reciting the poem, I was doing it with feeling.
00:23:43.455 --> 00:23:45.806
And he said, no, here's what you do Now.
00:23:45.806 --> 00:23:49.291
You imagine that, yes, that was very good, you were reciting it with meaning.
00:23:49.291 --> 00:23:59.836
Now, think that you are looking at someone who is asleep that you love and you're reciting that poem to that person and so in my imagination.
00:24:00.518 --> 00:24:13.017
I visualized actually one of my great nephews and I did it whispering, totally whispering inside, and then went into the song and it was a different experience and it made it real.
00:24:13.017 --> 00:24:19.917
And so I do work on my songs that way of really going into the emotion and making it real.
00:24:19.917 --> 00:24:22.108
It's hard for me, I guess, to describe it exactly.
00:24:22.108 --> 00:24:26.145
I never really thought about describing the process, but it has to be real.
00:24:26.145 --> 00:24:29.311
If it's real for me, you're gonna feel that reality.
00:24:29.972 --> 00:24:33.838
Yeah, well, okay, let's back up for a second.
00:24:33.838 --> 00:24:37.090
I guess how do you start that discovery?
00:24:37.090 --> 00:24:38.133
You know what I mean.
00:24:38.133 --> 00:24:42.170
You're a teenager, maybe you're in your twenties, thirties, I don't know, it doesn't matter.
00:24:42.170 --> 00:24:51.106
When in life it's different for everybody, but how do you discover what the real you is, especially now there's so many different influences?
00:24:51.106 --> 00:24:53.813
You try to mimic and embody and try out different things.
00:24:54.453 --> 00:24:55.957
I had a friend in high school, matter of fact.
00:24:55.957 --> 00:25:02.791
He said you know, we would drive down the road and at red lights you just the windows are down, you're yelling whatever songs on the radio and you know whatever it is.
00:25:02.791 --> 00:25:07.733
And he said, yeah, one of the things that he liked to do I'll never forget this, his name was Jim.
00:25:07.733 --> 00:25:14.999
He said one of the things that he liked to do whenever a song came on was try to match, pitch for pitch, the song which is great.
00:25:14.999 --> 00:25:21.442
Everybody sounds phenomenal, usually when the volume is louder than your voice, and then you turn it down and you're just screeching.
00:25:21.442 --> 00:25:23.847
You know, but that was his theory, right?
00:25:23.847 --> 00:25:27.297
And so he's just said mimic, and eventually you figure out what appeals to you.
00:25:27.297 --> 00:25:29.673
Is that how you start this discovery?
00:25:29.673 --> 00:25:33.768
To figure out what is real, what is authentic, who you might actually be, you know?
00:25:33.768 --> 00:25:35.151
Is that a angle?
00:25:35.151 --> 00:25:35.833
Is that an option?
00:25:36.473 --> 00:25:52.308
you know, I'm just going to go back to Richard Rogers and seeing the King and I, for some reason, instinctively, the music just spoke to me, so to speak, and I was enthralled and I was like I was transported to another imagination or imaginary spot.
00:25:52.308 --> 00:25:54.295
Imagination, I guess that's it.
00:25:54.295 --> 00:25:56.549
Yeah, well, it starts with the imagination.
00:25:56.549 --> 00:26:02.932
I guess I'm just drawn to it and I guess that's just something inside For picking songs for my shows.
00:26:02.932 --> 00:26:22.215
I listen to a lot of music and one of the things that I do, I'll have it on in the background and my ears will pick up to something that speaks to me emotionally and then I'll, you know, listen to it more intently and that sort of thing, and decide whether or not it fits into the story that I'm attempting to tell.
00:26:23.718 --> 00:26:33.492
So, exposure, yeah, being exposed, I'm just trying to think of, you know, I was so shy, I was so shy and I still fight against that.
00:26:33.492 --> 00:26:36.308
Still, to a degree, I'm a lot better now.
00:26:36.308 --> 00:26:40.288
Definitely, yeah, okay, definitely, all right, you know a lot better.
