A Stephen Schwartz biography Defying Gravity features never-before-told stories about the genesis of Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Working, Rags, Children of Eden, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt and Enchanted.
"exceptionally readable and visually appealing," "Defying Gravity is a winner," "The best example of the genre," "The Wicked section of the book is not sugar-coated, and provides readers with one of the most realistic accounts of how musicals are produced."
Defying Gravity takes readers into the creative world of Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz, from writing Godspell's score at age 23 through the making of the megahit Wicked. For this first authorized biography, de Giere draws from 80 hours of interviews with Schwartz and over 100 interviews with his colleagues, friends, and family. Her sympathetic yet frank narrative reveals never-before-told stories and explores both Schwartz's phenomenal hits and expensive flops. It includes many never-before-told stories, a series of "Creativity Notes" with insights about artistic life, and more than 200 photographs and illustrations.
Table of Contents for Defying Gravity
Back Cover for Defying Gravity
Sample chapter - "Landing in Oz" chapter 16
EVENTS PAGE: Carol de Giere and Stephen Schwartz appearances
Defying Gravity: the Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked
Author: de Giere, Carol.
Title: Defying gravity : the creative career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked / Carol de Giere.
Imprint: New York : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2008.
Description: 535 p. : ill., music ; 23 cm.
Note: Includes bibliographical references (p. 514-519) and index.
Subject: Schwartz, Stephen; Composers -- Biography; Lyricists -- Biography; Musicals -- History and criticism.
ISBN: 9781557837455
Sample call numbers used in libraries: Library of Congress: ML410.S42 D44 2008; Dewey: 782.14 DEG or as biography B Schwartz
Carol de Giere named the book after the exhilarating first act climax of Wicked when the show's heroine sings "Defying Gravity," the book attests to Schwartz's determination to follow his vision despite setbacks and negative criticism. Defying Gravity includes a multi-page spread about the collaborative development of the "Defying Gravity" scene and song in the show.
For more about the song visit the "Defying Gravity" page at MusicalSchwartz.com: "Defying Gravity" lyrics, etc.
This Oscar and Grammy-Award winning songwriter's journey is one of sensational successes and dramatic flops. Without reliance on substance abuse to get through the lows, Schwartz continually picked himself up after discouraging reviews and experiences, and rose again for such achievements as creating the score for Wicked.
In July 2008, Wicked passed Pippin and The Magic Show in number of continuous performances on Broadway. All three have run over 1900 performances, making Stephen Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history with three shows that have reached this milestone.
...Stephen Lawrence Schwartz, the future award-winning composer-lyricist, had arrived at dawn on March 6, 1948, in New York City, where the Schwartz family lived until they moved to France fifteen months later. His father, Stanley (“Stan”) Schwartz, a disabled World War II veteran, used GI Bill funds for college tuition to enroll in graduate school in Paris.
During the family’s year and a half overseas, Sheila observed how quickly her son learned two languages. “He would speak to his little French friends in French and then he’d turn and speak in English to me.”
Even more noteworthy to his parents than his facility with language was Stephen’s love of music. His favorite toy wasn’t a stuffed animal or his little red wagon, but rather his phonograph on which he played yellow 78 rpm records. “There was always music in our house, since I’m a music lover,” says Sheila, who had sung in shows in high school.....
...He would always count his training in the dramatic arts as
essential for his future artistic efforts. “I decided to go to drama
school when I went to college, rather than majoring in music,”
Schwartz explained to an interviewer later in his career. “I think
everybody writing for theatre should take acting, because the
processes are so similar. A lot of writers don’t understand how to
get that internal process going, so they write songs that are nice
but not really actable.”
He continually relies on lessons from the drama world for his work and teaching. “For me, when I am working on a musical number for a show, the story I am trying to tell comes first. It is a little like an acting exercise—I try to become the character, think about what the character’s action is (what he or she is trying to ‘do’ at that moment), and then express myself as that character would.”
It was at Carnegie, also, that he decided to focus on lyrics as well as music. “I had always wanted to be a composer, and then I began being my own lyricist in college because I couldn’t find people to write lyrics for my songs whose work I felt strongly enough about.
Thus he became that rarity in the world of musicals—a “composer-lyricist.”
....The main narrative of Defying Gravity covers musical-making creativity within the context of Stephen Schwartz’s career. From his childhood dream of writing musicals through Wicked’s opening on Broadway, the book follows the peaks and crises of his artistic life—a storyline that is reminiscent of a three-act play.
In Act I, Schwartz burst onto the New York City theatre scene with a succession of hits: Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show. With Act II, he faced a series of disheartening flops: The Baker’s Wife, Working, Rags, and Children of Eden in London. For Act III, he bounced back with songs for award-winning films, and the mega-hit musical Wicked.....
Why read this Stephen Schwartz biography? Anyone working on their own creative projects will enjoy the insights for artistic life in Defying Gravity, as the author quotes Schwartz and others sharing insights about the creative process.
In the "Creativity Notes," Schwartz describes tapping the subconscious mind, overcoming creative blocks, writing for character detail, surviving countless rewrites, working with feedback, and other topics.
A list of Creativity Notes - from the Index of Defying Gravity:
Adventure and Risk, 265
Alan Menken Speaks on Creative Blocks and
Rewrites, 490
Artistic Ego, 118
A Structuring and Compartmentalizing Mind, 285
A Working Process That Connects With Feeling, 29
Collaborative Support, 399
Communication Styles in a Collaboration, 100
Comparison—A Creative Block to Avoid, 74
Compression and Expansion, 83
Creating A Peak Moment—Defying Gravity, 366–
368
Creating Character Through Realistic Detail, 155
Creative Discipline and Writer’s Block, 489
Dealing With Criticism, 183
Dramatic Anger and Creativity, 325
Finding the Song Moments in a Story, 247
Holding Steady and Being Flexible, 411
Interviewing— A Technique for Songwriting, 512
Knowing When to Quit, 78
Musical Diving Boards, 459
Production Values—Moving to Final Form, 198
Solving Problems of Placement, 170
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants:
Following Models, 238
Subterranean Ways, 33
Surviving Bad Drafts and Endless Rewrites, 359
The Delicate Question of Who’s Right, 311
The Playfulness Factor, 65
Timing for Going Public, 223
Tonal Disparity and Finding the Right Mix, 140
Tonal Disparity and Finding the Right Mix #2, 191
Writing to Please an Audience of One, 440
The following dates are for the opening of a musical or movie. As explained in this authorized Stephen Schwartz biography, Defying Gravity, creative efforts on these musicals almost always began many years before audiences could view the finished show or film.
Find out more by visiting http://www.musicalschwartz.com
Official website for Defying Gravity: the Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked (musical theatre biography)
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