In a Febrile State

I can't clear the congestion from my nose. This is NOT GOOD when one has many auditions coming up in which one will have to sing. RAWR. Hmm... definitely channeling a bit of crotchety old man today, and with no excuse. Weather's beautiful!

Any whoo... for those of us who are finding that waiting to hear about audition results is a bit too suspensful, or at least not conducive to planning one's future, I've recently found some relatively helpful online communities for auditioners. (Be warned, some are more constructive and useful than others):

1. www.auditionupdate.com - all the latest news posted from the audition front lines... with a healthy dose of nerves and the occasional malformed rant
2. www.nonequitydeputy.com - more clearly organized convo threads than the former, and as such, at times distinctly underwhelming.

Also, I am happy as a hipster frolicking in Williamsburg because in the same day I saw NYC Ballet for $15 orchestra center tickets, got a keyboard for my birthday from my most beautiful namesake, AND a gorgeous 19th century wooden chair with a harp carved into it - for free! From a hedge fund manager selling his [vertigo inducing - seriously there were so many rooms, so many high ceilings - largest most fountain-ed courtyard of life] Park Avenue digs.

Thus marks the season of leases ending, epic moves, and the advent of amazing free things for the adventurous and deal-savvy at Craigslist New York!!

Summer's here people, and it's got a real sense of vengeance this time around. I've seen lots of sunburn and glassy eyes around the office this day after Memorial day, so make sure to keep hydrated and stay screened from the sun! Cancer for tan is not a sexy trade-off. Three cheers for longevity!

With nurturing hugs and dreams of a white ink tattoo,

Your rambunctious Broadway Baby

Quick Fixes from Dance Pros!

1. Surprise onslaught of nausea? Have a Ricola cough drop, preferably from a lovely Auburn-haired lady named Lauren, and you'll feel all better in a matter of minutes!

2. Broken character heel? Ask me when you see me next and I will show you my equity friend's trick to constructing a crafty contraption - using rubber bands - to support and reinforce the heel.

3. Hungry before an audition or workout but don't want to be weighed down by calories? Try a banana. Just one banana has enough carbs to superpower you for 90 minutes of cardio without the bloat that accompanies other wheat and protein based breakfast foods. Also, make sure you eat your fruit on an empty stomach, because it will kick start your metabolism for the rest of the day. If eaten at the end of a meal or after a long day, fruit tends to sit in your stomach and ferment, making it more likely the body will retain the fruit's naturally occurring sugar as fat, as well as more likely that you'll have difficulty digesting it.

In other news, today I went in (again) for Wicked on Broadway. I took a little risk by deciding not to wake up until 7am, but luckily there were only 20 non-union dancers signed up on the list before me when I got there. Apparently the equity girls and their agents must know something we didn't, because the call was sparsely attended (50 equity girls only is RARE for a Broadway show that pays $1600+ a week for ensemble dancers).

Turns out the casting team only "kept the information" of two girls [all of whom were under 5'2] for every forty girls that danced. That, ladies and gents, is the definition of a required call, which means that the show has to have an audition in order to meet the demands of its contract with the Actor's Equity Association, as well as that Wicked probably doesn't have any open tracks to fill right now.

But hey, who knows, they might need a tall leggy someone in September, when the next required call comes around!

Before dancing for the Wicked team, I managed to sign up for the Disney Cruise line audition at a choice time. It didn't feel that way at first, since when I got there at 9:30am there were already 130 names on the list before me (wowza these Disney kids get up EARLY).

Turns out that right after I got out of the room for Wicked, Disney was calling my name in the next room. I had about ten minutes to change into my dress, breathe, down 16 ounces of water, and quack a little to warm up my voice, before it was hello Disney casting team!

I definitely feel that today's DCL audition marked a strong sense of progress in my ability to narrow my focus on entering the room as myself, or more importantly, the most prepared, professional, polite version of myself who is also calm, centered, and able to BREATHE in the audition room.

The Disney casting team was all very nice (unfortunately it wasn't Ron, or is it Tom? - eep I should really figure out his name - who is the head casting person for Disney and who liked me enough last time to offer me a swing (aka singer & dancer) contract).