00:26:40.288 --> 00:26:46.387
By leaps and bounds, you know, yeah, and this is an example about just being on tour.
00:26:46.387 --> 00:26:47.830
I see so many people.
00:26:47.830 --> 00:26:50.193
They're like oh my God, I did this wrong.
00:26:50.193 --> 00:26:51.856
I'm like'm like, forget about it.
00:26:51.856 --> 00:26:55.163
The next performance is coming up and that was one thing I learned on tour.
00:26:55.163 --> 00:27:03.171
I could rip myself apart if there was a mistake made in that production slide performance and then I realized wait, I've got the next performance.
00:27:03.231 --> 00:27:06.047
I can't if I'm dwelling on what just happened.
00:27:06.047 --> 00:27:10.446
I won't be present for the next performance, and so I have to let it go.
00:27:11.170 --> 00:27:12.374
Presence makes all the difference.
00:27:12.374 --> 00:27:15.230
Yeah, absolutely, especially in performing.
00:27:15.230 --> 00:27:25.990
In college I think I told you this in our last conversation I tried my chops at musical theater and they said, oh yeah, well, you're so good, you're the, the songbird we didn't know we needed.
00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:28.355
Uh, how about you go design sets instead?
00:27:28.355 --> 00:27:45.729
You know so, okay, I can, you know, I can take a hint, but in straight plays, which I was in a few and then obviously the set designer for a few others, it gave me some of that insight as well, where you really can't hold on to all the rejection, like you've got to internalize some of it in process.
00:27:45.788 --> 00:27:47.596
Okay, what are the patterns I can improve on?
00:27:47.596 --> 00:27:48.921
What are the?
00:27:48.921 --> 00:27:54.394
You know whatever aspects that I can make better, but but you almost don't have the time.
00:27:54.394 --> 00:27:55.819
Night to night.
00:27:55.819 --> 00:28:03.503
I mean, you do, you know 14 shows or more over the course of two to three weeks and you just, you just can't hold one to the next.
00:28:03.503 --> 00:28:10.763
I think it's because and correct me if you think I'm wrong, but I think it's because you're feeling the rejection.
00:28:10.763 --> 00:28:12.957
The character has not been rejected.
00:28:13.811 --> 00:28:14.820
Right, exactly.
00:28:15.021 --> 00:28:27.877
Yeah, that's exactly right, yeah, and also one of the other things that I just popped into my mind right now too and this took me a long time to recognize this people have their own opinions and I still am enough.
00:28:27.877 --> 00:28:32.134
I still am a person of worth as far as the rejection goes.
00:28:32.134 --> 00:28:36.182
That's their opinion, period, and I don't fit into their vision.
00:28:36.182 --> 00:28:37.212
That's fine.
00:28:37.212 --> 00:28:45.864
I fit into somebody else's vision and if I do hold on to that, oh my god, so-and-so rejected me, forget it, then that's.
00:28:45.864 --> 00:28:56.897
Then I just go, oh, you know, all inside and I can't go forward and I tell my acting teacher says you know, if this, the performing arts business, has not really come back completely, you know, since the pandemic?
00:28:56.897 --> 00:29:04.169
And he just says every time just focus on your work, keep doing your work.
00:29:04.169 --> 00:29:05.791
That's the most important thing.
00:29:05.791 --> 00:29:12.994
Don't let any of these rejections of not getting a part that you've been called back for say that you're not worthy.
00:29:12.994 --> 00:29:15.140
Just keep doing your work, you are enough.
00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:18.213
And that really kind of goes for everything, really, I think.
00:29:18.715 --> 00:29:21.501
Well think well, okay, but where's, where's the?
00:29:21.501 --> 00:29:22.944
The counterbalance to that?
00:29:22.944 --> 00:29:26.815
You can't just, you know, blow through life, damn the consequences.
00:29:26.815 --> 00:29:31.715
I'm going to do my own thing and people are going to love it or hate it, but I'm just going to do what I want.
