• Home
  • About
  • Journal
  • Get in Touch
ALEXANDRA DE SUZE

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?

Self-tapes, stories and a REVIEW!

2/13/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
So I was standing in line at Target when, after doing some scrolling and, I...okay, I admit it, I totally went to Broadway World to see if there was a review of my show, and...there it was. And...well, you can read it right HERE. I'm still a little speechless at both the review Stephen Mosher writer and the fab pics he took. It was 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, so you're not sure how things are gonna go, but we were gonna make a party of it anyway, and we did. I can't thank the LB fam enough  for helping create and make this show what it is. I've got a seriously badass - as overused as that word may be, it's just true in this situation - band, MD and Director in Matt Scharfglass, David Silliman, Sierra Rein, Ellen White, Goldie Dver, Richard Binder, Tracy Stark and James Beaman. And you can see all of us Wednesday 2/15 at Don't Tell Mama at 7pm. Come on down! You know we'd love to have you. 
​
Picture
Now, I also got to help No Name get back to live performance last week as part of the lineup for No Name's Super Story Party co-hosted by No Name impresario Eric Vetter and author and 'teller Michele Carlo. Such a great night with stories from Michele, author and storyteller Tommy Pryor, comic/director and actor Rhonda Handsome, and comic and head writer for Tha God's Honest Truth Charles McBee and...ME! So nice to be back up at Word Up Community Bookstore sharing our stories live to a full house. 
No Name...And a Bag of Chips will be having it's 29th anniversary show, yes 29th anniversary, 2/25 at Word Up's sister shop Recirculation, at 5pm. I'll be back behind the kit with the Summer Replacements and providing music with BinderSuze. It's a beautiful location and will indeed be a good time so come on out!
Tonight, I'll be with The PGE for it's Virtual Volume starting at 7pm. Head over to their YouTube Channel and check us out. In the meantime, if you need this merry mixed mezzo for your next project, hit that CONTACT button!
​Peace ✌️ 
0 Comments

Not Expired, but Blooming!

1/16/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
How're you all doing? The first couple of weeks of this year have been a little whack for me, I mean, there has been proof that Mercury is indeed in retrograde from my Instagram being hacked to cracking a tooth on soggy pizza, but at the same time, lovely things are happening.
1. What would happen if you suddenly woke up with an expiration date on your arm? Shannon Condon's sci-fi podcast "Expired" explores this issue as one family looks to find an answer or cure before their daughter's "expiration date" is up. I was given the opportunity to play the mom, a Type A lawyer who usually can fix things, but is not sure if this is something she can actually just "fix". It's a great and complicated story which I hope you will enjoy. Give it a listen here. 
2. Final Two Shows! We had a great night 12/30 at Don't Tell Mama sending out the year with Late Bloomer love, but if you missed it, come on out to DTM and see the last two shows of Late Bloomer 2/11 at 4pm and 2/15 at 7pm. It has been such a joy to perform this show and I really hope you'll join us for our final shows. Come on down! Make your reservation here. 
And if YOU need a versatile mezzo and actor, head on over to that contact page! 🧡🤞🏽
0 Comments

DNA and CABARET!

