Aaaarrrghh. Today is the first time in my life that I have actually had to turn down not one, but TWO performance job opportunities!!!
Positives first.
To all my dancer friends out there, I learned today that it IS possible to get to four, maybe five auditions in one day - even with call backs - as long as you're willing to hustle! So wave bye-bye to having to choose between auditions (unless you want to).
This morning, I got to Pearl Studios at 9am, just in time to sing for the musical Damn Yankees. I'm going back to dance for Damn Yankees tomorrow. After singing, I walked a block north to Ripley Grier Studios and got there around 9:30am to sign up for the Newsies singing audition. To my surprise, I also found a Disney Cruise line singing audition that was a total ghost town. I walked into the holding room (where you wait before they call your name), gave the monitor my headshot & resume, and literally walked into the auditioning room about 30 seconds later.
In a rare experience for me, I actually received feedback and direction from the Disney casting people while I was in the room. The main guy (eek I forget his name... that is such a NO-NO and I better Google it) actually recognized me from the battement (eye-high leg kick) picture on my resume before he recognized my face. It was so nice to have a real conversation and feel like a real person to them! He told me he liked my headshot, that I should never take off the kicking picture, and asked me how I had been.... he and the other lady - even the accompanist - genuinely seemed to care!
At their request, I sang one of my songs ("Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie) three different ways, then sang another song as well! He said that he was impressed with the adjustments I made, and I'm thinking to myself the whole time, is this a dream right now!? Completely unplanned, yet extraordinarily valuable audition. In the room, out of the building, and on my way to the next destination in less than 15 minutes.
Then I booked it down to Chelsea Studios (ten blocks away from Ripley Grier), to sign up for the 2pm dance audition for a revival of Mame, which is to be choreographed by hottie Vince Pesce. After that, I doubled back to Ripley Grier studios and brought a yummy vanilla rooibos tea to my namesake, since she kindly signed me up for an 11:30am Arizona Broadway Theater audition. (It's all about karma, people! Why NOT do a nice thing whenever you can?)
For the first time in TWO months, I received not one, but TWO callbacks, which was - I must say - a much welcomed surprise validation. Arizona asked me to sing, sing, sing again and read some sides, but I had to get to Mame and finish dancing there (ten blocks away) in a narrow one hour window. Suffice it to say, I cabbed it back to Ripley Grier so that I could make it on time for my call back appointments. Between Disney (I'm not sure I want to go on a 10 month cruise contract) and Arizona Broadway Theater ($200 a week to move back to Phoenix .... not sure that works for me financially) this Wednesday was something else.
I was also shocked when I realized once the option actually became viable, it was clear to me that neither of those contracts would really work. After a year of lusting after whatever job I could get, today's experience was a bit weird. To make matters MORE frustrating, I was recently asked to be part of the cast for the Met Opera's production of Gotterdammerung (which is really well paid) and I can't do it because rehearsals are during the holiday season, which also encompasses my best girl friend's wedding shower and bachelorette party. Chicks before contracts any day!
Long story short, after a significant dry spell and a persistent feeling of self suckiness, I seem to be back on my feet. I am so so so thankful to the universe for being nice to me today, and I plan to keep being nice to it. Hopefully what goes around will continue to come around. This post is also dedicated with humility to my closest dance friends, many of whom are much more talented than I, because I realized today that booking work is so rogue. There is no order to the chaos. These women I know and audition with deserve to book work ASAP and I just know they will soon.
Love you dancer girls!!
A Broadway Baby
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
A Gypsy, Paparazzi, and 70 degress in November
Third to the last La Boheme performance of the season this evening. I woke up to a surprisingly glorious day: 70 degrees and sunny. For a moment, I admit I was confused and thought perhaps I was dreaming that I was back home in California! But no, here I was, in good old New York, in what should have been the thick of winter but what really felt like summer!
As you might imagine, I took FULL advantage of it (and even perhaps went a bit overboard), by going straight for my summer clothes and grandma's jewelry. The result was an outrageous ensemble (even for me), complete with huge bangles and earrings, sparkly bead necklaces, flowing skirts, and a scarf that a friend brought me back from Thailand. It was pretty epic, but I looked right at home walking amongst the rows of costume racks in the hallways at the Met!