Thanks to my voice teacher's new acting feedback though (B Wade says "remember, if there's a question written into the music, REALLY ask the question!"), they laughed and said they loved my song choice (Stepsister's Lament, Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, 1953). Speaking of, I absolutely love Bernadette Peter's rendition of Falling in Love with Love, from the fabulously diverse '90s film version. OO Oo, and does anyone remember "Impossible" by a very healthy and happy (seeming) Whitney Houston? Man I miss her...

Anyway, they asked why I didn't go to the dance call the previous day (couldn't make it because of a callback from a different audition). I was not too surprised that they didn't keep me to sing more. It's probably for the best, since I am really not convinced that I want to spend 6 months in close quarters with lots of young people on a cruise ship.

Can't believe I have to wait the entireeee summer before I start at the Met Opera. I've added a new website (DanceNYC.org) to my roster of sites to obsessively check for auditions. Hopefully I can scrounge up a summer project to keep my performance heart happy, since auditions will cease to occur from June-August.

It's half way through 2011 already!! Wowza!

Hugs, double-cheek kisses, and a salute to the long-awaited sun and warm weather,

A Broadway Baby

P.S.

I'm coming for you!

Cats the Musical, Part Trois

... So this Wednesday marks the third audition for Cats that I have been to in a month. It was a pleasant surprise to walk in to the room and find that a very genial Jacob Brent (the original Mr. Mistoffelees) would be the choreographer/director of this new production!

There is something in the nature of the choreography and music of the show that is both  invigorating and consummately bad ass. I get this heady rush of adrenaline that courses through my body like an epic growl every time I have the chance to do the movement. He had me do the combination three times... hope that is a good thing. It was a rare privilege to get significant constructive and positive feedback from a member of the original cast!

My callback to sing was a good reminder to always be aware of the fact that these experiences require the focus and tenacity of any other type of job interview. I was a bit unprepared for the brusque-ness of the accompanist, and the fact that she started playing when I was mid slate (meaning half way through saying my name and the song I was going to sing). Eep!

In any case, Mr. Brent said I was "excellent, really fabulous" (I sang Macavity, of course. Never will I pass up the chance to have fun with such a sexy beast). Then he asked me what director I did Cats with (I said my high school dance teacher). But then he said nothing else! So who knows... hopefully I'll hear from them. The Cohoes Music Theatre contract would be right after the CAP21 show; if only the stars would align in my favor for both!

Well, now I have work, more Cuban, and an audition for Wicked awaiting me tonight and tomorrow. Every exit is an entrance to something else!

Here's Polina Semionova of Berlin Ballet with Robert Bolle for some much appreciated technical inspiration:

 

The FEET, the LEGS, obsession.

With love, always,

A Broadway Baby

The Elevator of Good News

This morning started off with a bang and a 6am Pilates class at my gym. Then I was up and off to my third callback for Cats at CAP21 (Conservatory Arts Program 21)... I'd really love to get this showcase, particularly this show... I just LOVE the music and the movement and the fun to be had in playing a cat.  I'll make sure to send a thank you email tomorrow at work, and hopefully I'll hear from them soon!!

After I was done at CAP in Chelsea, I power walked up to Pearl Studios at 34th just in time for the Disney call, only to realize that, despite the casting breakdown, they were really only looking for people 5'4 and under. A.k.a. so not my type!

Luckily I chanced into the Elevator of Good News (as was announced by its inhabitants), where a lovely young lady told me that the Actor's Equity Association (AEA) Center in Times Square was actually letting non-equity/non-union actors into the building to sing for White Christmas. This is good news because the equity people are verrrrry protective of their union space, and it is rare upon rare for a performer who is not a member of the union to gain entry into those hallowed halls.

The casting team for White Christmas at Paper Mill Theatre in New Jersey was actually quite friendly. Maybe it was the pleasant glow that coasts along after a good lunch, but they actually spoke to me for a long time, worked with me through the song that I chose to sing, gave feedback, and were kind. It was a nice change of pace from the fractured interaction to which I have grown accustomed.

Back in another elevator of good news, I received a voice mail from Dewing/Clemmons casting asking me to come back in to audition at an invited call (a.k.a not an open audition) for Wizard of Oz tour next week. Yay!

