Betina Hershey - An interview with the singer/dancer and stage actress from New York. "I was immersed in the arts, given every opportunity to express myself, and the arts just seemed like an extension of being alive."

Betina Hershey

Betina Hershey is a multi-talented performing artist who resides in the New York tri-state area. Coming from a musical family, Betina started her artistic journey in her early youth by creating songs around the age of five. With a solid foundation of professional instruction, Betina became well versed in theater arts, dance and music. Some of her musical influences include singer songwriters: Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Shawn Colvin and more. In her professional career, she has taken this training to a top notch level and performs in a variety of different genres in the arts. She played the role of Meg in a National tour of Phantom of the Opera and many other roles in stage. Betina shares her wealth of experience by teaching ballroom dancing and runs a children's community theater organization. In music, she is a member of talented groups called "Banjo Nickaru and the Western Scooches" and "The Hot Jazz Jumpers." Betina will also showcase her singing/songwriting abilities as a solo artist. I recently asked her some questions on her thriving career.

 

R.V.B. - Congratulations on your career up to this point. You've already accomplished a lot. How did you get involved in the arts? Was your family involved in it? Was it in your blood from childhood?

 

B.H. - Thanks! I was immersed in the arts, given every opportunity to express myself, and the arts just seemed like an extension of being alive. My Mom called me her little songbird, showed me how to write down the songs I created as early as 5 years old.  I grew up in an artistic family. My Mom painted and played piano every day. She would often play Satie and Debussy pieces on the piano to help me fall asleep when I would request those pieces. My Dad is a professional trumpet player. I remember him practicing the trumpet every night at home after his Broadway show. He also played with big dance companies, so I got to see all of these performances, which inspired me immensely.

 

R.V.B. - Who were some of your early influences? Were there any moments in your development that you really enjoyed, like an acting, dance or musical performance?

B.H. - I was influenced by such a wide variety of performers. When I think of my early role models I think about seeing Peter Pan on Broadway when I was 5 and singing along with the record every night; seeing Martha Graham and Paul Taylor and dancing through the streets of Manhattan afterwards; my Dad taking me to see Nancy Wilson at an intimate venue in the village;  my Mom giving me all of Joni Mitchell’s albums which I listened to as I fell asleep; the two of us spending endless hours listening to the records of Janis Ian, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Loretta Lynn, and so many more. When I was on my own I saw Shawn Colvin live at a small venue and was amazed by her guitar fingerpicking, the wit of Susan Werner, and grit of Ani DiFranco. I saw Ani DiFranco’s solo show at Carnegie Hall and her stage presence reached me at the very back row of the theater.

 

R.V.B. - Who were some of your teachers that may have made an impact on your career?

 

B.H. - Howard Morgan, my guitar teacher who taught me how to navigate the entire fretboard of the guitar and create voice leading, Betsy Nordon, my long-time voice teacher, Elisa King, my modern dance teacher, Jeff Edmond, my tap teacher and director who led me to the Garden Players which I now run and write musical for, Tom Feigelson, my creative writing teacher, Pat Hoag-Simon, my musical theater teacher, Nick Russo, my guitar teacher and songwriting cheerleader.

 

R.V.B. - In your professional stage career, what are some of your highlights up to this point?

 

B.H. - Some of my favorites…

Meg in Phantom of the Opera (National Tour)

Anybodys in West Side Story (Tour of Italy, Japan, Lebanon)

Luisa in The Fantastiks (Regional Theater)

Jackie (rewritten from Jackson so I could play the role which also played guitar) in Pump Boys and Dinettes (Regional Theater)

Principal dancer in the movies Mona Lisa Smile & Disney’s Enchanted

Performing live at the Bottom Line as part of Fast Folk along with Jack Hardy, Christine Lavin, and so many more

 

R.V.B. - As a musician and a songwriter, how easy is it to switch gears from performing on stage as a role part to creating and composing music?

 

B.H. - When I was touring with Phantom of the Opera playing Meg, I had an 8 track Korg in my dressing room along with my guitar and I would write songs and record tracks whenever I had any down time. Songwriting and playing my guitar was a wonderful creative outlet. Being in a role onstage is incredibly rewarding, but after I’ve learned the role and gotten into a performance groove, I need something else to keep my creativity stirring.

 

R.V.B. - Tell me a little bit about your ballroom dancing teaching activities?

 

B.H. - I have loved performing in a couple of movies as a ballroom dancer (Mona Lisa Smile and Enchanted). I had learned partner dancing during one of the musicals I was performing in out of town, and then got very passionate about learning more. While performing in Mona Lisa Smile I met an Argentine tango dancer named Sid Grant. He introduced me to Pierre DuLane and Dancing Classrooms (as in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom). I performed with him for one of his culminating events and discovered that I wanted to teach, too. I have really enjoyed inspiring people to dance and have had the opportunity to teach swing dancing as far away as Tokyo, Japan.

 

R.V.B. -  How do you enjoying working with kids in your Garden Players Musical Theater program?

 

B.H. - Working with kids is an incredibly inspiring and exciting experience. I love seeing and hearing kids singing my songs, getting excited about theater, and learning how to express themselves. It’s a huge passion for me, and feels so incredibly valuable.

 

R.V.B. -  How do you enjoy the interesting and unique mix of music and cultures of Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches?

B.H. - I love the way Nick is always bringing other musical elements and musicians into our mix. He always takes my songs and adds such interesting layers of harmony and rhythm and is always imagining instruments. The bandmates Nick brings into our group always add such rich elements and challenge me.

 

R.V.B. -  On your current album Get Us Out of Fearland, what kind of collaboration takes place in the writing aspect?

 

B.H. - Most of the collaboration was in the reharmonization and the rhythm. I would bring the lyrics and the melody and basic chord structure and see it reimagined through playing with Nick and the rest of the band. Harmonies came from me, Nick, or the singers themselves. Additional instrumental textures were thought up in the studio, especially for the Park Song, Needed Now, and Don’t You Follow Me. The song structure of Soar was sculpted in the studio after recording it live and then spending time shaping it with Nick and Lenny Monachello (friend and recording engineer). The song Get Us Out Of Fearland started taking shape in a living room hang in Boston for an out of town gig. David Pleasant was playing some rhythms and I started playing my guitar and although we didn’t write the song then, that jam sparked something in me that grew into the song. 

 

R.V.B. -  What are your plans for the upcoming 2019 season?

 

B.H. - I always have a lot of projects stirring. I’ve written a children’s musical called Magic It Up which is in production now and I look forward to brainstorming my next childrens musical in the fall. Our band is going on tour this summer. We’re going to be playing the Pocahontas Opera House in Marlinton, WV, the Earle Theatre in Mount Airy, NC, and Live on the Levee in Charleston, WV, which takes place on the bank of the Kanawha River, to name a few. We are also coming upon the 100th anniversary of the 1920s so our band Hot Jazz Jumpers may work on an album in celebration of the 1920s music we love.

 

Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz

 

This interview may not be reproduced in any part or form without permission from this site.

 

For more information on Betina Hershey visit her website www.betinahershey.com

 

For more information on this site contact Robvonb247(at)gmail(dot)com

 

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