At first glance, Wilton mom Bev Ward seems typical enough. She spends much of her time like many mothers do — dashing around town running errands, dropping forgotten lunches off at the Wilton High School message center. But Beverly Ward the mom is also a singer, writer and actress.
She and husband, Kirby, have starred opposite each other all around the country and abroad (with the kids in tow) but, with an empty-nest fast approaching, Bev is beginning to “lean in” on goals that have taken a back-seat to being at home for her kids. In mid-November she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for her first studio-recorded album.
Ward has made a living in musical theatre. She has performed on Broadway, National Tours and in countless regional productions. You might have seen her on stage — maybe in one of numerous fund-raisers for the Wilton Playshop — where it was clear to see how happy she is in the spotlight.
Bev began writing music about a decade ago. Last September, the Wilton Playshop hosted a New Works reading of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, one of the musicals she’s written with Kirby. Musical theatre has paid the Wards’ bills but singer-songwriter music is at the heart of Bev’s love of music. She grew up listening to and loving Carol King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Elvis Costello. After nearly ten years of composing, she has enough singer/songwriter material to record a couple of albums.
When she began considering how she would fund her album project, a Kickstarter campaign seemed a logical choice. Kickstarter is a website dedicated to helping people crowd-source for projects of all sorts. Typically running for 30 days, friends, fans, strangers, and anyone at all can make a monetary “pledge” to back a project–with the caveat that pledges only go through if the campaign reaches it’s goal. Bev launched her Kickstarter on Nov. 14, meaning it ends next Saturday, Dec.13. With just a few short days left, the campaign is close to one hundred percent funded. She’s hoping that a little home-town Wilton help will push her over the top.
To hear demos of the songs she intends to record, and consider donating to make her album-making dream a reality, visit her Kickstarter website. Each pledge gets a download of the finished album–and possibly more, depending on the pledge level.
Getting an album recorded is not an easy feat, but Ward has energy to spare, as she explains on her Kickstarter campaign site.
“Seeing a project through to completion is hard for many. Especially those who might be jumping in to their first creative endeavor. I’ve raised three kids, kept a roof over their heads and food in their bellies all on money made in the arts – if someone can get this done, it’s me!” she writes.