Once out of the AEA elevator, I blitzed past Sutton Foster (yes, that star of Tony-award nominated revival, Anything Goes) in the street as I was rushing to make my work study shift at Broadway Dance Center. In a flash, I wondered if the universe was gifting me with a fortuitous freeze frame of what my future could be like... but then a taxi honked to get my attention and I was reminded that today is a gift - that's why they call it the present!

After a day of dance; dinner with cousin Allison, the Cuban, friend Torri and her manservant; and then a raucous ska concert in the lower east side with the Gladi-actor; I find myself thoroughly exhausted. Must doze off now if I am to make 6am yoga manana.

More tomorrow!

Invisibility

Sometimes it's a rockin super power, yet lately I've seen just how much invisibility blows. I'm back to the healthiest dancing shape I've been in a long while, but something must be off with my dance karma. I'm not being "seen" by casting directors in the way that I would like.

Must make reparations to that score asap.

White Christmas again today.  Apparently, I tapped well enough that other dancers whom I had never met expressed surprise and offered commiseration that I did not make the final cut. I appreciated their kindness, though I would have been equally grateful to have a job dancing in an Irving Berlin musical.

BUT as usual, c'est la vie. There is no knowing why casting teams do and think what they do, and I most assuredly would not want to be in their shoes. (Dancers tend to be a loud, volatile, and mercurial lot).

This life is such a gamble. I find I rarely know the odds well enough to hedge my bets. To a certain extent, this auditioning journey has been like throwing myself willingly into a chasm and fighting blind to re-surface for air. Yet with each day - each dance class, each voice lesson, each 6am Pilates session, each audition - the way that lies ahead of me grows less daunting to navigate.

Over the course of this weekend, I've also managed to stumble upon mixed media art a means of working through what has been an impenetrable fog of confusion in love. This aspect of art, music, and dance is perhaps what I love most; the ability to find in someone else's vision the answers to questions you did not know you were asking.

Along those lines, I found the Alexander McQueen special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to be a particularly stunning platform upon which to rediscover wonder as I stood surrounded by the grace of genius. It's true what they say; when you are close to his clothes you can feel his inner torment. I even began to grasp why so skilled an artist and beloved a man could have taken his own life. Integrity to the craft consumes. Woe sinks the unbalanced scales that turn life against us, especially when we neglect to allow space in our hearts and minds for nourishment from more than one source.

What a rare and rhapsodic privilege it must have been to live in his head, watching as such terribly gorgeous things were fully realized. It is no easy task to break well established boundaries in a world of structure and rules. Yet McQueen aggressively questioned what constitutes beauty with such hunger that my brain could not help but relish it's role as the intellectual beneficiary of such raw emotion distilled into brilliance. I found myself irrevocably inspired; my commitment to constantly striving to be better revitalized by the experience. If you catch my drift and you are in New York, I strongly urge you to visit the Met Museum and immerse yourself in his world before it is dismantled July 31st.

One of my best friends mourned McQueen's death almost as she would have a close friend or relative. Now, having witnessed what masterpieces he was capable of creating with my own eyes, I can understand why.

Widows of Culloden, Fall/Winter 2006


http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/int/en/corporate/archive2006_aw_womens.aspx

If Today is the End

of days, it was truly the best of days. I am so in love with all of the wonderful people in my life.

No regrets. Always love.

Giant hugs!!!!

A Broadway Baby forever

Hello Friday!

No Non-equity singers to be seen at the Addams Family singer call today. They're taking head shots though!

While it's a bummer not to be able to sing, that news gives me a sense of relief because I wasn't sure I could get to Pearl Studios to audition between dance studio and work commitments. It's always about maintaining that precarious balance of work-life-love these days.

For the first time in a week, there are patches of sun warming my concrete garden over here in New York. Alas, they're ever so transient and the weather forecast warns of flash thunder storms. Oy.

I've had relative success and some welcome exhilaration in running from audition to audition again. (I am SO glad my counterpart at work has finally returned and I'm no longer sitting at a desk full time). Despite everything, I'm feeling a little down. Maybe its the approaching-mid-twenties blues? So silly. I have so much to be grateful for and I'm sure the feeling will pass... but today is one of those days when I can't seem to shake the weight of nostalgia and self criticism.

The best thing I've found to do on a day like today is suck it up, force myself out of my own head, and try to do good things for other people! On that note, help me help Let's Get Ready SAT Prep get $500,000 to support their programming for young high schoolers in Harlem.