Today was a good Monday - full of yoga and salads and singing class, so I was really "present" with my acting choices during the Act II shopping scene. Still, every time Musetta hits her high notes, I almost cry (check out the gorgeousity of sound in the video below, especially at 2:19 and 2:25) What a nerd I am!
That said, it's also the most catchy tune from La Boheme for me. Thus I find myself singing it in the stairwells when I'm walking through the spiraling staircases toward the stage door exit. Normally, I'm mostly alone (the bowels of the Met Opera are immense), but this evening there were some VIPs wandering around looking to visit one of our principals. They were lost and confused, but I guess they must have thought I was one of the singers or something, because they complemented my outfit and TOTALLY took paparazzi-esque pictures of me while we were talking!
The guy had a camera in his hand the whole time taking video, and I didn't even notice until he turned the flash on in my face! 50% flattering... 50% incredibly rogue = 100% fun.
As you might imagine, I took FULL advantage of it (and even perhaps went a bit overboard), by going straight for my summer clothes and grandma's jewelry. The result was an outrageous ensemble (even for me), complete with huge bangles and earrings, sparkly bead necklaces, flowing skirts, and a scarf that a friend brought me back from Thailand. It was pretty epic, but I looked right at home walking amongst the rows of costume racks in the hallways at the Met!
Today was a good Monday - full of yoga and salads and singing class, so I was really "present" with my acting choices during the Act II shopping scene. Still, every time Musetta hits her high notes, I almost cry (check out the gorgeousity of sound in the video below, especially at 2:19 and 2:25) What a nerd I am!
That said, it's also the most catchy tune from La Boheme for me. Thus I find myself singing it in the stairwells when I'm walking through the spiraling staircases toward the stage door exit. Normally, I'm mostly alone (the bowels of the Met Opera are immense), but this evening there were some VIPs wandering around looking to visit one of our principals. They were lost and confused, but I guess they must have thought I was one of the singers or something, because they complemented my outfit and TOTALLY took paparazzi-esque pictures of me while we were talking!
The guy had a camera in his hand the whole time taking video, and I didn't even notice until he turned the flash on in my face! 50% flattering... 50% incredibly rogue = 100% fun.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Dearest New York,
You are the crescendo to the melody, that melody I love. So here's to better days and get aways because every day's a holiday with you.
It's that time, ya'll. The holiday season is upon us!!
Love,
A Broadway Baby
P.S.
I really must use Iced Tea carefully. True, it makes me hyper productive, but also keeps my up until past 1am when I have 6:30am work out plans and an audition to go to tomorrow. Eek! :-)
It's that time, ya'll. The holiday season is upon us!!
Love,
A Broadway Baby
P.S.
I really must use Iced Tea carefully. True, it makes me hyper productive, but also keeps my up until past 1am when I have 6:30am work out plans and an audition to go to tomorrow. Eek! :-)
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Saturdays off
Spent my Saturday off in Randy's Intermediate/Advanced Theater tap class this afternoon and it was OH so good. I miss that kind of technical, speedy foot work, plus he has this fabulous style to his choreography that harkens back to the days of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.
Oh and I forgot to mention, he's famous in the dance world. He originated the 42nd street choreography (among other successes) that remains on stages today and he has received Tonys and Drama Desk awards as well as many other accolades. Randy also seems to have his hands in almost every tap show or Tony awards show choreography that is created these days.
Thus, it is a critical dance networking opportunity to take class whenever he is teaching. He doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of teaching at Broadway Dance Center (he teaches much more frequently at Steps), so I almost fell over when he approached me in class there today... in part because I am still learning how to balance and dance in three inch high heeled tap shoes, and in part because he said that I must come back always and take his class at Steps. Eep! (Now if he would only fall in love with my West Coast enthusiasm and cast me in White Christmas!!!)
Got lots of new sheet music from the Performing Arts library at Lincoln Center, made a Trader Joes run complete with tiny Christmas tree and Advent calendar acquisition. Now I'm debating whether or not to pack it in and go to sleep early or summon up a second wind to do some laundry. Oy.
The dancer's life is definitely not all glitz and glamour. Still gotta take care of the essentials!
Oh and I forgot to mention, he's famous in the dance world. He originated the 42nd street choreography (among other successes) that remains on stages today and he has received Tonys and Drama Desk awards as well as many other accolades. Randy also seems to have his hands in almost every tap show or Tony awards show choreography that is created these days.
