and welcome to TOCA backstage (podcast) I'm here
with the illustrious Robin Spielberg who
will be doing Robins billboards holiday
sing-along on November 30th at 8 p.m. at
the aren't James Armstrong theatre Robin
it's so great to have you with us today
I know you're you're all the way in on
the East Coast but we appreciate you
taking the time so for those of you who
don't know Robin is a Steinway artist
she's produced a number of amazing
records she's written a book called make
it on the bench which I can't wait to
hear more about and she has performed in
over 60 off-broadway shows and as I
understand it you're also a founding
member the Atlantic Theater Company yes
yes I just started off as an actor so I
was I went to NYU and I studied with
David Mamet way mhm Maisie and we
started the Atlantic Theater Company
with my classmates and I was chasing my
Broadway dreams for quite some time in
those early years in the in the 1980s
but I supported myself unlike a lot of
other struggling actors who were waiting
tables I supported myself by playing
piano I was playing piano in hotel
lobbies and piano rooms my one foot in
acting and one foot in music for quite
some time
I didn't some music for musical theater
and I had written some music for scene
changes for theater and sometimes I'd be
acting in a play so I had that going on
for quite some time but when I created
my first record in 1993 I decided to
take a one-year hiatus from auditioning
just to see where it would go and I
never went back so I've been doing my
one-woman piano show ever since and do
you ever keep in touch with all the
Atlantic Theater she's been a busy actor
and Emily makes me we're all in pretty
good touch especially the original
founding member
we just wanted to bond I think that's
gonna last our lifetimes no I I don't
know if I can tell this story as well as
you could but we had you perform at the
studio cabaret series some years back
and you would come out I think a little
earlier during that day before the show
you went to visit the set of Desperate
Housewives
no she just was so busy working and so
she said come to the set so we just kind
of hung out in the trailer and I went to
the set and watch them film Desperate
Housewives was super fun but I you were
in the backseat of a car the cameras all
in there like right in there that's
always kind of fun to see what it's
really like and then you you wrote a
book naked on the bench the adventures
of p.m. in piano land my time at the
piano and I told my husband you know
where I'm going I say where you going
I'm going to piano and which means I'm
going into my my my piano room my oasis
so when I I've always been a journal
keeper and you know some of the things
that happen on the road just people it's
too crazy to even make up
believe some of the stuff that happens
sometime to keep a diary or a journal of
some of my my Road stories and every now
and then I would share them as a blog or
to a friend or to audiences and many
people suggest it you should put that
those stories together in a book you
know and over time I thought you know
that's not such a bad idea I've actually
have a really close friend who's also
named Robin and she had written a few
adventures she really was very
instrumental and encouraging me to go
ahead and do people always laugh about
the title they giggle because it's
called that has a that has a double
meaning when you are an artist
no performing for an audience you are
very vulnerable
you know you feel pretty naked in order
to do a performance that people can
relate to and share you need to really
kind of break down that fourth wall and
connect with your audience so you're
vulnerable but the wonderful concert
resort the audience socks and that was
just one of the most ridiculous funny
things I've ever done so I thought that
would be so that gives a whole new
meaning to that are they the whole
phrase when you're people have like
stage fright they say go out there and
picture the audience naked I think it's
kind of odd I know that I was very
emotionally exhausted because I was very
conscious to stare everyone in the eye
so so you you started out trying to do
the the actress thing and then the and
then you went into the music thing with
at what point did you realize okay it's
the music thing from here on out well
you know there's that phrase where
people say better be careful what you
wish for right so what happens when the
thing that you've wished for happens
it's not what you thought and what do
you live your life kind of faking your
way through or are you a truthful with
yourself so here's what happened I was I
did not get the lead in the show that I
wanted but I did get the understudy for
the lead and a small part in a role
again this was at Lincoln Center and I
am doing the play with people they love
all the elements came together had good
reviews I love the director it's getting
paid well
audiences were coming it was full all of
those things came together so here I am
doing to show eight shows a week and all
of my friends are insanely jealous oh my
gosh you're so lucky it's so wonderful
and I'm there doing the show saying
what's so crazy about my day-to-day I
