Episode 012 - David Weinraub

In this episode, I welcome David Weinraub! He has been involved in professional theater productions, musical theater, and rock-and-roll bands, and talks about how his involvement with art has changed throughout the years with various life seasons.

 

Connect with David Weinraub: https://www.facebook.com/david.weinraub.5

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Artist's Edge: The Mission of Artist’s EDGE is to raise the level of Business Intelligence, Life Skills and Emotional Intelligence for people who are committed to expressing their passions, their creativity, and their unique genius through their careers, helping them reach higher levels of success with ease. Click here to access all courses!

 

Intro & Outro Music Credits:

Bad Ideas (distressed) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3412-bad-ideas-distressed-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

SHOW NOTES:

Episode 12 - David Weinraub

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told ,where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:13] Roman: All I can do is put my heart into the world.

[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever, really. I mean, as long as you, you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as, as so beautiful.

[00:00:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello and welcome to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm Lindsey and I am so excited to have as my guest today, David Weinraub, and thank you so much, David, for joining me. I'm so delighted to speak with you today.

[00:00:49] David Weinraub: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to participate.

[00:00:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Well, I would love if you would start by sharing just a little bit about who you are and maybe some of your involvement in art.

[00:01:01] David Weinraub: Sure. Well, my name is David. I am a child of the seventies and grew up playing music. That turned into a love of rock and theater. As I continued to grow and after college, I began pursuing a career as an actor and did that and was able to pay my bills for a few years and then found a part-time job that turned into a full-time job in an office that I really enjoyed, and realized I can still continue to do art no matter what. I could still play music, I could still act, but I could also--didn't have to pursue it as my full-time gig, and continued to act. I met my wife. We were the only two people with day jobs on a six night a week dinner theater show, and we dated, got married a few years later, had a kid, and then I kind of dropped out of the art world for a while.

[00:01:55] I stopped performing when our son was born and I didn't get back to it until about three years ago, and I've been going nonstop ever since, and I love it. And I love that I can share with my family. I love that I can share it with the world, and I'm just having a great time continuing to make music and, and perform. So that's me in a reader's digest nutshell.

[00:02:18]Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Yeah. I mean, I know that there are many, many layers to your stories of course, but that's great. I'm so glad you're back into it. And I love that you met your wife through that. That is wonderful.

[00:02:29] David Weinraub: Yeah, no, we would be, it was a dinner theater. So, you know, you, you get a paycheck just for performing, but you make more money by waiting tables, and we had day jobs and weren't able to get down to the theater in time for the dinner service before the show. So we would hang out backstage. It would just be the two of us, and that's how we really bonded and fell in love. So the theater has been great for us in many, many ways.

[00:02:53] Lindsey Dinneen: It sounds like it. That is awesome. Wonderful. Well, I'd love to hear a little bit about maybe some stories of times where art has impacted you, or even hear a little bit about, you know, the various projects that you're embarking on now.

[00:03:06] David Weinraub: Sure. Well, I guess my love of theater started in college. I was a Shakespeare fiend. I was an English major and I loved reading Shakespeare and analyzing Shakespeare, talking about it, and then my senior year, they were going to be doing "Henry the 4th," parts one and two in their entirety in the spring. And I decided in the fall, well, since they're doing it in the spring, I should audition. So they think I'm interested and then I can be a spear carrier, a soldier. And so I can just say I acted in one Shakespeare play. And I auditioned in the fall for a show called the "Prince of Homburg," which is a 16th century German piece very similar to the themes of "Henry the 4th."

[00:03:52]So a young upstart Prince doesn't really know how to become a leader and goofs off a lot, but then becomes a leader in his own right. And, I, I got cast in a pretty good role and I loved it. And, then from that point forward, all of my focus turned towards theater. I was able to complete a theater minor in an entire year before graduation. And then right after college, I just kept going with it. So it started with the love of Shakespeare. I worked for the Annapolis Shakespeare--I think it's under new management now--but the Annapolis Shakespeare Company after college. I did some modern dramas and black box theaters in downtown DC, which no longer exist.

