Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Safe & Sound The Musical. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Safe & Sound, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Holly: Struggling with dyslexia my whole life took a toll on my emotional well-being and mental health. But, I discovered musical theater at a young age and it has been a huge source for my self-esteem, confidence and mental health well-being. Creating a show like Safe & Sound The Musical with Lizzie (aka Elizsabeth) solidified my confidence, and my self-esteem is associated with what I am most confident doing. I consistently show up and make sure that my mental health is in the right place. We have added sound healing into our show, so not only is it healing for us but for people experiencing the show. And knowing that brings me so much peace. (Using sound bowls & intentional vocal sound healing infused with Reiki create vibrations which are thought to have therapeutic effects on the body and mind.) Following my passion and my heart and doing this with Lizzie has been the way that I have stayed grounded and confident.
Elizsabeth— The culture and the society I grew up in was all about perfection and not enough about acceptance of self. How I developed my confidence and self-esteem came from deep self-reflection which came in different forms including the creation of this musical. Writing music and creating the story with Holly led me to see myself in a different light. I had to come back to my natural sense of confidence and to stop listening to other people trying to define who I am. We live in a world that is constantly giving messages that you can’t be who you are. Shedding that belief happened through cowriting the songs, cocreating the characters and channelling the sound healing embedded in this musical. Safe & Sound is an expression of both of us in what we need and what we have experienced. It’s a journey.
Holly—Both of us have come to this place where we are safe to express our experiences in life and put it on a page and maybe tell the story of someone whose story isn’t being told yet. Writing a musical with somebody was not something I thought I would ever do, so writing this musical with Lizzie has been a real confidence boost.
Elizsabeth—Despite having written music for a long time before this six year journey, having Holly as a creative partner has brought to life what I really underestimated about myself;. which is ironically the healing of my inner child.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Holly– Safe & Sound The Musical is the journey of the character Love guiding three people back home to who they really are by reconnecting them to their inner child. As co-creator, I am fully focused on getting this to the stage where it belongs. It has a long long life to live, so we don’t want to throw it out there before it is ready just to have it close. We want the right team behind this project. We want people to be positively affected by the material while witnessing a story of healing. It’s my mission to share with other people the love and healing that musical theater gave to me. We are incorporating all kinds of people in one musical; where everyone can be represented. While our show may focus on a soldier, an ambitious mid 20’s girl, and a young man part of LGBTQ+ community trying to make it as a doctor, it’s important for everyone to find their way back to their inner child.
I have been in musical theater my whole life. I got my first break when I was 12 years old when I auditioned for Godspell 2032 produced by Tony-Winner Ken Davenport. It was my first professional audition, and Ken recognized my spark. I am very grateful I had that opportunity as it reinforced what I already knew; I am a musical theater girl through and through and I am happy to be on this course with Lizzie.
Elizsabeth—You could never have told me 10 years ago that I would be co-writing a musical. Music has always been a core purpose for me from a songwriting and singing standpoint, but writing a musical had never crossed my mind. This musical represents the unexpected. The day we met, the musical was born. I already had songs written, and Holly already had characters created. We just needed to meet each other for Safe & Sound to be written. It was definitely meant to be created. It has helped people already and it hasn’t even been on a stage yet.
Safe & Sound The Musical was born from what we both needed at the time. It’s one of the most unique musicals simply because it’s raw, it hits and heals the heart. It’s inclusive, but what makes it incredibly special is that in real time, the intentional sound healing helps you create the safe space to feel and release unconscious emotion that has been heavy to carry. By cracking you open, it shifts your frequency at a cellular level and it will be different every time you experience it. Safe & Sound’s creation is full of pure love that we want to pass on into the world.
Holly—We are planning to do an industry reading early this summer. (This is a staged reading of a script performed for an audience of industry professionals to gather feedback, showcase the work and potentially find collaborators and producers.) It’s for anyone and everyone who wants to come. Please visit our website to keep updated on upcoming events. We are hoping to do this at Circle In The Square Theater in NYC (where I auditioned for Godspell 2032 all those years ago.) We have already released two songs, “What Now”sung by Broadway vocalist Natalie Weiss and “I’m Not Ashamed” sung by various New York performers. That’s only two of 24 songs in the show. You can stream those for a little taste of what we are about. You have a whole cake in front of you, but this is a taste of the frosting.