00:29:31.715 --> 00:29:32.298
You know what I mean?
00:29:32.298 --> 00:29:33.451
There's got to be some compromise, right?
00:29:33.451 --> 00:29:34.435
Well, you have to have a sense of responsibility.
00:29:34.455 --> 00:29:35.721
You have to pay your rent that goes back to my values from you.
00:29:35.721 --> 00:29:36.786
You have to have a sense of responsibility.
00:29:36.786 --> 00:29:37.690
You have to pay your rent.
00:29:37.690 --> 00:29:40.355
That goes back to my values from you.
00:29:40.355 --> 00:29:42.582
Know, there's a sense of responsibility in this.
00:29:42.582 --> 00:29:50.174
Yeah, Every once in a while I meet somebody who is like, okay, you're on another planet and you're not dealing with reality.
00:29:50.174 --> 00:29:53.165
I mean, you know, you do have to face that as well.
00:29:53.165 --> 00:29:56.595
And I think I mentioned a little bit earlier about feedback from people.
00:29:56.595 --> 00:29:57.056
I from people.
00:29:57.076 --> 00:30:09.622
If you're getting enough feedback that you have something to offer, then you think, well, okay, you know I I was rejected by whatever over here and, wow, these people are telling me they really love it.
00:30:09.622 --> 00:30:13.595
So and another did you ever read the four agreements?
00:30:13.595 --> 00:30:16.922
I think his name is four agreements.
00:30:16.922 --> 00:30:20.010
I have not the four agreements.
00:30:20.010 --> 00:30:21.233
I think his name is a four agreements.
00:30:21.233 --> 00:30:22.416
I have not the four agreements.
00:30:22.416 --> 00:30:27.071
Anyway, one of the things that he says that you cannot be angry at a cat for doing something that a dog didn't do.
00:30:27.071 --> 00:30:28.557
I'm not explaining exactly right.
00:30:28.557 --> 00:30:30.445
You can't expect a cat to be a dog.
00:30:30.445 --> 00:30:32.873
You can't affect a dog to be a cat.
00:30:32.873 --> 00:30:34.635
People are just being themselves.
00:30:34.635 --> 00:30:36.880
Does that make any sense with it, you know?
00:30:37.181 --> 00:30:38.343
yeah, yeah.
00:30:38.343 --> 00:30:47.012
Obviously the difference between I guess that and now is is being able to have that awareness though, because you know any.
00:30:47.012 --> 00:30:56.276
I mean, look at any video you might see online now where lion cubs are raised with puppies and all of a sudden they're all adult males and they're all getting along.
00:30:56.276 --> 00:30:58.058
You know so okay.
00:30:58.058 --> 00:31:17.876
But I think, when it comes to people outside of mimicry and imitation, eventually I think that's sort of the mark of maturity, in my opinion, or a mark of maturity was where you start to embody your own style, but you understand that there's times and places and when and how to compromise with people and whatever it is.
00:31:17.876 --> 00:31:25.902
I may like to dress a certain way or act a certain way, but in certain situations and environments I won't, out of respect for other people or or whatever.
00:31:25.902 --> 00:31:27.113
It is Same kind of idea.
00:31:27.113 --> 00:31:28.818
I think the awareness is what makes the difference.
00:31:29.530 --> 00:31:38.431
The one thing that he also says in this book don't take anything personally and that I I always like don't take it personally, Jenny, don't take it personally.
00:31:39.272 --> 00:31:42.159
Yeah, Nobody else is going to know your character.
00:31:42.159 --> 00:31:47.938
They just know that you that was represented that day, in that moment, and that's who they have an issue with.
00:31:47.938 --> 00:32:07.411
But, as everybody else you've performed through and I don't mean you, I mean the characters in these songs and shows there's so many different angles, Like you talked about with your acting coach and whispering the poem you can show up one day authentically representing what you stand for, what you believe, these ideals, these values, whichever.
