HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-09-06, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018. PAGE 19.
Miller, Quirt bring truly unique show to Festival
Years ago, MuchMusic (now
simply Much) used to air an original
show called Intimate and
Interactive, which focused on live,
intimate (surprise) performances
that invited audience participation.
Canada’s answer to MTV
Unplugged was viewed as a high-
water mark for musical
performance, but on the dramatic
stage, “intimate” and “interactive”
are two words many audience
members have been loath to hear.
Jane Miller’s These Are The Songs
I Sing When I’m Sad brought both of
those concepts to the Phillips Studio
last week in a performance truly
unlike any the Blyth Festival has
ever produced.
Those were the words of Artistic
Director Gil Garratt in the days
leading up to Songs’five-show run
last week. He would know and he
was right.
With equal parts performance,
concert, round-table discussion and
musical master class, Miller takes
audience members on an emotional
and musical journey unlike any
they’ve been on before.
The show “began” at Memorial
Hall as audience members were led
to the Phillips Studio, entering as
Miller was already seated and
playing her piano.
The audience – limited to 25
people per performance – was then
seated in a small circle of chairs
around Miller and her piano to
create a truly intimate environment.
The simple, intimate space is
thanks to the direction of co-creator
Brian Quirt, artistic director of
Nightswimming Theatre and
director of the Banff Centre
Playwrights Lab.
Miller first focuses on the science
behind music, specifically sad
music. She invokes a number of
studies that focus on reactions from
both the body and the brain when a
person listens to sad music.
The science is fascinating. Miller
discusses a 2012 Wall Street Journal
article that builds on a 20-year-old
British study of sad music that
yielded 20 tear-jerking numbers,
identifying that 18 of the 20
contained a little-known musical
element called an appoggiatura.
Described in the article as an
“ornamental note that clashes with
the melody just enough to create a
dissonant sound”, an appoggiatura
very literally triggers a reaction in
many listeners. When the melody
deviates, but then returns, a
psychologist quoted in the story said
it creates a feeling of “resolution”
with the listener.
“Chills often descend on listeners
at these moments of resolution,” the
article states. “When several
appoggiaturas occur next to each
other in a melody, it generates a
cycle of tension and release. This
provokes an even stronger reaction,
and that is when the tears start to
flow.”
Miller then transitions from
discussing the brain to the body and
how these reactions in the mind
trigger reactions in the body. Sad
music can evoke goosebumps and
increased heart rate and perspiration;
those reactions then lead to the
release of dopamine back in the
brain, causing pleasure, bringing the
process full-circle.
Songs, of course, isn’t simply a
round-table discussion on the effects
of sad music. The talented and
accomplished Miller is singing
throughout the performance and
audience members can’t help but
feel privileged to hear a performance
by such an elegant, beautiful vocalist
from just feet away.
Throughout the show, Miller
shares personal stories, both hers
and those of friends, highlighting
go-to sad songs choices, spanning
artists like Adele, The Beatles, Don
Henley, Phil Collins, the Barenaked
Ladies and Mavis Staples.
Often Miller is downright funny,
leading audience members to
wonder if Sad Songs as a title is a bit
of a misnomer. However, those who
packed their tissues for the night
were not disappointed. She is
engaging throughout, whether she’s
the focus of attention or if she’s
highlighting the musical inclinations
of an audience member.
Open and vulnerable with the
audience, Miller touches on the sad
times in her life and how she
connected with specific pieces of
music during those times. Creating
such an environment, when Miller
asks audience members for their sad
song choices, it can be heartbreaking
as you see fellow audience members
wrestle with their own traumatic
memories and what that music
means to them.
The result of these discussions is a
playlist, tirelessly compiled by one
of Miller’s assistants and then made
available after the show at
sadsongs.ca.
While this is an interesting
exercise in revisiting the songs
mentioned during your show (thanks
to my esteemed colleague Denny
Scott, Meat Loaf is now officially on
the list for our show – he assures me
this is with good reason, though I
have my doubts), reading over
playlists from previous shows is
even more interesting, with no two
shows alike. The shows – and
subsequent playlists – are truly
shaped by those sitting around
Miller on any given night, rather
than Miller herself.
For instance, we went to the show
last Wednesday for the second show
of the run and our playlist will
include (in addition to the
aforementioned Mr. Loaf) songs by
Nine Inch Nails, The Pogues,
Michael Jackson and Paul Simon, as
well as an old Scottish bagpipes
tune, “Mairi’s Wedding”, to name a
few. On Tuesday, opening night, the
playlist includes music by Bruce
Springsteen, Bette Midler, Eric
Clapton and Hank Williams, among
others.
Garratt promised something
unlike anything the Festival had ever
seen and Songs delivered on that
promise. You can forgive audiences
for fearing the unknown and
wondering exactly what they were in
for with Miller’s and Quirt’s
creation, but those who stayed away
as a result missed something great.
Between Nightswimming’s truly
experimental effort and the sold-out
return of the The Downs, this will be
a year to remember for the Blyth
Festival’s offerings at the Phillips
Studio.
FREE
Mid-Summer 2018
A Visitor’s Guide to Huron County
What to See
Where to Dine
Things to Do
Museums
Trails
Golf Courses
Rediscover what
Huron County has
to offer.
Pick up your free
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The Citizen
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Ken Fraser
60th Birthday
“Come & Go
Celebration”
Sunday, September 9
2-4 pm
245 Trueman St.,
Londsborough
Love you lots!
Connie, Brian, Sandra, Corey, Mark & Michelle
happily announce their parents
Bill & Sharon’s 50th Wedding Anniversary
Married Sept. 7, 1968 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
in Brodhagen, Ontario
Blessed with seven grandchildren
Kimberly, Amy, Kayla, Tyler, Becca, Olivia & Sophie
Open House for a 60th Anniversary Party
On behalf of
Brian, Cathy, Kevin & Families
we would like to
invite you to the celebration of
60 Years of Marriage
for
Leo & Rita Deitner
Saturday, September 15th
from 2 to 4 pm
at St. Ambrose Catholic Church,
Brussels, ON
In lieu of gifts, a canned good for the Food
Bank would be greatly appreciated.
Sad songs
Jane Miller, above, and director and co-creator Brian Quirt have brought a one-of-a-kind show
to the stage with These Are The Songs I Sing When I’m Sad, which completed a five-show run
at the Blyth Festival’s Phillips Studio last week. (Photo courtesy of Max Telzerow)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen