Carol de Giere Bio
Carol de Giere is the author of two books that provide behind-the-scenes stories on popular musicals.
The first book, The Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, is now in a Revised and Updated Second Edition. This career biography that takes readers into the world of the award-winning composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz known for the musicals Wicked, Pippin, and other Broadway shows and films.
The second book, The Godspell Experience: Inside a Transformative Musical, records the history and song-by-song details for Godspell, and features a Foreword by Stephen Schwartz. Both books serve as historical records in addition to offering insights on the creative process for fans of musicals, working writers, and performers.
Her books are available through online booksellers and directly from the author.
Carol "met" Stephen Schwartz by way of his website and conducted over eighty hours of interviews with him. Her questions focused on his creative process in order to discover some of the keys to his success. She began while he was in the middle of writing the score for Wicked, and was able to capture many stories about the ups and downs of the developmental process for Defying Gravity.
Ms. de Giere is also the founder of several online websites: The Schwartz Scene (now on Facebook), Musicalwriters.com that provides resources for writers of new musicals, and MusicalSchwartz.com.
A former librarian, Carol holds master's degrees in library science and writing. She lives with her husband in Connecticut where they enjoy walking, reading, practicing yoga and meditation, and nature photography.
www.caroldegiere.com
PHOTO: Carol de Giere and her novelist friend Gregory Maguire at the opening night for Wicked in San Francisco
Carol's Story of Getting Started
Like many writers, I was inspired by a particularly good teacher. In 1967 my English teacher in Madison, Wisconsin was Mark Parish. Mr. Parish was in his thirties (I'm guessing), with sandy blond hair and an athletic build. More intense than kindly, his eyes pierced or softened depending on what he was reading to us or trying to get us to understand. I'll never forget the day he was so moved by the ending of a short story he read to us that he had to leave the room so we wouldn't see him weep. We sat silently until the official end of class, wiping tears from our eyes.
His fierce appreciation of language and literature woke me up to the wonders of language. From him I learned the principle that "God is in the details." I had always thought details in writing (including spelling, punctuation, and forms of expression) were too superficial to care about. But Mr. Parish loved all of them and praised me when I wrote a long paragraph about drinking tea.
When I was a teenager I started writing poetry and reflections in my journals. Then when I was about 15, my family traveled to a remote spot in the Canadian Rockies. I saw a man there in a lodge who spent his summers writing in that quiet, beautiful spot. That was when I decided that being a writer would be an ideal career because it was so portable. I've tried many different occupations but writing is what I prefer to do.
I worked as a librarian for six years, but kept wishing I could be on the other side of the printed page. Although I loved helping people find good books, I longed to create my own.
Photo from Presentations
LEFT
Carol de Giere with Stephen Schwartz speaking at Barnes and Noble in Skokie Illinois, 2009.
RIGHT
Carol de Giere and Carole Demas (original "Sandy" in Grease on Broadway and original "Genevieve" in The Baker's Wife) speaking at the Drama Book Shop in NYC in 2009.
PHOTO: Carol de Giere and Stephen Schwartz in a work session for future Defying Gravity updates, August 2013