sharpstown in the city

Artistic Statement

2010-06-02T06:48:00.000-07:00

The following was a requirement in the Dawn U. Carnegie Hall Workshop I'm hoping to land!

The assignment:
Please attach a statement of approximately 1,000 words that answers the following questions:
1. What inspires you as an artist in your professional and personal lives?
2. What do you hope to gain from this experience?

“What can I do to live a better story?” This piercing question serves as the source of my two main inspirations as an artist: story and excellence.

Last summer, a Broadway play (Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Pretty) provided the defining balm I needed in a season of much pain. The choice its lead character made in the final scene spoke a healing word into my life that no other amount of counseling or journaling or time could mend. I found, after that play, I was free. Great art, done well, has time and again, brought health and freedom to me. As I grow as an artist and a person that loves art, I am equally inspired by the stories that others tell and compelled to tell a better, more excellent story with my life and gifts.

I started taking voice lessons at the age of 12 so that I could be the best musical theatre performer the San Francisco Bay Area had ever seen. With Les Misérables completely memorized, I was sure I was bound for Broadway. My path was diverted by my first voice teacher who happened to be a tenured chorister with the San Francisco Opera. She cleverly introduced me to opera and claimed me for her genre. I was thrilled by the challenges of singing opera, of learning languages and investigating the history of each composer. Somewhere in my mid-twenties, however, I lost my fuel for pursuing it with the passion I once had. I had concentrated so much on perfect sound projection and “sempre la voce” that I had lost the drama. At this point, my journey twisted back over to my first love, musical theatre, and I proudly called myself a “reformed opera singer!” I dove into acting classes, performing Chekhov scenes and monologues, dusted off my tap and jazz shoes, and built a book of musical theatre songs with which I connected. People often asked me why I left opera for theatre and I would explain that I loved the story-telling that musical theatre demands. In opera I was missing the story. In my time away I learned to love telling stories again, making choices before beautiful sounds and taking risks before rubatos.

Now as I am hitting my stride as a singer, I realize, of course, that stories can be told just as vibrantly in opera or art song as they are in theatre. In the past year I have reclaimed the genres of my original training and have re-ignited my passion for classical singing. Art songs have become the main course for my creative mind’s growing appetite and a favorite vehicle to express myself. I recently prepared and performed my first song recital in four years. I loved working with the masterful material and understanding the original context of the poetry while making the text mine. My own story was heightened because of these texts and songs.

Great story telling draws me to continue to tell stories of my own. I aim to touch others, to inspire them to tell their own stories choosing the risky road of vulnerability and living a life story better than they imagine for themselves. Music has such amazing power to do just that and I love that I can participate in others’ stories!

I never knew how long I would stay in New York when I moved here in 2007. I wasn’t sure if this would be a short-lived experiment, if I would hit the audition scene and rise and fall with its success. Success has come in waves with great opportunities to perform and class but most exciting has been the evolution of a found community of musicians of all shapes and stripes, although quite heavy on the singer-songwriters. Some of my dearest friends create music daily and share it often in the clubs of the Lower East Side. I meet them there to hear how they are working out their often difficult lives through melody and lyrics.

Beyond the Lower East Side, the daily accessibility of truly stunning art in all its forms has fueled my continual growth as a singer. Excellence inspires excellence and has been a great source of motivation to be faithful to the gifts I’ve been given as a singer and an artist. Steeped in artistic excellence immersion for the last three years, I have found my goals have changed. I moved to New York so I would never say “what if” but what I have found is much different than what I expected. I thought I was sending myself on a “make it or break it” adventure but instead I have found a community of friends that inspire me to make music, to take chances, to cultivate my own “voice” as an artist without limits or boundaries on “making it” in one particular field or opera house. Their excellence inspires me to continue to drink deep of the well of music, to create perhaps not my own songs, but my own interpretations in the genres where I am gifted.

Even still, I have often listened to my songwriting friends and been jealous of their vision for writing songs and performing them, of creating new material and finding an audience for it. With this workshop, I would love to experience the thrill of collaborating with composers to create something new. Fascinated by composers and their gifts, I would be delighted to originate a new work and to see the behind the scenes pieces come together.

As a freelance singer, no longer luxuriating in conservatory life, I have missed so much the master class forum where such valuable learning comes from observing other artists as they try on new music and the challenges that come with telling new stories!
I cannot imagine a more fantastic week than a master class with these leaders in our field and among such excellent singers and composers.

Recent opportunities to work with up and coming composers in the fields of musical theatre and opera have whet my appetite for more! I have never taken the time to focus my energy in new music as a soloist. This intense week would stretch me and would be a fantastic opportunity to delve into that realm. I would love to meet and grow with the other selected singers and composers and continue to build community with like-minded artists that are passionate about story and excellence.

Can a Mother Forget?

2010-02-10T19:35:00.001-08:00

Tim's sermon this week was on Isaiah 49, specifically verses 14-16. He titled the sermon, "Can a Mother Forget?" based on verse 15, where God says to Zion:

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!

It was a great 1st Tim sermon for my sister to hear. 3 points, of course. Professorial, anecdotal and the third point was all about Jesus. I eagerly listened to every quote and story, each fun fact and explanation through my sister's ears, wanting her approval and shared excitement. To me it was just another explanation of the gospel, of the unconditional love that God shows us though he has no need of us and we offer him NOTHING. It was a sweet reminder to feast on God and that amazing love and not settle for idol snacks. But I find with so many great sermons, I'm spoiled. I take my notes, I expect Jesus to be the last point, I agree that He's the cure, but I often don't digest it fully.

Last night I called to check in on my mom. Lis and I have an AMAZING mom. Always has been, always will be. She has been sick for the past week or so and because of "best.weekend.ever.sharpley.sisters.take.manhattan" colliding with two feverish grandkids, rest and recuperation were traded in for extra babysitting. So while Lisa and I were finding the world's best bargains, eating the country's best pizza, traipsing across the city, enjoying restaurant week with friends, brunching with all the "buddies", tearing up in Broadway shows and bonding and creating memories we'll never forget, our sweet Mom was recycling something she has done so often...bearing the cost of our delight! After I talked to Mom I took the "best.weekend.ever" post off of my facebook, not wanting to rub in what we had enjoyed while she worked on our behalf. And I know she didn't mean to make us feel guilty (Lisa, you are not allowed to feel guilty reading this!), but the fact is someone had to fill in the gap in order for us to have the kind of mad-fun, sister weekend that we had.

And suddenly, I remembered the sermon. Here was Mom, someone who not only never forgot us at her breast(!) but even into our 30s never forgets us but continues to make sacrifices to give us the best life. And what did she get? The joy of knowing her daughters love each other and enjoy each other? Maybe. She shows us unconditional love and thereby shows me God's love.

This past weekend really was the best.ever. And God promises in Isaiah 49 that this best.life.ever-the culmination of all the best weekends and days-are gifts from Him who took all the pain, all the sickness, all the isolation that we might know joy and love and fullness forever.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

One day while I was at home watching one of those vapid 7:30pm shows as part of my "I work for a church and December wipes me out" recovery program, they ran a story on Oprah and her resolution for 2009: to get her weight in control. They showed her in January 2009 feigning disgust with her then state and promise that "this would be the year." With so much build-up, I was SURE they were going to say that she fulfilled her goal. Instead, they said "Oprah didn't succeed but she's never looked happier."

Well, in hopes to look happier than ever at the end of 2010, I only made one resolution:
Less Blackberry, More Jesus.

The biggest change I've made thus far, is removing the Facebook application from my blackberry. No mindless walking to work and reading near-strangers status updates. How about some prayer instead?

Also, I would like to stop being "that girl" that incessantly checks her Blackberry, including during dinner out with friends, etc. No berries of any kind shall hit the dining table. Unless it's a strawberry that falls off a pillowy cheesecake from Juniors...mmmmm...

I was chatting with a friend at our Redeemer Leaders' Meeting on Monday and she had so much earnest enthusiasm for what the New Year can bring. Much of that was because of the spirit of all of us collectively being willing, being open to change and growth. I like that. I can get behind that!

So, some areas to grow in for 2010!
*Keeping up with my friends far and near
*Blogging, writing, staying creative...maybe even writing a song or two (WHAT?! I hang out with too many songwriters, I guess!)
*Practicing consistently. Developing new repertoire and demos. Singing for important people.
*An opera role or musical theatre role.
*Choosing LIFE in relationships.
*Less Splenda. Ha. Always.
*Consistent time with the Lord. In the mornings.
*Less mindless tv.
*More Bible literacy.
*More reading. Real books. (3 are on order!)
*1/2 marathon.

Uh, oh. I've completely gone all Oprah.
"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Recognizing that, I look forward to 2010 with God.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T06:39:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I spontaneously burst into tears anticipating a Thanksgiving apart from my family. I am now 31 years old. One would think I would be "grown-up" enough to not need my mommy's mashed potatoes at the end of every November.

This holiday, this year, however, seems to have brought up more heaviness than usual. I have spent several Thanksgivings with other families...with the Sulaymans a few times in Chicago and with my grandmother's side of the family in KY. Both locations were full of joy and love.

Last year's Turkey Day, however, is a stinging memory. I spent the holiday with my ex-boyfriend's family. I had then thought they would soon be my inlaws. Though in many ways our relationship was crumbling, the "happy clappy" shoe hadn't quite dropped and I traversed this different Thanksgiving as part of my new tradition. My family doesn't do "black friday", his family was in line at 3am. My family does broccoli, his did green bean casserole. My family does movies, his family does football. And on and on. That weekend was the last time that I saw any of his family, the family that I had prepped myself to love and enjoy, serve and blend into and this week's reminder of them bowled me over.

In the day to day, I feel I've managed to move on from the relationship well, but commercials for black friday coupons and aromas of turkey and stuffing proved more than I could handle. For the first time in months, I was tempted to make contact, to check in, to see how his brother's college applications were going and if he'd been up to the city to see "West Side Story" yet. I wanted to know if his sister was still dating that guy at the grocery store and to tell her that I got my hair straightened again. But these left-overs if you will, are the last pieces of hanging on to a past that God has carried me through. And I'm not meant to go back there.

I wished for a flight home to be with my REAL family, to re-write once again our traditions in my head and forget the stormy end to 2008. I wanted to drown myself in niece and nephew time and disengage with my future or chosen life. Expensive flights wouldn't allow it.

Instead I had a wonderful and full day of attempting the parade with Mon, pumpkin pancakes and bacon with Steph and Kevin and a Thanksgiving potluck with NYC orphans at Emily's. I might have been away from my family, but here I was creating new family, new memories and feeling full in every way.

I do long for the day when I'm not a single, not an orphan hopping from party to party. I long for my future husband's family to love and for new traditions to absorb. I look forward to caring for his family and not having to wonder about their future. I look forward to the forever. Until then, I'll make my own Cranberry Fluff, I'll call my family and get the entire menu detail from Grandma, giggle at pictures, ooh and ahh over Noe's latest outfit and thank God for the rich life He's given me as a single girl in the city.

6:30, 7:30 and 2:45

2009-03-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

My cell phone is possessed. While in a long-distance relationship, I might have exercised the cell phone so much that it had no choice but to fight back. After months of bullying, I'm close to tossing it to cell phone heaven. For the past month or so, it has stubbornly refused to let me reset its' alarms. So if I have my cell phone turned on, it will, without fail, buzz or beep at 6:30am, 7:30am, and 2:45pm every day. I use my cell phone as my alarm clock. I know what you're all thinking...it's so obvious: Why don't you turn your cell phone off and buy a $4.99 Duane Reade special alarm clock? Well, everyone, that would make perfect sense, but I'd rather have a small, unreliable, ornery and once shiny, now sadly dulled rectangle rule my mornings and mid-afternoons.

The amazing thing in this all? It's been putting me on a schedule! I wake up earlier, got to the gym or practice, have a QT, make breakfast and if I'm feeling particularly luxurious, a cup of tea! So this annoyance is really creating the discipline I need. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways. And every night when I'm tempted to stay up till 12 or 1 scanning facebook statuses or broadwayworld.com, I'm inspired instead to go to bed because I know what will be buzzing at 6:30. That reliable little friend of mine that I can't wait to replace!

Off to bed friends...it's past 10:30. :)

Oh but wait...I have to share! I'm reading a wonderful Beth Moore called "Get out of that Pit". It truly is helping me to do just that. I thank God for the way He has brought Beth into my life once again to teach me and excite me about His word.
Also, I've signed up for the memory verse challenge on her blog: http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/

The first verse that I posted is from our FG's most recent passage, Galatians 5:1

"It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

This past Sunday's sermon was on Romans 4 entitled "Through the Blood of Jesus Christ" We need redemption because we are slaves to guilt and shame and also our slave masters/idol factories.
What are my slave masters? Approval, career, family(husband/kids), ideal weight, so many more, I'm sure!

Streaker!

2009-03-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoons mean worship meetings at the Redeemer Offices. All of the worship leaders/pastors, the worship/music staff as well as the Sunday Ops staff meet to discuss what's coming the following Sundays as well as to debrief what went well and what well, didn't, the day before. My predecessor promised these meetings would be entertaining. Mostly, we look across the table from each other either too shy to share what we really think or too eager to get to the next event and we're in and out in just a few minutes. But here and there, we laugh.

Matt was sharing that a man at the East Side PM Service somehow got on the stage and plopped down next to Jon, while Jon was playing the postlude.
Matt: "I thought this guy might be a streaker."
Chris: "Please tell us you mean stalker."

6th months later...

2009-03-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hello long-forgotten blog!
I just went to my 6th month post-op appointment last week. The news is good...all is well with the vocal cords, even after 2 weeks of coughing! More alarming was the fact that 6 months has gone by since that momentous time of trusting and waiting and being carried by prayers and my community.

Of all the 6 month stretches in my 30 years, this past one has been filled with the most jolting highs and lows. After weeks of real sorrow at the beginning of this new year, I was overjoyed with the way God was reaching down and gripping me out of my pit through the strength of family, old friends, new friends, passions no longer on hold and His Word. But then, most recently, I was brought low once again. Something that should have been encouraging, sent me to despair, back to grieving the loss of the one I thought would forever hold my heart.

A few weeks ago I felt utterly lost. While on my walk to work, I wondered what the difference was between my life now and the giddy life I had in the fall. Certainly, a person and a relationship. But as I navigated the same windy path with all its familiar marquees and landmarks, I realized the core of what's gone is the dream of a life with someone, of building a future that is not just in my own hands. My dear friend reminded me I am building a future with that someone and that I can dream of my future with Jesus. It sounds cheezy, like the back-cover of one of those Bible Belt Christian self-help books, but it's true. I've been reflecting on 1 Peter 1:3-8 over the last 24 hours and I'm struck by so many things. The Lord wants to hold and direct our future and so wants us on the inside of his kingdom, of his peace and heart....those verses are dripping with INS!! "In his great mercy"...."into a living hope" "into an inheritance that can never perish.." "kept IN heaven", etc. And so even while we are suffering, we're still "in" with him, never on the outside of his love or gaze.

Now on the other side of the past 6 months marked by physical healing and wandering and rejoicing and leaning on one over the ONE I continue to be humbled and stripped down, plainly seeing my sin and the darkness that lies within me. But I can confidently say I also have hope and a future IN Christ Jesus, not because of my record but because of His.

"IN this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7

time to re-start my words

2008-08-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, I'm determined to visit this blog more often. I've made MANY promises to return, especially in light of the past few days of silence. I would like to continue to enjoy the world from a blogger's view...and I have...I've just kept my findings to myself. But I'm happy to share words of unexpected joy from this past week.

The last five days have been terrifying at times and yet completely sweet. I've felt my cup overflow with love and prayers. I know we often say that we'll pray for each other, and I usually accept that promise with gratitude and thanks for the thought, but not really sure if it will impact my result. I can say with confidence that I've never felt so loved and so secure and so whole as I did when I woke up from surgery. The peace that passes all understanding was flooding my heart, and while my jaw and throat felt like a truck had just run over them, I was crying tears of inexplicable joy. Going through something like this has been such a wonderful opportunity to see the community that God has drawn for me here in New York and I have been consistently touched.

There was new-fabulous-British-friend Sam bringing me flowers the day before surgery, Laurel taking two trains and walking across the scariest section of Central Park just to calm my nerves in the hours of waiting, the Doctors and Nurses who were so caring and lovely, despite the 4 hour delay, Jenny's hug and cheer and help in getting me home. She filled my prescriptions, she fought with Duane-Reade, she called 10 or more waiting family and friends and repeated the story over and over again. She set up visitors to come by on Saturday. And then Saturday and Sunday, visitors galore, and more ice cream and pudding and apple sauce and yogurt and drinks than a girl could ever hope for...if you like any of those items, please come by this week! Sam H. indulged me with "Persuasion" and there was a trail of kindness all day long.

I walked to church on Sunday and was able to sit next to my dear friend Amber and have her support as I wept through the Doxology and hymns about the goodness of our God. I cried not out of frustration that I couldn't sing but just in the overwhelming redeeming voice of the Lord that shouted to my insides. Truly my heart is full. It sounds a little corny when I write it out like this but there is no other way to explain it. Again, Laurel came beside me after church and was my mouthpiece and even went on silly errands for me, happily explaining all my needs.
Perhaps therein lies another lesson...weakness shows us that we are meant to lean on each other. I tend to relish in my self-sufficiency. And this weekend, I had no choice but to rest on the stronger shoulders of my friends and family.

Tonight marks the end of my complete prescribed silence. I get to start using my words tomorrow. As I have a chance to speak the thanks I have been mouthing to so many, I look forward to choosing words to explain the depth of this gift. And I'm confident that someday soon, I'll be singing once again, always, only, for my King.

Angels & Yankees

2008-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

So, today I had my chance to be on the OTHER, more familiar side of the table in my very own Angels audition. It was wonderful to walk into a room of so many smiling and friendly faces. I sang my first piece, "The Beauty Is" perhaps the most comfortable and enjoyable piece in my "book" and then Laura asked for another style. But at this point, I had horrible, horrible cotton dry mouth. Lips were stuck to my gums. I could barely utter out any consonants. But I got through it...and had a revelation: My saliva is accustomed to 16 bars, not TWO whole songs!

On a lighter note, I just returned home from my first Yankees game! So much fun! The Yankees were losing when we left and it was FREEZING cold. I was expecting 60 degree weather and it was closer to 40. Lindsay's boss gave her the free seats in a GREAT section. Unfortunately the Yankees did not score through the 7 innings we watched. But a foot-long hot-dog and some Crackerjacks mixed in with sightings of A-Rod, Jeter and Damon made for good times!!

I go to Seattle tomorrow to see the Larsons! Can't wait!

Ode to the ECC

2008-03-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

I now know what it's like on the other side off the room, or "the table" as they say in the land of the biz.

Today I had the unique and amazing opportunity to sit behind the auditor's table of an Equity Chorus Call (ECC) for a musical that expects to open on Broadway at the end of this year.

For 3 and a half hours I sat and watched each girl enter, eyeing every ripped pair of hose, too-short skirt and nervous perma-smile. Relaxed to be on the other side, I drank in what made each audition refreshing, painful, pleasant or forgettable. It was a fascinating education, worth hundreds of dollars in workshop fees and I came away with songs I want to learn, songs I want to forget and stories to keep me giggling. As if that wasn't enough, the notes I jotted down inspired my first stab at poetry.