11/29/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Hey there, all!
Man, it has been a busy time, and it has been awesome 🧡. 
I started the month with a week of background work for a television show I cannot name at this time, but I had a great outfit and met some fabulous people on set. They may have been long days, but when you share it with fun people, it makes it all the easier to pass that time.
Right after that, (DURING even) I went into rehearsals for one of my favorite projects, The Prospect Theatre Lab. Each year, music theatre writers are chosen to write short original musicals based on a theme. This year's theme was "Caption This". The writers got to choose from a collection of photos and go from there. The inimitable Amy Englehardt, who I have known since she became a regular guest of No Name Presents: The Uptown Cabaret, chose a photo of one boy and two middle aged men in Annie costumes. The resulting show: "Annie Dream Will Do", about a middle-aged woman named Andrea still dreaming of playing Annie, while her best friend, Sandy (yes, my character was named after the dog in Annie, and there were many other hilarious references) is trying to help her move on. I got to work with one of my best friends, the stupidly talented Doug Shapiro, (surely, you've heard of Doug Shapiro!), finally get to work with the fabulous Dana Aber, as well as meet and be in awe of Sammy Hahn. (And I also got to explain cassette tapes and cassingles to her.) I have to say that this was one of most fun projects I've worked on to date. Thank you, Dev Bondarin, Cara Reichel and everyone at Prospect Theater for this opportunity. 
Next up: The DNA Play. Back in 2020, my friend and fellow Emerson alum, Nicole Jesson contacted me about working on a project with a couple of her grad school friends, Elizabeth June and Malini Singh McDonald. It could be over Zoom and maybe grow into something else. 
Well, last year, we realized we had something else and we did a reading of this project, then called "Insert Name", sharing our stories of DNA tests and family histories. This year, we worked on it some more and brought it back before an audience 11/27 to record it and...it looks like we still have a thing! I will you all posted on how it evolves and progresses. 
In between the background work and Caption This, I got to be a guest star along with cabaret icon Karen Mack at Sue Matsuki's fabulous and warm cabaret open mic at Pangea. Sue does such a great job making a safe space for both established and emerging cabaret artists, and is such a force for good in the biz herself, it was an honor to be able to sing there that afternoon.
So what's next? 
*12/11 No Name...And A Bag O' Chips will be returning to a live show at last! I'll be singing and playing drums "behind the funny" once again. HUZZAH!
*12/15 Speaking of things returning to live performance, Madison Avenue Baptist Church's Christmas Extravaganza returns. We sadly couldn't do our concerts during the height of Covid, and then our wonderful MD, Paul Stephan retired to Maine with his husband this year. Our new MD Aza Sydykov, though, believed it was time to bring it back so we are ready for you to come on by and see some wonderful artists perform along with members of the choir singing holiday classics. Check the MABC website for more information. 
AND THEN...
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Come close out the year with LATE BLOOMER!
Yes, we will back at Don't Tell Mama 12/30 (and a couple of dates in February). I am so excited to bring this show back and close out the year with some love. Come on down to Don't Tell Mama, 7pm, $20 cover/$20 minimum, reservations HERE. We'd love to have ya. 
That's the news for now, but, like always, if you need a tall, mixed mezzo for your theatre, music, film or TV project, head on over to that CONTACT page 🧡.
✌🏽

0 Comments

Cabaret! Readings! Special Guest!

10/24/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hey there, all! So last weekend, I closed the three performances of my cabaret "Late Bloomer". I can honestly say, we had three packs houses, and got reactions such as "brilliant!", "cathartic!", and "amazing!". Here are some notable quotes:

"THIS BEAUTIFUL, SILK-voiced, genuinely present lady...
congratulations on your VERY HAPPY-MAKING show!" composer/writer Amy Engelhardt

"I've got a Cabaret Crush on Alex De Suze.
She's Audra, Aretha & Annie Lennox, with a little Phil Collins all rolled up into one." --cabaret artist Leslee Warren

"It was all I could do not to break into tears or yell shouts of glee, sitting behind and listening to Alex De Suze as she debuted her show “Late Bloomer.” Her voice and her storytelling and her spirit are like a velvet catapult for the soul. " --MAC Award winning singer/actor Sierra Rein

I can't thank director James Beaman, MD Tracy Stark, bassists Matt Scharfglass and Tom Hubbard, drummer, Mary Rodriguez, backup singers Julie Reyburn, Sierra Rein, Goldie Dver, and Ellen White, Tanya Moberly and Sidney Meyer at Don't Tell Mama, sound guys Adam and Rocky, and server Randi and all the fab people who came to make this such a wonderful and powerful experience. We will be bringing it back, just got everybody's schedules together, but keep and eye out here for future dates. 

IN THE MEANTIME...WEDNESDAY, yes, THIS WEDNESDAY 10/26, I'll be at QED in Astoria doing a reading of my solo show "Single What? Female: Tales of The Tall Big-Boned and Ethnically Ambiguous". Yes, I have been that person who's been working on the same show for...far too long, but I figured it was time to get off my duff and get back in gear with it and thanks to the fabulous Dev Bondarin and her direction, we're starting the journey towards a production, by having this reading. 8:30 at QED. It's all of $10, the show's just about an hour, and they have beer, wine and snacks! Come on out to Astoria and check us out!

BUT THAT's NOT ALL!
NOVEMBER 13th - I'll be a special guest along with Karen Mack at Sue Matsuki's Jazz Brunch at Pangea.

NOVEMBER 27th - Last year at this time, Nicole Jesson, Malini MacDonald, June Elizabeth did a first reading of our play "Insert Name: A DNA Journey", sharing our tales of DNA tests and family trees, Well, we're bringing it back with a new name: "The DNA Play", and with some reworking. We'll be back at New Perspectives Theatre the afternoon of 11/27. More details to come!

And if YOU or anyone you know could use this merry, mixed, mezzo/actor/drummer, head to that CONTACT page!

Peace ☮️ ✌🏽
0 Comments

Come to the cabaret...