00:32:07.411 --> 00:32:18.018
But it's just an off day and it just didn't connect with your boss or your spouse or your neighbor or whatever you know, like you were talking to me off the air.
00:32:18.018 --> 00:32:24.010
Lin-manuel, Miranda and other people that are, you know, have an impact and an influence nearby where you're at, Like it.
00:32:24.010 --> 00:32:28.313
Just you don't know how you're going to come across to people that day, but it's still.
00:32:28.313 --> 00:32:30.599
You just continue being you.
00:32:31.471 --> 00:32:33.176
You don't know what the other person is going through.
00:32:33.478 --> 00:32:33.900
Absolutely.
00:32:34.131 --> 00:32:39.012
Something may have happened in their life and that really has them really focusing on that.
00:32:39.012 --> 00:32:46.137
Maybe it might be upset about something and maybe they lash out at you or whatever, and it has absolutely nothing to do with you.
00:32:46.137 --> 00:32:47.662
It's what's going on in their life.
00:32:49.090 --> 00:32:51.559
Alrighty, folks sit tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value.
00:32:53.191 --> 00:32:56.117
This message is from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
00:32:56.117 --> 00:33:07.740
Va disability compensation is a monthly tax-free payment to veterans who got sick or injured in the military and to veterans whose service worsened an existing condition.
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Learn more at va.
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gov / disability.
00:33:23.391 --> 00:33:28.122
Maybe they lash out at you or whatever, and it has absolutely nothing to do with you.
00:33:28.122 --> 00:33:29.653
It's what's going on in their life.
00:33:30.778 --> 00:33:33.990
Well, for better and for worse, because that's how we make connections.
00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:43.163
It's that complex, but I don't think it's any more complicated, and so for, I guess, a character arc or a through point for ourselves as individuals.
00:33:43.163 --> 00:33:50.814
This is a segment of the show called Developing Character.
00:33:50.814 --> 00:33:53.222
Now, I asked you this last time you came on, but I think values can change as perspectives do.
00:33:53.222 --> 00:33:54.750
There's going to be a few similarities.
00:33:54.750 --> 00:33:59.661
You mentioned responsibility, right, and obviously hard work, or you wouldn't still be doing what you're doing.
00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:01.002
But but what?
00:34:01.063 --> 00:34:01.384
are some.
00:34:01.609 --> 00:34:02.836
Love, I love it.
00:34:03.490 --> 00:34:04.894
Yeah, right, exactly.
00:34:04.894 --> 00:34:07.340
And so two questions real quick before we're out of time.
00:34:07.340 --> 00:34:15.652
But my first question is then to recap, especially for some of our newer listeners what were some of your values growing up, that you were raised around?
00:34:16.333 --> 00:34:23.498
Honesty, trustworthiness and I mentioned this before last time too and this really goes in with responsibility.
00:34:23.498 --> 00:34:25.041
You've got to pay your bills.
00:34:25.041 --> 00:34:27.061
You've got to pay your bills.
00:34:27.061 --> 00:34:29.143
That's responsibility, I mean.
00:34:29.143 --> 00:35:06.739
And when we're talking about the performing arts and being a performing artist, yeah, no-transcript is if your base level needs are met because you paid your bills.
00:35:08.112 --> 00:35:08.855
Yeah exactly.
00:35:09.317 --> 00:35:22.838
You know, and they even say here too, if you go to an audition, a casting director or a director period, they can feel it when you walk into the door that you're desperate, that you don't have your rent paid, and that doesn't read well.
00:35:22.838 --> 00:35:25.534
It doesn't bode well with the people on the other side of the table.
00:35:25.534 --> 00:35:26.096
Yeah.
00:35:26.096 --> 00:35:29.273
Because then you're really not into your character and really sharing your talent.
00:35:29.273 --> 00:35:31.039
That's the underlying vision.
00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:32.951
If I don't get this job, I can't pay my rent.