So here I offer you, Ode to the ECC.

chills.
short skirt. arms go up, skirt is shorter.
not a lot of hose.
small room.
not really acting but who cares?
track outfit on a skirt.
psychotic laugh.
hi, i'm betsy.
hate this song.
don't be this girl.
solid.
small room.

Operation Exodus Spotlight

2008-03-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share my "spotlight" for the kids I mentor in Washington Heights at Operation Exodus.
Every week, one of the mentors shares a brief lesson, sermon-ette in the large group assembly.

I have a very strange job. Many of your mentors and tutors work in amazing and exciting fields: Lana works for the city of New York, Jin is a scientist learning about cancer, Alyssa studies remote Asian cultures, and many others work in finance and law. Well, I moved to NYC a little over a year ago to pursue my passion for musical theatre. I would love to be in a Broadway musical someday! In order to move up that ladder of achieving my goal, I go to countless auditions all around the city, hoping to get parts in different plays and musicals. I once went to 5 auditions in one day! And the craziest part is that sometimes I’ll wait for 6 hours, just to get the chance to sing 15 seconds of a song before I’m abruptly cut off by a disinterested, “thank you!”

To be honest, it’s easy to be discouraged about this audition process but God has been gracious to show me all the ways he is unlike the cut-throat, competitive world that I seem to live and work in.
Unlike some of the people I audition for, God always approves of me and in fact, wants to hear my entire song. He wants to hear from us constantly in prayer and worship. God made me, and each of you, exactly as we are, for a reason. Psalm 139 says:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Sometimes when I go to auditions they have a process called, “typing out” where they line you up like a big herd of cattle and choose the “right types” they are looking for, just based on appearance. In God’s eyes, we are always the right type, because he created us uniquely individual.

And as much as it hurts to feel rejection, to not get chosen for the play I really want to perform in, I understand that it will probably take 25 auditions to land one job. I sometimes get rejected for being too tall, too light, too dark, my voice is too high, too big, my hair is too curly, all these things I can’t control. The amazing thing about God is that he never rejects us, and always chooses us. Isaiah 41:9 says "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, "You are my servant;" I have chosen you and not rejected you."

And unlike the judges that I sing in front of, the God that we get to know and learn about today at Exodus is a perfect and righteous judge.
And why is this judge unlike any other? Because he took his most treasured possession, his Son, Jesus Christ, and sent him to our world, to live and teach and play the biggest part in the truest play and story the world will ever know. Jesus took on the hardest role ever imagined, the hero, dying on the cross for all of our sins. Though he had no fault, no crime, no reason to die, he willingly played the part so that you and I who are not perfect, who mess up constantly, and who without him could not stand in God’s presence might have an eternal role in God's family. Because of Jesus' sacrifice we are never condemned, we are loved and wholly accepted by the God who sees us as perfectly spotless as Jesus.
And what does this do for me?
I know as his precious child, that even though many of these worldly judges and casting directors may not accept me, hire me or want me to play parts in their play, that God ALWAYS has a part for me in His. One of my favorite verses says, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you in singing. " Zeph 3:17

And because of that love, that delight that I know God has in me, because of Jesus, I continue on. I continue to pursue my dreams, to live my passion “[singing} with all the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever." 1 Peter 4:11

I sing my auditions with all that strength and I’m always thankful for the everlasting and righteous judge I have in God!

Not to Say Goodbye, Page.

2008-03-07T08:44:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning with an email in my inbox with the simple subject: "Sad News from Mark Shaull." You never want to wake up to sad news, and it can never be good when it's from Mr. Shaull, my high school choir director, who is so busy, he rarely writes.
My friend, mentor and first voice teacher, Page Swift, passed away last Friday. I had no idea, but for the last year she struggled with cancer. I am so sad that I never told her how much I loved and respected her, and how she ignited my passion for music and singing. I have a feeling she knew all this without my verbal telling but for those of us left when our friends pass on, that visceral telling and sharing is such a comfort.
I still remember the first time I walked into Page's voice studio in Palo Alto, trembling after hearing booming, throbbing operatic sounds from the preceding student. Page was always so matter of fact. I think I sang one of my favorite hits of the time, "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis. (Yes, I know that Jean Valjean sings "Bring Him Home" but what 7th grade soprano doesn't want to sing that?) I had sought a voice teacher to get me to the next level in Los Altos Youth Theatre's star progression. I had dreams of "the Broadway." Page was a long-time San Francisco Opera chorus member, and as she was like to do for the next six years, she quickly sized me up and in no time had me trading in Andrew Lloyd Webber for Mozart. Mom sat in that first lesson but after that I was on my own, under Page's steady, exacting yet generous leading. She inspired me to practice, to learn the arias for the roles she deemed me destined to sing and even those she didn't! (I remember a very disappointing day when I brought in Susanna's aria from "Le nozze di Figaro." "Well, you're a Cherubino, not a Susanna." she said to my 15-year-old-self. "You're just not right physically for Susanna.") She was honest with compassion, selfless with her time, so generous with her encouragement. Though she may not have approved, she came to every single one of my theatre performances, kind enough to remind me that I wasn't using my whole voice! It was Page who first led me to opera, to the magic of orchestra and singers and costume and drama all together, other-worldly in its scope. Shortly after beginning lessons with her, she gave my mom and I two tickets to the final dress rehearsal of "L'elisir d'amore" starring Ruth Ann Swenson. Page knew then that I would be trading Broadway for opera and with her steady guidance, I leaped into the world of classical music, of opera training programs and two voice degrees! In the last years, Page continued to encourage me and attend recitals I presented, and until just a few years ago continued to light up the stage of the War Memorial Opera House.
Page was a friend and a guide to so many beautiful singers. I count myself so lucky to have been one of her students. One of my greatest honors was being asked to sing in her wedding as an 8th grader. A single woman into her 50s, she was blessed to find a wonderful husband in Ted. I will never forget that most musically stunning celebration, complete with brass and a large portion of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. She had 3 of her students sing, only showing the heart and love she put into developing singers. Without leaving any children of her own behind, Page has instead left a remarkable legacy of singers in the Bay Area. While not all pursue music as a career, certainly all have been defined and enriched with afternoons singing with Page. I can never thank her enough for the time and love she poured into my life. And while I may have drifted closer to Broadway than the Met in my career pursuits, every time I open my mouth to sing, I know I have been shaped by Page. I shall miss you very much, Page.

Wonderful

2007-12-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'm in a wonderful show. It's so wonderful it's called, "A Wonderful Life." You know the movie and love it. The cast is amazing, new friends I hope to hold near. I wanted this show so so bad since that ever-so-sweaty callback, dancing the Charleston in October. The choreographer said to us as we caught our breath between partner switches, "We appreciate you so much. Some of the best work in New York happens in these rooms and we recognize that. Thank you." Amazing! There was one catch. It's a holiday show and taking the contract meant no Thanksgiving, no baby Noelle sightings and no Christmas in CA. But a NY show...an Equity Theatre...what an opportunity! I took the gig and decided the wonderful show, the wonderful opportunity would give me the strength to survive the holidays without my family.

I've survived 5 Lessons and Carols services, 250 Redeemer Musicians Christmas Cards, CD tables at 15 services, missing my niece's birth all the while making 4 hour round trips to Northport, Long Island to sing and dance my heart out. It's been rough! I was so looking forward to December 24, my first real DAY OFF since the start of rehearsals. And then my flight to Chicago was canceled. No Sulayman family to help me forget I wasn't celebrating Christmas with my real family. And these 3 days OFF, this big finish that I was hoping to make it to have come and have been the most challenging of this entire crazy run. I'd rather be running from work to a train or crammed in a 15 person van in Long Island traffic than feel the depth of homesickness I've struggled with these last few days. Whose wonderful idea was this?

And yet in the midst of my own selfish "debbie-downer" feelings God is so gracious. As my mom tried to whisper to me in between my gulping sobs, I'm so lucky to have a family that I love so much whose distance makes me ache. I am so so so blessed. And I can only think of God's ache for us, and my ache for Him. This pull of my heart for my family is such a beautiful reflection of that ache we all have built inside of us for the feast with the Father. Thank you Lord for sending Jesus. I am weak and he is strong. He was born in that manger to be weak so that today, even flooded with homesick-laced tears, I can be strong.

Do you know that wonderful actually means to flee with wonder? TK's last sermon was on Jesus, Our Wonderful Counselor. He invites us to wonder in Him, to fill our hearts most with what our hearts most need. Certainly these three days have led me to the place I must go when I'm weakest, in the arms of our dear Savior. Wonderful Counselor indeed.

Settling into a new NYC life

2007-09-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,
It's been so long since I've written, I know! I have many excuses. None of them are particularly good. I initially took a hiatus because since the title is "sharpstown in the city," I didn't think I needed to document Pennsylvania. But I've been back in the city since July 9 and I haven't written. :(
No more excuses. Bella-the-computer has been calling, whispering, "come back to your blog. come back to your blog!" There have certainly been plenty of blog-worthy moments. And a lot of change and grace and blessing and joy and stress and everything inbetween. I won't attempt to wrap up the summer of transition, of moving, of disappointment, of excitement. In fact, I'm going to try to keep my entries less epic.
I know what I'm thankful for today.
I'm thankful for a room that is finally coming together. It's huge and it awaits every and any visitor. Last weekend I spent several hours putting together a Euro Futon I bought at Target. It's screaming for some love.
I'm thankful for this home I get to share with Jenny. For wide open spaces and more square footage than we know what to do with.
I'm thankful for my neighborhood, colorful and vibrant in every way.
I'm thankful for my new connection with Operation Exodus, a mentorship program for kids in Washington Heights.
I'm thankful for my JOB! My first salaried job EVER and it's at the church I love so dearly. If you have to have a day job filing away for hours, I'd rather it be praise songs and hymns than anything else.
I'm thankful for my community that is being built here. For the Fellowship Group that is busting at the seams and the potential for a real family in Christ in my neighborhood.
I'm thankful for all my Millbrook buddies that live in NYC and who have become a network of support and laughter as we continue to audition and land the next gigs.
I'm thankful for my health and for all the ways God sustains me. For no longer coughing through the night and being able to sing again. I'm thankful for new hope and energy invested in singing and performing.
I'm thankful for this space to write out my adventures and dreams.
I've missed you, silly blog. It's good to be back.

Phantom and cleaning up!

2007-06-06T07:04:00.001-07:00

Thursday I begrudgingly woke up after far too few hours of sleep. I dragged myself to the gym to try to trick my internal clock into believing I could actually sing an audition. It worked! I went to the Equity Building expecting to be turned away from the chorus call for "The Phantom of the Opera" but shockingly, every Non-Eq girl was able to sing! I had almost bagged the whole thing in the morning, assuming the worst, and I was so thankful I went for it. I hung out with Kat which was so fun. I will miss her most of the summer. She'll be in NYC while I'm in PA and by the time I'm back she'll be in CT doing "Joseph." The audition went well, I think, as they asked me what else I would sing as well as asking about my time in Lucca. Yay! I was able to fit in a coaching with John R., my acting teacher, on Mrs. Darling. I met him at his house near Central Park and 108th St. He is such a genius and gave me so many great ideas to work with on my character. Time and money well-spent! I headed up to Inwood and got the cheapest $18 mani-pedi in NYC while I waited for Jenny to get off work. She was headed home to show me her apartment. After a lot of prayer and discussion with the parents, I've decided to move up there in September. I really like the area and I'll have so much more space and be able to sustain myself better financially. I ended up spending some time walking around Isham Park where I saw lots of little ones playing....there are two big parks in Inwood! Yay! Jenny and I went down to 79th and Broadway after the tour where we met up with Adrienne. The three of us walked to the 79th St. Boat Basin Cafe which is only open during the summer. So cute but so hopping and we ended up walking along the Hudson for another idea of where to eat. Along the way, I ran into Arthur, a friend from Rice, who had just gotten married that weekend. They were watching the sunset as part of their honeymoon so I tried not to interrupt for too long! We ended up walking and walking and finally settled on a little Southwestern restaurant called, "Santa Fe." I was excited for Adrienne and Jenny, my two girls, to finally meet!
Adrienne and I came home and watched our favorite summer guilty pleasure, "So you think you can dance?" Love it!

Friday I spent all morning and afternoon cleaning and clearing my room. I was really stressed out most of the day, feeling an ulcer begin to form from the combined stresses of packing, cleaning, laundry, tying up loose ends, a 2nd date that night and most of all needing to talk to A about my plans to move out in the fall. There were some bright spots in the day and evening, including A's meticulous design of my date wardrobe and make-up but it definitely ended on a sorrowful note.

Recapping CO and CA!

2007-06-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

I explained to Dad that since this blog is titled “Kristen in NYC” I’m off the hook for recounting my CA and CO adventures. But briefly, I had a wonderful time with the family. We got to visit with Aunt Shannon and Uncle Doug (and Murphy!) in Denver where I insisted we revisit Lola, an amazing coastal Mexican restaurant that Doug and Shannon had taken me last September. Charlie played the remote-garage game with such fervor, that the motor got off track, giving a perfect opportunity for “Vovo fix-it.” And he did! Lisa and I went on an exciting mystic tan adventure. Serious sister bonding! Thursday night Uncle Doug arrived from Nashville and we had a lovely dinner together of Aunt Shannie’s amazing pork tenderloin. Yummy!
Friday morning we packed the mini-van and headed towards Snowmass. We had one pit-stop in Vail and the drive through Glenwood Canyon was beyond stunning. We stayed at a 3 bedroom villa at the Snowmass Club. It was very sleepy there, as it is the off-season. It was a beautiful place and I enjoyed a few really nice walks. Aspen trees are my happy place. Friday night Sarahliz and Charlie hosted the rehearsal bbq at their amazing new house. It was so much fun to see all the neighborhood kids so grown up and beautiful! Charlie and I had a giggle-fest after “we almost got soaked” by a sprinkler. That phrase ended up cheering him for hours later that night and throughout the weekend. ☺
Saturday Mom and I scavenged Snowmass for breakfast and I took Charlie for a swim at the fancy pool. We had so much fun and stayed until his illegal, non-swim diaper started busting. We met Lisa at the Roaring Fork Resort in Basalt, the site for the wedding. She was all coiffed and beautiful and the two of us worked hard to get Char in his precious white shorts suit. “I don’t yant to wear it…!” There was a lot of that but thankfully, a golf cart and the bag-pipe player created enough of a diversion to get Charlie through his 4 step lesson on how to be the ringboy of the century. Filip gave him the 4 steps and he was a rock-star on the 1st three (walking towards the aisle with Mommy, taking ring box, handing ring box to Paul, the tall man and groom’s brother!) He just forgot #4: Run to Daddy! He was very cute and we were so proud of him. He nearly stole the show, until Sarahliz walked down the aisle! She was breathtakingly beautiful in her lace dress with large pink sash and the setting overlooking mountains could not have been more beautiful! Charlie continued to participate in the wedding as J.R. began his officiant duties….repeating “celebrate, celebrate” and various other phrases. He was getting a little loud so I rescued him and took him far away to the pool so he could “celebrate” his job well-done with gusto! The reception was wonderful, with a cocktail hour in the ranch clubhouse and dinner and dancing outside in a tent. I loved all the sweet and personal toasts as well as the slide-show! So fun! We left around 11:45 or so, knowing we were in for a short night of sleep. We left for Denver at 5:30 am and had an easy trip there. It was fun being on the same plane with Char. We did laps around the plane, ensuring that anyone that wanted to sleep on the flight could not. ☺ It was a great time of togetherness, even if 6 and a bike in a mini-van is a tight squeeze!
Sunday night I met a bunch of friends at Tied House in Mountain View and caught up a bit. I was so thankful to see my Highway family since I missed church!
Monday’s highlights were lunch at Crepevine in Burlingame with Pie and Bono and then a Memorial Day BBQ at Mary, Jean and Emily’s house. I stayed late and supervised Mary and Emily’s NYC flight purchases! Yay! They’re coming in July to visit.
Tuesday I got to play with Charlie most of the day and even took him to his gymnastics class where he was most interested in the water fountains and speakers. I took a break from the action and met Sheina and Becky for lunch at Beechwood. We picnicked in the garden gazebo, eating my favorite pb and banana sandwiches! Tuesday night I cooked for the family and we enjoyed our last night together until July.
Wednesday was a travel day and I arrived late in Newark and took the train and cab home. I think I got to bed around 1:30 am. Back in New York!

Heading to CA again...

2007-05-22T20:09:00.001-07:00

Monday was home-improvement day. Since I don’t have much time in NYC before I go off to Millbrook I’ve started to feel the pressure of getting my room together for my subletter. Definitely a blessing and a curse! I walked to Home Depot, checked out the wares and then browsed the Container Store and Bed Bath and Beyond where I found bed-risers and rug tape as well as a dust ruffle that perfectly matches my bed! I lugged back to Home Depot and purchased a lamp and some underbed storage boxes and then spent most of the afternoon organizing, cleaning and actually, mostly stressing over how this was all going to come together. It’s not nearly done, of course. But at least I got a start. The weather was magnificent so I broke the stress and took a run around the reservoir. I seem to always gravitate to running in the park the days before I leave for CA, perhaps to hold onto my favorite place in NYC. My dreams of laundry were foiled by another dryer fire in our basement, placing our laundry room on a temporary hiatus. I went by Barnes and Noble to pick up a going away present for the Seals. They are moving back to Amarillo at the end of the week! Boo. I was thrilled to hear how well Adrienne’s event at Cornell went and had planned to celebrate with her and Jon. But I had also called Laura and asked if I could stop by. She ended up getting me to join them for dinner at Nick’s, a family-style pizza joint on my favorite avenue. I just love that family and they were appropriately excited and interrogating about my date and I heard how they had seen all of NYC that they had intended to in their year of adventure. I went back to their place for a little more play-time, with lots of stories exchanged with Tressa about Dora and Diego, and even the fish bathtoy I named “Elberta.” I had to scoop myself away to pack for this trip and I said goodbye knowing I have lost my most favorite neighbors NYC could have ever brought. ☹ Boo. But, again, soooooooo thankful that God reconnected us, after 10 years of no contact, at that silly subway stop in midtown in February. What a great, great blessing! I will miss them and even though I didn’t get to spend tons of time with them, just knowing they were across the street, was such a joy and a comfort.

I was up till about 10:30 packing for CA and CO and this morning the alarm woke me at 3:15. Not as early as the last trip but it turns out, a little earlier than necessary. I got in a cab and arrived at Penn Station before 4 which is tooooooooooooo early. It was one of the shadiest and scariest environments I’ve been in. The NJ Transit doesn’t open their gates until 4 and so there I was with my laptop and backpack and large red suitcase. A coffee stand employee at the place across the way from the station must have read my fear and offered to let me stay inside in the light with them until the station opened. Still, scary Larry. So, next time I’ll be aiming for a 4;15 arrival to hop on that first 4:20 train. I made it, and once again, I’m thankful. Can’t wait to be home and see Charlie and everyone else I love!!!!

2 meals with friends!