Thus, it is a critical dance networking opportunity to take class whenever he is teaching. He doesn't seem to be the biggest fan of teaching at Broadway Dance Center (he teaches much more frequently at Steps), so I almost fell over when he approached me in class there today... in part because I am still learning how to balance and dance in three inch high heeled tap shoes, and in part because he said that I must come back always and take his class at Steps. Eep! (Now if he would only fall in love with my West Coast enthusiasm and cast me in White Christmas!!!)
Got lots of new sheet music from the Performing Arts library at Lincoln Center, made a Trader Joes run complete with tiny Christmas tree and Advent calendar acquisition. Now I'm debating whether or not to pack it in and go to sleep early or summon up a second wind to do some laundry. Oy.
The dancer's life is definitely not all glitz and glamour. Still gotta take care of the essentials!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Epiiiic
Just spent about four hours with Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth and Hiyao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle on in the background. I stayed in after an invigorating Friday night performance of La Boheme (must remember to take all this stage makeup off!) just so I could reorganize my music for Broadway auditions.
It made for a really exciting evening - for me, at least. I just learned "Zero to Hero" from Disney's Hercules, which I am SUPER into. I mean, how can you not love something that starts with spoken lyrics like "He was soooo hot, steam looked cool."
'Twas quite the hack job I had to do to get a cut of music that I liked (fyi, typically one can only sing 16 or 32 bars in an audition room, which is equivalent to about two pages of music) from the eight pages of "Zero." Sorry, Mr. Menken!! After all the effort, I decided I may as well add some random new favorites to my binder as well: "Make You Feel My Love," by Adele, "I Want the Good Times Back" from Little Mermaid (on Broadway, this song's not in the cartoon), "Not for the Life of Me" from Thoroughly Modern Millie, and "Show Off" from Drowsy Chaperone.
The showbiz among you will recognize there's a wee bit of Sutton Foster evolution in music going on in my new songs. To my immense surprise, my vocal teacher thinks I'm kind of like Ms. Foster in terms of type (physical look and voice quality) as well as personality... so I should have some of her standard songs on hand. It's sweet of my music teacher to say such a thing (even though it's so not true - except maybe Sutton & I share some quirkiness in common). .... Still, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a skill set, a pair of legs, and a career not unlike hers!?
That said, it's crazy how much effort and tenacity a serious Broadway dancer/singer/actress should put in to keep his or her auditioning preparation in top form. For my "book" (that's what we call our immense binders of sheet music) alone, I have to keep several songs that are well prepared (with good musicality + specific acting choices), not to mention that the songs must be well suited to the "type" I portray.
*** "Type" is a weird thing to explain... it's basically the way that other people see you when you enter a room, so your personality and often your body type have a lot to do with it (e.g. I give off more of a chorus girl or quirky character actress/singer vibe than that of a leading lady, a matronly person, or say, a nun). Moreover, it's an increasingly difficult task to figure out what music best shows your strengths when the "type" that casting directors see in you is in flux. ***
Such is the case with me... apparently I give off "quirky, fun" vibes, but I'm told I am moving away from the "cute" and into the more "grown up" realm. God help me if another production assistant asks me if I'm grown up enough for my age range to be 28-35, though. I think I might pop a blood vessel somewhere in the vicinity of my scarcely existent smile lines!! (Just kidding, that's my dancer humor, I know I'm not "old."Actually, lately, I've been realizing just how young I am and how much about the world I have left to learn).
The performing arts industry is so interesting when it comes to age, look, and character flexibility. I like to think that I can understand and therefore portray many different types of people, so I make effort not to pigeon-hole myself into one category. Yet my personality, without my permission, seems to have a mind of it's own! I'm lucky to benefit from great teachers and coaches like Bettina Sheppard at Broadway Dance Center, and Bryan Wade, who both help me find material that works for me. Can't wait to try some of these new songs out on the Wicked and Mame auditions this coming week!
Hugs and Love (and a post Turkey day spin class in seven hours... eek!)
A Broadway Baby
It made for a really exciting evening - for me, at least. I just learned "Zero to Hero" from Disney's Hercules, which I am SUPER into. I mean, how can you not love something that starts with spoken lyrics like "He was soooo hot, steam looked cool."