"LIKE" Chase Community on facebook and VOTE for Let's Get Ready - help us send 1,000 more students to college! http://bit.ly/LGRvote

The Value of Persistence

Today I'm off from work and auditioning like a madwoman. In the down time between the auditions this morning and Jersey Boys at 2pm, I've had some time to contemplate karma and the value of persistence.

After singing for Young Frankenstein yesterday & getting a call back, I got to stroll into the dance call this morning at 9:30am and be in the first group without having to wake up before the sun. Hoorah getting to feel like an equity member for a day (if only it were trueeeee)! Unfortunately I tapped with a girl who was not comfortable with the tap combination and the choreographer chose to step in and do the dance in front of her. The casting team was clearly so distracted by how upset my partner was with herself that I wasn't able to make myself stand out. Bummer!

Luckily I signed up for Addams Family non-eq list right when I got onto Pearl's 12th floor. Yet after running across the hall from Young Frank to the holding room for Addams, the monitor said that the call was closed. Disheartened, I said thank you and walked out, only to see a girl from Young Frank go in and hand him her headshot. Though I hesitated at first, I went up to him a second time and said very politely that I had signed her up and was right behind her on the list. Again he said the call was closed.

This time I was like, okay, I'll leave the man alone because clearly he is not in the mood to deal with me right now. With a genuinely glum face (I LOVE the Addams family choreography) I took the elevator down to 4 in Pearl Studios and signed up for Jersey Boys.

Then I came back up to wait for my friend to be done with Frank so we could go to lunch, and something compelled me to go ask the monitor, again cautiously and politely, if it would be alright for me to dance with the boys. He said he would ask so I sat and waited (they still had not brought in the second non equity group). I guess third time is a charm, because after a clear beat of indecisiveness, the monitor decided to let me in the audition at the last minute. "Grab your headshot and get in there."

To which I of COURSE responded THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU and sped into the audition room.

Lesson of the day: always be both persistent AND polite, no matter whether or not you think it will be worth it. You never know how outcomes can shift!

On a side note, yesterday I got to the end of the Chicago (for Broadway!!!!) audition. I'm young for that show (the break down says women in their 30s and 40s) so we'll see if I hear from them. Must keep putting out good vibes into the universe and working to keep mah dance karma (and body) healthy!

Wanderlust

So They Say...

Seamless Monday. I could have done without the gloom and rain that just won't quit. Work was fine, hooray for projects - sorting out European money from the past two decades, compiling the Masthead binder... oh the perks of the PR industry.

The joy of my day was the two vocal tech and audition tech classes I stumbled upon at Broadway Dance Center. School's in session! Such a useful and fresh experience; Bettina Sheppard is a wonderful teacher, especially given the challenge of relaying specific feedback for such different individual singers in less than a half hour's time. Usually vocal coaching lessons go for $60-100 an hour, and I paid $10. There are times when I thank the heavens for things like work study programs for dancers.

Ms. Sheppard pulled out an Ethel Merman classic, "They Say It's Wonderful" from Annie Get Your Gun. I'd never heard it before, and it proved the perfect challenge for working on this new marketable nasal-ish sound I'm supposed to create. It's really true what they say that a) love is wonderful and b) you really should warm up and sing at least once a day. After all, you're not just another pretty face, you're an instrument!

After taking two hours of vocal classes back to back, I sang "Til There Was You" better than I can ever recall singing any legit song. Little baby steps, I just have to stay focused and continue to work hard with out over-working. It doesn't hurt that I can put Gene Kelly on any time I need a little inspiration. Siiiigh. At least I'll get to spend this whole week "Singing in the Rain"!
 \

Galoshes at the ready!!

It begins

YES. Now everyone is up and dancing and making odd shriek-y noises. HELLO Friday.

Friday the 13th

Is my birthday! I'm loving being at work, watching some SNL, sending out Backstage submissions and reading particularly enjoyable break downs for new works (Jurassic Parq, a musical from the perspective of the dinosaurs, anyone? Almost too good to be true... I even checked my calendar for a hot minute to make sure today wasn't April 1st).