[00:04:34] And then, I was auditioning a lot in New York while performing in DC and, then, fell into the dinner theater, 'cause I realized if I wanted to make money, I couldn't just do Shakespeare or weird modern dramas. The money was in musicals. And I played in bands in high school, in college as well. So I sang a little bit, but I started taking voice lessons and I got cast in a production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" as Pilot in the Giant Theater in Frederick, Maryland.

[00:05:07] And, then I, I just kept doing musicals for awhile. And then I met Catherine and we got married. We worked together on four shows in dinner theater and then did a few more after we got married in community theater in the Northern Virginia area. And then our son was born, and that was amazing, but we dropped out of performing in theater and started attending theater. We became a Shakespeare Theater subscribers and Kennedy Center subscribers. And that was just amazing as well, just to be able to enjoy something from the other side, which when you're performing six nights a week, you don't have as much time to see.

[00:05:42]I thought I still needed some sort of creative outlet when he was little, and then a friend of mine who I worked with who was in a band, asked me if I wanted to join his band. And the good thing about playing music--you can kind of take gigs when they become available to you, but also you can rehearse when it works for the whole band. All of us had day jobs. We were just, we called ourselves a bunch of old dudes who just got together and played when we could. And, we were getting more gigs, playing bars and stuff than we were able to take, because people travel for irregular job work and the children's calendars, you know, we had sports for our kids and stuff like that.

[00:06:19] And we just played when we could. The band was called the Black Shag Sherpas, and I think they still have a website. I'm not sure if there are any original members left in that band or if they're still playing, but they played some great funky, weird rock, jazz hybrid music along with some covers. So that was fun. So I never stepped away from art or music. I just found an outlet. And then how I got back into it-- the dinner theater where Catherine and I had met closed down and they had a reunion picnic. So people who had worked there from the time it opened in the mid-seventies, till the time it shut down in 2016, everyone was invited.

[00:07:06] And, I started talking to friends from the theater who I had not seen in 13 years, and I was telling them about playing in bands and they said, "Oh, you play in bands. Do you think you could get a band together to play the 'Rocky Horror Show?'" And I said, "I think I can." And that is how I got pulled into music, directing the "Rocky Horror Show" for the Workhouse Arts Theater in Lorton. And that's what started my journey into theater nonstop. Once again, began with the "Rocky Horror Show" in 2016.

[00:07:39]Lindsey Dinneen:  Wow. That is a really interesting trajectory. I mean, you, you have dabbled in all--well, not dabbled, you're a professional; I didn't mean it like that--but you have gotten to experience so many different outlets for your art. And I love the fact that even if you couldn't do what you had originally started doing throughout your entire career, you've actually helped yourself grow as an artist. Would you say that? That, you know, because you've been able to do so many different things?

[00:08:06] David Weinraub: Definitely! I mean, just sitting back as, as an active participant, as an observer, you learn so much from watching others and not, not that I would ever think, "Oh, I can do that better than so and so," 'cause I never thought that, but you, you can enjoy what they are doing and you can learn from the things you are seeing.

[00:08:25]Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Absolutely. Well, do you have any specific things that come to mind as inspiration for maybe a new direction that you took, or just an encounter with art that may have really impacted you and helped you on this trajectory?

[00:08:40] David Weinraub: One of the more recent things I worked on, with one of your previous guests, was a production of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" for Dominion Stage, which is a very difficult piece. Andrew Jackson is a very divisive figure, especially nowadays. He was a horrible, horrible man who grew the size of the United States a quintuple fold from what it was by doing awful, awful things, which were admired at the time by many. His story was turned into a rock musical before "Hamilton" and it ran on Broadway very briefly. It was not well received.

[00:09:19] But, working with Dani Guy as the director, when she asked me to be involved, I wanted to, because I loved the music. It is just dirty rock and roll, which I love. And also the band gets to be on stage and interact with the other performers. So that's always fun. I was able to put together--I call them the best band in the world--'cause they are. And, we all listened to one another when we play and we listened to what's going on onstage. So if you show up night one, it might sound a little different than night two if someone plays something or acts in a slightly different way, we're going to react to it, the band or actors too. But working with this collaborative group of people, we made something really, really special and very poignant. And, you know, it sucks that there is no venue for live theater right now, nor should there be 'til it is safe to return to it. But to go out on a note like that was, you know, at the end of February, was not a bad thing to go out on it, to have in my recent memory.