2007-05-22T20:08:00.001-07:00

Even though I woke up plenty early for church, I still managed to leave the house later than I should and once again broke my record. 30 minutes and sweating! After a Saturday of rain and clouds, the sun was coming out! I was so blessed to find Laura B. in the back row and sat with her as well as Jenny and Joe. It’s so fun singing next to my mezzo friends! The brass quintet starring my friends from small group, Amber and Kyle, accompanied us and it doesn’t get much better or closer to heaven than that. Tim K is speaking on Deuteronomy in a new series that will take us through the summer. Sadly, this was my last Redeemer service for the next 6 weeks. I might have to subscribe to the mp3s online! The talk was on the Fire of God and one aspect that really hit me, in light of my intense reaction to the earlier date, were the things I hold as idols. I know, I know that I hold onto fining someone and/or marriage as an idol. I’ve always felt like as soon as I get there I’ll be complete and life will really begin. Tim offered that anything that occupies our thoughts more than God is an idol. Yep. That hit home and just like God, it came on a morning when I most needed to hear it.

In the muffin hour, I was really excited to reconnect with Melanie who has been pretty intensely investigating moving to LA to be in the same city with a man she met on-line! Craziness. I loved hearing about her recent trip and the ways she says, “God has had his hand” on every step of their relationship. After church I accompanied Jenny and her friend Chad and his former roommate David to our favorite midtown diner. I was meeting the Gees for lunch at 12:30 but went along with them for company and to whet my appetite for the food to come!

The Gees and I planned to meet at Grand Central where Mr. Gee knew of a seafood restaurant. They walked there only to find it closed and we had a fun game of hide and go seek. Well, I was walking towards them and they were walking towards me and would we ever find eachother? Well, we did and it was really great to see them. Mr. Gee is the current president of the Rice Alumni Association and had come into town for a Rice Alumni College event. I was especially excited to see Mrs. Gee, so healthy after a serious brain aneurysm last year. God is so good, indeed. We walked through the heart of Times Square and eventually ended up with the small “Oyster Bar” across from their hotel. On the way there, we literally ran into Karim and his mom, Aida. Busted! Karim knows how much I love my Chicago mom and he didn’t let me know she was in town?! He said there were just about to call me to go out with them. Of course, my day was full, but it was fun to see her however briefly. The Gees caught me up on Andrew’s gorgeous new baby girl, Isabella, as well as all of the characters at Mr. Gee’s law office, where I was once employed! I left them at their hotel and walked to Bryant Park. The weather had turned breezy and lovely and I wanted a little time of reflection and journaling before the next adventure.

I had a wonderful time with David and Penny. They are both graphic artists and just walking with them and noticing things with their eyes helped me see more than just buildings and sculptures. They had said the forecast called for “shower” in the singular and sure enough, around 5 pm there was a shower. We found a bit of scaffolding and watched the rain dance on the pavement. When it ended, we peered through several closed Chelsea galleries and walked our way eventually to their hotel on 46th, right across the street from Actors Equity. They took me to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay’s restaurant. It was beyond delicious. I told them I would be writing every detail in the blog so here goes: First, I started with a yummy frozen margarita and they had these lovely blue corn muffins and another hand-made white roll which was outstanding. For appetizers we ordered a blue-corn pancake stuffed with barbecued duck and blue-corn (do you see a theme?) chips with a goat-cheese sort of fondue. Delicious! I ordered the cornmeal crusted chile relleno that was stuffed with goat-cheese and lying on a bed of a fig and quince chipotle chutney. Penny had the roasted pork tenderloin and David had venison chops. We shared a butternut squash tamale that was out of this world. So stuffed, we all dipped into one dessert, a coconut macadamia cake with cinnamon-crunch ice cream. Bobbly Flay was out of sight but I was recognized as a fellow audtioner by our actress-waitress. It’s a small world after all! I had such a wonderful day with Penny and David and bid them adieu on the N-R train.

Dancing what I feel...

2007-05-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I punished myself at Nia and the following dance class. Abby usually teaches the dance class in a very stand-up comedian, not-too-much sweating way and so I made sure to get all my “work” done in NIA. But then we had a substitute teacher and she just about killed us with repetitions and no break for air. Whew. I spent the afternoon cleaning and practicing and only nearly losing my lunch.
I came back from dinnere to the apartment and Adrienne was still working in her office. Her big event for Cornell was coming up on Monday and she managed to spend 10 hours of her Saturday tying up some loose ends.

Coram Boy!

2007-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

When I last left you, dear blog readers, I was standing uncomfortably at the Performing Arts Library, typing away in my 20-minute allowance. Now I sit, perhaps, even more uncomfortably in an airplane headed for SFO, with an unknown allowance of battery life. The destination is more than comfortable, wonderful, in fact. It’s just the guy in front of me has his seat down and I can hardly raise the screen of Bella-the-Laptop. But, I like to write in these most extreme states! I can hardly complain and I’m joking, of course, When I think about the last 4 months and all the adventures and opportunities I have had I can only be really, really thankful and stop to pinch myself along the way.

Friday night, Adrienne and I saw “Coram Boy” and it proved to be an amazing feast of fantasy and Jane Austen era romanticism. I LOVED it. In fact, I know I keep saying this, but it may be my most memorable and exciting theatrical experience EVER.
The acting was incredible, especially that of Xanthe Elbrick, a British girl my age, who had the task of playing two choir boys. In the first act she was a determined and driven 15-year-old about to grow out of his treble voice. In the second act she transformed into his son, 8 years old and full of spunk and wonder. Incredible! Another neat aspect was a choir that sat above the stage through the entire play and chimed in with Handelian choruses and music in that style. As broad as an epic movie, their interjections punctuated the scenes with Carmina Burana-like intensity. A girl from Redeemer that I met a few weeks ago was in the choir. I had tried to audition for the choir a few months ago but had no luck. I was only a little jealous! The end of the show may have been wrapped up a little too neatly but the entire company (40 in total, unheard of on Broadway!) gathered on the stage and sang the Hallelujah Chorus. Really, really thrilling! I was so sad to read on Saturday morning that the show is closing this next Friday after only being open less than a month. I guess without a film star like Kevin Spacey, a play can be a tough sell for the tourists. I am so glad that we saw it on Friday or I would have missed it completely. One more thing for which I’m thankful!

I'm makin copies....

2007-05-18T14:13:00.001-07:00

So, hear I am at the most wonderful library in the world (also known as The Performing Arts Library), standing up at a shared computer and writing a few updates as a break from copying songs! I love this place. So, so fun to sift through every score imaginable but also exhausting. I am toast. I have a very exciting and fun project planned for the summer (it's also a surprise so I can't give details) and I've been copying my brains out with gleeful anticipation. This morning I shook my bones at Nia class and had the chance to tell Serena how much I enjoy her teaching. All the Nia teachers are sooooooooooo nice and encouraging and always say, "great dancing!" when really, we're awkwardly shaking our bones. I've been doing some home research on Peter Pan and J.M. Barrie...a great excuse to watch "Finding Neverland" again. For lunch, I celebrated with a dear friend from Rice days, Christine Hauptly, who is in town with her recently-affianced Matt. They met in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra where she plays violin and he plays the horn. We ate at Sarabeths on the East Side and I walked with them to the Met before heading across the park to the library. Tonight Adrienne and I are going to see "Coram Boy" a play on Broadway. Since signing up for the TDF discounts I've been thrilled to get some amazing deals to see all these shows! I'm feeling especially show-hungry because I'm worried some of them will close by the time I get back from Millbrook in July.

Yesterday (Thursday) was an internet-free day. Apparently God is sending me a message that I spend too much time on-line? but he punished most of the rest of the cable-inclined NYC as well. Collectively, we missed Season Finale Thursday!!!! WHAT??!!!??? What a great opportunity to go to ballet class and be verbally abused by the teacher. Seriously this class is called "Ballet Basics" for absolute beginners and yet she expects a lot and gets very frustrated with some of our (ahem, ahem) lack of natural talent. She even yelled at a girl who was readjusting her hair saying, "You should do that before class!! You shouldn't come to class unprepared!" Yikes. I am glad that she has a hard time remembering my name because poor new girl Claire was getting an earful. And still, I enjoyed the class. I think she's a great teacher and I feel like even after 2 classes, I'm improving. Luckily, Kat was there to share some raised eyebrow disbelief. Earlier in the afternoon I had a Laura B. session and worked on the Ricky Ian Gordon songs that I LOVE. Laura said that when I get them fully-prepared we'll book an hour with her friend and Broadway superstar Judy Blazer, who is a good friend and muse of Ricky Ian Gordon. Won't that be fun???? In the morning I had a brief and somewhat silly rehearsal for Millbrook's Royalty Dinner that I'm participating in. I get to sing "Little Fat Girls" from Black Patent Leather Shoes. Cute song but I wish I could change the words to "Big Tall Girls" because the guy I'm singing with is about a foot shorter than me. Oh well. I guess that's why I got cast as a nun in that show and not a kid!

Wednesday I went to a special NIA masterclass with a Nia-master from Sweden. She was awesome and about 6'5". I guess she was an olympic medalist in swimming at some point. Sometimes I think about getting certified in Nia and teaching as a survival job. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm....
Karim gave me his superstar guest spot at his opera's dress rehearsal. He's doing "Castor et Pollux" by Rameau with Opera Francais de New York. I so enjoyed seeing him onstage again...his character is the whimsical Mercure. Unfortunately he didn't get to sing all that much but he definitely lit the stage whenever he was on it! The singing was mostly great and I especially enjoyed the sopranos and the baritone. On my way out of the theatre a torrential rain storm hit and I realized that my outfit choice of white skirt and flip-flops was a bad one. I still made it to Union Square and grabbed a quite bite to eat at Whole Foods before sloshing over to class. I will really miss the Gym these next few months. John was hard on us this last class and tears were flowing. I'm thankful to have so many notes and so many new ways of looking at communicating my songs. Hooray. Tom, the guy who looks like Matt Damon and sings like an angel, was back in class, so that was delightful. :) We also had a visitor, a guy named Aaron, who is clearly a character actor and sang a rousing "I want to be a Rockette." So fun.

Okay, well, I have just a few minutes before the library closes. Love to you all!!! By the way, it's 53 degrees for a high today!!! Can't wait to get home to sunny (please!) CA!

I'm makin' pies...

2007-05-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a lovely few days here in NYC....
I'll start with the latest excitement and work backwards.
I just took Adrienne on a musical adventure. I recently joined "TDF" a group that supports theatre and gives special discounts to non-profits and artists. I got $25 seats to a new musical off-broadway built around the songs of Patty Griffin, one of the best singer-songwriters in the world (in my opinion!) It was at the Atlantic Theatre Company in Chelsea which is a small theatre, about 160 seats, that was started by William H. Macy and the playwright David Mamet. Well, tonight, Adrienne and I were in two of those 160 seats and William H. Macy was in one of them! He was sitting a few rows back, on the aisle, no Felicity in tow, and we even walked right past him. I held my tongue, wishing I could ask him why "Wild Hogs?"
The musical was beautiful. I love the songs, of course, and the acting was amazing. My favorite was Mare Winningham, known best to me as Meredith's recently-deceased step-mom on Grey's Anatomy. She can sing! And she played several different characters with different flavors that all broke my heart. Two favorite moments were "Kite" and "Makin' Pies." a-mazing! Did I mention that we were in the second row and that she was six feet away? A-mazing! I was also very excited to see Matthew Morrison, the original Fabrizio from "The Light in the Piazza" (my favorite musical of the past 3 years!) as Duane. His voice and his looks are very, very nice. Irene Molloy was refreshing and real as Molly and she captured Patty Griffin's style with ease. The 4th and final player was Skip Sudduth, best known for his starring role on 3rd Watch. He was a great character actor but his overly-measured singing seemed a bit stiff. Still, what an evening! I hope the show does well! The last musical that Atlantic produced was "Spring Awakening" which has since moved to Broadway and just picked up 11 Tony Award Nominations today!
Other highlights of today, Tuesday: Being turned away at two auditions, renting studio space and trying to teach myself how to belt before my coaching. I had a great coaching with Michael F. who assigned me 6 new songs that I'm totally stoked to learn. It was like being a kid in a candy store, really.

Monday was a long day of auditioning. I got in right away for "White Christmas" which my new friend Zach played for (more on him to come) and had the joy of sitting and waiting with Hannelies for our chance to sing for "Spelling Bee." I was 8th in line and ended up getting to sing late in the afternoon. Hannelies didn't make it in. :( I was really bummed, because she is better for the show than I am and she had taken the day off of work. I decided that I would try to make "Unexpected Song" comedic for my audition. The thing is, as I was singing it, I realized, it's just not funny. It's Andrew Lloyd Webber, and well, he's not very funny. Oh well. I was really glad for the time spent with Hanne. And I can finally say I auditioned for a genuine Broadway show! Monday night I made dinner and then went to a citilights (Redeemer's post-college parallel) coffeehouse night that was in my neighborhood. I met some nice people including a guy that works at People magazine on the "nightclub beat." He was saying he had to work later because, well, "Lindsay's in town." Lindsay, being Lindsay Lohan. Crazy, right?

Sunday was a glorious day. I booked it to church and made it in record time. I've shaved the walk from 38 minutes to 32. Wihoo. After church, Jenny and her friend Tom and I hung out in the Sheeps' Meadow in Central Park for awhile before Tom had to leave to see his Mama. Jenny and I dined at Whole Foods and I was meandering through the Park, heading home, when Karim called me and convinced me to frolic with him downtown. I met him at Union Square and helped him shop at Paul Smith and Diesel, and later Prada in Soho, which is really more of a museum than a store. Very fancy. We enjoyed a lively ragtime band complete with swing dancers in Washington Square Park (officially one of my new favorite spots.) It's the NYU center of action (where Felicity graduated) and it has a lot of life and beauty to it. The ragtime was especially fun and as Karim suggested, just one of those 1000 reasons why I love living in NYC. After Soho Karim and I walked to the Village and had some yummy Italian food at an outdoor cafe. We parted ways at Columbus Circle (because none of my friends live on the East Side!!!) and I enjoyed, again, walking in the park, even tearing up a bit as I walked past my favorite angel statue accompanied by a duo on violin and guitar. Ah, bliss.

Saturday was an early morning after a very, very late Friday end. I was happy to get up and at 'em for a seminar at Redeemer about Beauty and Image and the Christian Woman in NYC. It was a great morning of reflecting on image and identity and I learned a bunch. I may post some of my notes soon! Jenny, Hannelies and Elizabeth were there and we enjoyed debriefing over a picnic lunch in Bryant Park. I went home for a much-needed nap before heading out again to a Redeemer Dance Network Salsa lesson and party. I knew only one person, Russ, and met some really socially awkward men. It was kind of rough, to be completely honest, and I slipped out a bit early, missing my dancing partner-in-crime, Katie!

Friday night I met up with Zach, Soon's great friend from Cincinnati, who is a musical theatre pianist in the city. He invited me to meet him and some friends at a bar called Port 41 near the Port Authority. I ended up meeting them at 10:45 and staying out till 3 am! I am way too old for them, I think! It was fun, because a few of them were CCM kids and we talked all about the dangers of the 'nati and the tastes that we missed...Graeters anyone? Zach is real sweet and was so thoughtful to invite me out and meet his friends. We ended up at Ben's apartment where I played Nintendo Wii for the first time. So fun, especially the bowling!!!

Thursday was my first coaching with Michael F., a recommendation from Kat. He works with loads of Broadway people and his whole deal is finding you off the beaten track rep. He was super-helpful and though he crushed my dreams of playing Clara in "Light in the Piazza" (says I'm too brunette, tall and womanly! :( ) he was really complimentary of my singing of her song. He's already having me work on my forehead wrinkling and is determined to get rid of many of my stale songs in my book! He has a wonderful spirit to him and I'm excited to work with him. He also owns every Broadway score in the world and happily makes them available to his special needs children, as he likes to call us. :)
I was able to audition for "West Side Story" at Actors Equity after my coaching and then headed home to cook up some quick lemon bars for the Seals. They had me over for dinner and ordered some yummy, yummy pizza from Nick's down the street. We had a fun time and I learned all about their extreme gift of hospitality!

And now, I'm caught up, however backwards that may be!

I love new york in may, how about yay?

2007-05-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm just cooling down from another wonderful session of "The Gym." My classmates are particularly engaging this time around. i found out that the one woman that I loved so much from last week (thanks to a little google research) has for good reason, been in several Broadway shows. I was really intimidated to sing tonight and ended up going very last. But it was a good experience and I felt connected to my material instead of trying to prove myself as a musical-theatre type. That's a much happier place to be! I find John's comments so stimulating and exciting and I find that I take pages and pages of notes. Some highlights so you get a taste of the genius!:

When approaching a song, it's all about narrowing in on the most dangerous person you could possibly have this conversation with...
Look at underscoring and interpret it on your terms.
Be strong and wrong! (Make strong choices!)
Auditors want to see someone make a choice.
Creativity is in my discomfort. Be courageous enough to be in that uncomfortable place.
Start shedding the "acting" and land on who you are---you are interesting enough as a person. Look for opportunities to put that special self into the work.
Find material that doesn't necessarily excite you musically but rather has ideas, characters and stuff to fight for. You have to be working through something in a song.

The weather has been beautiful here, although it turned a bit hot today. A mere foretaste of what Adrienne promises to be a hellish summer of sweat and smells. Yesterday, after hitting an EPA early and getting seen by 10am (yay!) I met Jackie and Jenny for lunch at the zoo. I then spent some time reading by the pond, which is apparently the popular site to film movies. So beautiful it feels fake! After bible study I went to a basic ballet class taught by a very NY woman. Clearly a former prima-ballerina, she did not mess around and expected a lot even from beginner-beginners. I was glad to reunite with Kat there and finally meet her boyfriend Danny after hearing so much about him.
Today I talked myself out of auditioning for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show after Danny's comments about how look-driven they are. I did a bunch of practicing and ended up walking across the park to pick up my scores for the Millbrook shows! Yay! I just found out I'll be participating in a Royalty Dinner the night before the rest of the Company arrives. I guess 4 of us will sing a bunch of excerpts to get the patrons excited for the upcoming season. I'm glad to get to know the staff better and let them know me better by pitching in in that way!
I did some shopping before grabbing a quick dinner at Whole Foods (do you know they have whole-wheat pizza? yummy! almost as good as mine.) I saw Jerry Mitchell, the director of the new Legally Blonde on Broadway, carefully selecting cuts of meat for his din-din. I wrote some cards and studied for class in Union Square and enjoyed all the buzz of kids careening towards the park and friends calling eachother and explaining which corner they were located. Balmy bliss, really.

Back in action...

2007-05-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

I got back on the audition saddle today. Went traipsing around all the usual haunts and found that I totally misjudged the crowds. I could have slept in a bit. I could have done an arm workout at the gym. I could have made myself coffee before I left my houst at 6:15. But instead, I was in midtown by 7:45, racing around, for no real reason.
I sang for an Illinois dinner theatre who is doing "White Christmas." There pianist was a no-show and I ended up waiting 2 hours to sing to only be asked if I had anything much more belty. I answered an honest no and was sent away.
I then went to the Disney Cruise Line audition and had my first time of singing with Laura B. on the keys. It made me nervous. I really want to do her proud, you know? I sang "De-Lovely" because I had no idea what to sing. I was not called back and that entire experience took over 3 hours...for those 16 de-lovely measures of music.
And of course, since I left the house in such a rush I left my cell-phone behind and managed to miss about 5 calls, including a one-time job opportunity to do some Verizon promotions at tomorrow's Yankee's game for Carrie's boyfriend, Justin. Ah, next time!
I went on my first match.com date. I was not looking forward to it, dreading in fact, and deciding just to join a convent after all. I stopped by Jenny's office on my way to the bar where I was meeting him. She gave me a nice pep talk as she is a veteran of the match.com where she says "people who have no business getting together meet." Ah, funny. This initial meeting was friendly and easy and we'll see if it happens again. I'll save whatever not-so-juicy details for off-line.
I came home and had my special pb powder and dark chocolate popcorn for dinner. And I really ought to pack my gym bag and get my head together for my day of audition fun tomorrow!