00:35:33.170 --> 00:35:34.552
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
00:35:34.733 --> 00:35:59.755
Part of my job now in the reserves is to work with Marines and sailors and train them on cross-cultural communications and in tactical environments, how they understanding, how they come across to other people, other nationalities, whichever of these exercises and scenarios, so that way it's unbiased, right, like we know them, they know us.
00:35:59.755 --> 00:36:38.309
But aside from that point of view, we're also all Americans and we're also having a westernized bias and slant towards any exercises we put together, and so we bring in these outside perspectives, these, these role players, right, and so same kind of idea where we'll put their students in certain capacities and so we'll put these students in positions during these exercises where they're forced to be more introspective and they're forced to try to figure out how can I authentically represent myself, which is tricky because there aren't many places in the US DOD that forces service members to not rely solely on an identity as a service member.
00:36:38.309 --> 00:36:42.255
Oh, okay, and so they have to dive a little deeper.
00:36:42.255 --> 00:36:58.353
And sometimes it is absolutely and I 100% agree with you and your director point earlier absolutely obvious when their motivations are I just want a bonus, I just want a paycheck, I don't want to be here, I don't actually like this job or whatever it is.
00:36:58.353 --> 00:36:59.896
You can feel it.
00:36:59.896 --> 00:37:01.260
It's just, it's in the air.
00:37:01.260 --> 00:37:05.217
I don't know if it's pheromones, sometimes it's just a poor attitude, but you can feel it.
00:37:05.217 --> 00:37:08.110
Yeah, yeah, absolutely Okay.
00:37:08.130 --> 00:37:14.599
So my second question, though we talked about hard work and responsibility and paying your bills right, what you grew up around but time changes people.
00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:18.204
And, jenny, it's been a year, so what about now?
00:37:18.204 --> 00:37:20.094
If they're all still the same?
00:37:20.094 --> 00:37:22.340
Great, but what are some values that you embody now?
00:37:22.340 --> 00:37:26.942
What helps be your throughput for character and deal with all these things in life Stressors.
00:37:28.070 --> 00:37:35.434
I really think I've changed very much, except for I've just been getting more and more feedback that I'm on the right road and I'm doing the right thing.
00:37:35.434 --> 00:37:36.856
Oh, congratulations.
00:37:36.856 --> 00:37:41.405
Yeah, and that there is an audience out there that wants to hear what I have to offer.
00:37:41.405 --> 00:37:48.871
And when I had talked to your Wendi, the producer, and I did tell her about I had been asked to.
00:37:48.871 --> 00:37:52.987
I was so thrilled to get this job, to be the host for a sing-along.
00:37:52.987 --> 00:37:55.416
Sound of Music up in Tarrytown, New York.
00:37:55.416 --> 00:38:03.355
Sound of Music up in Tarrytown, New York.
00:38:03.355 --> 00:38:08.193
I was so moved by the music that all the audience members were singing and people were dressed up in costumes of the Von Tripp family and even some nuns.
00:38:08.193 --> 00:38:13.688
You know, I was like, yeah, yeah, this community, that's what it's all about.
00:38:13.688 --> 00:38:16.233
They were all, like you said, coming from all different walks of life.
00:38:16.233 --> 00:38:23.757
They all had the love of the Sound of Music in their lives and they were all united singing those songs.
00:38:23.757 --> 00:38:25.400
It was, it was really wonderful.
00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:29.561
I mean, I was sitting backstage crying at one point listening to them.
00:38:29.561 --> 00:38:31.333
It was just really wonderful.
00:38:31.333 --> 00:38:40.876
And also I mentioned to you earlier, when we were not recording about I had seen an interview with, uh, Luis Miranda, who's Lynn Miranda's father, who actually grew up just up the street from me up .
00:38:40.876 --> 00:38:47.023
For me, sound of music was one of his favorite musicals you could have known yeah, it is, it's.
00:38:47.224 --> 00:38:53.456
It's crazy the amount of resonance people can get from characters in stories, poems, movies, musicals, songs, whatever applies.
