David M Burgess

Actor, Singer, Dialect Coach, Props Master, Designer, Drag Queen, Writer, Academic, Technician

Author: dmbadmin

  • I Joined Actors’ Equity Association!

    I Joined Actors’ Equity Association!

    This is something I have been mulling over for some time. In 2019 I became a member of the Equity Membership Candidate Program, earning points towards full Equity membership, after understudying at Bristol Riverside Theatre’s production of On Golden Pond. Shortly after that, I attended grad school at Villanova and then the pandemic happened. I sort of cast aside my notions of being an Actors’ Equity member, at first thinking it was too risky to be out there performing, but then I was contacted by a friend who put me in touch with Delaware Theatre Company where I got an opportunity to understudy for Peter and the Starcatcher at Delaware Theatre Company. From there, I ended up in Crazy for You at Villanova University, and, to my surprise, right back to DTC for The Flatlanders. I essentially worked in Theatre the entire Winter into the Spring. I tried my best to keep the momentum going.

    Over the pandemic, the Equity Membership Candidate program ended and AEA instituted Open Enrollment, however, I never became a union member and I no longer have EMC status which helped a little to get union auditions as a non-union member. So, at this point, I can only apply for non-union jobs. I had three auditions lined up that would have booked me for the summer into the fall, and I got callbacks for 2 of them, but in the end, zero jobs. All the while, I see tons of opportunities for Equity members. One Equity audition even had some time slots for non-union folks and when I applied for one, I was denied.

    So, after some coaching from a former teacher, I decided that it made sense to join the union in order to simply get access to auditions. Once I join the union however, I won’t be able to do non-union work. I think that’s ok. After years of training and experience, I think it’s time to work in a professional environments with access to the benefits therein. Thus begins a new journey and I’ve already got my first union audition scheduled. Turns out, it’s at Bristol Riverside Theatre, the very same theatre where I got my first points towards union membership.

  • The Flatlanders

    I was extremely fortunate to be invited back to Delaware Theatre Company for their production of The Flatlanders in association with 1812 Productions. The Flatlanders is a 2 person show about a couple who are in a car crash during a snow storm in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania and have to break into a strangers house to stay warm. It starred real life married couple Jen Childs and Scott Greer of 1812 Productions. Below is a picture from the first day of tech. We open on 4/20.

  • The Show That Got Away!

    It was the first week of March in 2020 and we are rehearsing “Merrily We Roll Along,” my first musical at Villanova University, the last show in Villanova Theatre’s previous home, Vasey Hall. Little did we know that 2 weeks later the world would change forever. We never got to do this show, and Vasey Hall would close with little fanfare. 4 years later and I just closed my second musical as an alumni last week! I’m so glad I have been able to come back and perform on the Villanova stage. …

  • Crazy for You at Villanova University

    Crazy for You at Villanova University

    I just finished playing the role of Eugene Fodor as an alumni in Villanova Theatre’s production of “Crazy for You.” Fodor, was a real life travel writer who also happened to be a spy for what would eventually become the CIA. In “Crazy for You” he is a Brit who travels to Deadrock, Nevada with his wife to write a travel book, “hoping to do a series of them,” which he eventually did in real life.

    This musical features the song “Stiff Upper Lip” which inspired me to write this article about “Sayings Songs.”

    This was an amazing opportunity to be a part of a huge production full of spectacle and excitement. Many heartfelt thanks to the numerous folks making up the cast and crew! We couldn’t have done it without you! Below are some of the photos by Paola Nogueras!

  • Sayings Songs

    This is a term that I hope to coin having done extremely limited research. While many songs and lyrics generate common sayings, like, “You can’t always get what you want” or “See you later alligator,” to name a couple well known sayings, “Sayings Songs” are songs where the lyrics come from common sayings.

