Blog by Matthew Perri

I Lied to Get My First Conducting Job. My Grandfather Would Have Approved.

I lied to get my first stick conducting job. My Italian grandfather would have approved. "Don't lie unless the truth doesn't fit." What happened next involved a Cape Cod orchestra,...

Blog by Matthew Perri

The Casting Conversation Nobody Wants to Have

In the casting room everyone suddenly believes that great singing happens by magic. That physics doesn't apply. That anatomy is flexible. It won't. Here's what actually happens when the room...

Blog by Matthew Perri

The Band You Can't Hear and the Voice Nobody Trained

The first time I walked out into the house on my own Broadway show I could barely hear the band. Our star had a small, safe, pleasant voice. The mixer...

Blog by Matthew Perri

The Five Singers You'll Meet on the First Day of Music Rehearsal. God Help You.

The first orchestra rehearsal is thrilling. The first day of music rehearsal with nervous singing actors? That's a completely different experience. A field guide to the archetypes every Music Director...

Blog by Matthew Perri

When You're Conducting With Click — Are You Pretty Much Useless Up There?

When you're conducting with click, do you ever think you're pretty much useless up there? A Broadway player's honest answer — and what they're actually watching you for when the...

Blog by Matthew Perri

You're Such a Good Conductor. You Remembered All Your Tempos.

A Broadway actor once told me I was a great conductor because he loved my tempos. I told him he was a great actor because he remembered all his lines....