[00:10:20]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. So Dani did share a little bit about her experience with that too. And it sounds like it was just an incredible experience for everyone involved and brought out a lot of conversation about art. I mean, did--what were the reactions that you kind of encountered personally, positive or negative?

[00:10:39]David Weinraub: All positive in terms of, "This was a powerful piece." No one thought that we were doing anything wrong, who I spoke to. You know, we were pointing out, through beauty, we were able to point out some of the horrible things that have happened, and are continuing to happen, in this world, you know, through the power of performance, through the power of rock and roll, and dance and, and movement. I'm struggling to define what it was 'cause it is such a strange piece. But it was so beautiful the way it, it all came together. Does that make any sense?

[00:11:12] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. She, she shared about getting some mixed reactions and how she, as the director, wanted to help everyone kind of navigate through some criticism that, you know, all art gets. I mean, we all have dealt with that at some point, and her outlook was so, so amazing to me because she just--I love her approach of using people's criticism to really think through a different perspective. And I think that's a really wonderful thing that she brought to that production in particular. So I know it's kind of, we're kind of in a weird place right now, but do you have anything coming up that you're excited about? Or how, how are you still able to kind of express yourself and be artful in these crazy days?

[00:12:01] David Weinraub: Well, the amazing thing about artists is they always find a way to create, regardless of the circumstances. And I have many friends who have created online venues for us to do so. I've worked with a landless theater company as an actor. I did a production of "Puffs" with them last year, which is a "Harry Potter" spoof, and they are going to be releasing very soon some virtual performances. We recorded one, called "The Walking Fred," which is a spoof of "The Walking Dead," as told through the prism of the Flintstones.

[00:12:41]So, we recorded it via Zoom and they're putting, you know, special effects on it to make it look like we're, we all have the same backgrounds and that sort of thing. So hopefully that will be coming out soon. So that was a nice outlet to be able to act. And then, I have a friend, who is an amazing actor-singer, and he's also, he, hosts a number of drag brunches and drag bingos as "Lips," and Lips has a new show, which is a virtual drag, a talent show, and he asked me to work on some songs for it. So I was able to write some songs and I, I'm a dirty rock and roll player. I like playing live with groups of people. You know, I will play one instrument at a time, with groups of people, but by doing it this way, and him asking me to write something, I had to learn how to use Garage Band that was able to record myself, you know, multi-track it.

[00:13:34] So I'm playing all the instruments for, for this piece. So that should be out soon as well. So "Lips Virtual Drag Cabaret." So I'm, I'm finding things to keep me busy. I'm taking advantage of all that, that others are creating as well. Now that I have more time in the evenings, I'm watching it all. You know, there are so many people putting out--they're doing Zoom play readings. I was able to work with Dani again, and this was just for fun. I don't believe it was recorded, but as a stage reading of the "Duchess of Malfi," which is an amazing, Chekhovian, very dark drama. I don't think it was meant to be a comedy, but it kind of turned into one looking at it through 21st century prism. But we had a lot of fun just reading that. So there, there are always outlets to do things.

[00:14:19]Lindsey Dinneen:  Yeah. Now you mentioned writing songs. Was that something you had done before, or is that a little bit newer to you?

[00:14:26] David Weinraub: I have written songs for rock bands before, but I'd never recorded in a studio, you know, with engineers hanging around and stuff. But I never pursued it as something that I wanted to get out there and publish. The Black Shag Sherpas, which I mentioned before, we put out a four-song EP, which you could probably find online. But ever since then, since I got back into theater, I really haven't done any writing. So this was a nice outlet to do it once again. So this was just an, a fun, goofy, 1970s, disco rock. I was told to think of superheroes. So I was thinking of, you know, a combination of the "Wonder Woman" theme and, you know, seventies disco era Rolling Stones. And I put that together in my head to come up with a, with a theme song for them.

[00:15:13]Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, neat. Well, that sounds incredible. I'm sure that's going to be great. Yeah, that's really neat. So I'm just curious, how has--or if, if it hasn't, that's fine too--but yeah, I guess more accurately, has becoming a father changed the way that you view art or create art?

