The concert “Shades of Blue” will showcase the musical talent of Syntyche Bishop, actress and Resident Player at the National Theatre Arts Company of T&T. She said she has been concentrating on acting for a while, but her first love has always been singing.
Bishop began singing in church at age 5 and started training in piano and voice at ages 9 and 12 respectively. She joined the Suite Chorale based in Princes Town, where she trained with Yvonne Suite and went on two tours to Belize. “I always loved performing, and the choir does a lot of dancing which I also love. When I was young, they were amazing to me and I said this is a choir I definitely need to be with.”
Bishop said she stopped singing for a while in order to focus on her acting. “I was really focusing on acting, because I thought with acting I was able to do everything I really loved, like singing with musical theatre, dancing, playing a musical instrument if I needed to, so I thought acting encompassed everything that I wanted to do.” She studied for her Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts and has worked with several production companies in T&T, including JSC Entertainment, Raymond Choo Kong Productions, Necessary Arts, LP Entertainment Theatre and the National Theatre Arts Company.
“Once I get an opportunity, if I think it’s good I take it, because I think that’s what we need to do as artists. You need to decipher what is best for you and what can take you where you want to go, and so I think when you work with as many people as you possibly can, you gain a lot of experience from their experiences, and that just helps to mold and shape you and you would know where you want to go.”
Bishop said her aim is to make it to Broadway. “
I’m just working as hard as possible, doing things that I love, because I think when you’re doing what you love, obviously, it won’t feel like you’re working a day in your life. It’s a lot of work but it wouldn’t feel burdensome.”
She recently returned from a six month contract with the Carnival Dream ship, part of Carnival Cruise Lines, where she and an accompanying pannist entertained guest as the duo Tropic Melody, and where she got to do many different genres of music. She said while it was hard, it was an amazing and enjoyable experience.
“People told us we were the best entertainers on the ship, and I met some amazing guests, including people who want us to come and perform abroad and some producers who want to come and do music with us.”
Bishop said the purpose of the concert is to show people that she is a singer as well as an actress. The concert will be held at the Kaiso Blues Cafe on Woodford Street in Port of Spain, which she said is a popular venue. She will be performing with the band Simply Put.
“There are a few reasons why I chose Shades of Blue as the name of the concert. First of all, my birthstone, sapphire, is blue. Also, blue has a lot of powerful meanings, including strength. Each shade of blue represents a different genre of music, so there’s something in there for everybody. It showcases my versatility as well as a vocalist, so it shows that I am able to do a lot of different genres. You’re going get some soca, some reggae, jazz, pop and more. This is me in concert, it’s very intimate, close and very personal, so I’m just showcasing Syntyche as a vocalist.”
Shades of Blue will take place at Kaiso Blues Cafe on October 16, beginning at 7 pm. Tickets cost $100. For more information, find Shades of Blue the Concert on Facebook.
The Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network 