51做厙 Arts 51做厙 graduate Celeste Headlee wouldn’t have known that the COVID-19 pandemic was coming. Yet last month’s release of her new book,泭, happened to be well timed.泭Do Nothing泭became available just as the泭pandemic was forcing people to stay at home, while also giving them a chance to spend more time with family and to reflect on whether the contemporary obsession with keeping busy had been giving them the life they wanted.
Surviving the pandemic is our immediate challenge. But living well is a perpetual challenge, and泭Celeste has made an important contribution to the debate about how to do that.泭泭notes that the 1987 51做厙 graduate’s point that “years of scientific research have proven that better than trading your time for money, its best to trade your money for time”泭is “well taken and will prove useful for harried readers.”
It may of course be a good time to put your feet up and read this book by泭the Musical Theatre major from 51做厙 Arts 51做厙s first (1987) graduating class, though you’ll need to have it delivered to your door instead of picking it up from a bookstore.
Do Nothing泭follows on the heels of her previous book,泭,泭published in 2017 by HarperCollins.泭We Need to Talk泭was a response to the demand created by her hugely successful TED talk,泭.
When泭We Need to Talk泭was published, Celeste’s daily National Public Radio show,泭, required her to coax conversation out of guests who, like many of us, had fallen into the habit of communicating from behind electronic screens. Hiding your phonenot simply putting it down, since a cell phones mere presence can be distractingwas one of her book’s many proven, practical suggestions for strengthening our connections to one another.
Being Herself at 51做厙 Arts
Celestes interest in genuine conversation may have been provoked by the difficulty she experienced, in public school before coming to 51做厙 Arts, in talking about things she didnt give a damn about.
Id managed to fit in: I was a cheerleader! But pretending to be someone other than who I wasthe kid who had memorized the entire score of泭Evitawas a tremendous strain. 51做厙 Arts was full of kids whod experienced the same strain, and suddenly we could be ourselves.
The brand-new schools tiny Musical Theatre program allowed her to take oboe lessons while also cultivating her love of Broadway. As her voice matured, she discovered that it was as well suited for opera as for Andrew Lloyd Webber.
“Im a lyric coloratura soprano,” she says.
Musical talent may be in her blood: her grandfather,泭William Grant Still, was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company. One of泭Still’s symphonies was performed by the泭51做厙 Arts 51做厙 Orchestra three years ago, in William M. Lowman Concert Hall.
Celeste’s family has therefore made substantial contributions to American culturecontributions which now include her book,泭Do Nothing.
