In my last blogpost about growing older, I described my journey from a wannabe musical theater performer to reluctant classroom music teacher to journeyman classical/opera singer in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. The journey continues, with a few pivots on the way – to Milwaukee, to teaching, back to Baltimore, and beyond.
Tag Archives: cabaret
Let’s go to the movies (or turn on the TV)!
The focus of my upcoming book (I’m so excited saying those three words – my upcoming book) is on musical theatre repertoire for women of a certain age. So, obviously, I’ve been doing a lot of research about theatrical productions. But I came to the realization that I’m overlooking a few other excellent sources ofContinue reading “Let’s go to the movies (or turn on the TV)!”
Why I Moved (I’m Not Done Yet)
Last week, I wrote about Why I Quit. When my husband read that title, he blanched, thinking that I was announcing that I was quitting teaching (without telling him first). Not quite. As I said last week, that wasn’t the intended focus when I sat down to write. What I wanted to talk about wasContinue reading “Why I Moved (I’m Not Done Yet)”
Creating Your Own Holiday Traditions
I have written before that I grew up without any real holiday traditions. My dad was Slovenian (or at least that’s what I was told – in recent years, I’ve been told secondhand that he was born in Slovenia to Croatian parents) and my mother was Estonian. You would think that my childhood Christmases wouldContinue reading “Creating Your Own Holiday Traditions”
Fighting the post-show blues
As much as I complained about the effort involved in getting to rehearsals for the recent Come Home concert at WNO, closing the performance this past weekend has made me feel kind of … empty. Basically, I’ve got the post-show blues, or post-show depression. I don’t feel like I’m really depressed, but I definitely feelContinue reading “Fighting the post-show blues”
Reflections on Summer Goals
June 1! Officially two weeks till my birthday. When I was younger, everything after May 15 and before June 30 was related to how close it was to my birthday. That’s less of a big deal now. But I do see June 1 as the unofficial beginning of summer and a new year (forContinue reading “Reflections on Summer Goals”
Keep Calm and Sing On – But Not This Week
A week ago, my intention for today had been to write that the studio was open every day but Thursday because of the opera. Then the opera was cancelled. Three days ago, my intention for today had been to write that the studio would be open for in-person lessons for anyone who wanted to comeContinue reading “Keep Calm and Sing On – But Not This Week”
Creating a Cabaret FAQ
From last night’s Curiously Stronger Performing workshop (in case you weren’t there): “What is a cabaret? How is it different than a recital? Or a musical?” “Cabaret is personal musical theater” (Amanda McBroom). Cabaret Traditional Recital Musical VENUE Place where people are seated at tables, eating or drinking (or both) Performance hall or church; audience is seatedContinue reading “Creating a Cabaret FAQ”
What if I had just stayed “comfortable”?
If I never did anything new, I’d still be: Working at Fleet Mortgage Corp. as a customer service rep Living in Waukesha in a townhouse I didn’t really want to buy in the first place with my first husband Singing in the Florentine Opera chorus Dreaming of doing more with my life I wouldn’t have:Continue reading “What if I had just stayed “comfortable”?”
Dames in C – and D – and Other Keys
As many of you know, I love singing cabaret with a white-hot passion. And I want to share that love with my students, because I think that the idea of creating personal musical theater should exist in everything you sing, from art song to musical theater songs to opera. I’ve done some great things atContinue reading “Dames in C – and D – and Other Keys”