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Al fonte, al prato
Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is another #Renaissance piece – composed by Guilio Caccini, first published in his 1614 work “Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle.” Linked here is a free download of the sheet music, and this link has the text to all four verses here. I believe I made my accompaniment from a midi file – I’ve shared it below, if you’d like to sing along đ For this video, I’ve combined two performances – the first is from the musical pre-show I designed for Coronado Playhouseâs production of Shakespeareâs âMuch Ado About Nothing,â and the second is from my undergraduate senior recital many years ago (I was 18) đ…
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The Secret of Happiness
Happy #WeeklyWednesday! I love this song from the musical “Daddy Long Legsâ and really enjoyed making this video – I hope you like it, too! “Daddy Long Legs” has music and lyrics by Paul Gordon and book by John Caird, based on the charming 1912 novel by Jean Webster (it’s a very sweet read!). You can sing along to the accompaniment I used by clicking here. Thanks to “The Accompanist” channel for the great track! If you like this song, check out “Like Other Girls,” also from Daddy Long Legs đ Thank you for watching, and see you next week! #AshleyWagnerArts
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Phoenix in Paris
I lived in Paris during a very difficult transitional period of my life. I began a blog to share my thoughts (as well as some local destinations I liked). I’m re-sharing some of those posts here; please be advised that many of the themes are more mature in content than elsewhere on my website. About: Growth, expansion, development ~ and Paris. Author: I love to learn, ask questions, explore things from different perspectives, and reflect. Pheonix photo credit
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Come Again (John Dowland)
Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is a Renaissance piece composed by John Dowland (lyrics anonymous), published in his 1597 First Booke of Songes or Ayres. My performance comes from the musical pre-show I designed for Coronado Playhouseâs production of Shakespeareâs Much Ado About Nothing. Â I won awards from both the Coronado Playhouse and San Diego ACT (Aubrey Awards) for my work on and in the show – for sound design, musical direction, and acting (as Ursula/Balthasar)! Â It was a wonderful challenge that has inspired a lot of very enjoyable work! Â That production was also just incredibly fun to be involved in, particularly because of the dear friends I made from my âByâr…
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Disney Cruise Line blog
One of the highlights of my theatre career has been performing for Disney Cruise Line. In this portion of my website, I’ve re-shared many of my original posts about that experience. I hope you enjoy them! Not only was it incredible to portray characters I’ve loved since my earliest childhood memories (especially Mary Poppins), for the company who originated our modern concepts of these stories, with all that entails (the creativity, talent, and budget to stage productions in such a lavish and magical way; the ability for these performances to reach hundreds of thousands of guests) — it was a special honor to feel that through my work, I was…
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Where Did It Go?
New work by Sarah Hirsch! Todayâs #WeeklyWednesday is another demo recording from a new musical still in development: The Book of Holding On, by the incredibly talented Sarah Hirsch! The other fantastic singer youâll hear is Dana Aber. (From Sarah:) THE BOOK OF HOLDING ON is a drama about a 13-year-old girl who is so terrified of change that she attempts to “freeze the world” by sabotaging all the change happening to her family and friends. The show explores heavy themes like teenage mental illness (particularly obsessive thoughts) while mixing in lots of humor. Iâve had the privilege of working on several new works (including another of Sarahâs, The Fall…
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The Bear Who Couldnât Bear to Bare His Soul
New work by Sarah Hirsch! Todayâs #WeeklyWednesday is a demo recording from a new musical that is still in development: The Book of Holding On, by the incredibly talented Sarah Hirsch! The other fantastic singers youâll hear are Ben Wexler, Amanda Savan. (From Sarah:) THE BOOK OF HOLDING ON is a drama about a 13-year-old girl who is so terrified of change that she attempts to “freeze the world” by sabotaging all the change happening to her family and friends. The show explores heavy themes like teenage mental illness (particularly obsessive thoughts) while mixing in lots of humor. (From me:) Some terribly brief context for this song – itâs one of…
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Home (Michael Bublé cover)
Home in NYC [again] after a really great, very brief trip back to Ohio (my childhood home). It was wonderful to spend time with so many of my relatives, and I thought that message could kind of match this song [Mom, please donât cry!] I’ve had a very transitory adulthood; I’ve created homes I’ve loved, where I would’ve been happy to remain, in many locations and cultures. As I’ve worked to carve out an individual ‘home’ and life over the last several years, I’ve found that sometimes the beauty and richness of ‘belonging’ to so many people, places, and ways of living can make it very hard to find a physical…
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New York City views
Back in the city! Our original flight a few days ago was canceled, but we made it home smoothly yesterday – and had gorgeous views of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and surrounding areas coming in! Thought Iâd share that with you for todayâs #WeeklyWednesday ? In case youâre hoping for a similar view when you fly in, these seats were on the port side of the plane (A, B, C), going into Newark Liberty (EWR). The music I used is a short piece I created a couple years ago by combining sounds I found interesting – mainly loops from Logic Pro. I call it âTangerineâ (for no particular reason),…
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Holding Out for a Hero
“Holding Out for a Hero” was written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford and originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler for the movie “Footloose” (though I’m more familiar with the version that was in “Shrek 2”). What do dolphins have to do with this song? Nothing, really, except timing. My family recently went on a dolphin cruise (it was great! Chase-N-Fins in Pensacola, FL) and I finally finished editing this song! I recorded it quite a few years ago to practice for an audition and I’ve been on the fence about whether it’s worth sharing or not, as a high belt is very difficult for me! This is my best attempt.…
