Happy Sunny Wednesday! Are you ready???? The next Spotlight is EXACTLY a week away from TODAY, which makes it perfect timing for me to continue with my exclusive interview with the next wondrous "Together" lady, the beautiful, Multi-award winning Sally Darling.
For those of you who don't know Sally, here's a short bio for starters:
Sally's background in theater and related areas is rich and varied: actress, director, coach, narrator, cabaret performer. Her first professional role as an actress was 'Anna' in "the King and I" with Leonard Graves. (As Yul Brynner's understudy, he played the King over a thousand times on Broadway.) She has since performed with Barry Manilow, James MacArthur, David Carradine, Katharine Houghton, Sarah Rice, Hal Linden...... She has staged operas, narrated with symphony orchestras, and directed everything from Thurber to Shakespeare. In the 70s she created and staged three revues of the music of Noël Coward and Cole Porter, then created a fourth for the Theater Guild which she tailored for Patricia Morison, Larry Kert, Dick Shawn and Tony Tanner. As a narrator for The Talking Book program of The Library of Congress and for Recorded Books, Sally has over 250 fiction and non-fiction books on tape, including "To Kill a Mockingbird" for Recorded Books, for which she was chosen over more than 100 applicants. She has won awards for her compelling voice and her unmatched interpretive skills.
I've met Sally Darling at the Salon years ago and I've had the pleasure of videoing and getting to know this wonderful, dynamic lady over the past few years! Sally is warm, embracing and an inspiration, considering how much she is doing! I would LOVE to have her level of energy when I "grow up"! Hahaha!
For this interview, I asked Sally the following questions:
1) Can you share with us a couple of interesting facts that most people don’t know about you?
I’ve narrated over 250 books for The Listening Library, The Talking Book program of The Library of Congress, and for Recorded Books. Got my Sag/Aftra pension from this. Another interesting? fact: I have two shoeboxes filled with horse show ribbons.
2) What fuel your passion for music and performance? How did you discover your passion for it all and realized that it was what you wanted to do? Passion for music and performance: This has always been a part of me. There was always music in my home, live and recorded, and singing was just a natural expression for me.
3) Do you have a particularly interesting story about your musical journey that you'd like to share with the readers?
My musical journey: There was a 22 year period some years ago when I stopped singing altogether. Then I staged a cabaret show, and realized how much I missed live music and singing.
4) What is your "go to" before a show? It can be a routine, physical or mental space. For a 7pm show, it begins around 4 in the afternoon: nap, shower, some food, make-up, etc., all timed to accelerate towards showtime.
5) Share with us what you have in the pipeline for us to be on the lookout for!
What’s coming up? New show is in development. And I’ll be singing at the Cabaret Convention in late October - my Cabaret Convention debut!
Are you tickled? If you have not seen Sally, come to the next Spotlight On YOU Open Mic next week and experience her in person! Get a sneak preview of this wonderful lady and the 4 other equally entrancing "Together" ladies, sing with the fabulous John M. Cook and share with us what you've got coming up next!!
Have a fantastic Wednesday!