I am very excited to announce that I am planning events not only for April 16, World Voice Day (which, hopefully, will be very different from last year’s), but for the entire weekend, which I’m calling World Voice Weekend. The theme of WVD this year is “One World/Many Voices” and that will be reflected inContinue reading “One World, Many Voices – World Voice Weekend”
Tag Archives: curiously strong performing
Why do we perform when it terrifies us so much?
For most of my 20s, off and on in my 30s and again in my early 40s, I suffered from performance anxiety. Often crippling performance anxiety. Dry mouth, shaking legs, unable to get my breath under me. In my 20s, it was because my technical ability wasn’t at the level I needed to be atContinue reading “Why do we perform when it terrifies us so much?”
Updating your audition book: The 5 C’s for Choosing an Audition Song
I think I do a pretty good job at choosing audition songs. In fact, it might be one of my superpowers. I like finding pieces that bring things out in people, not only things I knew were there but things I merely suspected were there, and maybe even things I had NO IDEA where there. ButContinue reading “Updating your audition book: The 5 C’s for Choosing an Audition Song”
Sing me a story: Creating your backstory
Tonight I will be holding a studio class for my private students about creating a backstory. When I played Mother Abbess in Sound of Music, my back story was that my character’s name was born Johanna Schmidt and was from a relatively prosperous and devout Catholic family in Austria. She was trained in piano andContinue reading “Sing me a story: Creating your backstory”
Go with the flow
I’ve been doing some thinking about the concept of flow. Yesterday and today, I spent a great deal of time working on tax prep, and at one point, I realized I had forgotten to eat. That is something incomprehensible to me. I can function just fine on lack of sleep, but if I don’t getContinue reading “Go with the flow”
Changing My Story
Today’s post was supposed to be about the word “multivocal,” which was a Word of the Day that popped up into my email a month or so ago. I’m not sure what I was going to write about, but it would’ve been something important, I’m sure. And then Monday happened. I sang a funeral inContinue reading “Changing My Story”
In the Beginning was the Word (maybe)
Or was it the music? It depends on the composer. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart agreed that Rodgers would write the music first, and Hart would fit the words to the music. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II began with Hammerstein’s lyrics, with Rodgers fitting the music to the lyrics. In that case, yes, theContinue reading “In the Beginning was the Word (maybe)”
A Stroke of … Scenius?
I just came across the term “scenius” a few months ago in a blogpost – I’m not sure where. I thought it might be Seth Godin, but I didn’t find it. Scenius is defined as “communal genius” that occurs in scenes rather than genes. It was created by musician Brian Eno and is intended toContinue reading “A Stroke of … Scenius?”
Technique takes work so it can SEEM natural
Technique is the unnatural approach to a problem that, with practice, becomes second-nature. Technique is the non-obvious solution that amateurs and hard-working beginners rarely stumble upon on their own. — Seth Godin I have had students who came in with so much natural ability and innate talent that I thought for sure that this wouldContinue reading “Technique takes work so it can SEEM natural”
What shall be our legacy? What will our children say?
Honestly, I try not to talk politics on my blog (I have Facebook for that), but if you read between the lines, you know what I believe. Yesterday was something. And I really don’t know what to say about it. So I’m going to share my favorite patriotic song, American Anthem by Gene Scheer. ThisContinue reading “What shall be our legacy? What will our children say?”