    The most famous and expertly crafted example I can think of is from the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, “Iolanthe.” “If You Go In You’re Sure to Win” looks like any song with a verse chorus structure with the third verse sung by the Lord Chancellor taking on a different melody, both to set him aside as the one who is making the big decision during this song, but the “verse” is actually the bridge in the classic AAB structure. Also, each chorus, starts with the same first two lines and followed by 4 unique lines each round, repeating the final stanza. By doing so, W. S. Gilbert has crammed in 4 unique sayings per chorus, forcing our performers to learn different lyrics for each chorus, in three part harmony, no less. Here’s a recording, featuring my favorite Gilbert and Sullivan singer, John Reed!

    A contemporary example of a sayings song that immediately comes to mind is Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson. It contains many wise sayings such as, “still waters run deep” and “live and let live.” It’s a catchy tune, that may sound familiar. It was also sampled in the 90’s by Kon Kan in the song, “I Beg Your Pardon.” Give the original Lynn Anderson song a listen below!

    Returning to musical theatre, I was just in a production of Kander and Ebb’s “Curtains” a couple years ago and there was a song called, “In the Same Boat,” while not a great example of a “Sayings Song” since it’s really only one or two sayings, extrapolated, to some extent. It’s also a quodlibet, taking several songs and layering them together to create one big song as explained at the beginning of this track. Take a quick listen below.

    My final example comes from the show I am currently working on, “Stiff Upper Lip” from “Crazy for You.” I play the role of Eugene Fodor who actually introduces the song with the line, “But in our part of the world, we have a few sayings about this sort of thing. Stiff upper lip!” literally setting us up for a list song of sayings, simply, this time, they are all British! If you want to know how this song goes, you’ll have to come out and see me in Crazy for You at Villanova Theatre or look it up on your own.

    Click here for Tickets!

    However, what’s interesting about these examples of “Sayings Songs” from musical theatre and operetta, in a story telling capacity, is that they come at a time of ponderance or decision making. In “Iolanthe,” the Lord Chancellor is trying to make a decision about the fate of his ward, Phyllis, and if he should allow her to marry or simply marry her himself. In “Curtains,” the locked-in cast of a show, subjected to a murder investigation, attempt to recreate the conditions of a murder, while workshopping a troublesome number. Lastly, “Stiff Upper” lip comes at a time when the cast of another “show within a show” are deciding if their show should go on given a nonexistent audience and pending foreclosure of the theater. In all instances a moment of clarity comes shortly after this song with the characters making decisions that ultimately determine their fates. Even thinking about “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson, these sayings are all advice of some sort, often given at times of reflection.

    As I continue working in musical theatre, I will be keeping a keen eye out for other examples of what I hope to coin as “sayings songs” and add to the list and examine their similarities and differences, perhaps updating here as I go. Reach out to me if you have any thoughts on this or have any other songs to add to the list.

  • I am a Mensa Member

    I am a Mensa Member

    That’s right, the title says it all, I am a member of Mensa International.

    I had mentioned in another post that I had switched to community college in the middle of my undergrad. While at community college, I had made a few new friends taking my computer science courses. An undergrad in computer science usually requires two semesters of calculus and I ended making one my first friends in my calculus class. As is the case with college friendships, we took to each other fast and spent most of our study time together, doing homework or working on group projects.

    At some point my friend expressed his frustration with being at community college, which happens to be where his mother works, so he got to go there for free. In any case, he was bemoaning how everyone at community college was so stupid. I turned to him and said, “Well, you met me here, I’m pretty smart!” To which he replied, “Well, you’re no genius!” For whatever reason, that stuck with me.

    A while after I even stopped attending community college, the Mensa convention came to town and was at a hotel about two blocks from where I live. If you came with a check for the test fee, you could be tested that day and see if you qualified for entry. That’s what I did and when the results came back, I had scored in the 99th percentile, more than enough to qualify. In the end, this was something I had to prove to myself. I never even told my friend. We began to lose touch once we were no longer in school together.

  • BS Computer Science with a Minor in Music

    BS Computer Science with a Minor in Music

    Also an AS in Computer Science along the way.

