Singer/Actress & Voice Teacher Lisa Golda

Buffalo Nation with Present Music

Lisa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:29 +0000

I am so excited to announce that I will be performing in the world premiere of Buffalo Nation (bison bison) with Present Music. Composed by Jerome Kitzke, originally from Milwaukee, with a gorgeously poetic libretto by Kathleen Masterson, the piece concerns the history of the bison, or buffalo, from sacred importance in Native American culture to virtual destruction and back again. The piece is scored for sound effects choir, baritone, four actors, and instrumental ensemble. I will be one of the four actors featured in the piece. For more information regarding tickets, or Present Music, please visit this link: http://www.presentmusic.org/buffalo_nation_bison_bison.aspx

Studio and other news

Lisa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:01 +0000

As usual, my students are making me proud with various appearances and accomplishments. Ben Johnson is currently performing in Seussical Jr. with Theatre for Young Audiences in Sheboygan, WI. Larry Marcus will be appearing in a duets revue presented by Mill Street Singers and Friends at the Plymouth Arts Center. Casey Campbell and Ben Johnson appeared to rave reviews in the North-South High School production of Les Miserables. Marielle Schuchardt is starring in Proof with Sheboygan Theatre Company. Danielle Rammer sang with Paul Sucherman’s ensemble in their Wicked revue in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Rachel O’Keefe appeared as Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Kohler High School. Genevieve Gannon performed in Hansel and Gretel as a freshman at St. Norbert’s College. Caitlin Barclay is a voice major on full scholarship at Carthage College, a freshman, and also won a substantial scholarship from the Kohler Foundation in 2011. More news as it comes up!

Godspell at University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan

Lisa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:20:30 +0000

On to the next exciting project: music directing Godspell at University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan! Can’t wait to get started with auditions next week, February 2-3. I will be working with director Simon Provan, fellow actor and theatre professor at UW-Sheboygan. The show will run one weekend only, March 29-April 1!

New Headshots by Braden Moran

Lisa — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:25:20 +0000

I recently had new headshots done by Braden Moran, an actor and photographer who splits his time between Los Angeles and Chicago. He made me feel so at ease, referred me to a fantastic stylist who was also present for the shoot, and I am thrilled with the results! I recommend him 500%. He’ll take great care of you throughout the entire process, and his rates are incredibly reasonable.

You can contact Braden at info@bradenmoranphotography.com, or see more of his work at www.bradenmoranphotography.com. Thank you, Braden!

Reefer Reviews!

Lisa — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:34:16 +0000

Carte Blanche Studio’s production of Reefer Madness, for which I am the music director and keyboard player, is getting some killer buzz! It is ”…easily the single most enjoyable musical comedy this season…” according to Russ Bickerstaff of the Shepherd-Express, and Visit the following the links to read two wonderful reviews, then get your tickets for this Wednesday’s pay what you can performance, or for the regular shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We close this weekend. www.carteblanche.com for tickets.

http://www.examiner.com/theatre-in-milwaukee/carte-blanche-gets-bent-reefer-madness-the-musical-review

http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-7536-reefer-madness-musical-comedy-way-way-way-over-the.html

MAD for Reefer Madness at Carte Blanche Studios!

Lisa — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:48:48 +0000

Sexy, smoky, seedy, and spliffy–that’s Reefer Madness, opening this weekend at Carte Blanche Studios in Milwaukee, WI! This rock-pop satire takes the premise of a 1940s era info-reel ( that smoking pot turns teens into sex-crazed, cannibalistic cannabis zombies) to literal conclusions that will leave audiences with political and musical munchies!
I’m music directing and playing piano in the kick-ass band. Our killer cast is unbelievably talented, featuring Carte Blanche ensemble veterans, and many new faces as well.
Visit http://carteblanchestudios.com/ for tickets now. Don’t miss it–we had to add shows to meet the demand for our last musical collaboration, The Great American Trailer Park Musical. This show is on track to be just as amazing, but Thanksgiving will probably make added dates an impossibility. So get your Reefer Madness groove on now! For adult audiences.

