On the Job with the Pied Piper

This year, Tales & Scales' new show, The Pied Piper, came with some new toys. Because the awesome music, by the awesome Randy Woolf, requires electronic playback, we are now the proud owners of a snazzy new computer and wireless microphone system. The computer has a built-in camera that I quickly began using as a mirror when putting on my microphone every day in rehearsal. During our first week on the road with The Pied Piper, we were performing almost exclusively in school gyms, which generally do not have makeup mirrors, so the camera-mirror stayed in use. I started snapping shots of myself at every venue, interested in the subtle differences from day-to-day and venue-to-venue.

What follows in this blog will be that daily photographic check-in. Every time I use the camera to put on my mic, I take a picture, sometimes two or three, if things are looking particularly interesting that day. It will, I hope, be an fun behind-the-scenes view of life with Tales & Scales. You will see me looking tired before early morning shows, peppy and ready to go on other days, and everything in between. You will see the variety of venues in which Tales & Scales performs, from the school gym complete with basketball championship banners in the background to glitzy venues with all manner of theatrical lighting. Of course, you will see lots of me fiddling with my microphone. Those of you with an eye for detail can watch my roots darken as time passes, and then suddenly see my hair freshly cut and dyed. You may even be able to infer which performances are particularly important based on such observations!

Mostly, I will leave such judgements and inferences up to you. I will include the date, time and venue for each photograph, with only occasional extra commentary. Basically, I will try to keep the pesky words to a minimum, considering that each picture is already worth 1,000.

Most of the pictures will be of me, Zara Lawler, flutist of Tales & Scales and the Pied Piper herself. You will also sometimes see the other members of Tales & Scales: Neil Parsons, bass trombonist, Bonnie Whiting Smith, percussionist, and Meaghan Heinrich, oboist (the one with the pink hair). Other cameos will be credited as they occur. An object that you will see frequently in the background is the fabulous red and yellow cape I get to wear as the Pied Piper, made for Tales & Scales by the fabulous Allen Jobe.

Being the Pied Piper is, for me, a flutist's dream come true. Due to the nature of live performance, however, its pleasures are ephemeral. I'm happy to have this opportunity to chart it, and I hope you will enjoy this glimpse into the daily life of the Pied Piper.