DECEMBER 2009 – TOURING! A NEW CD! GOING GREEN! A ONE-WOMAN SHOW! OH MY!
End-of-year greetings to one and all –
It’s me. René. Most likely you’ve been wondering what happened to me.
Or maybe not.
I got chastised by someone recently for not having sent out a newsletter since 2007. I just knew she was mistaken, so I checked and y’know what? She was right.
Ouch. Well, I did release a statement in July 2008 about “you-know-what” (see below), but, in all fairness, that wasn’t a bonafide newsletter.
But this one is!
I hardly know where to start, so how ’bout I re-cap the whole year, taking it month by month? (bear in mind these are just the high spots here)
January 2009:
Started preparing music for our upcoming “Voice Of My Beautiful Country” tour. I wanted to feature tunes on this tour that reflected the musical soundtrack of my life thus far – the music I’d been influenced by as a child, teenager, young mother and mature woman. It was so hard narrowing down all such music into a manageable set list! Some of the tunes I had in mind: Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”; Dave Brubeck’s “Strange Meadowlark”; Mentor Williams’ “Drift Away”; folk tunes “O Shenandoah” and “John Henry”; “Angelitos Negros”; “Disconnect” – an original of mine about disenchantment w/religion; “Serenity Prayer” – I composed a melody to some additional words of this beautiful prayer that a friend sent me; a medley of “Imagination” and “Just My Imagination”; “I Hope You Dance”; and, of course, the suite “Voice Of My Beautiful Country” after which the tour was named.
You can get a free download of this suite in part or in its entirety by visiting the music page of this website.
February 2009:
I did some work with Sophia’s Sisters, a choir made up of women who are inmates at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. I was introduced to this choir by Kerry Kurt, an amazing woman of action for whom the phrase “git ’er done” must have been invented. Working with Kerry, the two conductors Pat Magurkurth and Pat Wimberly, and the women in this choir was one of the most rewarding musical interactions I have ever experienced.
March – June 2009:
After the tour I got right to work on an idea for a one-woman show that had been percolating for quite some time. Several years, to be honest. I decided to name it “Slut Energy Theory – U’Dean”™. Now, don’t let the word “slut” throw you because it’s used tongue-in-cheek. I mean, we all know how the word “slut” is typically used, don’t we? It’s used along with over 70 other denigrating words for women whose sexual activities mirror a man’s.
The idea for “Slut Energy”™ had its conception about 7-8 years ago during a late night conversation over a bottle of wine with a friend about the counterproductive effects that romantic/sexual relationships can have on creativity and productivity, with some women expending seemingly endless energy pursuing sex or sexual relationships rather than on creative, spiritual or intellectual endeavors. The term “Slut Energy”™ was coined to describe this pre-occupation with sex.
This conversation led to more questions later: when are girls first made aware of the sexual aspects of their bodies, and by whom? What forces or influences move girls away from their sexual innocence and into a life that centers on sexual activity? How do these forces color their view of the world and of themselves? Is it possible — or even necessary — to free oneself from these forces? If so, how?
“Slut Energy Theory – U’Dean”™ is one woman’s story about incest, abuse, laughter, life, philosophy & pushin’ on through to the other side. Told through music, spoken word and monologue, U’Dean Morgan speaks her mind as an elderly, yet ageless, woman whose harrowing life experiences have left her anything but speechless. Her favorite quote? “It ain’t what you done lost, it’s what you got left!” From the opening song, U’Dean doesn’t mind telling you exactly what she thinks about sex, heaven, god, lies, truth, you, herself and whatever else you might ask her — if you have the nerve!
Nearly five years in the making, all components of the play — music, lyrics, spoken word and monologue — are my original works. This is my first ever one-woman show. It is directed by donnie l. betts and produced by donnie l. betts and myself.
October & November 2009:
“Slut Energy Theory – U’Dean”™ premiered October 1-3 and 7-10 to sold out crowds. The response was so favorable that we did an encore presentation November 20-22. Survivors of sexual and domestic abuse are so often full of shame — it is difficult to talk to others about, even to trained professionals. The feedback i got from those in attendance has made this absolutely THE most rewarding experience of my musical career thus far.
For more on the one-woman shows, including reviews, interviews, and photos, click here.
Then, almost as an afterthought, I decided to record the music from the play into a soundtrack. The release date of the NEW CD of the soundtrack from the show was December 3, 2009.
The CDs arrived the last week of November and Aurora Muse, who is customer support for renemarie.com, is chomping at the bit to send you some new music!
To listen to some of the tracks and download “Nothin’ But Love” for free, click here.
To purchase the entire CD, click here.
Finally, I’m so excited to announce that we have begun implementing green methods in the packaging of the “Slut Energy Theory – U’Dean”™ soundtrack:
- The new CD is printed on recycled cardboard and the CD tray is made from 100% post-consumer plastic (recycled soda bottles).
- Instead of using shrink-wrap on the CDs, we chose a simple adhesive wafer seal.
- For insulating the CDs against damage when shipping them to you, we are phasing out bubble wrap and using shredded paper and recycled plastic bags. our hope is that, upon unwrapping the CD, you will find a way to continue recycling as well – especially during this season of giving.
- We are gradually eliminating the use of mailing labels. aurora will be writing directly onto the CD mailers in her own handwriting!
So…those are my 2009 highlights! I. ain’t. doin. NOTHIN’. else. this. year.
…except singing a couple of songs with Allan Harris when he plays Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge in Denver, CO on December 19.
See, earlier this year we recorded a rendition of “baby it’s cold outside” together for allan’s christmas album. We’ll definitely do that tune together, plus one or two more. 2010 will be a very busy year &emdash; more plays, more music, another CD and a west coast tour!
UPDATE – December 25, 2009: I just received some hard-to-believe news! The Denver Post theatre critic, John Moore, has nominated my one-woman show to receive the Ovation Award in two different categories — Best Solo Performance and Best New Work. Read about the nominations at DenverPost.com.
UPDATE on the Ovation Awards Update – January 4, 2010:
The votes are in and Slut Energy Theory – U’Dean was the Reader’s Choice for Best Solo Performance of 2009, receiving 35.3% of the popular vote! Click here to see for yourself.
You’ll need to scroll down a bit to get to the category of Best Solo Performance.
You guys are the best! You took time out of your busy and hectic holiday schedules to vote and I am so grateful to you for that. What a way to start the new year!
In closing, let me take a moment to express my deep appreciation to all of you for your kind encouragement and support this year. Whether you attended one of my shows, purchased or listened to some of my music, volunteered with the play, or just sent an email to say “hello” or comment on the music, I am so grateful to you. There is so much wonderful music in the world, so many talented and dynamic musicians and singers. The fact that you spend your time and money listening to my music means more to me than you’ll ever know. Thank you.
May each and every one of you experience an abundance of joy and love this season and in the coming year!
Love,
rene