Life & Work with Charlotte Munson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Munson.

Hi Charlotte, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in NYC to a post-modern choreographer / psycho-analyst mother and a minimalist composer / psychiatrist father. At 6 months old I made my NYC debut at the Bowery in my mother’s dance piece and the stage has been my love ever since. The first play I ever wrote won the national Blank Theatre’s Young Playwright Festival and was produced in Los Angeles. The 2nd play I wrote was produced at the Drama Bookshop’s Arthur Seelen Theatre in NYC.

I got my BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College, lived in NYC for 6 years, then got my MFA in Acting at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2018. I received a scholarship from my grad school to write and produce a show. I knew I wanted to write a one-woman musical, and after hearing an excellent 5 part podcast on Lady Diana, I felt a deep connection to her emotional journey and decided to tell her story (this was before THE CROWN, SPENCER, and the broadway flop that was DIANA the musical).

I’d always wanted to collaborate with my father because I loved his music so much, and 2020 gave us the time needed to embark on this adventure (the pandemic hit and my father had retired in 2019).

Last summer a few seasoned LA theatre friends of mine helped to produce the one-woman musical at the Hollywood Fringe Festival (the largest theatre festival on the west coast), and we won BEST MUSICAL, PICK OF THE FRINGE, BEST OF THE BROADWATER, and TVo’s BEST OF THE FRINGE. Since then, DI LADY DI has been produced in Ventura, NoHo, and NYC, and upcoming performances at Sierra Madre Playhouse this February 24 – March 5. We also hope to attend the Edinburgh Festival this year.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I had never written a musical before (let alone collaborate with my father) so there were hundreds of unforeseen problems that arose. I thought having backup tracks / vocals would be “simple” and I was WRONG. Sound design is a BEAST. I had to teach myself how to use new software, find ways to transition my father’s different software to mine, and after writing half the show, we had to restart from scratch because the song files needed to be saved in 3 different locations (I naively had only saved them in one location). I had no idea how expensive sound design was, and could barely afford the sound mixing. I’ve worked as a professional actor for over 20 years, but didn’t realize how terrifying it would be to star in a musical I wrote– the week before we opened I told myself I would never do it again! But once we opened and the audience loved the show, my fears were alleviated.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I got my first professional acting gig with I was 12, touring the musical version of “Bridge to Terabithia”. Since then I have performed in over 40 professional productions. I got my equity card ten years ago and have been consistently working ever since. When the pandemic hit, 5 of my jobs were canceled. I’m very proud of my vocal prowess, but believe my acting chops are what sets me apart as a singer.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
My father is a musician and used to play the piano for me as I improvised dances. When I got older and started singing, he accompanied me. I was very shy in public and loud as hell at home. I was born in NYC but grew up in beautiful Vermont where I would frolic in fields and delve into imaginary worlds/games in our backyard forest. I remember being deeply insecure, obsessed with boys, and incredibly driven. When I was nine, I started performing in school and community theatre and had never felt so happy, fulfilled, or seen. I would come home from school and sing along to Broadway Musicals for hours. Vermont has a wonderful theatre scene, and the multiple community theatres became my family.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.charlottemunson.com
• Instagram: @charlights & @diladydi_themuscial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.munson/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-munson-a9466615/
• Youtube: @chatzieburner
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/charlotte-munson

Image Credits
Gus Krieger & Lucia Towers