SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT! James T. Lane
SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT WILL HIGHLIGHT A SINGER-ARTIST IN THE STUDIO EACH WEEK. SOME OF THESE SINGER-ARTISTS MIGHT BE FAMILIAR TO YOU, AND SOME MAY NOT. NO MATTER WHAT, EACH SINGER-ARTIST IS SOMEONE THAT YOU SHOULD GET TO KNOW!
It is an honor and a privilege for me to work with each of these singer-artists and introduce them to you!
Today’s spotlight shines upon a true triple threat, a unicorn, a bright, bright light, James T. Lane.
Today, on Christmas Day, I wanted to shine the light on James, because today is also his birthday!!
James is a magical and magnificent artist who is the poster child of what building and developing craft consistently looks like, and then, he makes it look easy! It looks easy because he works HARD to bring knowledge, talent, ability, intellect, and craft together and he embodies it all. He is a true gift to the theatre community, and to every human he touches, and to SEY Voice. His light is pure and burns so brightly and continues to grow and illuminate all the good that can be revealed. Happy Birthday, James! We are better because of you!
JAMES T. LANE
I was looking for a teacher who did it all. A one stop shop- any kind of rep, any genre, any style. I would be auditioning for Ray Charles in a story about his life. So I accosted Lillias White at the Food Emporium counter begging for a recommendation. “Susan Eichhorn- Young”. That was 11 years ago.
I’m a Philly guy , born and raised with my eyes set on Broadway from a very early age. I found out that Robert Guillaume had played the Phantom and that’s what I wanted to do.
My first trip to Broadway was to see “Tommy.” “These streets are dirty. They are not paved in gold.” I still needed to be here though.
Heavy musical training in high school, dancing five nights a week at Koresh Dance Center and spending my summers at a theatre school for 5 summers straight, got me a full ride to CMU. Hooray! I left after the 1st semester. They don’t let you perform your 1st year and my self esteem was wrapped up in that stage. Penn State was a better fit but not quite right either. So I went to work - In Europe for a year and a half.
This young black Philly guy was on the streets of Switzerland at 19. You couldn’t tell me nothing. And no one could. In fact, my ego outgrew my talent.
The chickens came home to roost when I tore my Achilles’ tendon and had nothing to fill that performance hole. I turned to all of the things that try to make a young man feel whole and just fell further and further into one.
In 2006 I found my way out and to Broadway with the Revival of A Chorus Line. With new found insight and a healthy dose of humility, gratitude and a whole lot of grace, it’s been a steady diet of creative pursuit.
I haven’t stopped.
Even in a pandemic I doubled my lessons and remain vigilant in all of my disciplines . And I’m having a good time. It’s tough, but I’m having fun. There’s lots more I can chat about, but just check out my website. I adore finding new ways to sing with Susan. I am having the time of my life!
Find out more and MORE at jamestlane.com
at 7 years old!