    After high school I started college at West Chester University. I actually entered the university as an undeclared student, meaning, I hadn’t picked a major. Without knowing it at the time, this kind of put me behind the other students, who actually knew what they wanted to be studying, by about a semester. I knew that I wanted to be part of the music program, but I didn’t really understand the application and audition process and since neither of my parents had attended college, let alone for the arts, they were no help at all.

    After one semester, I finally made my way into the music program as a Music Composition Major with Voice as my instrument. I managed to get a couple semesters under my belt as a music major before I had to switch schools.

    I wasn’t taking my undergrad education very seriously and needed to withdraw from a couple courses to avoid ruining my GPA. My music education was suffering as well. I didn’t understand how much more commitment these courses would require than regular academic college courses, which remains true to this day. Arts courses often have labs or out of class time required. Think about choir performances for college choirs. The performance itself must be a significant part of one’s grade. So, it made sense to change my major to something else I was good at, I.T.

    For whatever reason, understanding technology is somewhat of a gift. First, before pursuing IT as a major, I had to switch schools. I registered at the local community college in order to knock out as many required courses in my new major as possible before transferring to a new school or back to West Chester to complete the degree. This was a major cost cutting measure since, essentially the first two years of my college education were a wash with the exception of being able to declare a music minor.

    Once I completed as many transferrable courses as possible at community college, which actually granted me an Associated Degree, I returned to West Chester and finished my Bachelor’s in Information Technology in 2003 on my birthday.

  • New Dates Added for “Crazy For You!”

    New Dates Added for “Crazy For You!”

    You may have heard that our first weekend of “Crazy for You” at Villanova University had to be cancelled due to illness. Fortunately, everyone is doing well and they just announced a bunch of new dates added to the performance schedule! Check out Villanova Theatre on Facebook or Instagram, or check villanovatheatre.org/crazy-for-you to find out when tickets will be available.

  • Voice Lessons

    I started taking voice lessons when I was 17. I had heard anecdotally from my high school choir teacher that singers could get paid working for churches. Since I had been in virtually every choir that was available to me since I was in 3rd grade, including being in the chorus in musicals, advanced, chamber, and district choirs, I thought this might be something I could do. I opened up the literal yellow pages to “churches” and cold called every church listed there. To my surprise, I received one call back from the very church that housed the nursery school I attended that was, at one time, my family church, St John’s in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

    I worked there for an entire season, from September until June, singing every Sunday and special church service including Christmas and Easter. I made somewhere around $35 per hour, which at the time, blew my mind despite the fact it was only 4 hours a week. Still I thought I was doing great for a 17 year old!

    I also had heard that one of my favorite singers in my choir took voice lessons, so, once I had a job, singing in the church, I booked my first voice lessons. Again, I opened the yellow pages and looked up music schools. I found Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music and I gave them a call. I started my voice lessons just a week or two later with Mrs. Kathryn Blum Barone. I stayed there until I started my Freshman year at West Chester University where I ultimately became a music major with voice as my instrument. There I was able to take 3 semesters of voice lessons.

    Unfortunately, I changed my major and ended up getting a degree in IT and didn’t take voice lessons again until I attended Temple University in 2016. There I studied theatre and eventually joined the choir and got access to voice lessons. There I got one semester of voice lessons with grad student, Tyler Tejada.

    Soon, I hope to return to voice lessons and I find them invaluable for building a proper singing technique which has helped me tremendously as a performer, both singing and acting, even understanding how to reproduce different sounds in accents and dialects.

  • I am a Designer!

    I never really set out to be a designer, but once I started making costumes and props for shows, I just couldn’t stop. I use as much of my technical background as possible when it comes to being a designer. I love using technology to solve problems and create automated processes. Below are some pictures of the variety of things I have designed. Also, check out Amanda Playwythe to see the clothing I design making sure to be inclusive for plus sized men!