7 hours and waiting in line with the die-hards!

Monday morning I was really excited to go to an audition for a Rodgers and Hart revue being performed in CT in the month of May. Apparently I wasn't the only one excited! I was first on the EMC list and because of that, I was determined to stick it out. Again, the pianist was late and the delayed start didn't help my chances. I was still hopeful after the lunch break, however, because they were blazing through the alternates. During the lunch break, I did a quick tour of the Jeff Wall exhibit at the MOMA and visited some of my favorite paintings on the 5th floor. I'm still so thankful for my membership there, and for the opportunity it allows me on an otherwise disappointing audition day to see some beautiful and strange things! It was raining and the MOMA was busier than I've ever seen it. I think this is probably a big spring break/tourist week in NYC. I have learned how to walk around the meandering tourists on the sidewalk and I slithered past them back to the Equity building. I was so confident that I was going to sing that I got back into my cute spring dress and heels. I was happy to see Dani and help her get ready for her two auditions. She is just a ray of sunshine every time I see her with her encouragement and great attitude! I love her! At about 3 the doom was settling in and I saw that the alternate list had gone up to 92. I changed out of my dress and packed up my stuff, grumpy and annoyed, and a migraine began to set in. It just pains me that I wasted a day, more than anything. Maybe I'll just have to be smarter about which auditions are going to be impossible but it's such a gamble. The past week I had been really successful in being seen for the Equity calls...so you never know!
I spent the rest of the afternoon heading towards Lincoln Center where I was going to see "Andrea Chenier" at the Met. On the way I celebrated my pitiful self with a Tasti-D cone and a short stop to get my favorite nephew some Easter treats. I arrived at the Met around 4:30. They have a new program, as of this year, that releases 200 orchestra tickets for $20 2 hours before every weekday performance. Orchestra tickets generally run around $250 so this is quite the deal! Since I am a professional stand-in-line girl, this was a great opportunity to see my new friend, Mark from my bible study, starring in the opera. I was probably about 50th in line, with an hour and a half to wait. There were some interesting folks assembled, and of course, most of them were much, much older. It was nice to see some other young starving artist types sprinkled in. I got the seat the furthest to the side on row L, ran home (well, you know, train and bus) to change and drop my backpack, before hopping back on the bus to Lincoln Center.
The opera, an Italian verismo (realistic style, like Verdi) by Giordani, was AMAZING!!!! I think it may have been my most favorite. The costumes of gold were stunning and the 3 leads (Mark, Ben Heppner and a Lithuanian soprano named Violeta) were so committed and glorious. I ended up being able to slide closer to the middle of the row and it was so fun to be up close and really be able to watch the mechanics of how these singers were producing such beautiful sounds! I was so proud to know Mark and especially loved watching him take the shouts of "Bravos" knowing what a godly man he is. I took the bus home and continued to reflect on how in all these great performances that I have been so fortunate to see, there is nothing casual happening. I feel like sometimes I go into auditions and just sort of apologize for what might be special instead of bringing something truly artistic and energized from my soul to my face. I was definitely inspired!