Thursday, August 18, 2016

Spotlight On...Ben Singer

Name: Ben Singer

Hometown: Greensboro, NC

Education: Eastman School of Music, not completed

Favorite Credits: Orchestral tapper for Meatloaf

Why theater?: I get to make emotional, intense music that people wouldn't otherwise listen to.

Tell us about At the Crossroads: Music For Faust: The show itself is a movie; the 1926 silent film, Faust. I've written music for it — not typical silent-film music, but contemporary music that tries to be as beautiful as it is tragic.

What inspired you to create At the Crossroads: Music For Faust?: The movie had interesting and dramatic cinematography. It also had people dressed in funny costumes. I look for those two things in a silent film, because even if the plot isn’t strong, those things will still keep an audience entertained. It's become much more interesting since then.

What kind of performance speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Performance that in some way touches that inner reality, that part we are generally too busy to be with. Right now, inspired by Marc Maron, both for the way he examines his own life and the people on WTF.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Dave King, drummer for the Bad Plus.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Horace & Pete. I am I allowed to say that?

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Edward Norton, Drift Club

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: About two weeks to see the NYTW Hadestown. Argh.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Drive-through chicken biscuits.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Singing country songs in a broken-down bar.

What’s up next?: A two-person show; a duet for a dancer and ukulele player.