00:38:53.456 --> 00:39:18.300
You know, and in fact, interestingly enough and maybe I'm just a really slow learner, I don't know but when people read books and I'll say this loosely, when people used to read books as kids, it was to escape, it was to follow the path of a character as they grew through a plot line, the character arc right and the hero's journey, these types of things.
00:39:18.300 --> 00:39:22.474
And then I think, especially in my case, I didn't read that often.
00:39:22.474 --> 00:39:24.257
Reading comprehension is not my strong suit.
00:39:24.257 --> 00:39:43.324
It just so happens that these different broadcasts, audio books, podcasting, whatever I became more aware of over time and I started learning through those characters that I would hear and it was easier for me to pick up on these nuanced developments or whatever In musicals, in movies, in actually acting them out.
00:39:44.010 --> 00:39:45.132
People are still learning.
00:39:45.132 --> 00:40:18.735
It's just maybe not visually, maybe it's not auditory, maybe it's more kinesthetic, maybe it's a combination, but I think that's how people build and design their authentic senses of self, because you get exposure in controlled or relatively controlled environments, no matter how fantastical if it's written or on a stage, and you get exposure in a controlled environment, to the, the impacts of ethics and morals and decision-making and inquiry and discernment as somebody else, and you have enough distance to where you don't have to adopt that ideology for the rest of your life or for the next week.
00:40:18.735 --> 00:40:35.813
It stays with that character Right, and I think that's one of the most powerful things of what you've been able to accomplish and ultimately, in my opinion, what you're instigating throughout your career for other people who come out to see you like you may never know the amount of people that you're inspiring to pick up where you leave off.
00:40:36.434 --> 00:40:38.476
Oh, this is true, this is absolutely true.
00:40:38.476 --> 00:40:52.806
Yeah, yeah, and I have actually met people that say, oh, I remember when I saw you and blah, blah, blah and that inspired me to do this and this, and I'm like I really love hearing that, but you know, it's not something I had really even thought about.
00:40:52.806 --> 00:40:58.000
I just know, for me personally, did you ever see a chorus line?
00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:01.949
There's a song called Everything Was Beautiful at the Ballet, and for me, everything is beautiful with music.
00:41:01.949 --> 00:41:10.780
When I'm in a horrible mood, I either start listening to music or I start singing and it just gets me out of that sad, oh poor me mindset.
00:41:11.250 --> 00:41:12.173
It really does.
00:41:12.173 --> 00:41:13.478
It really does.
00:41:13.478 --> 00:41:13.778
Yeah.
00:41:13.778 --> 00:41:15.094
I just love music.
00:41:15.094 --> 00:41:16.096
I have a passion for it.
00:41:16.096 --> 00:41:16.338
It shows.
00:41:16.358 --> 00:41:16.518
It shows.
00:41:16.518 --> 00:41:17.525
I just love music, I have a passion for it.
00:41:17.525 --> 00:41:18.090
It shows it shows.
00:41:18.090 --> 00:41:22.300
I have, I guess, two more questions for you because we're about out of time.
00:41:22.300 --> 00:41:39.001
My second to last question Okay, so, through all of these experiences, character portrayals, opportunities, like you mentioned, to Tarrytown and then throughout your career up to this point, how have these experiences all actually contributed to your self-worth and your sense of self?
00:41:39.710 --> 00:41:54.574
Oh, I think they've contributed a lot, because inside it was very difficult for me to actually to take in the praise that I received from people and I still have this wall separating that like well, they're commenting on this character.
00:41:54.574 --> 00:41:55.996
You know, it's not really me.
00:41:55.996 --> 00:42:02.324
So it's taken me slowly, slowly, slowly, to kind of absorb some of that.
00:42:02.324 --> 00:42:02.865
Yeah.
00:42:03.409 --> 00:42:09.297
And then I think, well, okay, you know, every time I say, oh, I'm giving up on this, then somebody calls me and I get another job.
00:42:09.297 --> 00:42:14.835
Like well, they're not calling me and asking me to perform for them if they didn't think I had something to offer.