[00:15:33] David Weinraub: Definitely. I'm always looking at things through, through my son's eyes now. Is this something that I think he would appreciate? Not that it always--I don't expect a, he's now 16 years old, so I don't expect him to like everything I like, and he wouldn't be a cool teenager if he did-- but, the answer is yes, it forces you to see things in a different way. And now thinking, like going to museums with him when he was very young, you know, we might take advantage of looking at an impressionist painting for the first time, but seeing it through the eyes of a three-year-old in a stroller, totally changes the way you take something in.

[00:16:08] And not that he understood the brushstrokes or the whole backstory of the impressionist or anything, and he just appreciated the art for what it was, you know, to him and seeing something with that freshness without having the 20-plus years of your experience on top of it lends you to appreciate it in a new way, totally different take on this. I don't know if you've ever watched the television show called "Community" from 10 years ago?

[00:16:33] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I have. I just actually recently got into it. What a fun show.

[00:16:37] David Weinraub: It's a great show and I loved it when it first aired, but he was too young to watch it then. So, we were watching it together now from the beginning and something simple and easily accessible on Netflix, just watching it through his eyes and all of the, the pop culture references that it makes, you know, discussing them with him. And then going back if they talked about, well, you know, all that makes a joke about a Martin Scorsese film, then we can pause and talk about Martin Scorsese, and then we can go back and watch a Scorsese film together. You know, a "Good Fellows" the next day. So, always looking at things through new eyes is, is, you know, through someone else's eyes and someone else's experience--it's convenient when they're in the same house as you, so you can discuss it too.

[00:17:21]Lindsey Dinneen: That's a great perspective. And it's, it's so interesting to hear how things change, you know, when you are getting the opportunity to experience them through somebody else's eyes, or with somebody who might also not share your opinion, and, and get to really explore that a bit.

[00:17:39] David Weinraub: Yeah, definitely. And while my son has seen many of the shows that I've worked on in the last three years, there are some that he has expressed absolutely no interest in at all once I've told them about it. And, I did a very strange show at the DC Fringe Festival last year, as an actor. It was a show called "Inferno," which was a modern take on Dante's "Inferno" as a musical. It is not for everybody. It, it won like some Best of Fringe Audience Awards. But I, I didn't think that that was something--I told him about it-- and he said, "No, I'm not interested in something that weird at all." And he did not see it, but that's okay.

[00:18:18] Lindsey Dinneen: It is okay. Well, and is he interested in being involved? Is he involved in the arts himself or does he just enjoy experiencing it or what does he like?

[00:18:27] David Weinraub: He is a very talented drummer. I'm, I'm so jealous. I, I, that's the one thing I never took lessons in, so I don't really know how to play drums. I can fake my way through it, but he is really, really good and takes lessons. And, he started the FaceTime lessons during this time with his teacher, since you can't do it in person, but, yeah, so he, he has some musical ability. He does not like performing in front of people though. He's finishing up his sophomore year in high school. He does stage crew, and he has designed some lighting grids for one of the shows at his school, but he has no desire to act or to, you know, be in marching band or anything like that. And as long as he's enjoying himself playing drums, I want him to keep playing drums. But it's not something that we force, nor do we expect him to do anything just because we tell him he has to.

[00:19:23] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Well, he's forging his own path. I love it. Well, thank you. That was so interesting to hear about your life's trajectory and also the different, really unique experiences that you've had and the ways that they've helped you grow and adopt as an artist. And so thank you for sharing about that.  That is really neat what you've been able to do.

[00:19:47] David Weinraub: You're very welcome. Thank you for having me.

[00:19:50] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Well, if it's okay with you, I always like to ask my guests a couple of questions, completely subjective, just about your views on a couple of things related to art, is that okay?

[00:20:00] David Weinraub: Sure.

[00:20:01]Lindsey Dinneen: Great. Okay. So the first thing is, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:20:10] David Weinraub: That's not an easy question. I personally, I define art as anything that can enhance an emotion. I can go outside and I can see, you know, a turtle on my back deck who somehow found its way, you know, up the stairs to onto the porch. And, I find beauty in that and therefore that is art. To me, it elicits an emotion when it happens. Some people say that's where they see God in the world. And, I think in some ways, God and art are synonymous.