Walking in the moments...

2007-05-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

I walked by a few neat moments today:
1st, I barely made it across the park to church because of the 5-borough bike tour that was passing by.
2nd, On my way back to the East Side after church, I couldn't cross 5th Avenue because of some sort of huge Jewish/Pro-Israeli parade. I especially enjoyed a Jewish rapper on one of the floats. I was happy to find a subway station to cross under and I'll definitely be tucking that secret in tight, as I hear that now that spring is sprung, parades and 5th Avenue tie-ups are common.
3rd, After an orientation for working in the nursery at church I was walking down 3rd Avenue and just as I passed a French brasserie, Bar Julien, the entire crowd there errupted with joy at the news of the presidential victory.
Walking home with these 3 moments savored, I tasted once again why I love living here. Because sometimes, lately, I get sick of the crowds and the attitudes. But moments, they're pretty special.

In other news, I rearranged the furniture in my room and even did a little cleaning.
We just got home from dinner and tasti-D with Sarah and Eric. We went to an Italian restaurant a few blocks down whose awkward service kind of made us feel like the restaurant helps short-bus waiters find a job. That's not nice. I should erase that sentence. Maybe I will later.

i heart donna murphy

2007-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Many of you probably know that my favorite movie of all time is "Center Stage." Basically it's a movie about young ballet dancers auditioning to be company members of the "American Ballet Company." Its genius lies in the casting...real dancers from ABT and SF Ballet who can't act or use their words. And, ay mio, the words they have to use...well, the writing is so bad it's brilliant. One anomaly in the cast is a real actress and a Broadway legend, Donna Murphy, as the driven and seemingly heartless ballet teacher. In one of my favorite scenes, she encourages the sassy Harlem-bred Eva to drill at the barre. "This is your home," she says, "come back to your home." Ah, classic.
Well, this afternoon I was so lucky to see that same classy lady star in a new Broadway musical based on the lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya called, "LoveMusik." The musical's writer pasted Kurt Weill songs into a story about their love and escape from Nazi Germany. My friend Amy K, an excellent singer-actress herself and a moonlighting theatre reviewer, offered me her extra comp ticket for the matinee. I'm thrilled to have friends in high places! We had great seats for what turned out to be a master-class in embodying a character. Both Ms. Murphy and Michael Cerveris as Kurt Weill captivated me and drew me into their world. Highlights were "Surabaya Johnny" and "It never was you." What an amazing week of live theatre for me!!! I feel so, so lucky!
Amy and I grabbed some coffee and hung out in a neat courtyard on 47th and 9th. We gushed over our favorite parts and questioned some random moments in the ensemble. I just love hanging out with her and I'm so glad we've reconnected. I was excited to meet her boyfriend Don before we parted ways. They were on their way to see Audra McDonald in "110 in the Shade." Amy is doing double-reviewing this weekend! On my way home I made two discoveries. First, there really is a restaurant row on 46th street. I had heard about it and it is really just restaurant upon restaurant. So fun! Second, I think I successfully answered my first tourist question!!! Yay! Usually people ask me questions and I have NO idea but these folks were looking for the TKTS booth and I actually pointed them in the right direction. I'm becoming a NYC expert, eh?
I went home and had to make an outfit change because of a sudden chill in the wind. I met up with Karim for a giganto salad in midtown. We had lots of giggles and made copies of a rare Rameau opera fascimile he was borrowing before indulging in a little Haagen-Daaz. MMMMMMM.....I really am going to get back to that no-sugar idea soon. I'm really enjoying the one-on-one time with Karim...it's like the olden days in Houston.
Now it's time for bed! I'm 3 for 3 in the caught-up dept. Wihoo!

Dancing in the streets

2007-05-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Friday! Yay! There were no fun or even eligible auditions today so I took the opportunity to go to Nia and a tap dance class. I just read an article in Backstage that said that Nia is a really great excercise class for actors. Well, yes, of course! Today was all about bringing the body out. When I fully commit to the silly directions in that class, I get really lost in the movement and it's an AMAZING workout. But I have to dive into the pool. Just yesterday, Laura was giving me that advice in my coaching, to dive into each song and when I do...wow, what an amazing experience and joy! So Nia is helping me rehearse that feeling while I sweat it out!
I walked across the park on this perfect spring day and took a few pictures of amazing pink-blossomed trees. I made it to Steps and took Scott T's tap class...I definitely feel like I'm improving but pullbacks across the floor still made me want to disappear.
Late in the afternoon I met up with two friends from the women's retreat, Ji and Corinne. They are sweet, sweet girls that live in Staten Island so I haven't seen them since the retreat but Jenny has kept up with them and even visited. We hung out at a Starbucks near the Empire State Building before Jenny met us and we meandered around Chelsea. I ran into an audition "friend" who gave us a great recommendation for sushi, a place called Mamayo on 21st and 7th. Shumai, Edamame, California Rolls, Veggie tempura....yum and yum.
Jenny and I hopped on a train back and here I am, all caught up on my blog. Day 1. Can't you feel a brand new day?

Catching up with May!!!

2007-05-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

Okay friends, I've been bad, bad, bad....so I'll be brief, brief, brief...I know you're thinking, yeah, right. When is the last time she's been brief. But yesterday at the gym, I was reading Vanity Fair which has this amazing article on Ronald Regan's presidential diary...and he was really great about being brief.
So this one, Ronald, is for you!

Since I last wrote, many celebrations occurred.
Highlights of my visit to CA:
*Time with Charlie, the brainy baby who literally has memorized his "Lisa in New York" book that I bought him for last visit.
*Two hikes at Rancho San Antonio, one with preggers Christa and Katie, and one an amazing solo time in the most beautiful spot in the world (okay, one of the most...)
*Family time at Lisa's house
*Creating Amy and Steve's Snickerdoodle Dandy for their wedding dessert contest and receiving feedback from the family and Sheina and Bob.
*Outlet shopping extravaganza day with Sheina
*Doing my taxes with Dad (well, thanks Dad, anyways!)
*Steve and Amy's wedding....so so fun, and such a spirit of family in every detail...it was the community sending them off and it was a really joyful and happy event
*Not making the finals of the dessert competition (okay, okay, this might be a little sarcastic)
*The after-party... being with my Highway friends, I was struck by how much I feel they are such a part of my family and home
*Going to church on Sunday and manning the Start Here table for a few minutes and causing confusion!!
*Hanging out with Mary, buying strawberries and stuffing our faces at Los Charros.
*More family time at the house. Charlie: "Go outside? Go outside?"
*Reconnecting with voice teacher Pam
*Story hour with Mom and Charlie...."Only Nana, only Nana!"
*La Bodeguita visit with Seri and field-trip to pick up Bella, my new-old computer
*Fun, slow dinner at Kapp's pizza (all of a sudden, I've decided pizza is my favorite food) with Mom and Dad.
*Showing up 1.5 hours late to OAG and getting away with it!
*Leaving was not a highlight. :( Especially at 4:40 in the morning. :(

Highlights of life back in NYC:
*A new session of the Gym began the night I got back (after a 3 hour super-shuttle drop-off...when will I ever learn?) I was a zombie and an idiot, I think, but I still took down some good notes!!!
*Jenny and Jeremy Kitchen were in town visiting...and I somehow conned them into treating me to breakfast at the Central Park South Sarabeth's
*A really fun evening with Jenny and her friend Jackie, eating in WA Heights, walking through my new favorite, spring-blooming park (Fort Tryon) and watching a friend from church play jazz sax at a hip little restaurant called "New Leaf Cafe." It was an evening of much frolicking and skipping and pure joy. Good times!
*The Mag 7 weekend!!! The girls came out to celebrate Jenny's upcoming marriage (Aug 18!!!) to Billy. Adrienne was sooo nice to vacate the apartment so all 6 of us could stay. I was worried it would be way too crowded but I actually loved every minute of the fullness in the apt. It was so warm and happy....and some of the stories told, were not my favorites (ahem, ahem) but we had a blast, all in all. We ate a lot: Sarabeths, Patsy's Pizza, Pinkberry twice, Alice's Tea Cup, Brother Jimmy's...not to mention ice cream and cheese and beer, yes, these girls like beer! It was the most beautiful weekend yet...perfect weather and we did pass through the park a bit, but also spent time just lounging, shopping and painting memory-filled tanktops!
*Elina's extra day of fun. I was with Jenny all day Monday for her knee surgery...(she did great!!!) and I loved being called "her family"....that's what it's all about! But when dinner came, I came home and went out with Elina. We had some yummy Vietnamese Food on my favorite 2nd Ave., stopped by Brad H's apt to get him to sign her a note saying her ankle was sprained so she could push her trip up, and then literally put a cherry on top with the "I just can't say no" sundae at the famous Serendipity where we sat next to Frank Langella, Broadway and movie star.
*Tuesday night I got a free ticket to see Midori at Lincoln Center from Elina's friend Karen. She has bad wardrobe choices but wow, can she play the violin!
*Back at the Gym class on Wednesday...where an older woman with a "process" was worth more than the price of admission.
*Indian food with Megan and Adrienne...getting duped into the "bread basket" that probably really could have fed the 5000, and then going to hear musicians from Megan's small group at a local Starbucks.
*My favourite Canadian Tawnya's multi-media chamber group "VisionIntoArt" playing at the Whitney Museum. Ali and her boyfriend Mark joined me to look at weird art and to listen to some even weirder art. But cool, too.
*Saturday through Monday Adrienne and I took a road trip to Cortland, the town where she grew up, for her Dad's marriage to Anna. One highlight was stopping at Friendly's...my favorite restaurant from Tanglewood days. We stayed with some really, really lovely people, the Ames', in their gorgeous three story house. It was like a mini-retreat...Mrs. Ames set out all sorts of breakfast every morning...so sweet! The rehearsal dinner was at a place in Ithaca called "Antlers" whose walls are covered with well, antlers. I was delighted to get to know Adrienne's Dad's cousins who were Presbyterian foreign missionaries....we had a lot to chat about and much in common. I really enjoyed them! Adrienne and I had fun doing little wedding errands as well. Sunday morning I went to church with the Ames' and the cousins and loved the intimacy of such a small town coming together there and also, at the wedding. I sang a few wedding hits, the wedding was lovely and the party was at a family friends' large house that also had a room full of animals' heads. Must be a central NY thing! Monday morning we made our drive back...and hit lots of traffic. :(
*Being a tourist with Laura Balzano. She was in town for a nerdy engineer conference and we went to see the Statue of Liberty! We took a boat out to Liberty Island on one of the windiest days of the year. So much fun catching up with her! We met up with her longest friend, Kristy, for Thai food at the very trendy Union Square "Republic" and finished a weekend of debauchery (for me! at least) with a peanut-butter and chocolate sundae at the West Village "Peanut Butter and Co." The biggest and best sundae I've seen in NYC for only $6. Danger!
*Being typed out of Evita on Tuesday and then again West Side Story on Wednesday. What happened to me being generically ethnic looking??? :(
*A Fellowship Group mixer at "Stitch", a bar in the garmet district where a fellow musician Heather plays fiddle.
*A matinee of Kevin Spacey in "A Moon for the Misbegotten" on Broadway. AAMMMMAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZING! The acting was really incredible. What was not so great were all the patrons that left during the second act. As each one got up, their chair would swing, the back curtain would screech, the door would slam and light would rush into the theatre. It literally happened 20 times. AH!
*Grace and Don enjoyed pizza night with us at the apt. Eating too much...including creeping crust cobbler!
*A great coaching with Laura B., a perfect day at Bryant Park with Karim, and winning a 1st row $25 lottery seat to "Spelling Bee" so I could see my friend James' Broadway debut!!! Watching him with all his young fans after the show was such a thrill!

Okay, all caught up!!! I'll try to be better, promise!

not-so-fair lady, delta cake and easter dinner, all over again!

2007-04-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a day full of logistical nightmares. It was the first time I had to transport some serious desserts across town in a subway. Melanie hosted a wonderful southern dinner party for our fellowship group in her lovely country chic midtown apartment. Before the dinner, I had a My Fair Lady national tour audition to attempt, and Melanie was so kind to let me drop my delta cake and creeping crust cobbler off at her house before I headed to Actors Equity. When the non-equity folks were released, I was strangely relieved to not have to fit the audition in an otherwise crazy over-scheduled day. The party was a lot of fun and Melanie's roast was delicious. With her extravagant fruit display and buffet of goodies, Melanie was quite the hostess with the mostest. Rose-Marie led a group of us to an Easter dinner for the homeless that she was helping out at. My new friend Megan came along and we sang some gospel songs to entertain the folks and also had some nice opportunites to chat with them. It was such a nice way to continue celebrating Easter and also to remember how truly blessed I am with the family and home that I'm able to live in. I'm excited to start helping Rose-Marie on a more regular basis with the choir she leads as a homeless ministry. Her heart for people and for God is so amazing and I admire her tenderness and passion so much!
I went home with my heart full and my bags still unpacked for my trip home! And the bad news was that with a 6:30 flight out of JFK, my super shuttle scheduled a 3-3:15 am pick-up!!!! Ah!
Flash forward a few hours and I get a call at 2:41 in the morning!!! Super shuttle was early and at my door. Luckily, I had fully packed and just threw on my pants and went downstairs. I then settled in a short van ride to LGA and then, JFK, where I was dropped off at 3:30, 30 minutes before the airport actually opens. Fully garbed in CA spring attire, I was fffffffrrrrrreeeeeezing and reflected further on the homeless folks I had met the night before, and what little comfort they must feel.
What a lucky girl I was to be headed towards Mom and Charlie's pick-up!

He is Risen Indeed!

2007-04-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
On the coldest Easter morning I can ever remember in the requisite all-black attire, I walked to the Hunter College Auditorium, feeling not the least bit kissed by the Easter Bunny. But, oh, what glorious music and stories awaited! When we arrived Megan, the soprano soloist, was rehearsing her “I know that my Redeemer liveth” with full orchestra which included my friends Kyle on trumpet and Louise on violin. Glorious! Megan’s creamy soprano was just the right flavor and she handled every peak and valley with amazing ease. She is my new friend, so yes, Jenny, I believe the count is back to 40 to 1. We rehearsed our pieces with the orchestra, so much more exciting with all their colors and precision. Do I really get paid to sing this favorite music with all these amazing singers and instrumentalists? I love my job! We sat up on risers on the stage which allowing us to see all the cute Easter dresses underneath layers of bundling from the outside cold. We sang both morning services, the first mostly full, the second ripping at the seams with folks trying to enter the auditorium at every door. It is not a small job to usher a Redeemer service, let alone on Easter Sunday. Yikes! The services were amazing and I was blessed to hear the sermon twice about the empty tomb and the assurance that Jesus lives and forgives. I especially enjoyed the testimonies that three different members gave about coming to Christ and didn’t tire of those the second time. I have to say, I was a little bit nervous singing our last song with Tim Keller a few feet away. But mostly, I just felt my cup running over in thanksgiving for the opportunity to express in such lavish music the awe and wonder I feel ever Easter. It was amazing and the two services filled me to overflowing. I joined Laura and her husband Joe as well as the rest of Jenny’s small group for an Easter brunch at Pershing Square, a cute restaurant across the way from Grand Central Station. We had a great time reflecting on the various services and quirks in each (Jenny and others had sung at the West Side) and I ate the best whole-wheat pancakes I’ve ever met. YUM. We all had to jet pretty quickly afterwards, many had more rehearsals and services to come and I had a train to Pawling to catch! I raced home and collected a few things for my overnight adventure as well as the treats I’d prepared and took a cab to the Harlem Metro-North station on 125th Street. Even on a day as filled with light as Easter Sunday, shadiness abounded! And snow was falling as I waited on the platform for my Wassaic train to arrive.

We all had to jet pretty quickly afterwards, many had more rehearsals and services to come and I had a train to Pawling to catch! I raced home and collected a few things for my overnight adventure as well as the treats I’d prepared and took a cab to the Harlem Metro-North station on 125th Street. Even on a day as filled with light as Easter Sunday, shadiness abounded! And snow was falling as I waited on the platform for my Wassaic train to arrive.

I was on my way to meet Heather Gilles, a dear friend from CCM days, and to enjoy an Easter dinner with her family and friends. She has recently moved into an amazing loft apartment on the property of one of her voice student's where open space and horses abound! I loved getting away and seeing the stars, not to mention meeting all of the funny horses! Abby, Heather's longtime friend and fellow singer was there and it was nice to catch up with her and have her serenade us with some Tori Amos and original songs at the piano after dinner. Heather's parents were also a hoot and overall, it was quite a lively time. We ate all sorts of interesting things, including a wild goose that Heather's dad's friend had shot. I have to say, I don't have a favorite new meat to report on...it was strangely dark in color. Heather and Abby made some delicious sausage risotto and of course, there were tons of desserts to share!

Abby and I spent the night. Heather's funny dog, Chipka, spooned me on the coach and kept Abby up with her snoring and farting. It's so nice to have a little animal around on which to blame all those unattractive functions. :)

The three of us enjoyed a leisurely morning of coffee and dishes from the night before (no dishwasher!), only mildly cursing those who had left pieces of salad on their plates. We ate the leftover cherry tart and the girls measured me for my Millbrook Playhouse costume information sheet. Heather was so kind to drop us at the train station where the real adventure began. I guess the day after Easter is the best day to start construction on the Wassaic rail line...and because of that we took shuttle busses for an hour or so until we got to the next big station that took us to White Plains and finally transferred onto an NYC bound train. It was long but it was nice to be with Abby and share stories. Abby and I first met in Aspen in 2000. She and Heather were best friends at Juilliard. It's so nice how all these worlds collide and we keep meeting eachother's favorite people in this crazy business. Heather, a wonderfully talented singer, has turned her amazing brain towards directing opera and she's fixing to move back to the city soon to reimmerse herself in that world. yay for us!

I arrived in Harlem after 1 in the afternoon, much later than anticipated, but such is life. In the short half-a-block walk to the subway from the train station I'm pretty sure I walked through two "transactions." It was pretty scary, even at that hour of the day. Definitely not Kansas, or even the UES. I was happy to get home and collect myself.

