Artist of the Week	Chester Popiolkowski by Anthony Chase

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Excerpt from "Beauty and the Beast," composed by Chester Popiolkowski (photo: Rose Mattrey)

Why you should know who he is. Chet has composed dozens of musical scores for Theatre of Youth productions—in addition to being their in-house sound designer, and sometimes technical director. He helps create the atmosphere for every Theatre of Youth show, and in so-doing, helps cultivate a taste for theater among our important young audiences. His music is currently featured in The Masque of Beauty and the Beast at Theatre of Youth, and he did the sound design for Studio Arena Theatre’s current production of A Christmas Story.

How long have you been with Theatre of Youth? “I first became involved with Theatre of Youth when the company first started at Daemen College in 1972. I did my undergraduate degree at Daemen, and right from the start, I did original music for them, working with (company co-founder) Roz Cramer. It was so long ago! Before you knew it, I was performing, and I did tours to schools. That was back in the days when I was still acting—in Mirror Man I was the toymaker, back when they still had to gray my hair! And in Jack and the Beanstalk, I was the tallest, so I was the giant.”

You met your wife, Theatre of Youth artistic director Meg Quinn, through the theater, right? “Yes. We were both Daemen students. She was dating someone else. And then when they broke up, I asked her out again and again, but she always had an excuse not to go out with me. Finally I wore her down and she went out with me. We were going together for seven years before we got married in 1979. Twenty-six years and two children later, we’re still together.”

How long does it take you to write a score? “It varies. For the first show of each season, I work all summer long. We do five shows, and after I start up, I will write the music in three weeks. I have to work like a music machine to get it done in that amount of time. That means sixteen-hour days. I cannot wait for inspiration—it has to come instantaneously.”

Working like that, is each score special? “Yes! Absolutely. And each takes me to a time and place. Beauty and the Beast, for instance, I wrote seven years ago. I get choked up every time I hear it, because my mother had just passed away in 1998. We were doing Nancy Drew, when my mother passed away in August, and the next show was Beauty and the Beast. It was my mother’s favorite story. She loved the idea of a man who is not beautiful who is redeemed by someone who is. So that Beauty and the Beast Suite, which is twelve melodies, when Beast takes Beauty through the castle, always reminds me of my mother. For me, that music represents my mother telling me the story of Beauty and the Beast. There are other scores with particularly special meaning. I like my music for Tuck Everlasting—done in a avery different style. I think Stuart Little is the best example of my “home” style—it is the best demonstration of the blues/jazz artist in me; that’s my style.”

How do you compose? “I work on two pianos, and I have two electronic keyboards. My Yamaha QS300 is my workhorse, and I have a Triton 88. Each of the keyboards has a 16-track sequencer. I can record hundreds of tracks. Sometimes I will use real guitar. When I first bought the Yamaha, what I liked was the fact that the sounds were lifelike. The woodwinds sounded real. The violins sounded real. They did not have the electronic tinge unless you want that.

For each play, I begin by reading the script several times—the first time for the story; the second time, I begin to hear things. I avoid scripted sounds, and try to imagine the world of the play. Sound is another narrative voice, telling place and time and the world beyond the stage.”

Does the sound at the Allendale Theatre limit you? “The sound is a continuing challenge. We are getting better at it. The place is a cave, and our back wall is built like a sound shell and reverberates. We continue to work on it. We mike the actors and we have speakers all the way around.”

What do you like to do when you can’t work? “Make my own popcorn, rent a movie and chill. And I enjoy cooking. Meg and I bought a garlic press. Now, we’re looking for a recipe that calls for garlic. I like baking. My father owned a bakery on Walden and Genesee—Tasty Cake Bake Shop on the East Side. He sold to Broadway Market and coffee services and restaurants.”

Doesn’t children’s theater get on your nerves? “Not at all! I love children’s theater! Since I was a student, I fell in love with children’s theater. There is a real honesty that comes from a young audience. They do not have those adult inhibitions to hold it in. They laugh when it is funny. I like to listen to kids humming a tune that I wrote for a show. Those kids are my critics.”