[00:20:54]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I love that answer. That's a pretty unique approach to it that I've heard so far. And I, I like that perspective a lot. Thank you for that. So the second question I have is, what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:21:12] David Weinraub: The most important role of an artist is, is to bring out that emotion. This is going to sound really cheesy, but the biggest compliment, I, I--the happiest I've ever been after getting a compliment after a show was when I was music directing "Rock of Ages," which is a very silly show, 1980s rock music. The band, again, is on stage the whole time, just as in "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." The show doesn't have much of a point though, but, if you had seen the show on Broadway, you might've had a fantastic time. If you had seen the show at the Workhouse, we made it look like a real bar and it was a small intimate space. The band was right in the audience's face and yes, we were very well rehearsed and we knew our parts, but we played from the heart. We didn't necessarily play every single note exactly as written. It was not slick. And so that's what someone said to me after the show. That moved me so much because that band was, was reacting to the crowd and reacting to the actors on stage. We weren't just playing, you know, it didn't sound like a recording to them. And, that is what an artist is supposed to do. We're supposed to elicit an emotion. And even if it's, you know, playing an REO Speedwagon song, if it works, it works.

[00:22:32]Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Okay. And then my final question is, and I'll explain my terms a little bit, but do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And what I mean by that is inclusive referring to an artist who shares a little bit about their work with whoever their audience is. So if that's a dancer, perhaps they share what inspired the choreography, or if that's a painter, maybe it's a title or a brief description. Versus exclusive kind of referring to the artist puts their work out there and then leaves it open to interpretation.

[00:23:11]David Weinraub:   I think art is always open to interpretation. However, I think that art should be inclusive. I don't think the point of an artist is to say only a few people can get this. If you don't understand what I'm doing, you are not a smart person. I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's right. I think that art should be made for everybody. Having said that, having participated in that reading of the "Duchess of Malfi," I'm not sure if you could put a production of the "Duchess of Malfi" on stage right now and expect someone who knows nothing about Jacobian-era language to understand every single moment of it. So you have to figure out a way to make that accessible to anyone who might show up. So it is on the, the artist's shoulders to, yes, allow for some interpretation of their art, but also to, to make it accessible to those who may not understand a hundred percent of it. Or like pausing "Community" when I'm watching it with my son, to explain the cultural references.

[00:24:18]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, because it enriches the experience. Otherwise it would just go flying over and, you know, not be a point of education and conversation. That makes complete sense. Yeah. Love it. Well, thank you again so very much, David, for joining me. I really appreciate it. And I, am very passionate about art and about sharing it, and I'm very grateful for people like you, who do take what they have and what they've developed, their different skill sets over the years, and then they do share that with the world and they give back. And I think, when you choose to do that, you truly make the world a better, more beautiful place. So on behalf of myself, thank you for sharing art with the world. I know I appreciate it.

[00:25:05] David Weinraub: And thank you, Lindsey, for bringing it to people's attention. This is a great forum. So thank you again for having me on.

[00:25:13] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And if people want to stay in touch with you, maybe find out about some of your upcoming productions, whether they're, you know, in person or online, is there a way for them to do that?

[00:25:26]David Weinraub: So the best way to just follow me on Facebook, just my name, David Weinraub. I don't have any other social media outlets right now.

[00:25:34] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Well, thank you again, David, for being here. Thank you to all of our listeners for joining us again. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I would love for you to share this episode with a friend or two, and I will catch you next time.

[00:25:53] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

[00:26:04] Hey there, Artfully Told listeners. I wanted to share a really amazing resource with you that I think you will find invaluable. This website is called Artists' Edge. The mission of Artists' Edge is to raise the level of business intelligence, life skills, and emotional intelligence for people who are committed to expressing their passions, creativity, and unique genius through their careers, helping them reach higher levels of success with ease. Artists' Edge is the education arm of Deborah Russell Coaching. And she is an awesome person who uses all of her business background and skills to really assist artists become who they want to be. She has a bunch of different products and courses that you can go through as well as personalized coaching. If you're a wannabe artist that wants to turn their passion into a career, or is an already established artist that wants to take their career to the next level, she is the person to talk to you about this. So please follow the link in my comments and show notes.