The Broadway Studio at FishHawk Ranch

🎶 The biological music box

Singing creates a neurochemical profile in the human brain that's hard to get any other way. When we raise our voices, the brain releases endorphins, oxytocin, and dopamine all at the same time. This combination lifts mood, cuts pain, and builds social connection. Most activities trigger one or two of these chemicals. Singing hits all three, turning the vocal cords into a natural pharmacy.

🏛️ From ancient rituals to modern labs

Long before modern science could map neural pathways, ancient civilizations already knew that song could heal. Healers across many cultures used chanting and melody to treat conditions from melancholy to physical injury. Researchers today are confirming what those cultures practiced. Studies show that even a short bout of singing can drop cortisol, the main stress hormone, and boost antibody production to strengthen immune function.

🤝 The collective resonance

Group singing, in a choir or any communal gathering, makes these effects much stronger. Something called physiological synchrony kicks in, and the heart rates and breathing patterns of the singers start to fall into step.

* Oxytocin spikes during group singing, building trust and lowering social anxiety.
* Matching voices creates a strong sense of shared identity and belonging.
* Participants often describe a natural high that outlasts the song itself.

🧠 A workout for the mind

Singing also works the body and the brain in ways most people overlook. It takes tight coordination between the lungs, the vocal cords, and several brain regions that handle memory and motor control. That kind of mental exercise pays off as people get older. Regular singing has been tied to sharper concentration, stronger memory, and a lower risk of depression. Cheap, accessible, and surprisingly thorough, singing works as a real tool for staying well over a lifetime.

Facts checked by

Sources:
Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn
The Journal of Behavioral Medicine
University of Oxford Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group

Frank Galati was such a treasure. Such an insightful director and human. He was a joy to work with, too, encouraging and making space every actor to bring all of themselves to the work. The great ones leave their mark on the art form long after they leave us. Rest in Peace, Frank.

Asolo Rep had the profound honor of spending the past decade working alongside Associate Artist Frank Galati as he directed nine productions, including the world premiere of his musical Knoxville. A titan of the American theatre who made immeasurable contributions to the Sarasota arts community, Frank was treasured by the Asolo Rep staff as a wonderful friend and colleague.

Frank will be remembered for the enormous intelligence, compassion, and creativity he brought to Asolo Rep. Longtime members of our community know that working with Frank was a highlight of each season. His first-day-of-rehearsal speeches, with their insight into the importance of each play he directed, were legendary and highly anticipated.

Frank’s energy and spirit helped define Asolo Rep’s work over the past decade. His first show at Asolo Rep was Twelve Angry Men, which inspired the American Character Project, a five-year series of plays and musicals that was kicked off by Frank’s own production of 1776.

His final show at Asolo Rep was the musical Knoxville, written with Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, which beautifully asked how a community deals with the loss of a husband and father. The answer: remember, celebrate, and share his legacy with the world.

This is theatre, folks! This is a post by my friend Barbara Tirell, a veteran of multiple Broadway shows, whom I worked with in Fiddler on the Roof in 2005. Proof positive that you never know when Broadway is going to call…!!! 👏🏼❤️🙏🏼🙀🎭😂👏🏼
“Yesterday, Friday, afternoon out of the blue I got a phone call from my agent with an offer to be the offstage cover for three roles in the Broadway production of Funny Girl: Mrs. Brice, Mrs. Strakosh and Mrs. Meeker. I was driving to my mothers in Massachusetts when the call came in. I accepted, they negotiated, and then they asked if I could come back today, Saturday and watch the matinee. So I left Massachusetts this morning at 7 AM to arrive in New York by noon and attend the matinee at 2 PM. But at 10 am, while I was at a rest stop in Connecticut, the Funny Girl stage manager called me and asked if I would be willing to go on in the show today in one of those roles with the book in hand! Because they had nine understudies on and simply didn’t have anybody else to play the part. (I would learn that if I had said no, they would have had to cancel two sold out performances!) Of course I said yes! I arrived at the theater at noon, did a quick fitting of another person’s costume and wig, quickly ran through the scenes to know where I was to stand and move, fudged my way through the music that I didn’t know. And at 2:15 pm while carrying the script, I played my Broadway opening performance as Mrs. Meeker, in Funny Girl. This is the theater. You just can’t make this stuff up!!!! 🎭🥳😱💐💝”

A good friend, who just happens to have just finished a run in Porgy and Bess at the Met, just posted this quote. This is true. This is why. Thank you Kristin Young. ❤️

What beautiful words with which to start my last semester:

“Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they'll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life - the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment - to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience's soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life's nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another's heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.” - David Ackert, LA Times

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hi friends! Just wanted to share the link for the virtual Cabaret that I am performing in! Tickets are only $25 and will go to support LIVE theatre, (even though this is a virtual event...😂) Hope you can find the time to watch this weekend!! 🎼💕😘👏🏼❤️
https://zeiterion.org/nbft-virtual-cabaret/?fbclid=IwAR37pdGoghoQmy-LSJTCyf_ypctcj0zIJxLsAhkiu-T5hqxY5oX5I4RoOiw

New Bedford Festival Theatre presents A Virtual Cabaret | Zeiterion Performing Arts Center - Official Site ON SALE THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 10:00AM Thursday, April 8, 7PM Friday, April 9, 8PM Saturday, April 10, 8PM Sunday, April 11, 1PM TICKETS*: $25 (Superfan)/ $40 (VIP) / $75 (Platinum) / $100 (Event Sponsor) *pricing description below TO BROADWAY, WITH LOVE: A Virtual Cabaret This hourlong pre-recorded bro...

Hi friends! This is an opportunity for all my high-school aged students. Think Tank offers opportunities to work with professionals in shows at the Stageworks space in Tampa’s Harbor area. Highly recommend... 😘