9/19/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hey there, all!
Come to the cabaret, my friends! Yes, 9/28, 10/12, and 10/15 I'll be at Don't Tell Mama with a fab band and fab singers; there will even be a BinderSuze appearance! I am so excited for this show and can't wait to share it with you. 🧡
In the meantime, here's what I've been up to:
*9/12 I hosted Volume 173 for The Playground Experiment. 
*9/10 I was part of the cast of the first reading play-in-progress The Golden Ass by Bug Johnson, playing Venus and Proserpine in - when staged - a De La Guarda style version of the Eros and Psyche love story. The PGE First Reads Festival guides playwrights/screenwriters through a process where, after some initial work, they have thirty days to write a first draft. They submit, and three pieces get chosen for for the festival. This is my second First Reads and it was a great time.
*I got new headshots! I loved the ones I got two years ago (is it really only two years ago?!), but, as I am wearing my glasses more often (thanks to a combo of middle-aged vision and Pair Eyewear feeding my need to accessorize), it was time for an update. I gotta give props to the folks at Dirty Sugar photography for giving me some shots that really popped.
All right, time to get back to the self-tapes and cabaret rehearsals. 
And if you are in the city, come on down to Don't Tell Mama! make sure reservations HERE. (That link goes to 9/28, but if you can't go then, click the calendar for links to 10/12 or 10/15.) 
​✌🏽☮️🧡
0 Comments

New trailer, new play!

8/29/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hey there, all! So a series I worked on a while back is starting its journey through the festivals, and has a new trailer out, HERE. I had a great time working on this show and can't wait to see how it does.
As for catching me on a screen, check out The Playground Experiment's Virtual First Reads on 9/10. It is just that, the first reads of new plays in progress over Zoom. Support new work and check it out! Details can be found HERE. 
And speaking of September, don't forget to make reservations for my cabaret show Late Bloomer at Don't Tell Mama on 9/28. 
In the meantime, here's to closing out the summer well and getting ready for fall and all the pumpkin spice.
​Peace ✌🏽 
0 Comments

Come to the Cabaret!

8/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
There's a postcard now so that makes it official. Come on out to Don't Tell Mama for The Blossoming! I am really excited about this show. I have some great songs, have a fabulous band, and Dir. James Beaman and MD Tracy Stark have been a dream to collaborate with. It will indeed be a good time, so come on down!
BUT even before THAT, I'll be LIVE with The Playground Experiment this coming Monday 8/22 for Volume 172 at the Marjorie S. Dean Little Theatre on 10 West 46th Street Street. The show starts at 7pm and will feature six scenes of new and/or progressing work. I started working with this group in 2020 over Zoom and am thrilled to be able to work with them live in person. There's new work! There's fab talent! There's a raffle! What better way to spend a Monday night? (Seriously, Only Murders In The Building doesn't stream until Tuesday.)
In film news, the short film "What Do I Owe You?", in which I played restaurant owner Ina, has been listed as a nominee at the LA International Film Festival's Indie Short Awards, and is a semi-finalist at the Rhode Island Film Festival. You can check out the trailer, HERE. 
Lastly, because...politics, there are new bits on Reince Priebus Tried...And Other Tales From The White House on Facebook. 
Peace, friends ✌🏽
0 Comments

Summer pickups!

7/8/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hey there, all!
What? It's SUMMER? How the heck did that happen? if time flies while you are having fun, I feel lucky enough to have had some fun projects keeping me from watching the time. 
BUT FIRST: Great news! The short film "What Do I Owe You?" that I filmed with Tyler Mercer at the helm and a fab cast, back in 2020 is doing the festival rounds and just won the Grand Jury Award from the New York International Film Festival. This was a great piece to work on and I can't wait to see how far it goes. See the trailer HERE. 
And if you want to see me on the computer screen, I'll be part of The Playground Experiment's First Reads Festival Saturday 7/9 at 5pm in Andi Lee Carter's play Earth 3021, about the evolution of AI, which you can check out HERE. 
Speaking of The Playground Experiment, I was part of their Volume 168, playing Madame Du Barry in a scene from Kendra Augustin's work-in-progress "Antoin[ette]". This piece already is funny, fabulous and Shonda-ready. Can't wait to see more. 
In the meantime, I am putting the finishing touches on my cabaret show which will go up at Don't Tell Mama 9/28, 10/12 and 10/15. Keep an eye out here for more info!
We m ay be living in bizarre times right now, but remember that it is indeed summer, so go out to the beach, get outside in the sun and enjoy some time off while you can.  --Peace ☮️ ✌🏽
0 Comments

LIVE!