I had to race across town to turn in my Millbrook materials and took the opportunity to do some Fairway shopping. I also "drove-by" Jenny's office for a lemon bar delivery and later, after fixing the sunday, now monday pizza as per tradition, dropped by Chris and Laura's. I had made them a box of Easter treats as well and hadn't the time to drop them by earlier as I wished. I just love hanging out with those two. Tressa and Ellie sadly had to go ni-ni. Chris and Laura are the kind of couple I want to be someday and their honesty and listening and vulnerability is so refreshing and inviting. It's funny because I remember where I was spiritually and socially when I knew them at Rice and how I wasn't at that time ready for the kind of Kingdom people they were and continue to be. I love that I totally stopped by without notice and they welcomed me so genuinely. Why do they have to move so soon? :(

Anne with an "e"

2007-04-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

I punished myself a bit at the gym before heading out to midtown for Easter Choir rehearsal. I was glad to see Kathy and John K. again and also happy to meet several new Redeemer singers. We knocked out “Lift up ye heads” and “Worthy in the Lamb/Amens” for two hours. I was reminded of how much I miss singing in choirs and how painfully out of practice I am! And just a note…I think in all those years of singing the entire Messiah at Rice, I never really sang all the notes of the Amens….wowsers, it was 11 pm by then and most of the audience was gone. I was probably thinking about the next day’s music history exam! With this ensemble of 5 to a part, there was no hiding and it was both thrilling and terrifying to sing those crazy passages!
I walked a few blocks to an audition for a children’s theatre company where three really sweet girls about my age listened to my short “Mr. Right” monologue and asked me to sing a bit acapella. It was a pleasant and encouraging few minutes and I was glad I had made the stop.
I then headed to meet Amy K, my friend from Rice, who as a musical-theatre performer but now full-time copy editor, moonlights as a theatre critic. She had an extra ticket to an off-off Broadway musical version of “Anne of Green Gables” that I had been dying to see. Who doesn’t heart Gilbert Blythe after all? I was to meet her at the theatre in the West Village and on my way down Thompson Street I stumbled upon a Cuban restaurant which had a bright mural inside with a large “La Bodeguita del Medio” trademarked sign! The super sly Cuban spy is back in action! I took a picture and their glossy and incriminating to-go menu as souvenirs and patted myself on the back all the way towards Amy. The show was delightful, tuneful and aimed at children. A precious one behind us, on cue, gasped “Ew” at the less than steamy Anne and Gilbert kiss and a dad was wiping his eyes at the same moments as me, to the snickers of his young family. Always a kindred spirit, Amy’s company brought even more delights than raspberry cordial, or blackberry wine, for that matter, and we wiled away the afternoon hours dreaming of our Village mansions to come and catching up over coffee and Brazilian cheese puffs. You can read Amy’s review here:
http://www.offoffonline.com/reviews.php?id=991
After parting, I walked to Union Square for some last TJ wine and some last-minute baking supplies and headed home to begin the sugar extravaganza. I made the world-famous brownies, Mom’s now NYC famous lemon bars and some sugar cookies in the shape of eggs to share with Heather Gilles and family who I would be visiting the next evening. As always, it took far longer than expected to bake all the goodies and I didn’t get my Easter choir voice to bed as early as I had hoped.

Good Friday...

2007-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

The benefit of waiting so long to fill in this blog is that I can’t remember anything before the Good Friday church service. I was excited to meet Jenny at church and especially so because she saved me a seat while I was stuck on a slow cross-town bus. This service was full of worship that brought tears and short reflections by the associate pastors on Jesus as prophet, priest and king. The highlight was a time of meditation accompanied by Louise’s string quartet playing my most favorite of all Beethoven Op. 131 selection. Like the perfect Pinot Noir paired to the choicest dish, this music in that moment of reflection of Christ on the cross was a combination unmatched. The transition from prescribed stillness and silence in our exit to the bubbles of friends uniting and catching up on the street outside was jarring, but indicative of the “alleluias” to come! Jenny and I lingered for a bit looking for friends from her small group to meet for dinner. She was tired and not finding them, we headed to Whole Foods in the Time Warner building for some quick soup. Jenny’s sister Katie is a bona-fide rockstar and I had listened to some of her songs on Jenny’s ipod and loved them! Jenny had been out to visit her in Nashville and returned with my very own Katie Herzig CD! Yay! Check her out on itunes and Myspace....http://www.myspace.com/katieherzig…a little bit of alt-rock, a little bit folksy, very beautiful songs and sounds…my favorite is the one she wrote for Jenny…”Jennylynn.”

Maundy Thursday

2007-04-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

They say you should have a headshot and resume with you at all times. I admit I’ve been guilty of forgetting one or the other at home and either ripping into submission envelopes I’ve happened to have in tow or trekking back home between sign-ups and auditions to retrieve one. For the record, I haven’t done that since at least February. I had spent most of the morning preparing for my coaching with Laura and was thrilled to discover some glorious art songs that could almost be disguised as musical theatre pieces (or vice-versa) by Ricky Ian Gordon. I gave myself an hour to make copies at Staples, hop on the subway and arrive at the 411 Space, a “church” that looks an awful lot like a blackbox theatre that Laura uses for her lessons. Small miracles along the way allowed my passage in record time and I found myself catching my breath on one of the couches in the performer’s lounge, a sort-of oasis for the worn-out auditioners that frequent midtown, with 20 minutes to spare. The space was missing the usual squeals of pre-school aged kids waddling about in tutus and ballet slippers, and other than Laura’s lesson, all was still. As I organized the 10 or so songs I was eager to try out, a man stepped into the lounge and comfortably settled into the desk where the computer sits. As he turned it on and started typing away he immediately began a conversation with me, asking if I was an artist. I explained I was there for my lesson and asked him if he was an actor, so unassuming and frank was his manner. He was a producer, director and artistic director of a small theatre company, he said. He mentioned “Fritz and Froyim” a play he was going to be auditioning next week and then asked if I had a headshot and resume with me. Well, what do you know? CA girl is learning something. He looked over it briefly, counseled me to not join Equity in any hurry and then asked if I had a monologue. Well, what do you know? I did and I ended up following him to his black box theatre on the same floor where I performed “Popo Martin,” my schizophrenic, teenaged cheerleader monologue whose propriety I’ve been questioning. He engaged me to try it again as “me” truly communicating the points, waiting until they landed on him, until I moved on. He worked with me for about 10 minutes, encouraging me to use my own voice and to allow the material to be infused by me. Without any prodding, he told me I was “quirky” which is officially 3/3, and that I didn’t need to add anything to the material but find my path within it. So, for arriving early at my coaching, I managed to work in an audition and a mini-acting lesson!!! I love this city! John, the director, was so generous with his time and even offered to help me any other time I was in the building and he happened to be around. I don’t even think he is shady because I looked his company up online and saw that his mission is mentoring young people and producing theatre for public good.
My coaching was wonderful, of course, and Laura convinced me that while not audition-appropriate, my Ricky Ian Gordon songs were treasures to be laid out at a future recital or recording. Exciting! I also made the discovery that I’m never going to be an Ethel Merman belter. I don’t need to be Ado Annie and Laurey in Oklahoma. I realized I was looking for material for all types instead of honing in on what my specific gifts allow me to do…plenty, by the way! What freedom there is in knowing I don’t have to do it all!
So, it does seem like you’ll never here this girl do any brassy Broadway belting…can you settle for a high mix? ☺
After my coaching I dropped some of my heavy music books off at my favorite home away from home, the performing arts library, before hoofing over to the Ethical and Cultural Society for the Maundy Thursday Service.
Max McLean is an amazing Christian actor who travels the world presenting different readings of the Gospels and selected Christian literature to churches and in theatres. This night, he performed the book of Mark, memorized, as a sort of one-man show. He embodied every Pharisee and disciple, and changed from Jesus to the people and back to Jesus with just a flip of his posture. I don’t have enough words for these 90 minutes…totally transfixing each of us, I wish everyone I know could have seen it. We laughed (it’s really funny, some of it) and yes, I cried and I wondered at the arc of the story, of the transformation of the people and the constancy of Jesus. After collecting the applause from enlivening all these pages in a perfect Scottish accent, Max began to address us and answer FAQs…in a perfect American accent! Ha! I loved that for the sake of the drama, he turned up the McLean aspect of his character. It was an unforgettable event and was made richer from the context of weeks of Tim Keller’s sermons on Mark. I’ve always loved the power of God’s word and its capacity for drama…and this, well, he definitely took it to the next level!

on an airplane...

2007-04-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

I’m on the plane, headed towards JFK, armed with a new/old computer that might have more than 10 minutes of battery power. I won’t let this extended battery life get the best of me and wax poetic on the 10 plus days of adventures that I’ve left undocumented. Instead, I’ll try to boil down the highlights. One of the greatest highlights of the past few days in CA, was the Joh wedding, of course! At that celebration, I was so happy to see my church family as well as faces from the families of my past. Greg Mitchell, Steve’s best man and a long-time friend of mine “used his words” so well to animate the best of Steve and Amy. A blogger himself who admitted he’d read mine, (OH NO! people read this besides Lis and Jenny???) Greg reminded me, “Quality over Quantity.” And with that, I’ll try my best and briefest.

Disappointment and...guests of the star

2007-04-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

I realized that this is a slow week in the audition circuit, probably because casting directors are on vacation like everyone else in the country! So, again, I didn't go out for any auditions but instead went to Nia class and did some library research before heading midtown to meet Jenny for lunch. It was a miserable, miserable rainy day. Like I've said before, rainy days in NYC are not very pleasant...between navigating around dangerous umbrellas and flooded subway stations, it's just not a lot of fun. At least Jenny is fun and I loved hearing all about her weekend with her sister in Nashville and plans for her upcoming knee surgery. I took a crosstown bus and then the subway to get to my tap class with Germaine. So fun! I recently switched over to heeled tap shoes and it makes life so much harder but apparently you are a sissy if you are still in flats. No sissies here. I met Kat for coffee after class and we had such a great talk. It is so nice to have her support and friendship...we are both trying to navigate life out here and beyond opera together and we are always trading tips and coaches, etc. While we were together I got a call from Melanie. She had mentioned on Sunday that she might have an extra ticket to "Die Agyptische Helena" at the Met starring Debbie V. I had been waiting to hear from her if her "friend" had been able to get her tickets. Well, her "friend" came through and I made plans to meet her at 7:30 at the box office.
I rushed home to change and grab a bite to eat. Earlier in the day I had gotten my contract for Millbrook via email and had inquired about the fact that it said, "Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan and nun in Do Black Patent Shoes..." whereas he had offered me Sister Helen specifically over the phone. I emailed him back and asked for clarification to which he replied that IF he had said that he was very sorry and mistaken and that I was indeed going to be playing the soprano nun but was down for the Sister Helen cover. He said he would understand if that changed my decision. My stomach turned under me with disappointment. I know that Sister Helen wasn't a big role but something about it was really exciting to me and who wants to be "nun" when you can have a name? I'm so glad I called Mom and received her sweet words of encouragement as well as precious Charlie telling me he loves me. What more could a nun wish for? You know, I am disappointed, because I feel like I just got demoted, but I also recognize that it's a three-week show and is not going to determine my future. God is taking care of me and even in this He reminds me that I'm not on earth to be a star or even a semi-star in the middle of PA, but rather to be his child and bring Him glory in the face of disappointment and success. And boy did He have a sweet gift to soothe me in store!

I feel like I need to set this chapter apart...because this may have been the most amazing experience to date in NYC!!!! So, I knew that Melanie had recently become friendly with Debbie V. but when she was dangling the carrot of these tickets via her "friend" she never made that connection clear. Well, when she walked in armed with 2 dozen tulips for her "friend" my question was answered. Debbie hooked her up with two tickets on the front row, on the center aisle!!! Soooooooooo awesome! I LOVED being so close because not only could I see every breath each singer took, I could also see every breath each instrumentalist took, not to mention hear the sighing and grunting of the conductor engrossed in the Strauss score. I read in the program notes that this opera, one of Strauss' less famous works, had not been seen at the Met since 1928 and was in fact by Ms. Voigt, considered the leading interpreter of Strauss. She was amazing, illustrious, beautiful, so composed and in control of the stage in each moment she was on it. I also fell in love with Diana Damrau singing the lighter, more coloratura part of Aithra. Beautiful, beautiful voice and such an actress. I am so excited to follow her career and hearing her inspired me to practice my Strauss! The production was "interesting" with an extremely raked stage and a harsh set with cutouts of oversized doors and running men with extreme colors in the costumes pointing to the different worlds of mortals and gods. My favorite costumes were the chorus of elves in bright blue with white wigs and beards. At intermission we saw Karen and Mark and chatted with them. I think Mark introduced me to someone really influential in the opera world but I have no idea who she was. I guess Mark had done the opera before at Santa Fe and neither he or Karen were big fans of the work. It's not particularly tuneful but the performances alone were just amazing. I couldn't get over the long phrases that were sung with such ease and all the colors and depths and heights that Debbie had to navigate. At the curtain call someone actually threw a bouquet of roses from the 4th balcony and nearly missed Diana D's head. Melanie opted not to throw her heavy tulips to Debbie. Dangerous! We made our way to the backstage entrance where we had to pass through 3 different guards before being shuffled to the artists' guest lounge. On the way there, we ran into mezzo Jill Grove who played the strange Mussel character and Melanie introduced me to her. We waited for quite a while for our "friend" to get out of costume and make-up and I enjoyed the time chatting with sweet Melanie. She is a singer as well and such a character! I mean, how lucky am I that she chose me of all people to share this opportunity. I enjoyed watching Debbie take the fawning compliments from her fans with such grace and humility. She is so down-to-earth. I tried not to gush too much but thanked her for the ticket and then she invited us to go eat dinner with her at Fiorello's. Weighed down with bouquets Debbie led us out to where her car was waiting. As we got to the parking garage a group of about 12 die-hard fans were eagerly waiting to give her gifts and have her sign programs. She knew many of them by the name because they come to EVERY single performance and wait for her each night. One man had a stack of 6 programs and he named each one that he had missed getting her autograph...I was thinking "EBAY!!!" as he brought out each program. One woman is from Poland and was wearing a home-made t-shirt with her picture on it. She travels all over the world and sees every one of her performances. WHOA! I wish I had videoed the whole scene...it was amazing. We got into the black car and literally drove across the street to Fiorello's where we (because we were with SHE) were treated like royalty. Prosecco and antipasti brought to the compliments, via the management, etc. But other than several interruptions of adoring fans, the four of us chatted mostly about the perils of dating, online and otherwise. I really liked Debbie's friend Jane as well. I had a piece of Debbie's yummy pizza margherita even though it was midnight...and Melanie and I ate some fruit. I hugged them good-bye as they were whisked off to mid-town in the black car and headed home on the subway and then via cab because it was after 1 and apparently the bus wasn't going to come for another 20 minutes. As I sat in the cab I just kept thinking, did that really happen? I mean, how did I go from singing Strauss in my shower to dining with the star of the Met? WHOA. I guess the short answer is the church. Another reason to go to church, folks, in case you needed one! :)

On strike

2007-04-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I went on strike and didn't go to any auditions. Honestly there weren't any that were right for me, now that I have June and part of July set apart for Millbrook. But the non-jaded me might have gone regardless. This morning I did a bunch of errands that had been hanging over me, worked out, organized my life and made it to Bible Study armed with my world-famous brownies. We met at Rose-Marie and Louis' apartment near Lincoln Center. They are such a neat couple. I especially adore Rose-Marie. She is French and has some European quirkiness mixed in her very loving and transparent heart. She also uses some fun translations and pronunciations that make me grin. Louis and R-M have a little blue parakeet that was making all sorts of noise while we were reading a passage from Romans. I totally got the nervous giggles but was glad that Amber, sitting across from me, was similarly distracted. The bird who had been swooping over our heads was relegated to the bedroom. Amber had told Mark that I had gone to see the show so as soon as I walked into the apartment he chastized me for not letting him know I was coming and that he would have put me on the list to go backstage. Well, I don't know the protocol of these things. I've never had a friend who stars at the Met! It was a really great study and I feel like I'm getting more comfortable sharing with these new friends. I had to jet right away because Chris and Laura had invited me over to dinner at 6:30. It was already 6 and it was going to be a serious stretch getting back uptown and crossing to the East side. Melanie really wanted to walk with me towards the subway and so I lingered a bit longer than I probably should have. I ended up taking the subway from Columbus Circle and I was so frazzled that I ended up on a downtown train! When we got to 50th Street I decided to hop out, call Chris and Laura and tell them what an idiot I was, and hoofed it to the East side. Of course every tourist and travelling business person is out on the streets of midtown at the same time, so it was quite a challenge. I just hated to be late because I know how hard it is to delay dinner when you have little ones. I finally got to the 6 train and made it one stop to 59th when they held the doors open and announced there was a police investigation regarding an unruly passenger at 77th and the train would be indefinitely held! GREAT! I hopped out and thought about walking the 35 blocks before opting for a quick cab.
On the elevator ride up to their apartment a really cute boy saw my tupperware of brownies and said, "Somebody's lucky." I told him, yes, they were and all about my wild ride to deliver them, yada, yada. He lives on the floor above Laura and Chris and we joked that I should have given him one or gone up to his floor and rung every doorbell until I found him. Ha ha. His wife probably would have answered the door. I had so much fun playing with the girls, setting up a tent, meeting their neighbor, Howard, and his son Eli while Laura prepared an amazing dinner. Howard has a Wheaton named Bernie who was soooo sweet. Howard said I could come borrow him sometime which actually sounds so fun. Whenever I go to Central Park and see all the dogs I get jealous and yet it would be really hard, well, impossible at this stage, to have one of my own. But just to borrow one occasionally, I love it! I loved seeing the neighbors all together and witnessing the Seals doing what I know them to do best, creating community and depth. What an amazing thing that little Eli would be the same age as Ellie. We talked a lot about how it is hard to meet your neighbors unless you have kids or a dog. Thus, I'll borrow Bernie! Dinner was so good...Laura made this chicken on a brick, where she stuffed garlic and rosemary and all sorts of deliciousness between the skin and oh, was it tasty! I even got to take home the left-overs. I'm so thankful for the Seals, for God showing his kindness and care for me in the form of their family, and for reminding me that though the city is big, there are neighbors and friends all around.

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

2007-04-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

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!

All Caught UP!

2007-04-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

So, I'm writing this on Sunday night, about Sunday. Wow! So exciting. A night babysitting allows for all sorts of catching up.
This morning I made my walk across the park, dodging dogs of every sort, to church and barely arrived dry. The rain was just about beginning. Palm Sunday wasn't emphasized too much but we had the opportunity to take the Lord's Supper which always makes me thankful I'm back in the Presbyterian fold...where you take the body and blood once a month. Church was great as always and I had fun visiting afterwards with Laura B. and Melanie G. and Phoebe and even Debbie V. My revolutionary hair was a big topic for discussion. I enjoyed again my walk back across the park and spent most of the afternoon cleaning before heading back to the west side to serve in the nursery at the 5 pm service. Oh, I had the most fun! I was first sent to the two year olds but then there were two crying babies and only one pair of arms so I got to hold lil' Cash, who was crying his head off. In a few minutes, he stopped and after some serious rocking and Charlie techniques I got him to fall asleep in my arms. So special. I could have stayed there for hours!
As I write, I'm sitting in Chris and Laura Seals' living room. I'm babysitting for their beautiful and adorable girls, Tressa and Ellie. Chris and Laura were campus ministry leaders for a few years while I was at Rice. I literally ran into Laura a few weeks ago outside a subway station in midtown, and only then, because I was talking to Nicole Franklin on the phone and didn't want to go underground just yet. I ended up taking the train uptown with Laura that night and we discovered that we literally live across the street from eachother. Ever since then we've been trying to get together for dinner and it hasn't worked out. Finally tonight, I was able to help out and babysit. It's so wonderful to be in their home and to be around their sweet family. I get so focused on myself and my schedule and my budget and my needs it seems and I love disolving all those concerns and feeling like I get to be the church for these friends, while they get out for a movie!
And so I'm all caught up on this silly blog! Thanks for your patience for these last couple of weeks of posts that took so long to get up. I see auditions dying down...I hope I'll continue to be able to bring insight and humor, not to mention celebrity sightings in the pages to come!