My hydrangea is going strong, despite being the most needy flower I have ever taken care of. The North wing of my office started drinking wine at 4pm. There are now four empty, HUGE bottles that once contained wine... hiding behind our printer, whose name is Athena. There are only five people on 12 North right now... I'm hoping for the hilarity to ensue anyyy minute now. It's the little things that bring me joy.

Rawr... Cats, I really want to sing and dance in your musical... Rawr

Musings on Perfection

As I return from the advent of an unideal audition experience (I was happy with how I danced but know that I can sing better than I did) I find myself in a quandary. How to resolve these feelings of frustration, the overwhelming nagging voice in my head that I have failed myself?

For some reason the judgmental voices in my head are more difficult to shrug off than usual today. Maybe it's my grogginess and/or lack of sufficient levels of magnesium - as the Cuban says.

Though I know a lot of my current, irritating angst will be calmed by my nighttime plan of yoga and an early bedtime, I am still more soothed by these words from Professor Souleymane Bachir Diagne:

Trying to live a perfect life is like being thrown in the ocean and warned not to get wet.

Pause. Breathe. Annnnd moving on... 

The irony

of auditioning for a show about a town that appears from the mist only every 500 years is not lost on me. Especially when we find that the audition - which I have spent a composite 7 hours of my life on over these past two days - was really only a "surveying the scene for talent" sort of audition.

The real one will "appear" in September.

Oy..

Game, Set, Match

Whirlwind

What a day! I took off work this morning to audition for Brigadoon, Sleeping Beauty, and to go to my appointment at the Met Opera.

Luckily, Brigadoon and Sleeping Beauty were in the same building (different studios), but they were at the same time so I just had to pick one (Sleeping Beauty was in a janky dinner theatre in Ohio, versus Brigadoon national tour).

Hopefully I picked the right one, because I got called back from the epic ballet combination that was the Brigadoon first round (16 counts of 6, I kid you not... almost a minute, maybe a minute and a half of choreography!) The gorgeous and friendly director-choreographer asked me back to sing. Thanks to Mr. W, I had a completely novel take on "Little Bit in Love" from Wonderful Town. I was the very last person called back to sing, and she said I was lovely and asked if I could come back Wednesday at 10am. To which I of course responded: "Absolutely!"

By that time it was 1:15pm, and I was supposed to be at the Met at 1:30pm. I booked it to Lincoln Center from 54th and Broadway, and even got there early (was pretty sure I left one of my lungs back at Columbus Circle, given all my haste and unwillingness to take a cab).

Walking through the Met Opera stage door and into my costume fitting was one of the coolest experiences in recent memory. There were men in the corridors practicing their stage combat sequences, costumes from every show hanging on bars throughout the entire building, women singing arpeggios in the bathrooms, and without fail, a friendly, welcoming, happy face at every turn. I am so excited to work there - there is so much love and artistic integrity nourishing the place!

After making my way to the wardrobe room (bedazzled with sparkles and christmas lights and enough body forms for the makings of a thriller film), I had extensive measurements taken, filled out my employment paperwork, got my Met Opera access ID (eep!) and managed to make it back to work right as my shift was starting.

When it rains, it pours! As if my day hadn't been lovely enough (all the above, plus a perfectly temperate New York sunny day, 75 degrees), the nice liaison from Gilt Group said I had fabulous hair, and one of the principals gave some beautiful hydrangeas for my desk.

Sigh.

Happiness.

Here's crossing fingers and toes that my karmic balance holds out through Rockette auditions tomorrow and until after Wednesday's third round callback... I can't believe I'll be 23 on Friday!!

Love,

A Broadway Baby

Carbo-loading for the Singer

Today on Shark Week - Epic feeding frenzy for my voice/brain.

It began on Wednesday with a free sample commercials audition seminar at WB studios. Very interesting stuff, def worthwhile for anyone looking to cross over into TV... I mean, think about it.... that Verizon Wireless Guy's life is made! (Yes I can hear you now!)

Also, I now know how absurdly large and animated my features look on screen... it's not pretty... (lieutenant lemur on LSD, reporting for duty)

None to soon came Friday, when a talented TV star friend took me to her SAG seminar called Rocking the Pop/Rock Audition. The event was hands-down one of the most useful sessions I have attended. The woman who lead it was a firecracker (a late '70s import, for sure, complete with bell bottoms and paisley blouse). And wowza, was there a POTTYmouth on her! Nevertheless, she pried open my eyes (and catalyzed my ::yuck:: reflex) to the realities of pop/rock auditions and vocal expectations of the industry.

