NEW BLOG - "Badass Babes Savin' the Day" -- CHIX 6, the "ROXPERIENCE!"
My name is Lourds Lane. I’m a touring indie rocker. As lead singer and electric violin shredder of my original band, LOURDS (http://lourdslane.com), I spent many a fist-pumping, crowd surfing night on the road entertaining a few hundred to a few thousand people in rock clubs across the country. The crispy clean fahhnciness of the Great White Way is a “Freebird” solo away from the sticky, sweaty sweetness of the dimly lit rock dives that I’ve called home. But 2 ½ years ago, I had a vision. At the Medusa Festival (http://medusafestival.com), my annual rock fest celebrating the most electrifying female musicians in NYC, the fan fever for the woman-fronted bands inspired me to create an empowering theatrical experience to feature an all-star cast of badass rockers chicks.
The initial cast was a select few hand-picked rockerbabes who had larger-than-life superhero stage personas, but who were down to earth enough to keep masks, capes, and utility belts on the stage. I knew a story about an all-female rock and roll Justice League would have people would leaping tall buildings in a single bound to see it. I had a few characters in my head… the butch punk rocker, the full figured diva, the burlesque seductress, the sassy career gal… oh, and of course, the misfit nerd. I would play the nerd. Yep, despite my spikes and leather style now, I spent much of my youth as the flat-chested-violin-toting-braces-and-glasses-chess champ dork.
The show is called CHIX 6 (http://www.chix6.com.) I started writing songs for my Medusa Fest friends who would play the superheroes. Then one day, I ran into Kacie Sheik (original “Jeanie” in “Hair,” Broadway and West End) while I was recording. I shared a bill with her when she’d played with her band so I only knew her as a pop/rock singer. I had no idea she had experience with musical theatre. It suddenly occurred to me that Kacie would be a perfect fit for the lead character, “Katie”--- a mild-mannered comic book artist-girl-next-door who learns how to love herself with a little help from her super heroine creations. With Kacie in the role, Katie would sing all the pretty pop anthems that wouldn’t make sense for the other wonder women. I asked Kacie to sing on a couple of tracks. She said yes. Score!
I recorded six of the tunes and got immediate interest from fans and patrons. They wanted to see a reading of the complete piece. Exciting, but I knew nothing about staging a reading. Even though I usually wear a variety of hats … writer, composer, arranger, fundraiser, performer, I needed help! My only theatre connection, Ms. Kacie Sheik, sent me names and numbers. One was for a director she’d worked with that she thought might be a match. What a match! On a coffee date, our chemistry was instant, and the rest is history. DJ Salisbury got my vision, reached deep into the guts of my piece, and got his hands dirty right away with ideas. His heart, commitment, and genius shined and we immediately began preparing for the first reading of the piece on February 1, 2008 at the Zipper Theatre.
The Zipper reading was an off-the-hook surprise… mind-blowing performances, enthusiastic audience participation, an over-capacity theatre, and multiple standing ovations. FOR A BOOK IN HAND READING! In one night, I raised the front money to produce a professionally recorded 21 song CD. The ultimate vision was pulling us forward-- an empowering, sexy, all-female stadium rock show set in a surreal Cirque du Soleil style comic book world. CHIX 6 was going to be the ultimate “Roxperience!”
Flash forward to today. The CHIX 6 team has expanded with still more genius theater minds. A recent feature article in the Daily News is another indication that “something big is happening.” Awesome casting directors Gayle Seay and Scott Wojcik helped us collect a high-powered cast for a four week Equity workshop with a newly massaged script, new songs, and fierce dance numbers to be choreographed by Ron De Jesus. Music director extraordinaire, Wendy Bobbitt Cavett (conductor/MD of Mamma Mia), is working miracles with every musical element. The no-ego creative synergy of the core team (DJ, Wendy, Ron De Jesus, and me) is truly magical.
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