00:42:14.835 --> 00:42:18.340
There you go, yeah, so yeah.
00:42:18.601 --> 00:42:19.844
Yeah, yeah, okay.
00:42:19.844 --> 00:42:27.567
Well, for anybody else that wants to continue to gain inspiration or entertainment value from what you're putting out into the world, how do people get in touch with you?
00:42:27.567 --> 00:42:28.771
How do they reach out to you?
00:42:28.791 --> 00:42:30.315
Hey, listen, I'm now on Instagram.
00:42:30.315 --> 00:42:34.143
I'm learning, I'm learning, whoa, look at you.
00:42:34.143 --> 00:42:39.012
Yeah, that, that is NYC Soprano, my website's manhattandiva.
00:42:39.012 --> 00:42:39.856
com.
00:42:39.856 --> 00:42:40.998
I'm also on YouTube.
00:42:40.998 --> 00:42:44.295
I have a YouTube channel which I never really tell people about.
00:42:44.295 --> 00:42:45.117
It's there.
00:42:45.478 --> 00:42:46.018
Good for you.
00:42:46.018 --> 00:42:49.257
It's interesting, sort of like you were talking about with Wendi.
00:42:49.257 --> 00:42:57.376
The amount of time and money it takes for people to be in seats watching you is exponentially more that you have to invest to get them to know you're putting on a show.
00:42:57.376 --> 00:42:58.717
Yeah, that's true.
00:42:58.717 --> 00:43:02.983
Yeah, and, and digitizing through social media is no different.
00:43:02.983 --> 00:43:07.778
It's just a little bit cheaper incrementally, but it's the same principle.
00:43:07.778 --> 00:43:16.934
So you being on Instagram, you being on YouTube and not mentioning those things, I mean you're missing out on potentially a huge demographic that could gain inspiration and entertainment from you.
00:43:16.934 --> 00:43:22.384
So I'm proud of you for stepping up and discovering how to remake your marketing strategy here.
00:43:22.949 --> 00:43:24.213
I'm taking the class.
00:43:24.735 --> 00:43:25.436
There you go.
00:43:25.657 --> 00:43:32.500
I'm taking this class called Tech Savvy Actor and I'm in my second year now of it and I can't say I'm making progress.
00:43:32.500 --> 00:43:36.032
Hey, that's all you need, because I've been busy doing my concerts.
00:43:36.032 --> 00:43:38.596
I mean, I've been busy singing and do have a church job.
00:43:38.596 --> 00:43:40.697
I prepare a solo every week for them.
00:43:40.697 --> 00:43:47.226
But yeah, I'm going to be tech savvy, maybe little by little, but yes, I, I'm on Facebook as well.
00:43:52.150 --> 00:43:52.391
There you go.
00:43:52.391 --> 00:43:52.851
There you go, all right.
00:43:52.851 --> 00:44:05.143
Well, so for everybody who's listening to this conversation, depending on the player you're streaming this conversation on, you can click see more, you can click show more and in the dropdown description you'll see links to Jenny's now social media profiles and also Manhattan Diva for her website.
00:44:05.143 --> 00:44:10.619
You guys can follow along there, reach out to her and obviously you can come to us through transactingvaluepodcastcom.
00:44:10.619 --> 00:44:16.157
Leave a voicemail, whatever you want to do, and we can get you in touch with Jenny if she's open and amenable to that idea as well.
00:44:16.157 --> 00:44:31.661
So, Jenny, though, for the sake of time again, I really appreciate the opportunity and you making some time in your schedule to come back on and talk with us and hang out and just broaden some perspective and, you know, depth of character, which I guess, saying it out loud, is your specialty.
00:44:31.661 --> 00:44:33.172
So thanks for coming back.
00:44:33.793 --> 00:44:34.876
Thanks for inviting me.
00:44:34.876 --> 00:44:35.958
I enjoyed it.
00:44:35.958 --> 00:44:37.862
I always enjoy speaking with you.
