In Remember When, a twenty-something’s journey toward self-discovery and renewal is guided by iconic music from her grandmother’s past, including jazz, pop, and musical theater tunes from the Great American Songbook.
Morgan came up with the idea after reflecting on the impact music often plays on one’s memory and the idea that music from one’s past can positively enhance their activity, mental/physical activity and behavior, regardless of the advancement of Alzheimer’s.
One of the things that inspired me to create my one-woman show, Remember When, was to see how far I could push myself beyond my comfort zone. I wanted to test my capabilities and my capacity for risk and entrepreneurship while I still had the safety net of being in school. I wondered what my endeavors would indicate about how I would stand out later on in life. In an entertainment world that seems to stay afloat through remakes and comic book adaptations, shouldn’t every musician be making strides to find and create something new and exciting?
Finding something new doesn’t have to be complicated. For example, no one else has our perspective or style. For me, my “new” was to reach out in a way that could help groups of people who aren’t in mainstream society. By the time I reached graduate school, I had spent over seven years performing at numerous retirement communities and assisted living residences. A segment of this population that intrigued me were people with impaired memory. The opportunity and challenge became clear for me – the producing and performing of a show for the benefit of this group while appealing to a wider audience. I was fortunate to discover Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, where their scientists understand the power of music as a therapy for the disease. Massachusetts’ focus on Alzheimer’s research was a bonus. My experience, passion and musical skills, combined with grant opportunities from two supportive environments (NEC’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department and Live Arts Boston) resulted in the perfect recipe for creating my entrepreneurial venture.
Remember When was a crash course in entrepreneurship from all angles because I had never written a grant or a play, executed publicity, staged a play, hired people or performed jazz rep in my life. Most of the time I felt as though I was making it up as I went along. This attempt at entrepreneurship, however, taught me a lot about myself. It taught me how fast I could learn. It taught me a lot about the entertainment industry that one doesn’t necessarily learn in school. It tested my perceptions of quality—what I could and could not tolerate—and helped me realize who would be there for me on my journey. I can say that the EM department was always there if I ran into issues and needed advice from someone. Realize, though, the heavy lifting of doing a big project like this relies on you.
Read Morgan’s full HuffPost article “Entrepreneurship—Worth the Risk?”