Practice Acting, Practice Prayer and Knights!

2007-04-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I went to a workshop for actors through Redeemer about applying the discipline of acting excercises to our prayer life. It was awesome! Of course, all the attendees were women, 9 of us in all, but it was a great group. Our leader was George, a Jesuit Priest as well as a professional actor. The morning session was mostly a survey of various acting focusing techniques with an extended time for theatre games and improv. A bunch of us went to Whole Foods at Columbus Circle for lunch before returning to the next session where George applied the practical lessons of the morning to how we can approach prayer. Unfortunately I had to leave halfway through a really cool spiritual exercise where he placed us at the Last Supper with Jesus. I was picked up by Jon, Adrienne, Eric and Sara, Sara's sister and two friends, Brigid and Kimmy, for Eric's special surprise 30th birthday party. We were taking him to Jersey for a night at Medieval Times. I hadn't been to Medieval Times since 7th grade when we stopped there on our LA tour with Dan Ferrari. Oh my. I can still see the picture of me and Julia Bell in our paper crowns. We were so lucky to be in the first row of the yellow-red cheering section and of course, our knight won. Highlights included the cheapest and strongest pina-colada near Manhattan (at 3:30 pm!), eating with our hands, hearing 20 minutes of a list honoring every birthday boy and girl in the house, and the sparkly tiaras that Adrienne bought each of us girls. It was a really fun night and because it started so early we were back at Sara and Eric's apartment by 7:30, stuffing our faces more, with lemon bars and the divine chocolate cake that Jon made. Eric was excited by all his gifts, including an amazing chair massager that we all enjoyed soooooooo much.

Lemon Bars and Direction Changes

2007-04-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

Friday morning didn't offer any auditions to lure me out of the house. I continued my research on more modern songs for my "book" that, when push comes to shove, seems to only include dreamy ballads from before 1950. I had planned on doing two classes at Steps but got a call from Scott Six who was literally 9 blocks away at a Starbucks with time to kill before an audition. I ditched the first class for the chance to catch up with Scott, learning all about the perils of his world premiere opera and his general disgust for the people that rule the world of opera. Yes, yes, it's true. I walked across the park in time for Scott T.'s Int. Theatre Dance Class. Yes, this is the same Scott who choreagraphed my personal nightmare in the form of "America" for Maine State on Sunday. I was again a mess but had a huge revelation. My biggest struggle in picking up choreagraphy are all the directional changes and I realized that Scott is obsessed with changing direction all the time!!!! So, even though it was painful for me, I think I should keep going back, knowing it will get easier, while resting knowing that I'm not the worst dancer in the world. Just maybe the worst dancer in NYC.
I went back to Fairway for Lemon Bar ingredients. Eric's special request for his 30th birthday dessert was anything lemony and I told Adrienne about Mom's special Lemon Bars. mmmmmmm....
I met Adrienne at the movie theatre near her office where we saw the new Will Ferrell flick, "Blades of Glory." So funny. She then took me by Bloomingdales to meet her Prescriptives guru, Stanford Smith, who did my makeup for me. Adrienne is a makeup expert herself and had talked up Stanford as the best makeup artist she'd ever worked with so I was pretty excited. He was not disappointing and gave me some great ideas for that audition look that I'm still trying to create. He was also hilarious and offered a lot of entertainment with his constant commentary on the lady that comes in and over applies bronzer every Friday to the shoplifters escorted right next to us. With smoky eyes and pale lips, we took bus home and she made dinner while I made Lemon Bars.

Do patent leather shoes really reflect up?

2007-04-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning was glorious because I didn't have to be anywhere at 7:15 or even 7:30, although I did go to the gym around then anyways. My callback for Millbrook Playhouse was scheduled for 10-2 which prevented other morning auditions...I actually loved the freedom in that! The first part of our callback was a dance audition...we learned a pretty simple "Ugg-a-wugg" sort of routine appropriate for "Peter Pan" which is part of their season. I tried to have fun but I have to say I was really really nervous, again mostly because of my hyper-awareness of Carolyn in the room. I was decent, I think, but not a stand-out. One funny thing was that one of the directors called out about 5 people who he said were unrecognizable from their headshots. He even went as far to say a few of them looked nothing like their pictures. Ouch. As I start investigating my NY style headshots, I'm definitely aiming for pictures that look like me, whatever ethnicity I am that day! Hahah!
I was really excited to see my new friend Lauren at the callbacks. We had met a few weeks ago at an open call when we both reading our Bibles and that opened us up to discovering we both went to Redeemer. It was really nice to see her and have her to cheer for! I also ran into Amanda, a girl I met on the train on Monday. Waiting for about an hour and a half as they brought small groups downstairs to sing and read, I did get a little antsy and annoyed at all the nervous actor chatter all around. When I finally did get to sing, "If I Loved You" felt a little rough but I got asked to read which was a sign that I was not immediately cut. I was called back for the role of Sister Helen in a catholic-school-meets-Grease musical called, "Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" Sister Helen is the soprano, which makes her the nice nun, of course. The director hadn't brought any sides for her so instead he asked me to read a silly poem as a nice nun. I read it once and then he directed me to try it again, but this time a little bit more like an airhead. I had so much fun with that reading and felt like I made a big adjustment. The director seemed pleased and I was released. I had a really good feeling about the outcome of that audition, first, because the reading went really well and second, because I took careful note that I was the only one reading for the nice nun at the callback.
I tried not to get my hopes up as I wandered over to Fairway, the next best grocery store to Trader Joes that is on 74th and Broadway, right next to Steps and also the Vital Theatre Co. where my callback was held. Fairway, just like Trader Joes, is also quite an experience with tiny aisles and people all around reaching for bananas and fresh-ground coffee and brown-rice sushi among the workers who are constantly refreshing the stock. Craziness.
I met Adrienne for a yummy mediterranean dinner at Beyoglu on 80th and 3rd. We had all sorts of mezze with the usual hummus and tabouleh and some exciting zucchini pancakes and spicy shrimp. Adrienne took me to Eli's, a faaaaaaaaaaaaaancy grocery store where only New Yorkers on the UES would spend $7 on a $2.49 box of Kashi. I have to say it was as nice as Adrienne advertised with perfect displays of fruit and pies by the slice and cheeses from every nation. But, I won't be shopping there until Jerry Seinfel leaves Jessica for me. Just kidding, of course. Ew.
The night was uneventful until I got a call from an unidentified (212) number...and the artistic director from Millbrook called and offered me my first two roles in shows since arriving in NYC! Yay! He offered me Mrs. Darling and ensemble (think ugg-a-wugg, ugg-a-wugg, ugg-a-wugg, ugg-a-wugg wah!) in "Peter Pan" as well as Sister Helen in "Do Patent Leather Shoes..." I was probably a bit too eager in my acceptance but I was thrilled with the offer and so excited to get two roles down, not to mention to be hired period! After a while, going to all these auditions and not getting anything, I started to feel like I was never going to get anything. Just having two roles on my resume from the East Coast will be huge for me, not to mention networking possibilities. And just like having a scheduled out 10-2 callback was glorious, even more so is the knowledge that from June 4-July 8 I will be living and singing and dancing in Pennsylvania. And I can start planning my life around that! Yay! I made some fun calls to Lis and Mom to share the news and went to sleep feeling like a real actor, not a fake one, with a heart full of thanks.

yet again...more pirates!

2007-04-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

Surflight Theatre on the Jersey Shore had their last of 3 days of open calls on Wednesday so I woke up early to compete with the crowds. Arriving at the studio at 7:15 am I was only the 46th craziest person there. I had about 2 hours to kill before they called the list and so I got some coffee and listened to cds I had borrowed from the library. I ended up getting an appointment at 10:30 and met a few girls I had seen a bunch at other auditions. They were both EMCs and we were commiserating about wishing we could be in several places at one time to hold our places in line. Alas. Oh, wait, that's a funny NYC thing....you don't stand in line, you stand on line. You get on line for the audition. Weird!!! I met a sweet girl who had taken a train at 4:30 in the morning to get there from Baltimore. It was her first audition in NYC and she was so nervous so I tried to be as encouraging as possible. I actually didn't sing my best, cracking a bit on a low note, and they didn't ask me to stay to dance. Always disappointing, of course, but I was thankful for the free day ahead. I went to the annual Capezio flagship store sale and also to Anthropologie where once again a pink coat, this time an appropriate weight for spring, called my name in the clearance section. I've never needed a spring coat until this March. I can't wait for you all to see it.
I was really excited to return to Steps and take Germaine's Adv. Beg. Broadway Tap class again. I just LOVE her. She is so encouraging, even when I'm awful and I even feel like I'm improving! Hurrah. I'm hopeful I can go back again in the next few weeks. It had been so long because of the crazy audition schedule.
My friend Dani Marcus, who I met through Molly Bell and her Divas for Life concert is currently starring in the National Yiddish Theatre's "Pirates of Penzance." She plays Malke, aka Mabel in this production, entirely in Yiddish. I was so excited to go see her in this and add one more Pirate show to my arsenal. Dani was a complete standout with crystalline high notes and lots of chudzpah! Oy veh. It was super cute and in a lovely theatre at the West Side JCC. I was actually wishing that I had tried out for one of the other sisters...I think all those voices telling me that I could pass for a nice Jewish girl are sinking in...I think I would've blended right in with those girls! But the yiddish...oy...that has to be tough to learn. Lucky for us in the audience, there were subtitles in both English and German.
I ended up taking a cab home. I never ever take cabs because I have an unlimited metro card and I don't like to throw the money away. Adrienne and I laugh about how she always ends up taking cabs and how we'll be headed somewhere and she'll say, "I'm taking a cab...you can either join me or I'll see you there." But that night, by myself and late at night, I went for it...about 4 minutes and $8 later I felt like a true upper-east-sider, hopping out of the cab in front of my doormanned building. I'm a very lucky girl.

4 audition Tuesday!

2007-03-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

I really hate open calls. I mean, I know it's great and all that I don't have to wait for the Equity people to go first, and we all have the same opportunity, yada, yada...but there is always just this spirit of frenzy and desperation that drives me to drink. Well, coffee, at least. I started the morning EARLY (because you have to go earlier for these crazy open calls) at Chelsea Studios, signing up on the non-eq tour auditions for Annie and 42nd Street. Both are not shows completely great for me, but I figure at least I could play Grace Farrell in "Annie." Or not. Anyways, I was lucky to find a chair in the teeny-tiny holding room for Annie (because at open calls, there are no rules, and no one really cares) and waited and waited. My morning entertainment came in the form of a 6 foot German woman named Uta who was just visiting NYC and decided to come to an open call for the experience. Hey folks, it's the newest tourist attraction. One day you do the Sex and the City tour, the next day you go to the Met, the following day, hit an open call with a bunch of crazy actors who enjoy suffering! Hilarious! She was so funny and kept asking me lots of questions. At one point she asked if I had a "rubber?" I suggested that she might not want to use that term so early in the morning! She meant an eraser, of course. :) I ended up singing for 42nd St. first and did great on my idea of my more belty song "de-lovely" but then was asked for more of a belt to which I suggested "not afraid" my poppy song that I had screwed up the day before. Well I screwed it up again!!!! Because again, I was trying on the singing and not on the acting! Oh well. They were nice at least. I sang "de-lovely" for the Annie people who were peculiar in that they actually wanted you singing to their faces...this is usually an audition no-no as most auditors feel assaulted if you communicate at them directly. It was an odd experience especially since the two people in charge were looking at eachother and my resume which made it hard to look at them....but whatever. I sang well and they seemed to like it "really nice pipes", bla bla bla, but no callback.
Kat met me there and we went uptown for an audition on the West Side for Millbrook Playhouse, a summer stock theatre in PA. I was so excited to walk out of the elevator and see Carolyn, Seri's sister-in-law, as the monitor. So fun! She just got a new job assisting Stephen, the artistic director of Millbrook and Vital Theatre Co. I love that it is such a small world. Carolyn came into my audition and I have to say it made me really nervous. I think I care a lot more about what she thinks about me than what they did. Because I'm getting used to singing for the anonymous "them" you know? I sang my ballad "jam" and then they asked for something more contemporary...I pulled out that pop mess again and sang all the right words! Woo hoo! Victory. Judging by their reaction and Carolyn's I didn't think I was stellar but then a few hours later Carolyn left me a message and said I was called back!!! yay!
I had one more audition appointment that afternoon, back at Chelsea, and I was sad that it was right smack in the middle of Bible Study. But an appointment is a grand thing! I was auditioning for "06880 the musical" about wealthy CT high school kids. They seemed to like me but no call-back. That's the thing...everyone seems to like you, you know...but are they just being overly nice? Hmmmm. The excitement there was that I saw Kate from Grease Academy. She was auditioning for Maine State. I wish I had heard her sing through the door! I'm sure I'll be seeing more of her and the other Grease castaways in the days to come!
Earlier in the day, an abandoned building had collapsed on 116th street and Lexington and because of that the East-side subway line was totally screwed up. They shut down service uptown for a while and by the time I went home it was a real mess. I couldn't even get on a train at 28th street because of the crowds and ended up walking to Grand Central before getting on an express train. I needed to go only 2 stops and the ride took about 35 minutes! Craziness. But we had beautiful beautiful weather. At one point I even considered walking the 70+ blocks. Spring definitely came alive on Tuesday...I loved walking past all the opened restaurants and seeing joy spread all around...Adrienne and I celebrated with some Tasti-D!

first paying gig!

2007-03-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Monday started nice and early with a 5:55 am wake up call. I've found that if I don't get to the gym in the morning, I likely won't get there...and I need to get there! Plus, I like doing my hair routine in the locker room...I don't have to worry about clogging up our shower with all that finger combing! Too much information?
Anyhoo...I was first in the EMC line (this is becoming a theme, eh?) at The Depot Theatre's EPA at Ripley-Grier. It was actually pretty empty and I would have gotten to sing in the first or second group except that their scheduled pianist didn't show up and they had to call someone else and ended up starting an hour late! I still got to sing by 11:30 but I was awestruck by how one person's error can alter the pace of so many poor actor's days! I didn't feel like I was very warmed up but I used the opportunity of singing with a really great pianist to try out a more character-y song....the good news is that I was leaving they asked me about my June availability and said they had a different project for which they would keep me on hold. Yay! Anything is better than "Thank you very much."
I had an appointment for Arundel Barn where I attempted to sing my more "pop" and "belt" styles...they were really nice and complimentary but we all knew I wasn't right for their season. In singing my "pop" song I totally went up on the words and I realized it's because I was focusing on sounding not like an opera singer instead of focusing on saying the text and meaning it. Note to self: when you don't know what you're communicating, you're going to screw up. Yep.
I ran over to the Redeemer offices after that audition to sing for Miriam and Tom. Redeemer doesn't have a regular choir for its services but employs the professional musicians within the church from time to time to sing in small ensembles, lead worship, play quartets, etc. Laura B. had been bugging me to go sing for them and when we went out to dinner on Saturday with Miriam she had said I could come by. She had totally forgotten and she had never told Tom so I felt it was a bit awkward. But I sang some Handel and then a more poppy show-tune as well as "He is exalted." I think Miriam was more into me than Tom and she hired me to sing in the Easter choir on the East-side...it's all professional singers and we'll be singing Messiah excerpts...yippee! And how funny that my first paid gig in NYC is coming from my church?
I came home and made dinner for Jon and Adrienne before we headed out for the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Spring Concert Series production of "The Authorized Musicology of Ben Folds Five." Oh my gosh! It was AMAZING from start to finish. First of all, I found these half-price tix on Goldstar for only $25 and the Zipper Theatre only seats 300. I felt like we were so priviledged to be there! The theatre is amazing...in the garmet district (thus the zipper theatre, it's right next to a zipper factory)...and all the seats are old train benches or dodge caravan seats....literally, discarded guts of minivans lined up next to eachother....makes for a very comfy seat! The performers, all Broadway stars, were AMAZING! We were especially excited to see Ashley Parker Angel (of MTV fame and now in Hairspray) who sang a really beautiful "Brick." My new favorite from Spelling Bee, Lisa Howard (and CCM grad!) was awesome and I have a new crush on Michael Arden. Basically it was just a straight concert of songs but each actor brought tons of depth to the lyrics and I could see how Ben Folds was made for theatre people! Tons of drama and fun! Will Chase who I'd met when he starred in "Little Princess" at Theatreworks was also awesome and I loved the passion and guts of the pianist. Such a fun night!!!!! I just felt so lucky to be there, soaking up all that talent. And of course, now, I'm a huge Ben Folds Five fan! Amazing songs!

So you think you can dance?

2007-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we had a pretty early call for the Redeemer Choir. We sang at the East Side Morning Service which attracts about 2000 people in the Hunter College Auditorium. It was fun to be on stage and feel a part of the service. Our songs went really well and it was a really joyful and intense experience of worship. I forgot how much I love to sing in a choir. Fun, fun. The service itself was so different from my usual West Side AM and I remembered why I chose that one! The East siders do only hymns with organ and there is just a much more old-school feel to it all. Now that Redeemer added 5 services, Tim only speaks at 4 and so one service gets a rotating pastor. John Lin did a really good job but I have to feel bad that he knows that everyone is disappointed to miss Tim. This service had a very elaborate coffee hour at the Hunter College Student Center...several stations of coffee with multiple flavors of coffeemate to boot. Fancy! I ran into my West Side AM buddy Julia which was so fun because I had missed her the last few weeks being out of town, etc. I also met an opera singer couple who are friends of Jenny. They were fun to talk to and I loved how they were wearing orange accessories that complimented one another. So cute. I walked home from Hunter (68th and Lex) and noticed how much cuter the delis and cafes are in the 70s than in the upper 80s and 90s....we're going to have to work on that!
When I arrived home I basically prepped and worked myslef into a tizzy about my upcoming dance call. What to wear, what to stretch, yada yada. I discovered that Broadway on a Sunday afternoon between 34th and 26th is not the safest place to be. I think there are flea markets nearby on Sundays so there were all sorts of characters around that I was not used to seeing. I arrived in the room and just felt suffocated by the string beans stretching our their splits and adjusting their worn-in leotards. Oh dear. What did I get myself into? It ended up taking a very long time to be seen...the guys group was running late ahead of us and the most redeeming aspect of the afternoon was watching their "Hairspray" combo in action. So cute. I was in the 2nd group of 2 girls' groups...they taught us original Jerome Robbins choreagraphy of "America" and about 64 counts of it!!! Kill me now. It moved so fast and it all moved to the left, where I was standing in my group, so I never really had a good view or a good opportunity to practice the steps. And then, they ran our of time and called my group up first. We totally fell apart and none of us got asked to stay any further. I was actually pretty humiliated and disappointed especially because the choreagrapher is a teacher that I've taken class from at Steps. I am just so embarassed at how poorly I did and I wonder if I'll be able to go back to class! I swallowed my sorrow in the form of a Pinkberry treat before heading home for pizza night with special guest Eric. I made one of my best pizzas complete with goat cheese and sauteed onions. Yum. We had fun seeing the ones that we wanted make it to Broadway!

