Working Through Some Things

You'll tell me of these frustrated dreams
Constructing a world where all you seek to achieve is futile distraction 
vagabonds accost us on subways
Life cuts your phone out of your jeans' back pocket and
Scores your heart with wasted possibilities

To cope, you cleanse your pallet with well balance liquids and smooth over the rough edges of an existence so desperately desirous to be made unique

That is where a love lives.
In errant moments lost in alphabet bars
In shared dreams, witness to the singularly soulful promise of a few eager fingers interlaced with a few other equally eager fingers.

There is that enviable ease of living
Longed for by many
Achieved by so few
Punctuated by the clarity of earnest tears restricted by subzero temperatures and laughed out of substantiation all for an illusive sense of self preservation

Somewhere floating in lower Manhattan, there is a love held captive by the intimacy of the grasp of your forearm
A glance of pressure along the inside of my knee

Disguised by the clever capitulations of world weariness, disillusion, and poorly cloaked need.

There is where a love lies.

Someday you will show it the excellence of all it has been promised. There will be veracity sufficient to color a life and love hard won.

Until then, that opal moon beams soothingly over missteps and black bunches of balloons and siphoned expectations and waits for the day all is changed because the sun rises at just the right angle to dispel all doubt.

In that pocket of horizontal space between sunrise and moonsleep, inexhaustible, unafraid of dying, that is where a love lies.

Don't Sleep In The Subway

Is not only good advice ... apparently it's also a song!

What a DAY. I've been sparing with my posts because most of the past week has been focused on practicing the virtue of patience game (as per usual). On a whim, I submitted my headshot and resume for a dancer position on Norwegian Cruise Lines, thinking that I'd just go get a free dance class out of it.

Instead, they respond back asking me to prepare two motown pieces to audition for a featured singer in a new Broadway production that they will be creating for one of their ships. It's choreographed by greats like Rachelle Rak (of Chorus Line, Fosse & Chicago fame) and Tiger Martina, so it would actually be an incredible opportunity! They called me back on Friday, and again today (Monday) to sing more material, and later to dance.

While between auditions for Palace Theater in New Hampshire and NCL callbacks, I finally found out today that none of the four girls who were at the end of the Zorro audition have heard from the casting personnel, which could mean a whole host of different things. Ultimately, the most important of those is there's no telling when or if we'll hear, and this is not an industry that affords much waiting.

Got to the end, I think of the NCL callback and am off to bed a tired and quite fulfilled little puppy.

Cheerio!

Keep Calm and Do Epic Things

Despite some unpleasantness at the homestead, this week is off to a raging start and will be utterly consumed by rehearsals, performances, auditions, and resuming my regular tutoring client load. I worked out with my trainer this morning at 7:30am to make sure I could get to the Met on Time to start rehearsals as a cover for the new production of Parsifal, one of Wagner's last completed works. 

We're diving right in and already I can tell it is going to be EPIC. The incredible director Francois Girard has his very French head in the game. His team is so thoroughly prepared that it's a pleasure to watch them work. I seriously cannot WAIT to see the set design in person, as it looks promising.

According to his perception, "Parsifal is not just an opera—it’s a mission. At the end of his life, Wagner was trying to reconcile all the aspects of his spirituality. It’s a sacred piece in the history of music." —François Girard

Sign me up! 

In between rehearsals now, printing some sheet music at the Lincoln Center library for callbacks later this week. It's going to be one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-my-dance-pants sort of weeks. Can't wait!

Hugs,

A Broadway Baby

All's Quiet on the Eastern Front

After the holidays and a brief respite before barreling back into performances, auditions, and clients, I find myself in need of a reminder of the benefits an attitude of gratitude can yield.

Thanks to the Scientific American, via friend Sonali, for the perfect opportunity to break my long absence.

The Scientific American: Accentuate the Positive
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gratitude-map-invites-use

No Need to wait for the New Year!

The week in review:

Monday:
Wake up, go to gym to take spin class, audition for Disney cruise lines, super healthy lunch, work a modeling gig, tutor two tiny humans, return home, super healthy dinner, fall dead asleep.

Tuesday:
Wake up at 6am to go to gym for morning Pilates and yoga, go back in for Disney cruise lines (always a jolly joy this time of year... sarcasm aside the people running the call seem quite genuinely kind and more importantly - thoroughly on top of it), eat salad, tutor two tiny humans, make lentil dish, 7pm call time at Met Opera for Don Giovanni, field distress call from one slightly less tiny human whose shameful college counselor made him think he is not good enough to get into the colleges he has applied to (this young man happens to be one of the brightest PEOPLE not to mention 17 year olds I've ever met... what is WRONG with some educational professionals?) return home,  fall dead asleep.

Wednesday:
Struggle out of bed, dance for Jersey Boys on Broadway, sing for Zorro (coming to Broadway), come back to dance for Zorro, smack my quads so intensely during the epic flamenco number that I break blood vessels, sing for Zorro again, eat pasta with asparagus and sausage, tutor one tiny human, wrap some Christmas presents, eat salad, have sleep over with the lovely Reanna Wilborn.

Thursday:
Wake up at 6am to escort the lovely Reanna Wilborn to her illustrious personal training position at the Carlyle hotel, go to gym for morning Pilates and yoga, go back to Disney to dance, healthy lunch, go to Trader Joes for groceries, tutor two tiny humans, have Shake Shack dinner with last family of the evening (not so healthy), get home early, go to sleep at 10pm like an old lady.