'Twas quite the hack job I had to do to get a cut of music that I liked (fyi, typically one can only sing 16 or 32 bars in an audition room, which is equivalent to about two pages of music) from the eight pages of "Zero." Sorry, Mr. Menken!! After all the effort, I decided I may as well add some random new favorites to my binder as well: "Make You Feel My Love," by Adele, "I Want the Good Times Back" from Little Mermaid (on Broadway, this song's not in the cartoon), "Not for the Life of Me" from Thoroughly Modern Millie, and "Show Off" from Drowsy Chaperone.
The showbiz among you will recognize there's a wee bit of Sutton Foster evolution in music going on in my new songs. To my immense surprise, my vocal teacher thinks I'm kind of like Ms. Foster in terms of type (physical look and voice quality) as well as personality... so I should have some of her standard songs on hand. It's sweet of my music teacher to say such a thing (even though it's so not true - except maybe Sutton & I share some quirkiness in common). .... Still, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a skill set, a pair of legs, and a career not unlike hers!?
That said, it's crazy how much effort and tenacity a serious Broadway dancer/singer/actress should put in to keep his or her auditioning preparation in top form. For my "book" (that's what we call our immense binders of sheet music) alone, I have to keep several songs that are well prepared (with good musicality + specific acting choices), not to mention that the songs must be well suited to the "type" I portray.
*** "Type" is a weird thing to explain... it's basically the way that other people see you when you enter a room, so your personality and often your body type have a lot to do with it (e.g. I give off more of a chorus girl or quirky character actress/singer vibe than that of a leading lady, a matronly person, or say, a nun). Moreover, it's an increasingly difficult task to figure out what music best shows your strengths when the "type" that casting directors see in you is in flux. ***
Such is the case with me... apparently I give off "quirky, fun" vibes, but I'm told I am moving away from the "cute" and into the more "grown up" realm. God help me if another production assistant asks me if I'm grown up enough for my age range to be 28-35, though. I think I might pop a blood vessel somewhere in the vicinity of my scarcely existent smile lines!! (Just kidding, that's my dancer humor, I know I'm not "old."Actually, lately, I've been realizing just how young I am and how much about the world I have left to learn).
The performing arts industry is so interesting when it comes to age, look, and character flexibility. I like to think that I can understand and therefore portray many different types of people, so I make effort not to pigeon-hole myself into one category. Yet my personality, without my permission, seems to have a mind of it's own! I'm lucky to benefit from great teachers and coaches like Bettina Sheppard at Broadway Dance Center, and Bryan Wade, who both help me find material that works for me. Can't wait to try some of these new songs out on the Wicked and Mame auditions this coming week!
Hugs and Love (and a post Turkey day spin class in seven hours... eek!)
A Broadway Baby
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving Day, Everyone!
Hope you and your loved ones have a marvelous day celebrating the people and things we are all so fortunate to have in our lives!
Lots of love to all and to all a good, fun filled eating fest.
Hugs,
A Broadway Baby
Lots of love to all and to all a good, fun filled eating fest.
Hugs,
A Broadway Baby
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Student becomes Master
Today I got the kind of email that makes my teacher-heart sing.
One of my SAT students got a 2340 (out of 2400) on their most recent SAT exam!!!!
Thus, the student becomes the master.
::Sigh of happiness::
Today is shaping up to be an otherwise low key day. It's grey and cold outside, almost all of the fall leaves have fallen off their trees, and winter seems prepped to make a grand entrance. At some point today I'll get in the gym, then have an Alice's Tea Cup date with a fellow opera lover, tutor some kids, and get my Parisian on in La Boheme tonight at the Met Opera.
In the spirit of the coming Thanksgiving, I am thanking my lucky stars for my students, my job(s), and delicious pumpkin scones today!
Hugs and love,
A Broadway Baby
One of my SAT students got a 2340 (out of 2400) on their most recent SAT exam!!!!
Thus, the student becomes the master.
::Sigh of happiness::
Today is shaping up to be an otherwise low key day. It's grey and cold outside, almost all of the fall leaves have fallen off their trees, and winter seems prepped to make a grand entrance. At some point today I'll get in the gym, then have an Alice's Tea Cup date with a fellow opera lover, tutor some kids, and get my Parisian on in La Boheme tonight at the Met Opera.
In the spirit of the coming Thanksgiving, I am thanking my lucky stars for my students, my job(s), and delicious pumpkin scones today!
Hugs and love,
A Broadway Baby
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