Angela Gilbert’s life as a vocal performance major is pretty crazy. From performing and rehearsing with the University Singers, Boots and Cats and the Big Red Singers, the junior at the UNL Glenn Korff School of Music admits it can all be a little tough to balance at times, but it’s so worth it.
“It’s fun to be able to make so many different types of music with different groups of people,” Gilbert added.
Gilbert will have yet another chance on Friday night as part of the Musical Theatre Showcase event in the Westbrook Music Building Recital Hall. The 7:30 p.m. performance is free and open to the public and will feature many different scenes from musicals.
“For me it’s just the fact that when you are talking about a musical it’s not you,” Gilbert said. “You are getting to go out and find a character and build that character. It’s what this (Musical Theatre) class has helped me with so incredibly. Usually when I would sing a musical theatre song I would just get up there and do some generic motions that I thought went along with what I was singing. I’ve learned that there is just so much motive behind what you are doing. You can put yourself into that character. I have so much fun with that and that is what drew me to musical theatre.”
The Ralston native’s high school teacher told her about Alisa Belflower and the Glenn Korff School of Music.
“I had a lesson with her and it clicked so here I am,” Gilbert said. “I was so dead set against going to Lincoln and I wanted to get out of Nebraska but I’m SO glad that I stayed here.
“When you sit down in a room with her (Alisa), you can feel the knowledge that she has. It’s just incredible. The way that she can explain something to you and if you don’t understand she will find a new way to explain it until you get it. She’s so talented and she inspires you to be better all the time. She’s so fun. I love working with her.”
That includes going through what different motions or gestures mean with the students and how important that is to translate to the audience.
“Like hands/palms up means that you are accepting something or taking in information,” Gilbert said. “There is just so much that I had no idea that one little gesture could mean so much. I’m learning so much in this class. The process that she is putting us through is pretty rigorous. I feel that going through it the way she structures it that I know the song in and out. It helps on so many levels.”
Gilbert will be performing two different scenes on Friday night. One is with Cody Meyer – ‘You Should Be In That’.
“I think it’s really funny,” Gilbert said. “It’s from a YouTube Musical. It’s about these two people that meet in a coffee shop and we talk about what he does for a living and he’s a performer and I am not. I think I know so much about the theatre world and I don’t. I’m a little bit offensive with him.”
The other is a trio with Nolan Henkle and Trent Buglewicz – ‘Sing For Your Supper’.
“It’s supposed to be a musical performance where we are the ensemble but Alisa gave us the idea to put more background and fun to it where we all want to be the star of the show,” Gilbert said. “It’s a struggle for power in the scene.”
All of the performing that she does is putting her in position for what we wants to do with the rest of her life.
“I want to perform,” Gilbert said. “I wouldn’t mind doing a cruise ship or a touring show like Broadway-type. I’m more musical theatre than classical but I do love classical too. I want to perform somewhere.”
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/6xhu