We were lucky to catch up with Carly Robyn Green recently and have shared our conversation below.
Carly, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I never really had to “find” my purpose – music was in my bones since I was about two years old and I always knew music was my calling. At two years of age, I’d ask to sing “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” at restaurants in South Philadelphia if there was a piano player and a microphone! My dad concocted silly little songs for me all the time, and my mom played The Monkees for me on repeat. I only wanted toy microphones as gifts for Hannukah or my birthday, I loved singing in any mobile theme park recording booth I could find, and I begged my parents for singing lessons. At age seven, when asked to create 2nd grade business cards for “who we’d be when we grow up,” I created a hot pink business card that read, “C.G. the Singer!” At eight years old, I started vocal training with my first mentor in northeast Philadelphia, Russ Faith, who’d written songs for Barbra Streisand (“Snowbound”) and Frank Sinatra (“Somewhere in Your Heart”). He taught me to appreciate quality, lasting music, and shared the basics of songwriting with me. I had a running list of song titles by 3th grade, and I did my first professional recordings with Paul Presto in Mt. Holly, NJ at nine years old! Through middle school, I’d be in and out of New York City auditioning at various open calls. And by high school, I had a winter gig singing at bar mitzvahs on Saturday nights with Bobby Morganstein Events, and a summer gig singing as an opening act on weekends at the Tropicana in Atlantic City! By college, I was recording with Philly’s best producers – Joe Nicolo (Hall & Oats, The Fugees), Eric Bazilian of the Hooters, and ultimately, Gamble & Huff. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, moved to LA, and the rest was history. I would say that I didn’t have to “find” music, because music found me.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a BMG musical theatre lyricist, songwriter, and recording artist, and while there are many amazing aspects of doing what I love every day, the most special part about my career is its international reach and connectivity. Because my work is so international, I’m fortunate to constantly study international music markets and take in global cultures, collaborate with creative partners all over the world, and share lyrics and melodies that cross language barriers.
In the musical theatre realm, my shows thus far have been created for international markets and have multiple international collaborative partners – from creative team members, to producers, to the actors themselves.
For example, YOUR LIE IN APRIL is an adaptation of the Japanese manga by Naoshi Arakawa, with music by Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by me and Tracy Miller, a Japanese book by Riko Sakaguchi, original stage direction by Japanese director Ikko Ueda, and an original cast featuring Jpop star Erika Ikuta. Toho Co. Ltd. and FujiTV produced the show, with a fully Japanese executive team. After several workshops that took place between New York City and Tokyo from 2018-2020, the show made its world premiere at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo in May 2022, and a tour throughout Japan followed. A Japanese cast album was recorded as well. Now, in collaboration with acclaimed West End British director Nick Winston and New York playwright Rinne B. Groff, we’re retooling the show for western audiences, as it makes its West End debut as a concert version at Theatre Royale Drury Lane in April 2024. This West End production is produced by UK-based Carter Dixon McGill Productions and US-based Indie Theatricals, and it will feature a UK-based cast. The show will be further adapted for Korean audiences, in preparation for a Seoul premiere in June 2024, under the helm of Korean-based EMK and featuring a Korean cast. The show, in its original format, returns to Tokyo in 2025, and further licenses are now being discussed. Clearly, again and again as this show takes on new markets and new “lives,” so to speak, we’re working closely with international creatives, executives, and talent, to bring our piece to the world.
In partnership with Wildhorn and Miller, our other musical theatre projects have the same international blend. On our award-winning musical NO LONGER HUMAN, we collaborated with Chinese bookwriters Wen Ya and Zhang Mingzhu, Japanese director Ney Hasegawa, and producers from Shanghai-based Ranspace. It made its world premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai in December 2021 with a Chinese cast, and the show has toured throughout China with the same original cast for the past couple of years. HOUDINI is a collaboration with Broadway director Gordon Greenberg and Viennese playwright Thomas Kahry. For FIRENZE 1504: MICHAELANGELO VS. LEONARDO, we’re collaborating with Broadway director Chris Gattelli and Rinne B. Groff, with Seoul-based OD Musicals at the helm, and a Korean world premiere is forthcoming. MAC & BETH has a Korean book writer and will premiere in Seoul, under the production team of Seoul’s RG Company, and we’re collaborating with Chinese company Joyway Holdings, Chinese screenwriter Haofeng Xu, and Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng on KUNG FU MASTERS: BRUCE LEE & IP MAN.
Because my co-writers and I must consider diverse audiences when writing musicals for each market globally, we always do our very best to honor local authenticity in our projects. We educate ourselves about cultural nuances in our subject matter, popular slang, and specifics about customs and traditions represented in our lyrics. This way, translators can seamlessly translate our lyrics into various languages across the globe.