WordPlay

Lisa — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:27:34 +0000

I haven’t posted a poem in a while. One from a midsummer, midwest road trip:

coralville chorus

The cicadas are singing in Coralville,
improvising an ostinato John Adams might envy.
Coreopsis and lavender tango in the humid dusk,
and walnuts fall and crack like skulls on the sidewalk.

Sweating in midwest July, I drink in the gardens,
So impossibly, gracefully undisciplined.
Fireflies linger just beyond reach, sharing phosphorescent secrets.
Bats dance crooked minuets and mourning doves flee the power lines as I pass,
Crying quietly: who, you?

My voice rasps, pollen taking its toll on tender tissue.
Back in Bloomington, at school,
I screeched in vain; katy did, but I couldn’t.
I dotted every note and circled every clef,
Leaving the larger part of my life in the practice room,
Praying with the mantis just a little too late;
please, don’t.
It looks good on paper, but that’s all I’ve got.

Here and now, beetles trudge along the curb, hauling carrion,
Supernumeraries in an outdoor opera.
I can’t fake my way through these accidental overtures,
I feel like I don’t fit in. Why can’t I learn the steps?

I swipe a few flowers and beg the glowbugs not to tell,
Pick up a walnut and put it in my pocket,
Whisper to the doves: yes, me.

I recall tornadoes, tomatoes,
cosmos and crickets in my tangled graduate garden,
the rabbits’ pirourettes in the lettuce,
Four years of stifled silence and purposeful yet ultimately pointless practice,

And the complex circadian melodies of a summer night,
Unconducted and unrehearsed,
Wash over me like a warm rain.
The bats take their bows and settle down to sleep.

I hum an impromptu harmony—surprised, smile in the dark.
Maybe I did after all, katy;

Maybe I did.

Reefer Madness at Carte Blanche Studios

Lisa — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:18:27 +0000

As my run of The Exonerated comes to a bittersweet close at Next Act, I’m already involved in my next project: vocal directing and conducting Reefer Madness at Carte Blanche Studios! We’ve got a fabulous cast and we open the first weekend of November, so get this smoking hit on your theatre calendar now!

“The Exonerated” at Next Act Theatre

Lisa — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:58:48 +0000

I’m so thrilled to be a part of this incredible show, the season opener at Next Act’s brand new theatre space, and of what Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic Michael Fischer described as a “stellar” cast. Based on the true stories of several former Death Row inmates exonerated by DNA and other evidence, the piece leaves audiences with questions to ponder regarding the American criminal justice system, race, capital punishment, and incarceration. Here is a link to the MJS review: http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/arts/131362423.html

Equally thrilling was watching as the theatre was finished literally before our eyes just before opening , the construction dust not yet settled as we christened the stage with our performance. What an incredible feat of patience, skill, and dedication. I’m grateful to have been a part of that process, and the ongoing storytelling. The Exonerated runs now through October 30. Check www.nextact.org for tickets and show times.

Summer Success!

Lisa — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:41:34 +0000

Things have been busy on both the personal and studio fronts. Student Caitlin Barclay, who recently won a 10k music scholarship from the Kohler Foundation, will be sponsored by Carthage College, where she will major in vocal performance, for just about the rest of her college expenses! Student Ben Johnson, who is a high school freshman this year, was invited to join the Sheboygan Symphony Chorus. Rachel O’Keefe was asked to star as Lucy in Kohler High School’s upcoming production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Many of my students performed with professionalism and panache at my studio recital in mid-August; check me out on Facebook and look at the link featuring student Genevieve Gannon, who will be attending St. Norbert’s College this fall, in her performance of “Ah! Je veux vivre” from the opera Romeo et Juliette.In July, I attended the Sound Connections convention for Unity musicians in Kansas City, MO and met many wonderful “posi” colleagues. I’m looking forwarding to rejoining Chicago Opera Theatre for my fourth year as a teaching artist in Chicago, and to reprising my role as Mama Bear in Goldilocks and the Three Bears with Chicago Opera Playhouse at the Rumble Arts Center near Humboldt Park this September. I’ll also be making my debut with Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee in The Exonerated, playing Sandra and Sue, and vocal directing Reefer Madness at Carte Blanche Studios in Milwaukee! Busy as usual. . .