Friday:
Wake up well rested for the first time all week, banana, get DESTROYED in a work out session with my new trainer, go back to Trader Joes because I need stuff to bake holiday stuffs for my tutoring clients, tutor two tiny humans, have holiday date night at Danji (mmm Korean) with Anna, and end the night with fond, knowing glances toward starry eyed tourists at the Rockefeller Tree, and genuine awe at the INCREDIBLE De Beers window lights and Bergdorf Follies holiday window displays on Fifth Avenue.

Fabulous darling look at all the feathers!

Saturday:
Sleep four hours before seeing a matinee of the Hobbit (not to be viewed sans slight buzz, I didn't and wiiiiish I did), brunch with fwend at my favorite spot in West Village, napped briefly, went to the Met for call time at 7pm, just now steamed, stretched and semi hobble-hopped into bed. Of course I can't sleep yet with all the adrenaline and chocolate truffles in my system.

In summary:
Instead of waiting for life to happen, I'm happening to life.  Resolutions of 2013! Hyper healthy weekdays where I work out every day and eat well consistency, Substances-allowed Saturdays, and Sleeping in Sundays are definitely presenting some yields already.

Lastly, it's been a grim week news-wise, so I'm borrowing this happy maker from my friend Jon:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/moments-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-y

Here's one of my favorites:

You can watch the full story here.

Grown A** Acting

Okay so I'm copy-pasting the below article from Backstage, courtesy of acting teacher Craig Wallace because I think it's fabulous advice that's useful even beyond the realm of performing. When I was still a lowly undergrad at Columbia, I wrote my neuropsych/English thesis on research that demonstrates the value of daily reflections in written form. Catharsis turned productive has the same cognitive benefits associated with therapy and other self-reflective yet contained activities.

People don't facilitate lasting improvement through self-punishment!

Hope you find this valuable! 

***

A winning audition requires you to be great at a number of jobs. It’s like making a movie, and you’re the entire cast and crew. You need to be a good actor, obviously. You also need to be a wise and insightful director during your preparation and a charming, charismatic producer in the room. Oh, and one more thing, you’re going to need to be your own best friend when the whole thing is over. This last step of friendship and taking care of yourself is many times the most important; it’s what enables you to learn from and then let go of the audition. Too often I will hear students obsessively rehashing auditions they had weeks and sometimes months ago, all because they didn’t take the time to sit down right after their audition and go over their experience. They didn’t take a moment to pat themselves on the back or lick their wounds. They missed the chance to learn their lessons while they were still fresh, and now they’re living with the consequences. They’re stuck wondering why they didn’t get the job; trying to remember the exact tone of the “thank you” from the casting director; and generally spinning webs of neurotic scenarios that usually have nothing to do with what actually happened.

Over time this can get really toxic because without closure, on many levels the audition is still happening and it’s getting bigger and bigger. This one little audition is now taking on a disproportionate significance and carrying an emotional weight that can wreak havoc on the actor’s psyche, their confidence, and, you guessed it, their next audition. Here’s a very simple suggestion for how take good care of yourself after an audition: Keep a notebook just for your auditions. Have it with you at the audition, and when it’s over, find a quiet place to reflect on and examine the experience you just had. Do this right away, while you are still in the mental space of the audition. It’s also important to be specific, so write down everything: how you felt in the waiting room; how you entered the room; your opening beat; how you listened; your commitment to choice; your closing beat; how you handled adjustments; and finally how you exited the room.

Be honest about what went well and why, and what could have gone better and why. Be firm, gentle, and complimentary as needed. Treat yourself as you would a best friend, remembering that no one has ever improved through self-punishment. When you’re done, close the book. That audition is finished, and you’ve taken the time to learn the lessons it had to teach you. Now, you can let it go. Open the notebook up again when you have your next audition. Use the lessons from your past experiences to guide you in your preparation

After just a few entries, you’ll start to see patterns, both positive and negative, and you’ll be able to prepare for different rooms and different projects with greater specificity and clarity.

By writing and then closing the book on each audition as it happens, you make it easier to let go and move forward with ease and ever growing confidence. You're free to write the next chapter of your career, unencumbered by emotional baggage and rich in learned experience.

Craig Wallace is the creator and award-winning teacher of The Wallace Audition Technique, an audition preparation system that he developed based on his years of experience as a studio executive, talent agent and casting consultant. In his 14 years of teaching, he has seen the careers of hundreds of his students take off. He is also the author of the best-selling book, “The Best of You – Winning Auditions Your Way.”

Craig is currently teaching his audition technique classes and his Meditation for Actors classes in Santa Monica, CA. For more information visit www.wallaceauditiontechnique.com.

Seven Client Sunday

Welp. I've finally made it home at half past midnight, after having back to back clients since 10am. I'm endlessly grateful for this atypical way of making income, though the pace of today was a wee bit draining.

There is an equity audition for Guys and Dolls in Michigan this spring. I'm feeling a bit blah about the lack of nonequity/open calls, and a bit over the audition scene in general, so I may just decide to actually sleep in tomorrow, for once.

It's about that time of the year when evening comes so quickly, and the combination of cold weather and distant family makes me yearn for warmer, friendlier, Southern California shores. Soon enough. A little less than three weeks and I'm home.

Better get to that holiday shopping!