5/30/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
hilarious It started with a Sunday afternoon read through of the musical The Full Monty. And then Monday...man it was a day to make you LIKE Mondays. I started the day with a truly wonderful rehearsal with Jamie Beaman and Tracy Stark for my cabaret show. Taking already fab songs and finding new things in them to play with is such a joy. It really made me think, "Oh, I think we got something here." Keep 9/28, 10/12 and 10/15 marked in your calendars, folks. This show is going to be something special.
Later that night, I got to work again with the fabulous Playground Experiment. They started going live part time again and this was my first one LIVE with them. As I started working with them on Zoom, this was an opportunity to meet some of these folks in person for the first time. And it was marvelous. And while I already had a role in Andi Lee Carter's hilarious sci-fi piece, Last minute, I was asked to read a role for Tim Lorge's screenplay and had a blast going from friend to villain to disgruntled vineyard owner in about 15 minutes. I love helping bring new work to life and was so glad to be able to do it on an actual stage again with such talented folk. 
Speaking of talented folk, I am back in class with Karen Kolhaas and these PEOPLE with whom I am sharing a Zoom. It is amazing, and, as usual, crazy helpful and inspiring. 
If you feel you could use this merry mixed mezzo for your next piece, go on an click on that CONTACT button. In the meantime, PEACE ✌🏽
0 Comments

When Covid Attacks...

5/2/2022

0 Comments

 
So I was supposed to be back at my church gig with the whole choir for the first time in two years; I was requested to do a reading at New Ambassador's Theatre the Friday after Easter; I was requested to do an in person reading at the new home of The Playground Experiment; there was supposed to a jam session, and a read-through of the musical The Full Monty; and lastly, I was supposed to start shooting the indie film Third Week...
And then I got Covid. My son tested positive on Easter Sunday and then I tested positive on the following Wednesday. And then I lost all my gigs. While I was grateful that we had mild symptoms, it was still a month of a week. When I finally did test negative last Tuesday it was like the sun coming out again to shine for the first time in far too long.
I may not have been able to shoot a film, but I have had time to focus on my cabaret show. (Keep 9/28, 10/12 and 10/15 open, everybody, so you can join me at Don't Tell Mama in the Brick Room.) James Beaman, a cabaret legend and fab actor and coach is directing and the inimitable Tracy Stark will be MD. We are putting together a fab band and lots of great music so keep an ear out as things progress. 
This past Sunday, I was able to read through the musical A Man of No Importance, singing the role of Lily, as well as playing percussion as you can't help but want more instrumentation for all that marvelous Celtic music. It made for  a fantastic afternoon.
Monday 5/9, I'll be back on Zoom with The Playground Experiment, so go over to their page on YouTube, subscribe, and be ready to see some great new work and support new theatre!
Later this month, I'll also be getting back to class with Karen Kohlhaas. I have really enjoyed working with her and my fellow students each time I have taken one of her classes, so I can't wait to start it up again.
In the meantime, should you need this Merry Mixed Mama, for your new musical, play, film or tv/web series, head to the next page and hit that CONTACT button! Hope all is well and Peace ✌🏽
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture
    When not pandemibaking...
    I have finally started a website! I just got these beautiful new headshots done by L Morgan Lee of BLUEphotography, and at last have a place to display them. 
    I've also been getting this self-tape thing DOWN. Madison Avenue Baptist Church, with whom I've been the alto for going on twelve years, like most churches, has gone virtual, so we are making videos of solos and hymns for the time being. (Someday, I'll release an outtake reel.)
    There've been other opportunities, as well, for practicing this process: virtual choir and concert videos.
    I've been lucky enough to work with Prospect Theatre Company and, thus, was asked to be part of their lovely video featuring Peter Mills' tune "Two Buoys". (I come in with the alto part and drums>)
    Two Buoys
    Next, a dear friend - a jazz musician and choir director,  presently living in Italy - started up Singers Without Borders and asked me to be part of this uplifting number: How Can I Keep From Singing?
    Lastly, The Rigano Songbook asked 42(!) of their closest friends to help out with this wonderful song about an all too relevant and growing segment of our lives as we try to communicate with proper social distancing: Screen To Screen
    The Rigano has a concert planned for 3/13...and then the world shut down. But far be it for them to not have a show. Yes, the Ides of March Extravaganza is now the Ides of APRIL and will be in virtual form. When those videos go up, I'll be sure to share here. 
    In the meantime, contact me here if you would like me to be part of YOUR virtual - and/or, eventually, LIVE - project.

    Peace ✌️ 

    Author

    Alexandra de Suze is a singer, actor, drummer who also writes a bit and occasionally makes silly videos

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Journal
  • Get in Touch