Faith Soloway
Encyclopedia
Faith Soloway is a folk-rock musician, comedic performer, and creator of several folk-rock musicals, based in the Boston
area. She studied theater at Indiana University
and performed improv comedy regularly, along with leaving school to tour with Second City
. She spent three years as music director for Second City, which led to the creation of Soloway's first original musical, The Real Life Brady Bunch. The show, which premiered in 1990, was a collaboration with her sister, Jill Soloway
, and it toured across the country. Both Soloway sisters moved to Hollywood briefly to produce television shows, but Faith Soloway decided she was not interested in television work and in 1994, moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
to pursue a songwriting career.
After performing at open mike
nights as a solo musician, Soloway began producing a series of rock opera
s that were performed at Club Passim
. She started with the minimalist The Principal and the Potter, which was followed by Jesus Has Two Mommies (the title refers to the controversial children's book Heather Has Two Mommies
), which featured such notable Boston folk musicians as Catie Curtis
, Jennifer Kimball
, and Mary Gauthier
. This was followed by Miss Folk America (which featured what became one of Soloway's signature songs, Queer
in Revere
and Debbie Does Falcon Ridge
, both of which parodied
the folk scene. In 2000, Soloway produced Miss Folk America at the Somerville
Theater, a larger venue. In 2005, Soloway and company are mounting a production of The F Word, a parody of the television show The L Word
.
Soloway also works at Charles River Creative Arts Program, Dover MA in the summer, in the theater and music departments. For the camp, she has written the musicals "Harry" "Norbert Beany is Action Man" and "Hamletta" with Tom Evans. She teaches Improv, Mini Musical, Production, Musical Theatre Troupe, and Rock Opera. Charles River Creative Arts Program used to be directed by Toby Dewey whose successor is yet to be decided.
Soloway's lone solo album, Training Wheels, features her song Lesbo Song, which is at once a statement of her sexuality
and a tweaking of the earnest, humorless stereotype of women's music
. Her song Sister's Boyfriend was featured on the Respond compilation, a benefit for domestic violence
causes. She continues to perform with her band, the Faith Soloway Crisis.
Soloway's ex-partner, writer Harlyn Aizley, wrote a book entitled Buying Dad about the couple's efforts to conceive a child via artificial insemination
(their daughter Betsy was born in 2002). Soloway wrote an essay, Betsy Loves Bobbies, that will appear in a forthcoming anthology
edited by Aizley, The Other Mother: Tales from the Lesbian Home-front, or, Nonbiological Mothers Tell All. After the couple separated, Soloway started work on a new show, "Journey to the Self: One Woman’s Self Journey". Her new partner, Carol Rosenthal, is very active in Hollywood.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area. She studied theater at Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
and performed improv comedy regularly, along with leaving school to tour with Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
. She spent three years as music director for Second City, which led to the creation of Soloway's first original musical, The Real Life Brady Bunch. The show, which premiered in 1990, was a collaboration with her sister, Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway is an American comedian, playwright, a feminist and an Emmy-nominated television writer.Soloway was an executive producer and show-runner of the Showtime show The United States of Tara created by writer Diablo Cody. Soloway exited the show in November 2009...
, and it toured across the country. Both Soloway sisters moved to Hollywood briefly to produce television shows, but Faith Soloway decided she was not interested in television work and in 1994, moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
to pursue a songwriting career.
After performing at open mike
Open mike
An open mike or open mic is a live show where audience members may perform at the microphone. Usually, the performers sign up in advance for a time slot with the host or master of ceremonies. These events can be focused on poetry and the spoken word, music, comedy, and the open format of open...
nights as a solo musician, Soloway began producing a series of rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
s that were performed at Club Passim
Club Passim
Club Passim is a folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47 , and changed its name to simply Passim in 1969...
. She started with the minimalist The Principal and the Potter, which was followed by Jesus Has Two Mommies (the title refers to the controversial children's book Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather Has Two Mommies is a children's book written by Lesléa Newman with Diana Souza's illustrations, first published in 1989. It is about a child, Heather, raised by lesbian women: her biological mother, Jane, who gave birth to her after artificial insemination, and her biological mother's...
), which featured such notable Boston folk musicians as Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has been categorized in several genres, including pop, rock, alternative country, indie and folk. She has recorded 11 CDs. The most recent, Stretch Limousine On Fire, will be released in August 2011 on Compass Records.-Early life:Catie...
, Jennifer Kimball
Jennifer Kimball
Jennifer Kimball is a vocalist and songwriter who is notable for being part of the acclaimed folk duo The Story. She is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and has released two albums Veering from the Wave and Oh Hear Us....
, and Mary Gauthier
Mary Gauthier
Mary Gauthier is an American folk singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Gauthier was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Given up at birth by a mother she never knew, Gauthier was adopted by an Italian Catholic couple in Thibodaux, Louisiana...
. This was followed by Miss Folk America (which featured what became one of Soloway's signature songs, Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
in Revere
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and located approximately from downtown Boston. It is named after the American patriot Paul Revere. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 51,755.- History :...
and Debbie Does Falcon Ridge
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
, both of which parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the folk scene. In 2000, Soloway produced Miss Folk America at the Somerville
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
Theater, a larger venue. In 2005, Soloway and company are mounting a production of The F Word, a parody of the television show The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
.
Soloway also works at Charles River Creative Arts Program, Dover MA in the summer, in the theater and music departments. For the camp, she has written the musicals "Harry" "Norbert Beany is Action Man" and "Hamletta" with Tom Evans. She teaches Improv, Mini Musical, Production, Musical Theatre Troupe, and Rock Opera. Charles River Creative Arts Program used to be directed by Toby Dewey whose successor is yet to be decided.
Soloway's lone solo album, Training Wheels, features her song Lesbo Song, which is at once a statement of her sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and a tweaking of the earnest, humorless stereotype of women's music
Women's music
Women's music is the music by women, for women, and about women . The genre emerged as a musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement as well as the labor, civil rights, and peace movements...
. Her song Sister's Boyfriend was featured on the Respond compilation, a benefit for domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
causes. She continues to perform with her band, the Faith Soloway Crisis.
Soloway's ex-partner, writer Harlyn Aizley, wrote a book entitled Buying Dad about the couple's efforts to conceive a child via artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
(their daughter Betsy was born in 2002). Soloway wrote an essay, Betsy Loves Bobbies, that will appear in a forthcoming anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
edited by Aizley, The Other Mother: Tales from the Lesbian Home-front, or, Nonbiological Mothers Tell All. After the couple separated, Soloway started work on a new show, "Journey to the Self: One Woman’s Self Journey". Her new partner, Carol Rosenthal, is very active in Hollywood.
Discography
- Jesus Has Two Mommies (soundtrack) (2001)
- Miss Folk America (soundtrack)
- Training Wheels (EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
)