Breakthroughs
From performing church songs when she was 4 to participating in musicals at 14, the lessons that Tess DeGrazia 23’ has learned in the performing arts will stick with her for a lifetime.
Tess DeGrazia ’23 playing her ukulele outside.
She starts with the chorus, stitching words and emotions together, trying to capture her feelings in just a few lines. Then she works on the bridge, the breakthrough of raw emotion trying to emulate her experiences and lessons. Then she lets loose and builds, she lets her heart and ears take her to a new world. This isn’t just her style of songwriting, this is Tess Degrazia ’23
DeGrazia has been writing songs for about two years and has slowly turned her love for theater and music into more than just a hobby, but a part of herself and her perspective on life.
Growing up among performers DeGrazia has been brewed into the artist she is today. DeGrazia’s mom, Kristen DeGrazia has been performing professionally for over 30 years.
“She’s just so good,” DeGrazia said. “And her ability to be present on stage seems so real, which is insane.”
DeGrazia’s mom has taken lead roles on Broadway in shows like “Mamma Mia”, “Next To Normal”, and “Into The Woods”. She loves watching her mom and it inspires her to be the artist that she is today.
Her older siblings are also heavily involved in theater. “I’ve learned a lot of things through performing and seeing them perform,” She said. “And I guess growing up with that just formed into me now.”
As for DeGrazia’s performing arts career, she loves all aspects of it, the people she meets, the lessons she learns, and most importantly, the feeling she gets when performing. Her favorite feeling is when she is singing a meaningful song, and she reaches the climax or breaking point of a song. “Like, at that moment, I can tell that this is my everything,” she said.
One of the aspects that has been a journey for DeGrazia as a performer is how she feels before auditions and performances. She gets talkative when nervous about performing, and the best way for her to cope with that is to talk to her family. Someone else who has really helped guide DeGrazia through her performing career is Katy Hahn musical theater teacher. Over email Katy writes the progress that DeGrazia has made when being taught by her, “She went from being absolutely terrified of performing alone in front of people a couple of years ago to singing a heartbreaking solo last spring (Elphaba’s part in “For Good” from Wicked) and absolutely killing it.” Hahn writes.
Another way that DeGrazia has started to help cope with her emotions is songwriting. By being able to let go of her emotions and combine that with her love for music, DeGrazia has found songwriting to be a crucial part of her life. With her beloved ukulele in hand, her songwriting process differs but she usually starts with the chorus, then the bridge, and just builds on that.
DeGrazia explains her favorite part of the song, “The bridge is the breakthrough and I love breakthroughs.” With time she hopes to write more songs and start sharing them.
These songs are personal and act as a diary to all of her thoughts and feelings. DeGrazia has written and completed a few songs but doesn’t like to share most of them because of how personal they are. The song she is currently working on is about friendship. “A friendship that hasn’t been going well for me. And what I’ve learned through it, because that’s just how I deal with it.” DeGrazia said.
DeGrazia has made huge progress as an artist, “Her growth as an actor, dancer, and singer is unquestionable, but the thing that makes me proudest is that she is starting to believe in herself,” Hahn writes. And there is more to come, DeGrazia hopes to further her career in performing arts at West, attend the musical theater program at the University of Michigan, go to broadway, and constantly be spreading her love for music with the world.
“Music really builds people, and you can really connect to anything if you just listen,” DeGrazia said.
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