Life in the Pit

Back in 2021, we chatted with Joe LaRocca while he was playing on the 50th anniversary tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.  Since then he has found the niche of actor/musician and talks about how that has changed his perspective before we get into our main topic: his observations for the current state of hiring practices for pit orchestras and what he thinks needs to change. Joe's SubStack page can be...

In 2021, John Eldridge and I had a 2-part episode series on keyboard programming in musical theatre, and I felt it was time to check in for a 2025 update.  Software like MainStage and Q-Lab are becoming more and more expected at even a community theatre and high school level.  A mid-end keyboard, even with a ton of sounds, just won't cut it for an average modern musical.  If you're a music directo...

CORRECTED: Original post was missing the interview, and has been updated. Sachio Nang chatted with Life in the Pit in 2021 talking about his recent high school experience and getting started with theatre music directing.  Since then, he has done professional work including 3 national tours!  He played keyboard 2 and was associate music director for Elf and Shrek, and is currently playing bass on t...

Sachio Nang was recently a high school graduate in the Chicago area in 2021, and has since been part of 3 national tours since we originally spoke!  Before we soon reconnect to talk about his very young career as a Broadway touring musician, here is an encore presentation of our interview from April 2021. Follow the podcast on Instagram or Facebook @LifeInThePitPod.  Feel free to subscribe to our...

Life in the Pit had reached its end as a podcast a few months ago, but I resisted making it official.  This episode was recorded and released simply because YOU the listener deserved a proper farewell, and I wanted to share just a little of why I'm not continuing here.  As I mentioned in this episode, I'm very proud of the work accomplished in the episodes, and I'm determined to keep the entire hi...

"& Juliet" is a musical reimagining of Romeo and Juliet with a different fate for Juliet, all told with music from the legendary song writer Max Martin, whose songs have made the charts when sung by Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, The Backstreet Boys, and more.  Dominic Fallacaro is the music director and also the co-orchestrator (along with Bill Sherman) who was responsible for coming up wi...

This is a brief follow-up to Episode 77 with Jason Loffredo, where we talked about the conflict of the new show, Here Lies Love, wanting to open with only pre-recorded tracks in a union theatre that required 19 live musicians.  An agreement was reached earlier today.  This is a reading of the news followed by a few brief thoughts on what it means. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platf...

After a longer than intended hiatus, Life in the Pit is back for a couple of episodes this month.  This was an impromptu meant to address an ongoing conflict between the Local 802 AFM (the union for Broadway musicians) and the pending opening of Here Lies Love in a Broadway house.  The production has announced that it will be employing NO live musicians and have only pre-recorded tracks, while the...

LIFE IN THE PIT listeners, here is the trailer for David Lane's new podcast.  If you'd like to add this to your podcasts, you can find all available apps at https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ For Apple Podcasts, click here. For Spotify, click here.  Please follow the show! Is it your goal to become a great musician?  Are you already a working musician, but want to strengthen your craft?  Are you...

Life in the Pit is still temporarily on hiatus, but David Lane wanted to come on to thank all of you for listening, talk a little about the state of the podcast, and what's going on for 2023. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing t...

Whether you're in the pit or any kind of musician who has to perform to an expected standard, you may often or even occasionally struggle with stage fright or performance anxiety.  Elisa Di Napoli specializes in ways of treating this to allow you to become a confident performer.  She is the author of "Dare To Be Seen", which you can get for free for at least a limited time at https://elisadinapoli...

Marci Shegogue is a music director and keyboardist who has been active for decades in the Maryland/DC area. In 2018, she started the Free Theatre in Silver Spring, MD ( https://www.instagram.com/thefreetheatre/ ) and talks about the admin side of running a theatre and how that crosses over with her life as a music director. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private t...

Life in the Pit is going to go on a hiatus, hopefully a short one.  For more details, listen to this episode as David Lane talks about what's going on with the podcast and why.  Also, we do a deeper dive into the 3 keys to making it big that was touched on in the previous episode. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial a...

Dennis J. Arcano has played for several dozen shows including the national tour of Tick, Tick,...Boom! as drummer and assistant music director.  He is also frequently a sub on drums and percussion for Broadway productions such as Follies, Jagged Little Pill, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  We talk about all of that, the high quality work he's doing as the house drummer and contrac...

Episode 71 begins with David Lane reporting on his very fun first-time experience at NAMM 2022 in Anaheim .  Then he brings up a topic that might be uncomfortable but one that is important and widespread: non-union musicians for community theatre are, for the most part, still being paid the same amount they were receiving at the beginning of the century.  David reads comments from musicians all ov...

This is a follow up to Episode 70 with Angela McCuiston , where we chatted about strength and injury prevention for musicians, but we never actually talked about her pit experience.  This is a funny story of her "big break", and not in the way that phrase is normally used. Follow Angela and discover her resources at http://musicstrong.com .    his episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform t...

We might not be discussing performance on Episode 70, but don't skip this week, because a reported 90% of musicians will go through some kind of performance-related injury in their career.  Angela McCuiston is determined to see that number go down because of her services as a personal trainer for musicians through her company, Music Strong .  Angela is not only a trainer, but she plays flute, alto...

If you're a musician in any field, your network is paramount!  If you're a music director who works a local market and are responsible for filling chairs in the pit for your production, are you taking shortcuts and possibly saving time while sacrificing the opportunity to build relationships?  This is a mild rant from host David Lane about a trend he's been noticing.  Do you agree or disagree?  Pl...

Jeff Saver took over music directing sometime around 1988 during the original Broadway run of Into The Woods.  He talks about his experiences with that production, his friendship with the late great Stephen Sondheim, and his understanding of collaboration. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, c...

A lot of talented musicians sit around waiting for work, or struggle with plateauing.  Whether you're just getting started or you've been a professional freelance musician for a while and just needing to take an honest assessment and maybe course-correct, David Lane offers 14 habits compiled from himself, past guests, and former listeners that can help make sure that you are doing everything you c...

Arnold "Arnie" Gross began his professional career as a pianist, and that included working on shows such as Company and Cabaret.  For over 5 years, he was the music director for the original Broadway production of Annie.  He was also the dance music arranger as well as the on-screen pianist in the 1979 film All That Jazz, starring Roy Scheider and directed by the legendary Bob Fosse.  Arnie is lon...

This is the first listener-generated episode, where David Lane answers two questions: The first question is asking about the pros and cons of accepting a theatre gig that doesn't pay much beyond travel expenses. The second question is asking about tips for managing a day job, family, and even meal times with evening gig life. This was produced as a video episode, which you can watch here: https://...

Rob Rokicki is a composer, lyricist, and orchestrator - including the musical adaptation of The Lightning Thief which had a short Broadway run but is currently very popular in local theaters around the nation!  He chats about the musical itself and gets into some song-by-song musical elements.  And, of course...we talk about his pit musicians! Find out more about Rob and his work at https://www.ro...

Many musicians are their own employers, to a small extent if not entirely, making a significant of their portion from freelance gigs.  While the vast majority of them are great at their instruments, making good decisions with finances isn't a strength for everyone.  Samantha Absher of WTF is a Budget (and past cameo guest on an early episode about Terms for Theatre Musicians) is here to discuss so...

This is a brief follow-up to Episode 64 with Jose Simbulan where we talked about being an audition accompanist. Host David Lane has been doing a lot of audition accompanying this week for two community theaters, and shares some of his observations of dos and don'ts based on recent experiences. You can watch this video at https://youtu.be/dAC33G5mSYs Please subscribe and follow to our YouTube chann...