As per usual I was not quite as prepared as I might have liked, but the lecturer graciously allowed me to take notes on that marvelous all-consuming entity otherwise known as the Crackberry. (I'm fairly certain I type about 90 words per minute on the thing... perfect strangers get a bit freaked out because I don't even have to look at the device any more, even mid-textual madness.)

Then today, I had a vocal coaching session with Mr. W. As if his piano playing skills, warm demeanor, and enviable aesthetic design sensibilities weren't enough, this man is GOD for dancers who want to sing at a hire-able level. Almost everything I learned today I heard for the first time from him. His novel approach to vocalizing and coaching took me from being a decent singer to being competitively marketable in musical theatre (according to him). Given the improvements he helped me make in just an hour or so, I can't wait to go back!

Props to Legs #1, one of the great loves of my life, for the stellar recommendation.

Paz y amor y impending birthday!!!!!

Your Broadway Baby

Thursday - The Day of Backstage

For anyone who has even the tiniest spark of interest in dancing, singing, or acting - whether on stage or on film - Thursday is a glittering day of possibility. Because today is the day when the weekly Backstage comes hot off the presses! It may seem like a rogue news cycle, but Backstage editions cover Thursday-Wednesday weeks, and give you almost every kernel of information there is to know about upcoming auditions and opportunities in New York, Los Angeles, and other places nation wide. You never know when the submission you make to a director today might land you your first feature film role tomorrow!

For me, Thursdays are the one day a week that I designate to do all of my research, submissions, and calendar-organizing for the upcoming week(s) of auditions. I pick up a Backstage at the subway station newstand, then spend the subway ride figuring out what things I am suited for (i.e. I can't submit a headshot resume to a call for 69 year old Asian man). Usually I'll sneakily spend most or all of my down time at work plodding through various resources for performers, including

• www.actorsequity.org (technically you have to be part of the union to attend these calls, but often times directors are willing to see non union performers, as there is a good amount of talent as of yet undiscovered)
• www.playbill.com (occasionally lists a few nonunion auditions that Backstage doesn't)
• answers4dancers.com (a good source for all dance specific auditions, including dance companies and installation works, even music videos and celebrity tours)
• Metoperafamily.org and search "audition" if I know they should start auditioning for their next season (usually these occur in April and May the year prior to when the shows are scheduled to run)

For people who are more interested in acting/singing, there is also www.actorsaccess.com, but I've yet to feel inclined to foray in that direction.  Recently, though, I took an introduction to commercial acting seminar, and have been seriously considering playing around in that particular pool. The Verizon Wireless guy who asks "Can You Hear Me Now" has made some multiple millions from a catch phrase and a nerdy pair of glasses... sounds awesome to me!

Here's to a day of research and prep. All responsibilities aside, it's a gorgeous day here in New York, and I would love to be outside basking in the sun, despite the reprieve offered by my office's tall ceilings and wall-high windows.

Romance thy name is sunny, summer day!

Almost there!

If you're in New York in October and want to fill your Mozart quota for the fall, come see the Metropolitan Opera's production of Don Giovanni!

You might wonder why that particular opera. Well... in the wake of hiring my first personal trainer yesterday (my bum is so mad at me this morning) and over-celebrating last night, I am just now finding time to write the best news I've gotten in a while:

Yesterday, in the middle of feeling a bit glum (yet another day of being at work instead of dancing), I was notified that I have been cast in the Metropolitan Opera's 2011-2012 production of Don Giovanni at Lincoln Center!

I couldn't be more excited or grateful for the opportunity to be back on a stage, doing what I love. It's a tiny part and the opera doesn't start rehearsals until September, yet I am awash with hope and optimism - completely re-energized in my zeal for auditioning.

Given the wonky weather, my irascible back, and doing non-dance work full time, I've been in a bit of a funk. But this news makes everything that has happened in the past year seem worthwhile. I might actually be able to achieve my loftiest of goals if I just keep at it!

I know a lot of people, myself included, who have been given a hard time for being [too] hopeful, happy, and/or optimistic. I have to admit that the combination of naysayers and the nature of rejection in this industry almost began to convince me that my outlook was unrealistic. That I should focus on more stable career options.