Fun with Redeemer Girls!

2007-03-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

I woke up early (masochist, I know) to go to they gym before Redeemer Spring Volunteer Choir Rehearsal! Yay! So fun! Laura B. conducted us and asked me to come sing and I would do anything for her and I was so excited to meet some new folks and sing! My first NY performance. Over 50 people showed up to sing, more than they've ever had, including some past and present stars of Broadway. One guy is in the ensemble of Les Mis and had two shows and still came to rehearsal. We sang an excerpt from the Dubois "Seven Last Words of Christ" as well as a Craig Courteney piece. After rehearsal I killed some time on 8th Avenue before heading to an audition appointment I had for a play. Yes, a play. I did my schizophrenic teenage monologue that so needs to hit the recycling bin. And now I know why people say they see me and don't know what to do with me! Late 20s woman who could pass for ethnic/exotic doing monologue by a schizo-teenage-cheerleader. Seems simple, right?
Laura B. had organized a girls night out and we met up for dinner at Dallas BBQ before heading to a Mary Magdalene one-woman show. It was such a fun group and I met Miriam, the music director of the East Side Redeemer service, as well as Kathy, an opera singer and Allison, a musical theatre gal. Allison not only has a very cute daughter named Gracie but is actually married to the Burger King. Yes, the guy in all those commercials is her husband! Dallas BBQ is on 42nd Street and boasts perhaps the largest dining room I've ever seen. It's pretty cheap to eat there and it attracts an "exciting" crowd. Great fun was had and we were happy campers heading to Mary's story, a Christian musical staged at the Salvation Army's Theatre. The theatre is actually really beautiful and the singer was also lovely and a CCM grad! We thought the show could use some work and a bit more variety. One woman shows where the receiver is ever only Jesus are perhaps just a little harder for the audience. That's my guess. Kathy is covering Mabel at New York City Opera so she had to stay in town until 10:30 so we all supported her by stopping in at a Starbucks where i ran into my friend DaRon who works there. I was excited to hear some of his great callback news.
I took the train home by myself, not many of the music types live on the East side, and was happy to talk to Charile :) when I returned home!

Magic day of auditions

2007-03-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

After the heart-ache of Thursday's misses I was due for some good audition karma, if there is such a thing! I was first in line for the Maine State EPA and in about 20 minutes made it up and back to sign up for an audition at Shetler Studios. I got to sing around 10:30 and got called back for their internship program...17 weeks in coastal Maine and 17 EMC points! But, there was something in their handbook about cleaning toilets....the things we do for those EMC points. I was stoked to get 2 callbacks in one week! Yay!
I then took the train to the Upper West Side at another theatre within a church, this one for the equity national tour of "My Fair Lady." I literally got seen right away and even though I told my pianist the cut I wanted he played the whole song for me...oh well! I'm feeling like "Somebody, Somewhere" is definitely my new jam. It's in a really comfortable place. Yay!
I left with my "thank you very much" and headed back downtown for another non-equity summer stock audition. Again, I literally got to sing right away, and I did my new jam and got some nice compliments and nothing else. But 3 auditions down by 12:30...amazing!!! I love my life!
I was on such a roll that I decided it might be a good idea to prepare for my Sunday dance call for Maine State by attempting another dance call that afternoon. I headed over to Equity where I ran into Annie P, my dancer-friend from elementary school. We had fun stretching and waiting before being turned away at 3:30. Alas, it couldn't be a perfect day.
I went to Trader Joes not thinking that Friday afternoon would be such a horrible time to navigate that mess. It was, but hey, the things I do for that Kashi cereal. (On a side note, tonight, 3/29, Adrienne took me to Eli's this really, really fancy grocery store and they sell my cereal for $5.99....$2.49 at TJs....isn't that crazy???)
I was so, so, so tired from my crazy 3 days of auditions following nights of little sleep that I couldn't do anything, not even blog on Friday night. I literally sat in a stupor watching "Miss Usa" with Adrienne and Jon.

the wrong place at the wrong time

2007-03-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

On Thursday there were 6 auditions that interested me and sadly, I bet on the wrong horses. I was the 2nd EMC in line for the "Sunday in the Park with George" Roundabout (on Broadway!) call and I left, thinking that I would have to wait awhile to be seen. I headed to Equity to see about singing in some chorus calls. By the time I returned to "Sunday" three of the EMCs behind me in line were lined up to sing and I had missed my number! So then, you get moved to the end of the list. Long sob story short, every EMC ended up getting seen and I never got to sing. And I was too busy waiting to go back to the chorus calls. The bright side is that my friend from my small group, Michelle, who is also an opera singer had come in to wait on the non-equity list and we ran into eachother on the elevator and enjoyed chatting while we waited and wondered when to give up hope. I headed uptown for my coaching with Laura B. which was great as always, working my mix-belt and running through new songs.
Just for some added torture, I headed back to "Sunday" where I was so pleasantly surprised to run into my dear friend Nora from CCM. I had not seen her for a few years and I had no idea she was also dipping her toes into the theatre pool. We had so much fun catching up and sitting without a chance of being seen. It all goes back to my theory of these equity calls...the later in the day, the less chance you'll have to get seen...which is why I should have NEVER left! Alas! I dragged Nora up a few flights of stairs for a non-Equity audition that I had an appointment for. We both sang and helped some really rich lost people find their way to a studio down the hall that was hosting a producers' meeting for a new musical. The fun thing about these audition spaces is that you never know who will be down the hall, rehearsing, auditioning or signing a check! My friend Jenny just met Ben Vereen at a different but similar studio because he was directed into her room by mistake! Fun.
Nora walked me to the East Side and I was able to barely make it home to drop off my heavy books before heading back to Theatre 1010's callback. I ended up sitting in a chair that was in the direct line of some intense lights. As the director was explaining that many of the leads were pre-cast I guess I was squinting or furrowing my brow. He totally called me out in front of everyone saying that I looked like that was unexpected information. I quickly replied, "no, it's just the lights" and got a few chuckles. You can't make the director mad before the call-back! It was a pretty interminable experience with groups going down to read and everyone reading several scenes and learning 4 measures of harmony and then each one performing a monologue from the show. I was one of the last to do the final reading and he said, "very good, so much talent, I don't know what to do." I was so happy to reconnect with my friend Kat who was also called back and arrived late. The director said to Kat, "So much talent, I think I'll just throw up all the resumes and see who lands on top." GRRRRRRRrrrrrrreat. Considering the fact that I don't play the clarinet or even the kazoo while some girls had carted in their accordions and trombones, I knew my chances were slim. You don't even need to fast forward to Sunday to find out that I didn't get that job.

I should have played the clarinet

2007-03-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Even though I got to bed after 1 am, I forced myself to wake up at dawn and live the dream, i.e. stand in line at the Actors' Equity building to audition. Half-asleep I put myself on 2 EMC lists and got to sing in the first group for one of them! amazing! I love it when the Equity actors start getting hired and don't need to be at every audition in the land! Yippee! I sang "de-lovely" and I was told it was excellent and truly de-lovely. But no callback! I'd rather be de-average and called back. Oh well! I didn't get into the 2nd audition and went home to re-charge at the gym before heading back to an audition for a theatre company in my neighborhood. The theatre is in the basement of a Park Ave. church. When we arrived we were individually warned not to leave the holding room because children of diplomats were in the building. But, of course. Wouldn't want to have a run-in with an ambassador's toddlers. The audition was for Kurt Weill's "Happy End." It was an Equity audition but there was a relatively low turn-out so I got to sing without a long wait. Like every other theatre company in the WORLD, they are doing a John Doyle-esque production where the actors have to play instruments. Isn't it enough to sing, dance and act all at the same time? Now you want us to play the clarinet as well? "Happy End" centers around the Salvation Army so I guess they are hoping to outfit a real band. Anyhoo...suprisingly I still got a callback, with or without my kazoo.

oh soooooooooo behind!

2007-03-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's see how many hours it takes to get caught up...I'll go day by day and i'll aim to keep it short.
The short story is that since i returned from CA, life has been CRAZY with lots of auditions and shows to see, etc.

I had a wonderful, wonderful visit to CA and managed to pack in lots of friends, a hike at Rancho San Antonio, visits to Highway and La Bodeguita, and of course precious time with the family. I have an amazing video of Charlie singing his "ABCs" at the park. After he finished I said, "I love you, Charlie" and he repeated back to me, "I wuv you, Charree." I said "I love you Charlie" one more time to which he melted me with his, "I know."

Such sweet times (and boys!) were hard to leave behind but I hopped on the plane and had a great and easy flight to JFK. JFK is a bit further from Manhattan and you can take a cab for $45 flat or you can be frugal like me and wait for Super Shuttle for an hour after you arrive only to take another $17 shuttle because they never show up. I told the driver my address, E. 95th Street and he repeated it back in a thick accent. I slid into the back seat next to a German model and an Italian clothes designer who had just met and were already fast friends. I was glad to have their entertaining conversation to eavesdrop on...it was a long ride. The driver went over the George Washington Bridge and dropped off the first guy on E. 60th. At the time, I wondered if he would drop me off next or save me for the end. As he headed downtown I realized that I was going to be last in a line of about 8 stops. The bright side of this midnight ride was that I got to see so much of NYC and connect geographically the places I had seen at one point or another. I'd like to think of it as my free tour of the tourist districts. Near the end of the journey, around Chelsea, the driver turned to me and said, "East 25th, right?" OH NO!!!! He then proceeded to accuse me of telling him I was headed to E. 25th. Now, what would be my motivation in telling him the wrong address? I mean, the free tour was great and all, but it was nearing 1 am!!!! He said some choice words, I'm sure, in his language before lecturing me about how I would have been the first drop-off, I should be sleeping by now, yada yada yada.
A hearty welcome to NYC!

I'm flying home....

2007-03-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

yay!!!!! I get to go home tomorrow! I'm so excited. I keep checking on my flight's progress....oh yeah, it hasn't left yet! Flight #9 out of JFK coming to SFO! Yippee! Okay, until then...I'll catch you up on the last few days.

Sunday was my fun day with Jenny H. I just love my new friend....she is the one that was my roommate on the women's retreat. She is an opera-singing, zoo-loving, splenda-eating kindred-spirit-to-be, I think, and I really love the time I get to spend with her. I walked to church (soooooooo early, daylights saving, ouch) and as I was in the heart of WASP-land (Madison and 70s) a man rolled by in his S series Benz and yelled, "What the hell? Is it 7 or 8?" in a super-sweet NY accent. I yelled back, "8!" with authority before realizing it was really nearing 9. You'd think the priviledged rich would make sure their butlers would keep them informed about these things.
Church was great although a bit uncoventional because the printer had sent last weeks' programs by mistake. It definitely threw everyone for a loop since Redeemer is a program-heavy sort of service. Because we have no facility or hymnals of any sort, we rely on the programs for the music and text to the songs, not to mention readings and announcements. As Tim K said, "The first Christians were able to worship without modern printing presses."
I met some fun new people in the coffee hour including a modern visual artist who is interested in moving to CA.
Jenny and I went to a mid-town diner for a yummy, yummy brunch where we ordered exactly the same-thing, of course! We killed some time and had fun trying on makeup at Sephora before heading to Drowsy Chaperone to put our names in the $25 ticket lottery. Most Broadway shows have a rush or lottery policy where they reserve a certain amount of seats in the front row for a much-discounted price. Unfortunately Jenny and I weren't the only ones with the great idea of a Sunday matinee so we did not win the lottery. :( But, with Jenny's friend John who had a Drowsy ticket in hand, we walked to the TKTS booth to see what our options were for some half-price tickets. The trick with the TKTS booth is that they only offer such tickets from the premium price level and so you end up paying $50-60. I wanted to see Grey Gardens with Christine Ebersole, which was really the only one that seemed splurge-worthy but Jenny really wanted to see Spelling Bee. Since I had seen it twice in SF, I felt $50 was a lot for that one....but then the best thing happened! A kid that had too much luck won the lotteries at both Spelling Bee and Drowsy Chaperone and needed to sell his Spelling Bee tickets. So, we ended up with 2nd row seats to Spelling Bee at the Circle in the Square Theatre...such a cool space, and AMAZING to be so close up! I loved the show and it was totally different from the SF production. I really missed James and Betsy in their roles but I still think it is the most fun and zany and sweet show and it was great to see Jenny's reaction. We lingered a bit afterwards and got to see all the stars on their way out in street make-up. The girl who played Olive was working a dress with jeans and tennies look...love it!
John met us afterwards and the three of us headed uptown to Alice's Tea Cup to meet their friend Hanneliese who I had heard so much about! There was no room for us at Alice's table and so instead we went to "the bread of the day" French bakery-place with the worst service ever for a little soup and chatter. I was totally beat by the end of such an exciting and early-starting day and unfortunately started feeling under the weather again in my walk across the park.

Monday was a sick day. :( I slept in and didn't really do much all day. I have nothing great to report. I gave myself time to feel better and did some grocery shopping. I hated it. Really.

Tuesday was another sick day but it turned for the better. I slept in again with a scratchy throat but got up early enough to run to Trader Joes in record time and do some errands before hitting the library. I spent about 4 hours there, researching musicals and listening to scores. I fell in love with Donna Murphy, famous in my heart for her role as the ballet teacher in "Center Stage" but rightly famous as an amazing singing-actress. I loved her in "Wonderful Town!" I hope I'll get to see her live someday soon. After my library fun I went over to the Jennings for Bible Study and had a wonderful time connecting with a few of the ladies that I think are amazing godly women in prayer time. Adrienne had made us a wonderful recreation of one of our order-in favorites: The Chicken Rice bowl with arugula from Pita Grill. Yummers! We watched "American Idol" and I decided that some people don't deserve to go to Devachan and have their curls worked....um, Sunjaya?

Wednesday, today, was a great day! I decided to go for some auditions at the Equity Center but was so sure I wasn't get to sing. Miracle of miracles, I was typed in for an Equity Chorus Call for Surflight Theatre in NJ and got to sing! My first time singing in the Equity builiding...I still can't really believe it. The singing went well and I felt like I just owned my legit-ness and didn't apologize for it in ways I had been in earlier auditions. They seemed to really enjoy all 16 bars even though I didn't get asked to stay and dance! Baby steps! Lauri Beth from the Gym was VERY complimentary of the new hair and that made me very giddy and excited. I even got a compliment from a girl I didn't know who said she had wanted to tell me how amazing my hair looked! I know, I'm totally building this up way too much, for those of you I'm about to see! :)
One of my non-Eq friends Thalia was checking in on the EMC list status for another call and invited me to go grab a salad with her. She is a fun girl and I enjoy her humor! The weather was amazing today! My unlimited metro card ran out yesterday so I decided I would walk the 50+ blocks and 5 avenues home! It was a great day for people-watching on Madison Ave but I definitely broke a sweat. I ended up taking my first run in Central Park, around the Reservoir. It's a pretty easy and beautiful run, perfect for amateurs like me! I came home and took a shampoo-less shower and I have to say the curls are doing their best non-friendliness work yet...so exciting! We just bid adieu to Eric, Sarah, and Jon who all came over for a delicous dinner that Sarah and Adrienne fixed...whole-wheat pasta with a roasted red-pepper and feta sauce as well as Adrienne's famous palmitos salad. Yum, yum. We enjoyed poking fun at ANTM as well as wondering how Brandon got kicked off of AI. Argh. I hate that "Vote for the Worst" website. Lame. Okay, I should really go to sleep...I'm going to have a fun adventure getting to the airport tomorrow....trains and trams, oh my!

say goodbye to shampoo...

2007-03-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Friday I woke up debating if I should share my brewing germs with any auditioning theatre companies. I decided against it and instead went back to Nia to shake my bones for the first time in a long while. I spent most of the day preparing for my coaching with Laura which was great, again!!!, despite my strange throat. I am finding that I have a lot less opera in my MT sound than I thought and it's not going to be as great a divide to "cross-over" as I had anticipated. Which is great! Yay! We had so much fun going through bunches of new songs I'd learned, trying to find that middle ground between what I imagine the MT sound (a little bit too nasaly for public consumption!) and my natural "legit" voice. I know this is really technical and boring. Sorry. I'm just excited that it's not going to take me years to find a marketable sound in theatre. Yippee.
As I was walking home from my coaching in the fashion district, guess who I saw again?....Jay McCarroll, season 1 winner of Project Runway. I love my celebrity designer friends...maybe someday he'll pass me one of his cool bags as I walk by. I can dream.
Friday night I met up with Adrienne and her friend from work, Robin for a movie and dinner. I am embarassed to admit that I spent $11 on (cringing as I write) "Wild Hogs." Oh dear. It was actually pretty enjoyable despite some serious bad writing and questionable lack of acting. We walked down my favorite avenue (2nd Ave) for several blocks before deciding on Jackson Hole, a diner, famous for burgers. Yummy turkey burgers with gigantic fries. Robin is a singer-actor and while she isn't pursuing theatre as a career right now she has been on Broadway and was full of advice for me. It was so nice to meet her and see why Adrienne is such a big fan of hers! We continued our conversations (and splurging) at another diner closer to our house called, "Burger Heaven" where we split a few desserts.
Seri and Bradley came over for some tea and some play with Gracie after their dinner date with one of Bradley's high school friends. It was a good time, oh yeah, love those Quartons!

Saturday was the big makeover day with my 4pm appointment set at Devachan salon, the mecca for curly hair. So much more on that to come!
I was excited to go back to my Sat. morning dance classes. I was sad not to see Gail at Nia but still got a great workout making shapes and shaking my bones. I also was thrilled to be back in Abby's class. We did hip-hop which is a struggle for my white, goody-goody body but I did my best to look mad and fierce. I'm not quitting my day job...or whatever.
Adrienne accompanied me on the big adventure. Devachan is in the heart of Soho, the trendy, trendy part of town. It was super-crowded on the street and we found the salon hidden away, in the basement of a building with a doorman. Already, the mystique poured in. I had to check in and then exchanged my coat for a silky gold robe. I sat with excitement next to Adrienne. Apparently Jeffrey, my stylist, was running a little behind, and so we were offered tea and enjoyed the hibiscus-y concoction immensely. Yum! Already, I knew this was going to be a flavor-ful experience. We chatted up a really sweet man waiting for his wife to get her hair colored. He didn't know about the cult of Devachan and was shocked when two girls checked in and announced they had come all the way from DC for their curly lock haircuts!
Well, after a few more minutes, Jeffrey introduced himself to me and then sat me in one of his chairs. It seemed like he had two or three other girls at various stages in their Devachan experience while he was working with me. I enjoyed him ssssoooooooooo much. Honestly he not only spoke a foreign curl language (lots about the inner and outer weight of my hair and how my curls had become too friendly with eachother) but also with a pretty thick Malaysian-Chinese accent. But he had a great sense of humor, I loved talking to him about Malaysia and he was so passionate about how to treat curls! I got the giggles several times when I watched his intensity in trimming each dry curl. I had to bring Adrienne over to experience the joy! After he did the dry cut and started explaining how my life was going to change (no more shampoo, never again, no combs, just fingers and water-based products...i think he nearly fainted when I told him that I had used mousse that morning!!!!), I had the extreme pleasure of getting my carefully trimmed curls washed and "set." The wash station was like a reclining massage table with a mosquito net and complete with delicious smelling products and a great head and neck massage. Loved it! My hair-washer also dried my hair and applied gel with paper towels? and then clipped pieces of it for added height and then put my head into an extremely fast hair dryer. After it was "set" my curls definitely looked different and Jeffrey seemed pleased. He talked me through my entire program...lots of conditioning, scrunching, drying with paper towels and no shampooing....and my favorite line, he said, "Call me anytime you have questions." He is like my curl doctor! Based on my overly-friendly curls and the "inner weight" issues, he doesn't want to see me for another 7 months. Can I really wait that long? It was so fun and a totally other-worldly experience. I feel like my hair has changed forever!
We didn't finish at the salon until 6:30! and went straight to Macy's on 34th for some makeup ideas. We went to the Prescriptives counter and I got color-typed again and to my astonishment I am actually a yellow-orange. Another life-altering revelation! We were starving and Adrienne remembered a fun diner in Times Square. Note to everyone...don't eat in Times Square, especially diner food, you will get ripped off! We decided to have a last indulgence after a week of splurging to propel us into Dr. Oz allegiance...we stopped at Carnegie Deli for a slice of 5th Avenue Pie to share. Totally full of calories and needless sugar, I honestly don't need to ever eat it or anything like it again.

more pirates...