mean that was the honest truth the other
actors around me were very happy with
their day to day and what it looked like
was you know getting up in the morning
and going to your dance class going to
your boys class going on an audition
going to the gym report in to the
theater and like doing it all over again
and that whole process of constantly
audition
and competing for roles it was not
really fun I like the end result
I like being in a play I love the
camaraderie and the process of working
on a part and originating a role that
was wonderful but the reality is that
you need to you know have joy in your
life and your everyday because if you're
going to be honest if you're pursuing a
life as an actor you're going to get
booked or controls a few times a year
that are great if that right it's not
enough to keep you happy on the other
hand you know I could not go into my you
apartment and act but I can go into my
apartment and anytime play the piano
write a song and that brought me
constantly whether I was playing piano
at a hotel or at a club or by myself
that always brought me joy so these
things converged at the same time I was
doing this play and at the same time
I've got my record deal and I said now I
think I'm going to as I said take that
year off no regrets the other hand if I
had not pursued acting first I'm not
sure right the acting training and
experience really helped me come back
stage fright and learn how to create
kind of a theater piece which is a bit
unusual as you know most
concert artists come out take about play
and leave because they don't teach that
in school that's how to connect with
your audience so well and I did I have
noticed having presented you a couple of
times in the past you're very you have a
group you start off with a great rapport
with the audience I mean that bad that's
really evident in your sort of your
banter with them and I would think that
the acting should have helped you with
that absolutely absolutely and also all
of the gigs I've done so prior to going
out on the road I played for 12 years in
piano room
sometimes my job was simply to be the
wallpaper I kid you not and sometimes
you could tell when Broadway hour was
coming and people were getting ready to
go to the show and you kind of knew what
was hot on Broadway and what show they
might be going to go ahead and play a
few tunes from that show so you had to
really know how to feel out the audience
quickly look at the demographic and say
oh this audience might appreciate things
from the forties and fifties this
audience might appreciate so you learn
how to pick up on those cues and I think
that's an important skill to have
because I want the audience to come and
have a really nice time and to kind of
sit there with their hands fold and
politely apply we're kind of in this
together new experience together so when
you aren't performing or playing what
kind of music new isn't that makes sense
this is Grammy voting season so if
getting tons and tons of things to
listen to to evaluate for my voting
process but I have music in my head all
the time all the time it's a blessing
and a curse chord changes are kind of
thinking about it not necessarily
enjoying it so I have listened to the
Hamilton soundtrack probably more than
anything I've listened to you in the
last couple of years
crazy about it and for the most part I
kind of listened to some talk talk radio
to make sense
so I guess to address the elephant in
the room knowing you are following you
on facebook
I I know that
you are the Jewish persuasion how do you
address it when people ask you about
doing a holiday show I mean it's not
just Hanukkah but it's a holiday show
and you're huge yes congratulations Mike
when I assigned with a small record
label in 1990s North Star music they
picked up my first CD which was all
original piano solos and as I was going
tonight I went to my car so excited I
signed my first record deal I was just
so happy I was in Rhode Island I was
driving back to New York and the record
company president knocked on my window
rolled it down and he said hey you know
we're signed here for six record
delivery three years I just want to let
you know a lot of our business because
they sold music at that time in gift
stores and book stores not necessarily
our records or Sam Goody I wanted to let
you know that I'm a lot of our
businesses in November and December we
do a lot of holiday music we always
release Christmas Records every year
would you'd be interested in doing one
and I said sure I've never given it much
thought and I'm Jewish
and he said great you'll have a whole
fresh take on it and all the way they
were singing Christmas songs trying to
think of what would I want to do and I
had the best time because this music is
beautiful
so that first record I did for them was
called spirit of the holidays and it was
a piano cello guitar recording of
traditional Christmas songs it really
it's sold like a hundred thousand copies
it did phenomenally well and we went and
he toured it and then the next one I did
I said I really would like to explore
Christmas music from around the world
not just the ones we've heard of like
maybe a song for home increase
