Interview: Nissa Kahle, expression through music and theater
New York City-based musician, Nissa Kahle, came down to USC Aiken to help with the university's theatre production of “Title of Show,” which is streaming from Friday, March 19 to Sunday, March 21.
Kahle is a pianist who loves to help others through music.
“I love working in the collaborative arts and working with people from different backgrounds to tell stories through theatre and opera. I like making people laugh. Even dealing with serious topics, a lot of times we can do it in a light-hearted way that invites everyone to the conversation.”
Kahle did her undergraduate studies in Seattle at the University of Washington and moved to Austin, Texas after graduating. After completing her master's degree, she then moved to New York City and auditioned and traveled with the musical, “Chicago.”
Kahle met USC Aiken voice professor Dr. Keely Rhodes while in Austin. “We met through the chorale scene, and she’s always been a musician that I admire, and I admire her as a person as well. Something I love about the music scene is that you can see and work with people after years of not seeing them and can get to work seamlessly. This helps in situations like right now, where I’m working with ‘Title of Show,’ and it’s going great.”
When asked about the balance between being a musician and being able to self-network, Kahle stated, “I’m still learning how to do that, and it helps [to find] people that are like me. It’s tricky to reach out to people without seeming like I’m asking them for something. I learned that just being genuine is the best way to go. It’s important to put your best self towards connecting with people.”
Kahle shared some tips on how to deal with performance anxiety. “Practice being in the situation you’re going to face. If something goes wrong, try to see that as an opportunity to learn how to recover under pressure. If I miss a note in a show, I can use it as an opportunity to tell myself, ‘I’m a little shaken right now, but this is an opportunity to learn how to refocus’, and I get back in it. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how you recover that really matters.”
Kahle’s talent and life on Broadway provided a great example for the theatre and music students at USC Aiken, as well as the production of “Title of Show.”