00:44:37.862 --> 00:44:41.681
I'm so enamored of you and everything that you've accomplished.
00:44:41.681 --> 00:44:42.344
Thank you.
00:44:42.726 --> 00:44:43.751
Thank you, I appreciate that.
00:44:43.751 --> 00:44:48.972
I appreciate that, and next time, whenever that happens to be that I'm able to get up to Manhattan, I'll give you a heads up.
00:44:48.972 --> 00:44:53.371
Yay, yeah, that'd be cool, and maybe, if you got a show, I can come by and check it out too.
00:44:53.371 --> 00:44:53.893
That'd be pretty legit.
00:44:53.893 --> 00:44:54.293
That'd be wonderful.
00:44:54.293 --> 00:44:55.054
Yeah, yeah, I and check it out too.
00:44:55.054 --> 00:44:55.576
That'd be pretty legit.
00:44:55.596 --> 00:44:55.996
That'd be wonderful.
00:44:55.996 --> 00:44:58.440
Yeah, yeah, I'm working on that too, working on getting more shows.
00:44:58.440 --> 00:44:58.802
Yeah.
00:44:59.061 --> 00:45:15.159
Yeah Well, let's talk more, maybe even off the air, and we can come up with some ideas too, but for right now, for the sake of time, folks, I appreciate the opportunity to have a conversation and you guys to come back value, let us know.
00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:22.273
Send an email transactingvaluepodcast@ sdytmediacom, reach out on our website, transactingvaluepodcasts.
00:45:22.273 --> 00:45:36.510
com, and you can even leave a voicemail, because without your feedback, without your insight, without your comments on our social media pages, on Facebook or LinkedIn or YouTube, we don't know what you like to hear, right?
00:45:36.510 --> 00:45:42.860
We take educated guesses, of course, but all humans are different and we all tend to have a different outlook and viewpoint on the world.
00:45:42.860 --> 00:45:56.318
So, for us to create more resonance for you and for us to be able to liaise more in depth about resonance, character development and, all things considered, instigate self-worth, thank you to our show partners and folks.
00:45:56.318 --> 00:46:01.114
Thank you for tuning in and appreciating our value as we all grow through life together.
00:46:01.114 --> 00:46:09.690
To check out our other conversations, merchandise or even to contribute through feedback follows time, money or talent and let us know what you think of the show.
00:46:09.690 --> 00:46:11.615
Please reach out on our website, transactingvaluepodcast.
00:46:11.615 --> 00:46:13.940
com.
00:46:13.940 --> 00:46:22.759
We stream new episodes every Monday at 9am Eastern Standard Time through all of your favorite podcasting platforms and we'll meet you there Until next time.
00:46:22.759 --> 00:46:24.663
That was Transacting Value.
Broadway/Opera Singer
JENNY LYNN STEWART, dramatic soprano, is a performer of uncommon versatility.
In 2021 Jenny officially became a member of the New York City Artist Corps when she received a $5,000 City Artists Corps Grant from New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA).
Ms. Stewart was recognized for The New York Spirit, a musical program of uplifting and inspiring songs targeted for the 55+ senior audience together with stories of success during the pandemic intended to lift the audiences' spirits and inspire them for their lives going forward.
Lincoln Center's Library for the Performing Arts was Jenny's original participating partner for The New York Spirit for a performance on September 18, 2021 that was free and open to the public, a requirement of the grant. Due to Covid restrictions, the New York Library system decided to postpone all in person performances.
Jenny contacted the City Artist Corps and told them about the development. She was told that The New York Spirit must have a performance that was free and open to the public by October 31, 2021 or she would have to return the grant money.
After spending countless hours searching for a participating partner who would host The New York Spirit for a concert that was free and open to the public, Jenny found Bruce's Garden. There, she met the Artistic Director, Aaron Scott, who agreed to host a performance of The New York Spirit that was free and open to the public on Saturday, October 23, 2021. Aaron Scott, in addit… Read More