The same is true when I write for artists internationally – I must write lyrics and melodies that cross language barriers and resonate with audiences all over the world. My songs have been recorded by international artists including KARA (Universal Music) and MIN HAE (CJENM) in Korea, ANRI (Warner Music Japan), HARUMI (Sony Music Japan), TWICE (Warner Music Japan), J-DEEZ (Sony Music Japan), FAIRIES (Avex), HARAJUKU STAGE (Rising Productions), and STARMARIE (Shikisai Records) in Japan, AYCAN (EMI Music China) in China, DAVE WINNEL (Armada Music) in Australia, SABRINA WECKERLIN (Sound of Music Records) in Austria, and SANDRA N. (Roton Music) in Romania. My song “Ready to Love” was covered by Anri for the Japanese version of ABC program, Scandal, and my songs have been featured in over 175 shows and films domestically and internationally. Most recently, Jpop idol XIA (Palm Tree Island) recorded my song “My Christmas Wish” and it was a giant Japanese Christmas hit of the 2023/2024 holiday season. I always have to write lyrics that reflect the artists’ culture and personal value system, so that the songs work in their native languages and resonate with their fans. Often, these songs are co-written with producers in the respective markets, so we always strive to maintain musical relevancy to those international music markets as well.
So my career effectively awards me not only the opportunity to travel worldwide to write and record in studios in Santorini for songwriting camps, to meet with labels in Seoul, to sit down with publishers in Sao Paolo, and to rehearse my musicals in theatres in Japan and London, but more, the opportunity to create music with people all over the world, for audiences all over the world.
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?
Three skills one must possess as a musical theatre lyricist, songwriter, and artist are:
1) The ability to collaborate and to continuously move forward and build with a “yes, and…” attitude.
To practice this skill, young songwriters should constantly seek new collaborators and co-writers. Zippy Toons LLC is the virtual songwriting school I founded for children, ages 7-17, and our program fosters a lot of collaboration among our young songwriters. We teach the basics of songwriting in our Beginner and Intermediate courses, and the best of the best students are invited to our weekly Z Club workshops, where collaboration is a big component of our curriculum. Songwriting never exists in a vacuum – there is always a producer, other writers, an artist, a label, and publishers involved. To collaborate, songwriters must learn to hear their partners’ ideas and build off of them in a synergistic way. It’s never useful to reject a partner’s idea outright and truly inhibits the growth of a project. Better, using the “yes, and…” technique allows all ideas to be heard, integrated, and improved upon productively.
2) The ability to sit down and WRITE, create, make a dent, progress somehow – on demand, on the clock, and with efficiency. “Writer’s block” is an imaginary excuse.
Writers sometimes believe they can only write a song when “inspiration” moves them or “the spirit” hits. That is not true for professional songwriters – we can sit down within a given timeframe in the studio, write, produce, and record a song in 6 hours. It is an art, but it is also a job. The more regularly a songwriter sits down to write – and writes – the easier this “on demand” writing skill becomes. In Zippy Toons, we give young songwriters the tools to feel inspired any day of the year, any time of day, and any mood they may be in. We have a system that shows them they can sit down and write a song all day, any day. Writer’s block is not a thing for Zippy Toons students.
3) The ability to pivot and open a new door when one door closes. If no new doors are in sight, create one!
This skill is more of a life skill than a career-specific skill. Every young artist or songwriter must not take rejection personally – rejection is more common than uncommon in the music and theatre businesses. While an A&R representative or publisher may have the ability to say “no” to doing business together, or an artist or music supervisor may reject a songwriter’s song pitch, no one can take away an artist’s ability to create a new opportunity for themselves. There is always another stage, another microphone, another artist, another television series, another label, or another platform for the music.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams. They knew the hurdles I would face as a young artist and songwriter, but they exhibited unwavering belief in me and unconditional support of my ambitions. They always believed that a person can only regret chances not taken. They also instilled in me the value of education, and the importance of hard work and diligence. Nothing worthwhile comes easily, so my mom would sit in my practice sessions daily. My parents showed me the power of resilience, and they also made me and my brother their chief priorities in life. That is a gift I hope to pass along to my children someday.
Parents, if your children express interest in making music, encourage them! I wish a songwriting program like Zippy Toons (Http://www.zippytoons.com/songwritinglessons) had existed when I was young, because I know my parents would have enrolled me in songwriting lessons by age 7, when I expressed a desire to make music. In Zippy Toons – no music theory or instruments are required – just a love of music and storytelling! Piano lessons, guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, drum lessons, acting classes, and singing lessons are valuable – I was fortunate that my parents fit these lessons into my schedule as a child. But much of this training focuses on covering songs and learning other people’s material. Kids must be inspired to CREATE original material of their own. That is the golden gift that will take them far, build confidence, and give children a sense of ownership in songs they create, from start to finish.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.carlyrobyngreen.com
- Instagram: @carlyrobyngreen
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carlyrobyngreen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyrobyngreen/
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/carlyrobyngreen
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/carlyrobyngreen
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carly-robyn-green
- Other: http://www.zippytoons.com
Image Credits
Main image: Gary Reisman
