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Thursday, March 19, 1998

Composer enters spotlight with debut album, concert

MUSIC: Stephen Schwartz avoids critics as he extends his resume beyond feature film soundtracks

By Laura Noguera

Daily Bruin Contributor

Do nothing, say nothing - be nothing. That's what the motivational sign hanging on a songwriter's door reads. Those are the three simple steps for avoiding criticism.

But this songwriter has done and said something. He is Stephen Schwartz, composer, songwriter and singer. Schwartz has written songs since the age of seven, but just last year released his first album and has yet to perform in Los Angeles. On March 27, Schwartz is making his only Los Angeles appearance at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall. Despite the sign on his door, Schwartz is doing everything .

"You never know where a door is going to open and why," Schwartz says. "So you should just walk through all of them."

Having written songs and music compositions, including the score for "Godspell," Schwartz's next step was to release an album. Last year the composer-turned-recording-artist created an album in a style reflective of his musical theater background.

"It's contemporary pop with a slight theatrical flavor," says Michael Kerker, director of musical theater at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Songs from Schwartz's album, "Reluctant Pilgrim," comprise the majority of the UCLA concert. The unfamiliar material makes Schwartz anxious about audience reactions.

"It takes more energy from an audience to listen to new songs than to sit and listen to songs they already know," Schwartz says.

With only jingles and back up vocals as his singing credits, "Reluctant Pilgrim" is Schwartz's first solo act attempt. Now a band backs up his vocals in live performances, as he stands in the spotlight delivering his original songs.

"People seem to like (my songs) and be amazed that I can actually sing," Schwartz says.

However, some critics recommend that Schwartz limit himself to his music compositions instead of singing. Like a veteran, Schwartz overcomes criticism using a simple policy - he does not read reviews.

"I found dealing with critics, whether they were saying positive or negative things, very difficult and quite destructive to me," Schwartz says. "So I just stopped reading them."

Following the "Pocahontas" opening, Schwartz received exceptional reviews for his collaboration with Alan Menken on the film's soundtrack.

Friends urged him to read the reviews, but Schwartz says, "I completely refused. I just said, 'No, I don't read reviews. If I read the good ones, then I have to read the bad ones.'"

The "Pocahontas" soundtrack handed Schwartz critic appraisal, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed him his second Oscar. The film's success established Schwartz's animated feature career, and led to work on other films like "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and DreamWorks' first animated feature, "Prince of Egypt."

"It never occurred to me, even in my fantasies of being a theater writer and writing all these musicals, that what I would wind up doing would be working in Hollywood and doing animated features."

Schwartz is offered these features because Hollywood knows of his experience and knowledge, working with giants like Leonard Bernstein, nearly mastering his songwriting techniques that get him inside characters.

"You're thinking about what the character is feeling or wants and try to have a sense of how the character expresses him or herself," Schwartz says. "Then that just comes out as words and has to be shaped into lyrics."

While his animated feature soundtracks express those characters' mentalities, the Schwartz mentality expressed on his album and in performance intrigues audiences.

"His lyrics are sensitive," Kerker says. "They are heartfelt and filled with emotion."

The pressure to write the perfect lyrics has caused Schwartz one memorable case of songwriter's block. Schwartz's constrainment ended after a fellow songwriter advised him to stop trying to be the editor.

"I realized that he was right," Schwartz says. "You have to stop being the editor and be the writer and stop worrying about whether things are good or not."

That episode was the last block Schwartz admits to having. The next time he finds himself struggling with a block or critics, he should look to the sign on his door for encouragement.

"I'll take a look at that," Schwartz says, "and realize that the alternative to not getting criticized is not to do anything at all."

MUSIC: Stephen Schwartz will perform his show "Reluctant Pilgrim" at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall March 27 at 8 p.m. For tickets and more information, call (310) 825-2101.