Interview: Bill Coyne of MUSEMATCH XIII: A TIME TO REVIVE at The Green Room 42 on March 4th

One of the most original ideas currently in operation in the live entertainment industry of New York City, MuseMatch places songwriters and actors together in a collaboration that yields new works of art based on what the duo discovers through discussion. After twelve workshops and concerts, the series has produced over two hundred new songs. On March 4th at 9:30 pm. MuseMatch will have a thirteenth concert at The Green Room 42, a concert featuring some Broadway caliber talent, both behind the piano and at the microphone.

With the concert just days away, MuseMatch creator and artistic director Bill Coyne shared some emails with Broadway World Cabaret, in order to share a little about the development of his company, the process of creation, and what his goals are for the future of MuseMatch.

This interview was conducted digitally and has been given minor edits for spelling and punctuation.

Bill Coyne, welcome to Broadway World!

Thank you!

You are the creator and artistic director of MuseMatch, which will have its thirteenth charity concert at The Green Room42 on March 4th. Use one high-concept sentence that would explain for newcomers to the series what MuseMatch is.

MUSEMATCH: A Musical Theater Blind Date, is a creative process where writers and singers are asked to be authentic, brave and vulnerable in sharing conversation with each other, and through this dialogue, collaboration and the imaginative lens of the writer: a new song is born; resulting in an evening of entirely new work, ALL FOR CHARITY.

Was there a bolt-from-the-blue moment that led to the conception of MuseMatch or was it a seed planted that sprouted?

It was definitely a swiftly sprouting seed. 8 years ago, (squarely in my mid-late 20's) I was surrounded by so many burgeoning young actors and writers on the precipice of commercial artistic success. I was in awe of the sheer volume of talent in my friend circle, let alone the theatrical community at large. Yet, there seemed to be a universal dissatisfaction with the creative and producing process of commercial theater from the vantage of both writers and actors. It seemed as if no new work was produced in New York unless it was based upon a film property or developed in the London scene. I saw all of this talent (most of which was frustrated or feeling stagnant) and wanted to create an opportunity to empower them, showcase their talent, and remind them that this can be a joyful existence; and that it could actually make a tangible difference in the life of someone in need. That's where the charity piece came in. By virtue of their participation, they are directly helping someone; and for me, that is the best part of the concert.

When creating a new artistic venture, it can be difficult to rally support: what were the opening years of MuseMatch like?

I would simply say that "it takes a village". As an artist committed to the development of new work, I was constantly engaging with new writers and performers; and whenever I did a reading, or workshop or project: I would tell someone about MuseMatch, and ask them to do it. I was at NYU for college, and so I had been in New York for about 10 years before I started the concert and I had built a really incredible network of talented people whose talent I was awed by; so my excitement and passion for the project outweighed any perceived impediment of administrative work, schedule coordination, marketing or producing in general. I really loved doing it, because the artists who went through the MuseMatch process left inspired and excited; and the audiences left moved by the material.

Was there a moment with MuseMatch when you said to yourself, "We did it."?

Honestly, once the adrenaline settled from the first song of the First Concert, I sat in the banquette of Feinstein's/54 Below (which is where I did all of the previous concerts. Shout-out to my dear friend and creative phenom, Creative Producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper) and I saw the joy of the artists on-stage, the smiles and laughs and tears of the audience bearing witness to the artists sharing themselves and it was better than any drug I have ever done! Of course, my perfectionism always left me inherently dissatisfied with something logistically I could improve (which naturally happened over time), but the incredible and lasting high of producing the concert has been my greatest personal accomplishment as well as my deepest personal joy that I have EVER experienced.

Put a picture in my head of the process of matching the muses with the musicians.

Honestly, this is one of the most fun parts of the process for me. I would like to pride myself on my intuitive ability andHOPE to think that I have cultivated good taste over the years and through the experiences I have had. So, I do a deep-dive into the performers' and the writers' existing materials and experiences and I say something along the lines of "what does this singer need to really open and free themselves up?" or "There's something about this writer that would really strip away that "I am the pretty young ingenue who sings HOW ARE THINGS IN GLOCCA MORRA"; so I would pair someone like Jen Brissman ( who played Chava in Fiddler on The Roof at the Goodspeed Opera House) and pair her with Keith Varney (the writer of BLOODY BLOODY Angela Lansbury) and they created a song called OPEN FART POLICY; where Jen shared that she lets it rip sometimes. It's not all flatulence jokes. But as my clown teacher, Philippe Gaulier says "You say I want to be an actor! I WANT TO BE AN ACTOR! Yeah, okay. That's good, But FIRST, you must be a beautiful human person with a beautiful pleasure. Otherwise? You are just a pain in the ass!" The creative process of MuseMatch really encourages the pairings to reveal a deep personal truth and share it. The result ALWAYS flaws me.

You are a singing actor yourself - did you ever participate in the program?

I have never, and I will never. It's something a lot of the writers and performers ask! But I am a purist. I am wearing the producer/creative director hat for this and that is how it will remain. I have been very fortunate to have writers create roles or songs for me specifically; so I have had that itch scratched elsewhere a??

Composers and lyricists aren't the only artists who find inspiration in other humans... who has been your greatest muse, as an artist yourself?

