We were lucky to catch up with Adena Brumer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Adena, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I made a choice, many years ago, to stop complaining. I think it may have been around the time I was in a production of “Merrily We Roll Along” at The Guthrie Lab in Minneapolis. I had been wanting to work at The Guthrie for a VERY long time and, after five callbacks, I was cast! The show was a little over three hours long and I was in it for maybe twenty minutes. I was mad about the amount of stage time I had and complained that I didn’t get to do enough. One night, during previews I believe, I was having dinner at a restaurant quite close to the theater. I overheard some people talking about the show. I told them I was in it (I was unrecognizable with the wigs I wore) and they asked who I played. I told them, among a couple of other roles, “Evelyn”. One of the ladies said: “Oh, my gosh! We loved Evelyn! We wish she had been in it more!” In that moment, I decided to stop being a jerk. If my thirty seconds of playing “Evelyn” made an impact, that was enough for me. I decided to simply be a part of whatever story I was telling and do it as well as I possibly could. I’ve carried that into my singing, my teaching, and everything else I do. You may not always get what you want, but there is always something positive to be found in every situation.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born in Montreal, raised in Albuquerque, lived in St. Louis for 8 years, lived in the Twin Cities for 14 years, and moved to Atlanta in 2011 to marry my (now) husband. I knew I could sing when I was 9-years-old when I started singing in my synagogue choir. My parents didn’t know I could sing until I was nearly 14 – at my Bat Mitzvah! I started taking voice lessons at 16 and did my first musical my senior year of high school – a 45-minute production of “Grease” (I was “Sandy”) which included about 15 minutes of the stage going dark for scene changes. (It wasn’t great.) I went to Washington University in St. Louis thinking I was going to get a degree in Music. I hated it and switched to Theater. There, I found my tribe. I performed consistently in St. Louis theatre and then met a cool guy and moved to the Twin Cities. He and I broke up, but I stayed and acted with almost every theater there, at the time. I was extremely fortunate to create an incredible community of friends which has resulted in performing each December in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at The St. Paul Hotel. It is rare that the exact same cast comes together year after year and, this past December, was year 17. Side note: in 2022, I was unable to do the show because, wonderfully, I was cast in a show on Hulu called “The Other Black Girl”. It was an extraordinary experience and I couldn’t be more grateful! But, missing the show was very difficult and it was truly a gift to come back to it. It means more to me now than it ever has.
When I moved to Atlanta, I was already in a band. Unfortunately, like many bands, we fell apart, but I got introduced to the music scene here and I now sing with Wild Iris Rose (www.wildirisrosemusic.com), A1A – The Original and Official Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show (https://www.a1a-live.com/#/), Atlanta Wedding Band (www.atlantaweddingband.com), and Rockin’ Train (https://www.facebook.com/rockintrainband/).
I’ve also been very lucky to be a part of the local TV/Film industry here! In addition to “The Other Black Girl”, I’ve been on “Sleepy Hollow”, “Bigger”, “The Long Slow Exhale”, and “Sweet Magnolias”. And now that the strike is over, the auditions are rolling in!
In 2020, I got to fulfill a dream of becoming a Standardized Patient. For those who are unfamiliar, Standardized Patients help nursing students, PAs, and others working in medicine, be more empathetic and be better practitioners. It is some of the most fulfilling work I have ever done.
And in 2021, I became an Adjunct Professor at Emory Law. With Helen Ingebritsen, I co-teach Courtroom Persuasion Drama for 3Ls and I never thought, in a million years, I would be doing this kind of work. And I love it!
I am so very grateful for the life I have here in Atlanta! Most artists I know have to cobble together a career and not only do I get to do things I love, I get to share my life with my marvelous husband, my bonus son, and our two cats, Chips and Salsa.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
As mentioned before, being positive is a huge driver for me. That and being of service. That could mean authentically telling the story, singing the song, or being a decent human. Something that I read many years ago is a touchstone: “Know your lines. Hit your mark. Don’t be a dick.” There is never any excuse to be unkind. Everyone on set, in the audience, the staff at a wedding, etc., deserves care and respect. And that kindness will go a long way. I heard a story on NPR about Tony Bennett when he met Frank Sinatra. He asked Frank for his advice and he said, “Show the audience you love them.” And Yo-Yo Ma has said something similar: “As a performer, my job is to make the listener the most important person in the room.” I hope I am able to do that no matter what I’m doing. The other huge thing is training! If I hadn’t had my voice lessons, I wouldn’t know how to sing properly or interpret lyrics or control how my voice sounds. And without my theater training and acting classes, I would have no foundation. I’ve taken many different classes and I took something from all of them. The more tools we have in our toolbox, the better!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
One of the greatest joys in my life is to read plays and screenplays out loud for the creators! I especially love reading the stage directions! Many playwrights and screenwriters never hear their words and it is an amazingly useful tool for them to hear actual actors reading their words. It helps with dialogue, tone, continuity, and finding out what works and what may need work. If anyone needs a reader to bring their project to life, I’m in!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adenabrumer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adenab/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adena.brumer
- Other: imdb.me/adenabrumer https://www.a1a-live.com/live.html#/ https://www.instagram.com/wildirisrosemusic/
Image Credits
Robb McKindles, Tracy Bosworth Page, Amore Fotography
