Musing Music with a Maven
A Conversation with Melissa Foster, Warmhouse Story Music Maven
While working on the first Parlor Story for Warmhouse Story, based on the song Green Finch and Linnet Bird from the musical Sweeney Todd, my attention was pulled away by something else that was also wonderful. In the musical, the song is longingly sung by Joanna who has been literally locked away as the young and beautiful ward of a cruel and unseemly judge. She sings of life beyond cages and of birds that sing when caged and those that do not.
But let’s chat about that something else. That would be a someone (a friend from high school) that I remembered as determined, focused and wildly talented in music and theatre. Her name is Melissa Foster. We were in some musicals and plays together and shared a talent for storytelling as performers of Prose for the speech team. I happened to be on instagram and thanks to some magic from the algorithm, Melissa started showing up frequently.
Melissa Foster is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University. She is currently on the Musical Theatre Voice Faculty in the School of Communication and simultaneously serves as a Faculty in Residence on Northwestern’s campus. Her accomplishments go on and on beyond that- and I was not surprised one bit. She was posting about her life and immense pride in her students who managed to sing like larks even when caged by COVID 19 and the stark reminders of racial inequality that have come forward. The performances were absolutely moving.
So, I took this algorithmic magic to mean that I should reach out to Melissa and invite her to join me in discussing the song, the Parlor Story and life. What follows is our conversation.
JASON:
So, Melissa, this is a charming reconnection! It has been so fun to see the joy you express for your family, students and career. It makes me really happy. You seemed to be finding ways to navigate a very difficult time while also spreading joy. How did you make your way through the toughest times?
MELISSA:
Jason, it's so nice to connect to you as well. How amazingly fun! This is one of the great things about social media. I know it has its perils but I love being able to be connected to people from my past and stay in touch. But you asked me how I made my way through the toughest times during COVID restrictions. You know, I'm really fortunate in two ways. First, I have a family I love. I love my husband and my daughter and we had a lot of fun together. We were able to get some family time that normally would've been spent running around like ragged and the expectations of the world slowed down considerably. That was just so much of a relief. I miss it dearly. Now the world's expectations have ratcheted back up ten fold. I think it is busier than ever for me. I was grateful to spend time with them while the world all came together and said just do what you need to do to self care. That was a universal theme in my educational world, professional world and personal world. It was nice to know that we were all there for each other to just get through. We were told “you are enough”. I miss that. It was my biggest grateful moment.
What about for you what was what how did you get through your toughest times and did you have a specific you know poignant experience during the pandemic
JASON:
Likewise, loved ones and dear friends helped me manage through the hardest times. I experienced a lot of grief near the beginning of the pandemic. I was dealing with health issues, the loss of a parent and the murder of George Floyd in my city of Minneapolis. It was heavy. Chad, my partner, was so critical to staying grounded in the really rough times. As time went on, I also found self care in making and creating- which is when much of the Warmhouse Story work took place.
I know that, like my Parlor Story “If I cannot fly, let me sing.”, music and singing to myself carried me through the lonely patches and inspired my work on the brand and special projects. I guess I was a bird that could sing longingly while caged. The song Green Finch and Linnet Bird inspired me to dream of escape and came to life in my table creation. As an expert in lyrics and music, what sings to you in the song?
MELISSA:
I love your interpretation of Green Finch and Linnet Bird. That's perfect- especially during a time of Covid where everybody felt caged if not also alone. But for me, I think of that song as resilience. Resilience in a time where you do not see the light at the end of the tunnel and you somehow persevere.
JASON:
I love that. In the musical, Joanna copes by identifying with her birds and daydreaming as she gazes out of her cage of damask and dark.
MELISSA:
So, what about that song inspired you to pick the elements that you did for this particular design?
JASON:
For me, the table is the light toward the end of the tunnel. We are not through the woods as a global community, but I was inspired to create a botanical blast bursting from the suitcases and a sense of life through food, flowers and the beautiful birds. As I was able to get out in the world, the sights and smells of nature renewed my sense of hope and motivated me to capture that moment of hospitality where I could welcome people into my world and out of their cages. There is a lot of citrus on the table and their fragrance mixed with dried and live botanicals is sweet and dreamy. I listened to the song a lot as I was creating.
So, music is your livelihood and passion. I think that music saves people. It touches our deepest emotions and stirs our dreams. How do you feel about that?
MELISSA:
You know it's interesting because I fundamentally work with music all day. I think of it sometimes extremely analytically, methodically and intellectually, but I often think of how music can soothe. I think of how music can uplift. I think about how music can inspire. I think about healing. I think that all kinds of music can do those things. I think music (and not looking at just a European Western view) communicates beautifully all over the world. So I believe that it's really important to think beyond our own outlook and remember the different ways that music is used in different cultures both past and present. If you think about how songs were used 450 years ago with enslaved people in our country and others there was deep meaning. Those songs were used to communicate secret codes. To survive. To create a community. So many things. Stemming from there you can see how that carries on today.
JASON:
I can’t tell you how engaging it is to reconnect with you and see where we both landed after all these years. This chat has been super fun! So, let me drop on one knee and pop the question. How would you feel about becoming the Music Maven for Warmhouse Story?
MELISSA:
Oh my gosh I would love to become the Music Maven! That's a yes! I say yes yes yes. Where is my diamond?
JASON:
Errr… will flowers do? We will have to see about that diamond. *checks the launch budget* It will have to be flowers.
MELISSA:
Haha! Well, I do love flowers. I'm really honored to be a part of this endeavor and I cannot wait to see how it continues. What a genius inspiration for so many people in so many ways. You will touch so many lives! I’m saying this on behalf of all of those who will experience Warmhouse Story. What makes you the most excited?
JASON:
You know, Melissa, it is creating beautiful and collaborative content with people like you that gets me hopping out of bed in the morning. This has been a blast. Thank you so much for playing a role in this launch. I can’t wait for our next collaboration and so appreciate your contribution and analysis. Cheers!