For anyone who ever doubts themselves like I have over the past few months, just remember, you never know how close you are to achieving your goals, so you CAN'T give up!

Walt definitely had some character flaws. However, one wonderful thing he accomplished was to create a company that taught me that dreams really do come true, especially if you're willing to do a little work to make sure. As corny as that is, I stick by Disney's main mantra wholeheartedly. Now, I know I've got my sights set absurdly high, but my Broadway Mecca is only about 20 blocks away from Lincoln Center....

I can't help but feel like I'm so close; I'm almost there!!

"Almost there" (Disney's Princess and the Frog) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljdAYTH5QSY

I'm Dreaming of A....

White Christmas!

Later today, thanks to the glorious men of the messenger center, I was able to sneak out yet again to audition for White Christmas at Ripley Grier. Sadly Randy Skinner (choreographer) was not in the room (he's seen me in his tap class from time to time, so the face recognition can be helpful).

The audition ran like an efficient dream machine. Thirty people at a time, three lines of ten. They teach the four counts of eight at lightning speed (siiiiigh gotta love showgirly '50s style tap... Gene Kelly, come back to me!). Then each line gets to do the combination once with the assistants and once by themselves. Next, each person does the routine solo, with the piano accompaniment.

The combination is SO fun and fast and beautifully stylized, I only wish whoever stole my tap shoes last week might have grown a conscience today and slipped them back into my bag. No such luck, so I did the routine in soft shoe character heels and smiled my little heart out.

The director came up to me, asked what happened to my tap shoes (I told him the truth, that they had been stolen), then he asked me my availability. Unfortunately they didn't keep me to dance again, but hey, the nice director man talked to me! Next time I go in I will most ASSUREDLY have new tap shoes :-)

Now for an afternoon of PR clips and coordinating meetings, followed by an evening of TV commercial training with agents alongside my glorious, leggy, brunette namesake.

Stand Back a moment, Breathe, and Remember: a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

You Can Never Be Too Early!

A dear friend of mine recently chastised me for finagling my slightly overburdened schedule so that I am constantly RIGHT on time - or worse, GASP, late - to work, a meeting, a callback, a friend date, etc. As such, I have recently incorporated another love's mantra that being EARLY is being on time.

Today was my callback at the Met Opera for Don Giovanni. Knowing the NY subway system as I do, I gave myself ample time (35 minutes) to get only about a mile uptown from my work. Despite my best laid plans, due to some combination of nerves, excitement, and Metro distrust, I was definitely feeling the crunch of my time window.

I left the office and ran into the street in a flurry of wind - and ceramically altered hair - to hail a cab, just to be sure I would arrive with time to spare. Yet, as a lesson to me and anyone who may benefit from this blog, I arrived... 7 minutes before my call time at 11am... only to find that one of the monitors had already been down looking for me!

It was of course not a real issue, as I technically was "on time," even early. Nevertheless, I was embarrassed to have had a member of the casting process come to meet me and help guide me through the bowels of the Met Opera house... only for me to not be there.

From the original 300+ extras who auditioned, they called back 20 of us to learn a gestural combination taught by the gregarious and dynamic choreographer, Ben Wright. (His British accent made me so happy).
Imagine my surprise to also see the familiar, rogue-ishly sexy looking face of Alexander Tressor, Advanced Ballet teacher at Steps on 74th. After further investigation, I found quite obviously displayed on his faculty bio: his teaching credit at the Metropolitan Opera House.

...Suddenly I found myself wishing I had taken MUCH more Russian ballet from him in past years. (You never know who you will see in these rooms, people!)...

Today just goes to show, as my loved ones have said, that you can never be too present in this industry, and you can never be too early. Best believe that I will be in the room (and irresistibly friendly) at the White Christmas call later today... WAY before I am called to dance. Sidebar: I cannot WAIT for my counterpart to come back from her show so that I can go back to part time work and focus my efforts on dancing and auditioning more.

Anyyywayy, the movement for Don Giovanni was fun and tres dramatique (not to mention quite easy if you had any head for counts, which fortunately, I did today). Wright had a great presence, made the audition SO much fun, and would clearly be an absolutely JOY to work for/with.


Doesn't he look friendly?!

Fingers crossed!