so they said okay and I recorded that
and my grandmother who at the time was
in her late 80s and so recorded to
Christmas I was like well grandma
there's not a lot of Hanukkah music out
there we've got the dreidel song right
now we really can't we can't compete a
lot of Jewish composers that are written
Christmas songs like white Christmas
Irving Berlin and she said well that's
not true I can teach you a lot of songs
in Eastern Europe that was pretty great
took my tape recorder went to see my
grandmother in Brooklyn and she sang
beautiful songs in Hebrew and so I did a
recording they would not touch it it's a
very small percentage of people that
might be interested unfortunately it's
one of the best CDs I've ever made but
um so didn't get a lot of publicity but
I'm very proud of it and this is just a
beautiful music from Eastern Europe and
I call it America Hanukkah song
celebrating Hanukkah and peace I even
recorded the u2 song one applies to the
Middle East as well so I kind of did a
take on that and then I did a third
Christmas record of just solo piano so
um you know music is music I love music
I have behind me looking at this book of
songs from you know folk song some
Ireland it's about this thick before you
rang me I was looking through those folk
songs reading them through there's just
a wealth of music out there so I don't
think you need to be any particular
religion to enjoy the show I don't think
so and I also noticed just looking at
your
your history that you did the soul of
Christmas the Celtic music celebration
yes I was on a PBS special it still airs
I believe every year what happened was
that back in the like 1997 I recorded a
CD called in the arms of the wind it was
fall was the first time I did a whole
recording of solo of complete original
music for piano and ensemble and I had
my wish list of you know different
session players I wanted to work with
and I was I could not even believe that
Johnny Cunningham said yes he was a
fiddler he passed away a few years ago
but he was a fiddler from Scotland and
he you know Windham Hill label he's an
amazing fiddle player and I was so
honored and surprised that he said yes
to the recording so he came in and he
played fiddle on this a few Tunes album
and when he got home he called he said I
adored working with you I loved every
minute of it
I'm working on a Christmas do you want
to be on it studio and some piano tracks
and they called a few weeks later they
said guess what we're gonna get a PBS
special based on that Christmas CD do
you want to be on the PBS special I said
of course but this turned into you a PBS
special called the soul of Christmas at
Celtic music celebration with Thomas
Moore so not only was I the only
non-christian on and I was the only one
who was an Irish recording but it all
worked very very well and so well that I
formed a kinship with several of the
musicians and then we went on later to
make another recording together Kathy
Ryan Irish and Susan McKown and I got
together and we recorded a CD called
mother songs celebrating mothers and
motherhood and that also has a Celtic
flair to it
so I don't know maybe in a past life I
was I was Irish who knows
so what do you what would somebody going
to see this show coming up in on the
30th of November what do you hope that
they walk away with joy we need some
right in the world generally so you know
you're gonna come to the show and you're
gonna have some joy and I know that
because I just spoke with choir director
recently named Warren she's gonna bring
in a bunch of her choir students and
they're gonna be guests on this show and
it's gonna be completely adorable you're
not going to be able to stop smiling so
that's great because I put together a
few videos that kind of go within the
background that are really fun to watch
while I play when I do my solo work and
when I was growing up when I was little
I remember watching cartoons in between
the cartoons we're dating ourselves but
I do remember that like okay now it's
time to say right so I loved it so much
I created a few follow the bouncing ball
videos so we're gonna do you go ahead I
think you're gonna watch a few of them
the whole time just but a few times you
know I found that people really enjoy
singing along and it started quite
accidentally I was doing a holiday show
that I called in the heart of winter and
I was playing and then I got to like you
know my big rendition of jingle bells or
something and good bring it you know and
then rich I got their keys and we're
making Bell sounds with their keys you
shouldn't feel guilty about yourself
you're in the theater and you hear
someone singing along you go like that
right it's just that to my mom all the
time
mom Shh listening to the radio don't
sing to it that's I'm really looking
forward to it and it's always a pleasure
to work with you we're running a little
out of time but before we go can you
place little some that was awesome and I
will say it's okay to play that now
because my wife and I were just in Home
Depot last night and they already have
Christmas decorations but we're looking
forward to seeing what November 30th and
thank you so much for your time Robin
thank you
