Aspiring Artist Podcast

Elizabeth Lucas is a film and stage director, producer, and creative entrepreneur, and the founder of Free Range Humans, a two-year-old company doing immersive theatrical work in Frederick. She landed in Frederick as the first Creative Director of New Spire Arts after fifteen years in NYC, where she was a founder of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, made three award-winning feature films, and directed Tony-winning talent from New York to Alaska.

Connect with Elizabeth!

experience-human.com

https://www.facebook.com/freerangeworld/

Contact us here!

https://www.aspiringartistpodcast.com/

https://www.rachelsandlermusic.com/

Instagram @rachelsandlermusic

Tik Tok rachelsandlermusic

For podcast inquiries: [email protected]

For music & lessons inquiries: [email protected]

Geraldine Anello has conducted Kinky Boots and School of Rock on Broadway, The Fantasticks off-Broadway, and played in the orchestras of Broadway’s School of Rock, Kinky Boots, Bronx Tale, Aladdin, and On the Town. She has also worked on the Broadway productions SpongeBob the Musical, An American in Paris, On Your Feet, and Matilda. Off Broadway credits include We Are the Tigers, Renascence for the Transport Group, Finian’s Rainbow at the Irish Repertory Theatre, and Children of Salt at the New York Musical Festival (be sure to check out the cast albums for these amazing projects!) She was the music supervisor and conductor of the benefit concert Double Standards at Town Hall in New York City, featuring Sarah Bareilles, Denee Benton, and Ingrid Michaelson, amongst others. She is the leader of Theatre Music Directors, an industry group of 8,600 members worldwide, for which she offers educational opportunities taught by Broadway conductors. She is the author of the upcoming book (title TBD) where she interviews musicians at the top of the game across all music disciplines. MM: WMU. DMA: BU

Connect with Geraldine!

https://geraldineanello.com/home/

https://www.facebook.com/geraldinebcl

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVaJPieF7iWPY-F0oCCmcA/feature?fbclid=IwAR1RdsbTpx3rIMb3wSDWzh3s4IlKZyHmsMIcawhOWD2e7cTmCCUzqCCGVTc](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVaJPieF7iWPY-F0oCCmcA/feature?fbclid=IwAR1RdsbTpx3rIMb3wSDWzh3s4IlKZyHmsMIcawhOWD2e7cTmCCUzqCCGVTc)

Contact us here!

www.aspiringartistpodcast.com

www.rachelsandlermusic.com

Instagram @rachelsandlermusic

Tik Tok rachelsandlermusic

For podcast inquiries: [email protected]

For music & lessons inquiries: [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the very first recording of Aspiring Artist Podcast. I am Rachel Sandler, and I am so excited to share with you today a little bit about what this show is, who I am and what you can expect as you join the Aspiring Artist community.

My artistic journey began at a very young age- so young, in fact, that I don’t even have the memory to recall my very first Mommy and me music class at the age of 3. The arts were constant for me throughout childhood, and I very quickly realized that my passion for music and theatre were a force to be reckoned with. It became very clear to me that I would turn my hobby into a career, but throughout high school I struggled to choose a specific path. I loved piano and singing classical music, but I also loved musical theatre and the popular music industry and teaching and music direction and pretty much any other topic in the field. So when I went to college, it’s no surprise that I cycled through every type of music degree that my school would offer before finally settling on one my junior year.

My experience in college definitely set the tone for how the beginnings of my post-graduate days would pan out. I got a job teaching voice and piano at a local music shop, picked up a music direction gig at a theatre nearby, and found myself accompanying singers at their voice recitals. It was no shock to me that I was already being pulled in a million directions week one after graduating. But I pretty soon learned that you can only stretch yourself so thin. Months went by of saying yes to every opportunity, and while I had plenty in the bank to pay my bills, I found myself with absolutely no free time or social life.

So what did I do? I went to grad school. And took my full time all-over-the-place free lance gigs with me.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Rachel, you just said you had no free time or social life, didn’t this make it worse? Why would you do that to yourself?

The answer is yes- and no. It did make it worse. An 80 hour week became the norm. BUT- it also made me more business savvy. Since I was tied to a physical location 20 or more hours a week as I went to school, I had to start thinking how canI work smarter, not harder. I couldn’t take gigs 50 miles away anymore on a regular basis, because I didn’t have enough hours in the day to get there. I spent 2 years earning my masters degree, and thinking about what it actually meant to be a creative entrepreneur. In many ways, I was well on my way to mastering the creative part, but was still so new to the full-time entrepreneur piece. So the question still rang true after graduation- how can I turn my passions into a streamlined business that is profitable, but won’t take up every waking second of my life? Because, let’s be real, as much as I love my work, burnout is a real thing.

So that leads me to today. May of 2020. Here we are in a global pandemic. 2 years post graduate-school graduation and I am running a full time, profitable, online music business, and finding time to balance work and social life better than I ever have before. Do I have all the answers? Absolutely not! But I have a network of amazing colleagues, clients, family, friends, artists and other creative people who I look up to, and who push me to be the better version of myself and to grow a better version of my business every day.

With the guidance of one the top “podcast-ologists” out there- and I might be a little biased, because he is my father- I decided that I needed a forum to share what I’ve learned about building a business and surviving as an artist in this crazy crazy world. I have so many smart, creative, amazing people in my network who have imparted so much of their wisdom, and you all need to hear what these people have to say. So that’s how we got here. The Podcast.

Every week on Aspiring Artist Podcast, I aim to inspire the artistic community to take their craft to new heights. Whether you are a full time gigging musician, a photographer simply for fun, an audio engineer-and the list continues well beyond this- I want to help you to think about your craft from absolutely every angle. I have a line up of amazing guests who will share their expertise, covering topics from how do I book a professional gig to what if I want to find a creative outlet but I don’t have a hobby yet, and everything in between. I hope that I can share with you my successes and my failures, my ups and my downs, and anything and everything I have learned along the way. If this sounds even slightly interesting to you, stick around. Check us out every Monday as I release an episode every week. I can’t wait to join you on your artistic journey.

Contact us here!

www.aspiringartistpodcast.com

www.rachelsandlermusic.com

For podcast inquiries: [email protected]

For music & lessons inquiries: [email protected]