We are working really hard to get it scored by Lee Moretti who has been in the industry for a long time. She is a guitarist, pianist, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter She has worked with Third Eye Blind, Brandy, Jordin Sparks, Lady A, SIX on Broadway, MJ: The Musical and more. She is currently working with Anthony Rapp (Rent) on his one man show. We are honored to be working with her.
Elizsabeth: And come join us on socials! It’s really important to us to build a community with like-hearted people and remind each other that it’s safe and celebrated to be you. The more you meet people on the same journey in life, the easier the journey will be!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Elizsabeth: Being able to channel my creativity has been an incredible skill. Letting myself be a vehicle for the melodies, lyrics, stories or whatever it is I am working on and then molding the project with my mind in a way that is in service of what it needs to be and not what my ego wants it to be. It has been a long journey to understanding the difference. I had to learn to trust myself and my expression in that process. To do that, I have to create a deeper relationship with myself.
Also knowing the importance of my emotional and energetic health as well as mental health has been life-changing. In learning how to be a safe space to hold and feel my emotions and learn how to connect, clear, balance and work with my energy field.
There are many ways to work with the energy. For instance, working with Reiki. I became a Reiki Master Teacher to also help others connect to and shift their energetic health. (Reiki is a Japanese technique that clears and balances our body’s energy flow by channeling “universal life force energy”. It helps reduce stress, physical pain, and process any built up emotion to make space for our body’s natural healing abilities.) Understanding both has changed my entire experience of myself and my life in the most beneficial ways and that’s why I love teaching and sharing this knowledge with others.
The way Holly and I work is through channeling. We follow our guts and we communicate clearly with each other. We are like Ying and Yang. The flow is like nothing else I have personally experienced.
The most important advice I’d love to pass on is simple. Always turn to your own inner compass when you are lost, confused and need direction. Listen to your own heart and follow it. Recognise what it is you actually want, how you actually feel and what you need, then give yourself just that.You deserve all the things that will fulfil you and only your own heart knows what that is.
Holly—You would think my dyslexia would be a disadvantage but I believe it was actually a skill. It lets me tap into the side of my brain that other people can’t tap into. In addition to the creativity, it also gives me empathy for people who are different who don’t fit into a mold. I have always walked to the beat of my own drum.
Acting is a skill I strengthened at Circle In the Square Theater School. Training with Alan Langdon changed the whole course of my life. I studied the Stanislavski acting technique. It helps you tap into your subconscious as an actor and lets you discover things about yourself and your healing I never thought I would do. Alan completely changed my thinking about my work in this industry.
My playfulness and my youthful and optimistic personality turned out to be an advantage for me. Over the years, many people lead me to believe it was a disadvantage. I had to prove myself. I come off bubbly and not very serious even though I do take things very seriously. But, I’d rather see that the light is shining. I am really connected to my inner child, and I am not letting her go.
Best advice I can give is to have persistence; never give up. I was 14 years old before I could read. Now, I have written a whole musical. Never ever ever give up. We have been working on this project for 6 years. It took Alicia Keys more than 13 years to get her Tony-winning show Hell’s Kitchen to Broadway. So, even though Lizzie and I are 6 years in, we are still at the beginning of our journey. Surround yourself with the right people. You don’t have to do it alone.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Elizsabeth: As we said, our main goal is to bring Safe & Sound the Musical to the stage. We would like to connect with investors, producers, foundations, influencers, newscasters.
Holly: We want to get the word out to people like Ken Davenport, Lady Gaga (Born This Way Foundation) Joshua Henry, Lin Manuel Miranda…
Elizsabeth: People who would connect to the importance of our mission to help people feel safe to be themselves again.
Holly: We aspire to work with others who want to make a positive impact on the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.safeandsoundmusical.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safeandsoundmusical/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/safeandsoundmusical/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@safeandsoundmusical
Image Credits
Ryan Doyle Photography
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