Let’s start at the very beginning…
Hi There! If you’ve come across this page you may be interested in the research and writing I’ve done as part of my theatre studies. Welcome! I’d like for this to be a place where I can put some musings out that hopefully people will find interesting and enlightening and at the very least get a glimpse into what I’m most interested in exploring surrounding the theatre.
I’m hoping this can be a place of varied topics but I would be remiss not to begin with Trude Rittmann who is the reason why I think of myself as a writer and researcher. Trude Rittmann (1908-2005) was a composer in her own right but I came to her through her work as an arranger of voice, dance, and incidental music for the golden age of musical theatre. I was fortunate enough to be encouraged to write my master’s thesis on Rittmann and loved exploring her work through library research and primary sources (I spent one of the most magical afternoons of my life with the late great Bruce Pomahac at the R&H headquarters as he recounted and played for me the depth of Trude’s contribution to Richard Rodger’s catalogue.)
After completing my thesis in 2010 and shouting Rittmann’s praises to any rafter of the internet that I could find I came into contact with some wonderful champions of Trude’s work including her grand niece, Susanna Drewry who is working on her own account of Trude’s life and work. I also had the great fortune to be contacted by theatre legend Mana Allen who has spent a great deal of time researching and spreading the word about Rittmann and connecting a group of passionate Rittmann fans on Facebook.
My writing (now nearly 14 years old) feels incomplete to me at this point. There is so much more I know now and having connected with so many people gives me hope that Trude’s story will have more life in the future. But I’m always happy to share my work. Thanks to my thesis chair (the great Joel Schechter) you can indeed find my writing at the SF State library. However if that kind of library sleuthing is a little out of your league but you’re still interested in reading my original work please send a contact query and we can come up with a plan.
So I’m hoping this blog can be a place to share Trude insights as well as other research and projects I’m working on. Thanks