Honestly, I am incredibly inspired by Kevin McCollum. I think he is a true genius. I am also blown away by Jennifer Ashley Tepper and Michael Kushner. Jen and I were at NYU together, and she produced a BCEFA concert when we were sophomores; and I have always been awed by her enterprising, ambitious agenda for promoting and producing and being a facilitator of creation. We have worked with Joe Iconis together for almost 15 years, and I would be TERRIFIED to know the number of e-mails that she has written and received. She's a boss. Everyone who knows Michael Kushner knows that his genuine love and passion for the community is unmatched. I have worked with him as an actor AND headshot photographer, and he is just such a passionate, and genuine person.

There is always a charity tie-in to the MuseMatch concerts. Tell me about the personal instinct that leads you into the charity life.

I would like to think that the artistic life is one of service to society. It was really important for me to distinguish MuseMatch from the slew of concerts of new work that are produced throughout the city on a regular basis. So, the context of the concert was distinct; but I wanted to take it further and really remind the artists of and have them awaken to the power of their gifts. By participating, they make a difference in the world. Over the years, the charities were often created by participants, like Bryce Pinkham's ZARA AINA, a non-profit that disseminates school supplies to children in Madagascar while teaching them how to create theater, Jackie Vanderbeck's SING FOR YOUR SENIORS, a non-profit that provides live, Broadway-level entertainment to the elderly and the ill throughout the city, and THE Shakespeare Forum (which you and I belong to!) When the #MeToo movement exploded, I wanted to not only pick a charity that made a difference for victims, but one that helped prevent the atrocities that were being reported, so we made our charity MEN CAN STOP RAPE. I also tried to shift the MuseMatch interview questions to reflect the times and address the most relevant social issues of the times; so we produced an evening to benefit the Gun Violence Survivors Foundation, and I exclusively paired writers and singers of different skin color and asked them to talk about their personal experiences in regard to race. This concert will benefit The Musical Theatre Factory, a non-profit theater incubator committed to dismantling oppressive ideologies towards collective liberation, centering artists of excellence who exist in the intersections of underrepresented groups. The theater industry and community was hit to hard by the pandemic; and having been a part of the development of multiple shows at MTF, with so many MuseMatch alums, this was the perfect fit for our charity as we revive the concert series!

There is a term that many in the business use today - multi-hyphenate. As an actor and a producer and artistic director, you are clearly a multi-hyphenate. Do you think that artists today can navigate the choppy waters of show business without having to become a multi-hyphenate in some way or another?

Unless you walk out of school onto a set where you are a series regular, or directly into a Broadway show (or you are a trust-fund baby) you have to have grit to survive in New York or Los Angeles. I have never been able to fully support the lifestyle that I want to have solely through my work as an actor, and I feel no shame in saying that. I worked breakfast shifts as a banquet server at the Dream Hotel where I had to be on the subway at 4:30 AM to make my shift, I have been a catering sales executive where I built a company that did the American Ballet Theatre Gala at Lincoln Center, I have been a Chauffeur for the Korean Pop Sensation, PSY. I have been paid by Persol to model sunglasses as Frank Abignale Jr from Catch Me If You Can in full Pan-Am Pilot regalia. I did all of this while playing opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal on HBO, to doing plays at the Cherry Lane Theatre and New World Stages, and being part of the development of new versions of Forbidden Broadway, and shows like Be More Chill by Joe Iconis and The Lightning Thief by Rob Rokicki (both MuseMatch Alums) AND touring the country in a rock and roll kids musical where I alternated between a Matronly Cat Costume (with size DD Foam Breasts) and a Bumblebee costume. Heigh-Ho, The Glamorous Life! You do what you have to do to stay in it, to stay creative, and thrive while doing it.

What are the ways in which MuseMatch has evolved and grown, in the years since the first concert and this thirteenth edition?

The process definitely has gotten tighter and evolved over the years. There are NO SONGS allowed about how "hard it is being an artist". There are no songs over 4 minutes long :) I think I eluded to this a little earlier, where the prompts and interview questions were tied to the social climate and the charities were chosen to reflect that as well. Something I am really proud of, is the diversity of the writers and casts that we have assembled. For MuseMatch #YESALLWOMEN, we had an evening entirely comprised of collaboration between female writers and singers. For Musematch 8: Achromatic, we had an evening of collaboration between artists of different racial backgrounds, where the focus was sharing their personal experiences of race.

Do you have any particularly strong visions for MuseMatch in the future that resonate with you?

I would love to develop a full show with the MuseMatch process. I have thought about reaching out to an artist colony like the Goodspeed Opera House or the Hermitage and selecting a group of 8-15 actors, 3-4 writers, a Musical Director, a Director and building a full-length musical within a month to two month window. I think it would be insanely challenging, but also incredibly fun and rewarding.

What are some of the Bill Coyne artistic pursuits that people can look out for, after March 4th? Maybe a Bill Coyne solo show?

I checked that solo show box off long ago, and have ZERO Plans to do that. Right now, I am splitting my time between NYC, while primarily living out in LA and focusing on film and television work; and I am very happily taking class at the John Markland Studio.

Bill, thank you so much for chatting with Broadway World today, and have a wonderful time at The Green Room 42 next Friday night.

Thank you, Stephen! I so appreciate this opportunity, and I am so beyond proud and excited to share this evening with you, and with our community. It always winds up being a fun and fulfilling evening, and the songs are nothing short of exceptional. Every single time. Come on out, and help us support the Musical Theatre Factory!

MuseMatch XII plays The Green Room 42 on March 4th at 9:30 pm. For information and tickets visit the Green Room 42 website HERE.

Bill Coyne has a website HERE.

To post a comment, you must register and login.