Hello Beautiful People,
It’s time to introduce you to my new friend + collaborator, the one and only, Charlotte Jaconelli.
In a word – she’s fantastic.
But I’ll save you the gush fest, and get on with our latest Q&A here at The Write Teacher(s)!
MM: First things first, did you always want to be a singer? If not, when did you realize you wanted to be a performer?
CJ: I actually wanted to be a Dancer up until the age of 10.. Then my teacher told me, if I wanted to be a Lead in musicals I needed to be a good singer .. That’s when I decided!
MM: What made you audition for BGT?
CJ: It was so unplanned! It popped up as an advert when I was watching stuff online, and I just thought, might as well see if I can get an audition.
MM: If you had to compare yourself to a musical theatre character, whom would you say that you’re most like? Least like?
CJ: I’d have to say I was most like Eliza Doolittle! I’m quite cockney…and I’m forever trying to speak better! I’m also not very timid or shy, so we’re quite similar! I’m probably least like…let’s say Simba…I’m neither animal nor male.
MM: If one were to walk into your flat in London, what books would we see on your bookshelf?
CJ: The Hunger Games trilogy would be right there in the centre! Closely followed by The Colour Purple and a book I have full of helpful quotes.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what movies and TV shows would you want available to you, assuming there was a DVD player?
CJ: I couldn’t miss the next season of Orange is the New Black, so Netflix needs to be available on this island.
MM: Knowing what you know now, if you had to give your sixteen year old self a piece of advice, what would it be?
CJ: I’d tell myself not to get too caught up in little things that upset me. Look at the bigger picture and remember what’s most important to you…just singing!
MM: Who are your biggest musical influences?
CJ: For me it would have to be a combination super human mix of, Audra McDonald, Julia Andrews and Judy Garland!
MM: What made you choose 54 Below for your NYC debut?
CJ: I’ve sat on my laptop in London watching countless videos of people I admire performing at 54, and was determined to get to perform there too.
MM: In the US, arts education programs are often cut in public schools. What reasons would you give to a politician and/or school board for preserving arts programming?
CJ: Arts programmes are the foundation for basic life skills for a lot of kids. I have so many friends that I went to performing classes with as a kid who may not be in the arts now, but used the skills they had learnt from these programmes to gain confidence, public speaking skills, and most of all having fun and making childhood friends. The arts give a lot more to society than performers, they give well-rounded people, and with skills that sitting behind a desk cannot teach!
MM: Time for shameless self-promotion. Anything you’d like to share with our readers?
CJ: Hmmmm make sure I see you all at 54 Below on 9/5 for my debut USA show!!! It’s going to be a lot of fun with lots of surprises!!
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
CJ: It would have to be my vocal coach Anne-Marie Speed. She helped me find my voice safely and securely and taught me so much, I owe a lot to her. Voice lessons aside, she has been such a great life teacher for me too, I know a chat and some of her advise will always get me where I need to be!
Thanks, Charlotte!
And yes, Write Teacher(s) Readers – be sure to get tickets to her NYC Debut on September 5th (that happens to be tomorrow) – we both look forward to seeing you!
Live, Love, Learn,