In a recent interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Justin Levine, a composer, arranger, music supervisor and performer who went to Northport High School. He has found success working on shows like Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Here Lies Love, and The Outsiders. We were able to ask about his time in high school, his experiences since then, and his advice for high school students in Northport High School today.
How was the experience of doing Powdered Wigs and Theater Troupe at NHS? Do you think it helped you later in life?
I definitely loved it and it did help me, I think in a lot of ways. Particularly if you’re interested in going into the arts, it was a great opportunity to begin collaborating with people at that age and have the chance to perform in front of an audience and learn how to feed off of that energy. And also how to be disciplined with what you’re doing, learning your lines, but then also, just building a production with a group of your peers. It was definitely a huge learning experience. And I think one of the big things I learned once I started working professionally in theater was that, in many ways it, it was quite similar, it’s just a different context, but as far as the amount of collaboration and dedication that it took to put on the Powdered Wig shows, it’s definitely the same on Broadway.
When you were in high school, where did you see yourself going, and then how did that change or stay the same over the years?
You know, I think when I was in high school, I imagined that I would be primarily performing and writing and didn’t really imagine myself being involved in the music department, oddly enough. Not because I wasn’t interested in it, but I just don’t think I really fully understood the scope of what it takes to put together a musical. You know, we mostly did revivals, so they were licensed productions where the scores were already orchestrated and the vocal parts were already arranged and all of that. And when I started out, I was acting a lot, but I was also being cast in shows where music was folded into it somehow. And then from there, I started music directing and then orchestrating and music supervising. And I think I never thought about that aspect partly because I was never formally trained as a musician. I did take music theory with Frank Doyle, who’s another notable teacher in my time at Northport. He was a great mentor and then friend, he actually had approached me and suggested that I take his music comp class so that I could put some names to things that he recognized I perhaps understood innately, but didn’t really understand the theory behind them. And so I think because I didn’t study music when I graduated high school, I didn’t imagine that I would be working professionally as a music supervisor or orchestrator.
Do you have any advice to those students who would want to go into a theater related profession in the future?
I would say a couple of things. One, I would say stay interested in the world and in everything else, aside from theater. Being well-rounded and also having an interest in the human condition is what I think makes for great art making.When I was at NYU after high school in a liberal arts program, and it was often the classes that were not theater classes or were not directly about the craft of theater that really made a lasting impression on me and inspired the type of art I would make and the types of collaborations I would pursue. And then I think the other piece of it too is often we look to people who are doing well in our, in our field, and we ask what their path was in the hopes that it might sort of give us a guide to it ourselves. And I feel like the path for me was anything but straight. And I suppose the one thing that really guided me was things I’d never done before and things that I found intriguing. So every project that I’ve done since college, I can identify at least one aspect of it that was novel to me, and that was something of a challenge that I could set for myself.
Were there any specific challenges that you faced and overcame and learned something from that you still use to this day?
I’m sure there were several. I can’t think of one big one at this point. I definitely feel like when I was in high school, I wanted to do everything and sort of still do, but one of the things that I remember was that, for example, I played tennis for a while at the school. And then when it came time to for the Powdered Wigs show, I had to choose between the two. And even though at that point, I already knew that I wanted to be involved in the arts, it was still not at that point such a decision wasn’t automatically guided by that. But I think that what I learned was the value of pursuing one path at a time and really putting your all into whichever path you’re on at that particular moment. I think also when, when I was in choir, part of why that class meant means so much to me is because Mr. Valerio often had singing material that was way beyond our experience. And you know, like I’m thinking of Baroque Cantatas and Requiem, and these massive pieces that would be a challenge to any professional choir. And I think in that way, that class provided an opportunity to really experience facing a mountain and climbing it.
What would you say to your high school self if you were able to have a face-to-face conversation with him now?
I would say to my high school self, to worry less about how other people feel about things. And not only that, but actually take the time and care to really understand myself and the things that matter to me. You know, I think I did a lot of that inherently, but also I think when you’re in high school, it’s easy to get caught up in sort of the bigger picture outside of you, but that high school, and then of course, college are a time to really get to know yourself better. And I think that I was so eager to get into the arts and, and start working and growing that I think I placed that ahead of some of the more basic things, you know about, about being alive. In a funny way, I feel like I’m doing a lot more of that now than I did 15, 20 years ago.
