Singer/Actress

Statement of Artistic Purpose

A Wide Net

An acting colleague recently said to me “I was checking out your web site and you’ve done some weird stuff. I thought I was doing something out of the ordinary when I did Sam Shepard, but you’ve done wildly different shows.” It is true. I sing. I act. I dance. In styles that to many people seem incompatible, or even irreconcilable.

At different points in my life I have tried to focus on one genre, thinking I had to do that in order to be a great artist, but each time I felt too limited. Working in a wide array of modes and styles only strengthens my commitment to performing and my skills and presence as an actor. I endeavor to be a visionary theatrical-musical performer, creator, producer and teacher who is constantly trying new things and telling stories in ways that defy genre: this is my path.

The central problems of my life as a theatre artist are (1) how to unite the immediate and physical storytelling I love with the technical virtuosity and ease that I crave, (2) how to develop relationships with other artists who have similar values and (3) how to teach and develop new talent that is in its own turn versatile and collaborative enough to fulfill the visions I have.

There are operas that grab me because they offer an outlet for heightened emotional release that is not possible without the musical support and artifice offered by high stylization. There are plays I cherish because they celebrate the potential of language. There are dance shows I revel in because they magnify the possibility for unified and balanced movement between individuals. However, my highest affinity is for productions that marry these potentialities, and many of the pieces I want to work on have yet to be written.

I enjoy working with playwrights and composers on new works that expand the repertoire. One of the things that attracts me to opera is the idea of the unified arts: visual, aural, dramatic, poetic, and kinesthetic. I love inter-genre collaborations and works that walk the line between genres. Additionally, my own concepts for new musical-theatrical works have been growing, and are taking root in reality, starting with my collaboration with composer Erin Huelskamp on the chamber opera The Ten-Block Walk: An Old-Person’s Odyssey.

Skills and Leadership

It is the sheer range of theatrical possibilities that drives my desire for solid skills and technique.

I am committed to developing my skills as an artist, and whenever I learn a new skill I feel driven to put it into action and to teach it to others. My undergraduate education excelled in broadening my imagination to include a wealth of historical and theoretical ideas about what the theater could be. Now I am committed to the life of creation that springs from the fountain of those ideas.

Some of the most gratifying moments I have had as a theatre artist have been when actors have discovered new things about their instruments and themselves in response to my comments. I worked with one actor last year whose neck was habitually stuck forward. When I asked him to speak his lines while keeping his head against the wall, he said afterwards he had a different sense of grounding and strength for the character, and was surprised at how a seemingly superficial adjustment gave that to him. Another actress I worked with on warm-ups was surprised by all the new vibrations she was feeling in her head. After we talked through it, she was able to integrate noticing these feelings on stage without having them distract her.

This mode of coaching other artists through an awareness of how they move air through their bodies as they speak and helping them hone their voices to communicate more economically and effectively thrills me. I also relish coaching singers to be freer in expression with their entire bodies, instead of limiting themselves to their vocal mechanisms.

A Community of Artists

I relish long-term artistic relationships with people who challenge me and who are ready for me to challenge them. I thrive in intergenerational settings, and in places where I can have relationships with many non-performers. It is important to me to maintain this connection with a broader community, both for my own sake and because I value the contribution of the audience in the theatrical process.

I channel ideas into actions and consider the historical, socio-political, and cultural ramifications of my work, even while striving to meet the highest standards of artistic excellence.

Where I am Now

I perform as a singer and actress in opera, straight plays, music theatre, song recitals and cabaret, and experimental/extended-technique concerts. I feel a particular affinity for American and French repertoire, though I have a healthy appetite for German, Italian, Russian, Finnish, and Spanish works, too, among others.
I believe that production of new work is vital to the practice of the arts and enjoyed putting six new shows on their feet this year as Helen/Farmer’s Wife in The Caitlin County Hemp Wars, Auntie Maria in Molasses Panty Town, the cover for Cancer Woman in Holy Ghosts, Jillian in Her Dying Wish, the Lion Tamer/Ava in Carny Knowledge, and Alice in From Places Unknown. With experimental instrument-builder Arvid Tomayko-Peters, I have co-composed electro-acoustic pieces for festivals and concerts around New England. I am a member of the Fort Point Theatre Channel and work with them as a performer, director, and vocal coach.

Christie Lee Gibson, April 2010