2007-03-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning started painfully early with me forcing myself to leave the apartment and get to the gym at 6. I was trying to be quiet as a mouse for the two girls and took my breakfast on the road with me. I had my oatmeal in one hand and my many bags in the other and was trying to eat with mittens on because it was 10 degrees and windy...when I dropped my oatmeal on the sidewalk (SAD!) and realized that my snacks and lunch were also locked up in my apartment. I knew it was going to be a rough day from that tragic moment. Oh, so dramatic, I know! I put in my quick workout and made my way to Chelsea where I sat in an unofficial line for a non-equity summer stock call. Kat had my back at another dinner theatre call at the Ripley Grier studios. The girl next to me and I ended up chatting because we both had been reading our Bibles and discovered that we both go to Redeemer! So neat. I look forward to seeing her again in the future. That audition was decent but they asked me about my tap and I said it was "pretty good" and that I was currently in class...apparently those things do not add up to a callback. Oh well. I ran over in the freezing cold to R-G for the Oklahoma call...again, I was fine but didn't get called back. Maybe they wanted ballerina Laureys?? Definitely it had been a discouraging couple of days in audition land. I headed out to Inwood for another lesson with Carol. It was frustrating at times, as I felt vocally tired, and on the brink of sickness, but our lesson ended well and with encouragement. I then met Seri at the Time Warner Center where we popped into Whole Foods to get some liquids before braving the cold for a short tour of the Upper West Side. This included a brief jaunt into the park where we walked right past Conan O'Brien and his baby. I was elbowing Seri as we walked past and she thought I was elbowing her to look at the baby so she completely missed Conan. Two days in a row she missed! I told her about my strategy....you have to walk around NY with your eyes up, fully anticipating that you will see a celebrity. And chances are, a few times a week, it seems, you will! We stopped at Levain Bakery, nearly hidden from the street on 73rd, but worth the search for the amazing cookies and the baked jelly donut we tried. Oh heavens. By then it was time to go to my Bible Study where I was happy to introduce Seri to all my new friends. We finished up a meaty section of Romans before taking a bit of a break and celebrating Kyle's 30th birthday with yummy cakes, pizza and to Seri's ears, the most beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" ever sung. It was a great afternoon! Seri and I wandered a bit before meeting up with Stacy's fiancee to return her key and hopping on the crosstown bus. We had some Chinese take-out with Adrienne before settling down for the night.

Wednesday, I somehow didn't hear my alarm for my early gym call. I trashed that plan and got ready at home and somehow got to Chelsea studios at the very perfect time, before some serious unofficial/official list mayhem ensued. We were there for the Theatreworks open-call. This Theatreworks mostly does touring shows for children but is famous for getting Equity cards for their actors. So, you can imagine the non-equity desparation steeping in the room, hoping for an appointment. I was 86 on the unofficial list and was able to sign up for a 3 pm time, not close to the morning time I was hoping for. I took the opportunity to check out the scene at the Equity building which at first looked good for two EPAs I was signed up for...it quickly turned bad and I met Seri for lunch in Gramercy at an Indo-Chinese place. Really tasty deep fried vegetables in a taro bowl was my favorite. The Singapore Noodles couldn't hold a candle to Kirin's. I ate myself silly before booking it back over to the audition where I hurried up and waited and sang a very rough cut of "I don't know his name" to total disinterest from the panel. I think they were tired. I met up with Seri again, this time in Soho, at the Dean and Deluca and was most excited to check out a New York institution called, "Ricky's" with her. I had seen a sign for one coming soon on 3rd Ave, right near my house, and actually thought it was a weird sex-shop. I was actually disappointed that smut was coming to my street but it turns out it's not a sex shop at all but a paradise of every kind of beauty product and makeup applicator and hair tie and anything else amazing you can think of...I'm soooooooo excited now, although a little scared too, so tempting!
Seri and I met Grace and Adrienne for dinner (I know, I feel like we just ate...but I guess this is what happens when friends come into town!) at a Japanese ramen house that specializes in Sumo-Wrestler cuisione. I guess it's not unusual for retired Sumo wrestlers to open restaurants featuring the food that ate in their training. I had the Menchanko soup...very delicious with noodles and shrimp and mochi and fried bean curd. Grace left for her home in Queens while the three of us headed to the Hilton Theatre on 42nd and Broadway for "The Pirate Queen"'s 2nd night of previews. We were able to score $25 tickets in the second row of the balcony. Apparently, going to previews is the way to do it! This show was written by the Les Mis people and produced by the Riverdance people so you can imagine what that equation brings...some amazing Irish dancing and a lot of wanna-be "Bring Him Home", "I dreamed a dream" and "One day more" moments. I'm pretty sure Lis would still love it. I actually really loved it, despite its many flaws, and I was completely blown away by the leading lady, Stephanie Block. She could do it all, belt, mix, float....and for days! I was totally inspired. We enjoyed giggling together in some of the sillier moments and sat with Carolyn and her industry friends who really got into tearing it apart. Let's hope Ms. Block will get to star in it for at least a few months but there's no telling with these things...I guess some shows don't even make it out of previews!
We took a cab home and called it a night, turning down an offer to further dissect the show with Carolyn and co.
I started feeling a bit sick in the afternoon and by evening was pretty sure I was not doing great and so....

Thursday morning I slept in. Seri and I had a fun morning together, lazing around and continuing some discussions before she had to leave to transfer her stuff to Carolyn's apartment in anticipation of Bradley's arrival this afternoon. I really did nothing but throw myself an "I'm sick" pity-party for a few hours, then researched "110 in the shade" and showered before meeting new-friend and retreat-roomie Jenny at her work on Madison Ave at 5. We went to the Drowsy Chaperone box office to try to get tickets for the Sunday matinee. They have back of mezzanine tix for $26 but were all sold-out when we got there. We chilled a bit in the Marquis Marriot lounge before splitting paths. I went to Union Square and grabbed a quick salad at a place called "Chop't" where they take all your salad ingredients ala Plutos and then chop it all together on a cutting board...again, I think Lis would be into this. I stuffed my face quickly and headed to my last session of the Gym. I was so apprehensive because my throat was feeling funny and I wasn't as prepared for my song as I would have liked...it was an amazing session as usual...with some great singing and brilliant direction...I sang "The Light in the Piazza" and butchered much of it the first time and was able to redeem it. I was really encouraged by the director who responded to my recent audition discouragement by saying I needed to have patience and realize that it is going to take some time and that I'm doing what I need to be doing and to just keep going out there...and that eventually I'll be the kind of actor that they build a show around. Whatever that means, I was really encouraged, and so after a hard day of being sick and sad about that, I'm again inspired and feel glad to be here and confident that this waiting and showing up will someday pay off.

a week of pirates begins...

2007-03-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I was up early for an audition for a theatre company that my church (Redeemer) started called "Threads." I did my Popo Martin, schizo-cheerleader monologue for laughs and then flailed miserably in my reading of their "Phantom Tollbooth" script. The character was a swindling salesman and I went to a really bad place vocally and ended up doing lots of shouting that didn't feel great. Alas.
I met up with Adrienne in Union Square where we enjoyed the most beautiful day yet in NYC....50s and sunny, I was able to shed my top layer and go sleeveless!!!! Amazing. We gobbled up apple samples in the farmers market and looked around at all the cheeses and pricey pickles before meeting Eric and Sara for lunch. We went to Rosa Mexicana, a pretty fancy place, actually that had amazing service and food! They have the home-made guacomole trick at your table that we couldn't pass up and I loved my breakfast tacos with poblano peppers.
After lunch, Adrienne and I initiated Eric and Sara into the Trader Joes craziness...and crazy it is on a Saturday afternoon. Not really pleasant, at all. But, gotta have that medley of giant raisins and fiber bread. Adrienne and I took the 3rd Ave bus home which actually took an hour and I at one point fell asleep on her shoulder!
I had gotten us tickets for New York City Opera's "Pirates of Penzance" and we had the very nose-bled of seats (the 4th balcony...but only $13!)...but we managed to sneak into some better ones for Act 2 and all the while put our binoculars to great use. The Mabel was fantastic and so were most of the men. The mezzo playing Ruth was the only major disappointment. I loved the staging concept...campy and making fun of itself with the overture fully staged as a melodrama. Mabel was fierce and a total drama queen with her "Poor Wandering One" punctuated with the Lucia cadenzas...so great.

Sunday was another glorious morning to walk across the park to church. I ran into my new "friend" Julia as I was being seated and enjoyed sitting with her and catching up on her life as a Columbia student. Louise and Tom from my small group were part of a spectacular and very special Beethoven piano trio that lined the morning worship. A-mazing!
After church I was a laundry and cleaning machine...needing to get the apartment ready for Seri's visit the next day. Having people over is the best motivation for organizing and cleaning...whew, I really sorted through some serious piles. I made Sunday pizza, a new tradition for 7F and we settled in for some Grease watching....you're the one that I want! I also created a new recipe for peanut butter-chocolate popcorn....Dr. Oz approved, even. Ha!

Monday morning started super early....Kat and I partnered up and weathered the non-equity sign up sheets at different locations on behalf of eachother. I took Chelsea and she took Nola and we reunited at Nola where we were auditioning for a dinner theatre in IN called "Beef 'n Boards." Hmmmm...I don't know about that one. It was a total nightmare with the building people kicking girls out before 8:30 and then the monitor for the company honoring the unofficial list as soon as he got off the elevator, reading names before girls had a chance to get upstairs to respond and then making them go to the end of the line. Kat and I got lucky and got out of there by 10 am. We both felt we sang our 16 bars well but got nothing more than a "great" and a really tempermental pianist. We then headed to Chelsea for the chorus call for Starlight Theatre's "Wizard of Oz." This proved even more frustrating...the director was nice enough to hear all of us non-equity girls and he typed us by having us sing the first line from "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in either a low, medium or high key. When I say high I mean high B-flat, just below high C. That song is not meant to be up there...anyhoo...we each had to sing it, one by one, in front of eachother and yours truly had the honor of being dead last. I sang the high one, of course, to which he showed no interest. It was discouraging, though, to hear the few girls he did keep and wonder why we'd been passed over. I guess these are things we just can't overthink.
I was glad to clear my head of all that nonsense and meet up with Seri and her sister-in-law Carolyn who is another recent transplant to NYC. Carolyn is a stage director and lives in Tribeca. We met up in Soho, a fancy land I had never explored. So fun! I love the cobblestone streets and the much too cool for school storefronts that are minimalist yet edgy. We went to a really fun lunch spot called "Bar 89" on Mercer Street. As we were stepping inside, Juliana Marguilies walked past me...and I smiled at her...she is really beautiful yet tiny! The girls were miffed they didn't see her but we loved our yummy food and loved even more the funky bathrooms with transparent doors that turn opaque when you step inside. There's even a slide that flashes "occupied" on the wall behind. So swanky! We walked around a bit and then picked up Seri's luggage from her friend Stacy's apartment in the Village...whoa...Stacy is subletting this 1-bedroom/studio/I don't know what you'd call it but it's crazy and she has a small claw-foot-tub in the middle of the first room and that is her only shower! There are not enough words to describe the clutter and color that place contained...whew. Seri and I hopped on a train to my place and we chatted a bit before I got ready for dinner with my old bosses. Lara and Michael from La Bodeguita were in town for a restaurant convention of sorts and had me meet them at their hotel, the Regency, another super swanky spot on Park Ave. We took a cab to Lupa, one of Mario Batali's ventures, a Roman-style tavern. It was such a fun evening! We had lots of fun meats to start including prosciutto, sausage, lingua (yes, that's tongue in italiano) and headcheese! I tried them all! I liked better the roasted beets and shaved brussel sprouts with pecorino but I also braved some sardines to be a team player. I had a wonderful Bellini as a cocktail and then we had a great medium Italian red wine together. For an entree I had my first ever Saltimbocca which was absolutely delicious despite a slightly unappetizing presentation. Lara had a super-tender pork shoulder and Michael had sea bass and an extra round of prosciutto for good measure.
Dessert was my favorite, of course, and I had chosen for us the Tartuffo which was a scoop of ice cream with biscotti and dried cherries imbedded and then covered in a hard shell of chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. Buon gusto! They also ordered us a plate of three cheeses with a ricotta and honey, an amazing semi-soft cheese made from sheep, goat and cow's milk and another really rich hard cheese accompanied with bread, kumquat jelly and almond-stuffed dates. We loved our meal there and our waitress was super-knowledgeable and gave us just the right amount of attention. Stuffed to our gils we walked to a restaurant we had seen on our way in called, "Cuba." I thought we were just going in to see the menu but they insisted we get a drink so I continued the search for the best sangria in NYC. Pretty good, yes, the best, I'm not sure.
Wow...I really get carried away with all that food talk! It was so nice to be with Michael and Lara...they have such an ease about them and between them and you can't help but enjoy being in their company. I was excited to find out more about their stories and how they got to Bodeguita.
I was a little tipsy by the time I got home and excited to tell Adrienne and Jon all about my culinary (and wine!!) adventure. Seri came in pretty late that evening and I got her settled into Hotel 7F before falling dead asleep.

snippets from a week...

2007-03-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I guess some of you have noticed I haven't been blogging recently...to be completely honest, it's been a crazy week of early mornings and late nights, but I also wasn't sure anyone was reading because of the lack of comments (ahem, ahem, hint, hint). But apparently you are...so, to elicit commentary without overwhelming you, I'll give you a snapshot of the last several days.

Last Thursday....
was a bit disappointing because I wasn't seen at "The Coram Boy" call which is the new Broadway play that was looking for legit singers for the ensemble. Alas, I did leave a resume and highlighted all my legit training. We can hope! I met a really nice girl, Kat, who also just moved to NYC from CA. She went to the SF Conservatory of Music for her master's and had done a show at 42nd Street Moon. She recognized me and introduced herself....she is also an EMC and we commiserated together about our plight! That evening I went back to "The Gym"...amazing! I love the class and John and Laura are helping me, and the rest of the girls so much. I worked on my new favorite song, "I wish it so" as well as "Somebody, Somewhere."

Friday morning....
I tried to get seen for "The Molly Maguires" EPA and got really close, 2nd on the EMC list, but they started the call 20 minutes late and that pretty much killed it...luck had me in line with Richard, a singer I lived across the hall from in Aspen in the summer of 2000. He now exclusively does theatre and had some great tips for me! He also got my contact info and was kind enough to call me from his next audition stop to let me know I would defnitely get seen there....I brought my new friend Kat along! We stuck together throughout the day, waiting and hoping, and then moving onto the Papermill Playhouse "Pirates" open call. Over 300 girls showed up so they typed us in groups of 50. I got typed in for the first time (yay!) but then after my 16 bars I was deemed not "sorority-ditsy" enough...alas, it would have been an AMAZING gig. But, as I was waiting in line to sing, who walks through a side-door into the hallway but Sean Hayes of "Will and Grace!" EEEEEEEEEEEEk. He said, "HI, ladies" as he walked into what is certainly the final stages of casting for Mel Brooks' new "Young Frankenstein" musical. So, so, so fun. My friend Dani was in line much later than I and said she spotted not only Sean Hayes, but Megan Mullaly and Eric McCormack!!!! I guess they are all in the running.
Friday night I went away to New Jersey on a large bus with about 50 ladies from Redeemer for a retreat! We stayed at a Salvation Army Lodge which was actually quite nice...definitely not roughing it...at all! I roomed with a wonderful girl and fellow singer, Jenny H, and we have so much in common including an obsession with Splenda! That evening was pretty mellow with a snack and some worship before bed-time.

Saturday and Sunday....
Lauren Winner, a favorite Christian memoirist, was the speaker for our retreat. I loved her realism and academic approach to our faith. I met some really nice girls...other than Jenny I didn't spend much concentrated time with many of them but I know when I see them at church I will have a connection that can grow deeper...which is great! One of the funny aspects of the retreat was how much they fed us...non-stop! Huge meals and then snacks and desserts. So much for Dr. Oz. And the "Seargent" always said, "Dear sisters...." It was great to be away and just to be in a quiet place without the whirl of the city. The lodge looks over a frozen lake that was very inviting for quiet times.
We made it back on Sunday afternoon and just in time for the snow to begin! They scared us with serious snow storm warnings (that nor'easter!) but it really was only about 3 or 4 inches, if that.

Monday, I had great luck getting into sing for a West Side Story EPA...I got in at 10:30 and then enjoyed a lunch with my dear Soon who was in town for literally one day! I spent most of my afternoon waiting at the Equity building without luck.

Tuesday, I was up before the sun to hit the gym before auditions. I was on the arc-climber by 6:20. Whew. It takes a lot of prep-work the night before to get my gym bag together but it may be the only way to fit the gym in! After signing up on a list, I went to a nearby Starbucks where I met up with old friend and opera-diva Erin W. who was in town for an audition. It was so fun to see her, however brief our time. I sang for "Ripper" the musical and then headed to Inwood for a voice lesson. Bible Study was as awesome as usual with the added bonus of friend Chad B, and my Frederick from Dayton's "Pirates" unexpected entrance. Apparently he is long-time friends of Louis and Rosemary and was staying with them while he auditioned for management (which he got! yay!). So crazy! I don't know who was more surprised!
I met new-friend Grace at the Pinkberry in Koreatown. Amazing frozen yoghurt, don't get me wrong, but $6???!!! Eek. It was really nice to spend time with Grace, however!

Wednesday, I went back to the gym, early, early and had a long day of signing up for an open call, going to an opera coaching, killing time in the most productive way, and settling into a room of nearly 400 girls waiting to be typed out. This time we had two options...to sing the last line of the "tonight" quartet with the high C or a belty piece from "Crazy for You." I sang first in front of the 24 other girls in my group...being a girl who really can sing a high C I was really disappointed I didn't make it past the firing squad...but I think I'm going to have to get used to what a look-driven biz this is...more on that, to come! I came home and made myself some pb popcorn and allowed myself a moment to watch last week's Grey's Anatomy...and I had a private cry-fest. That evening I went out to a nearby church for a somewhat "Waiting for Guffman"-like audition experience for their upcoming "Music Man." I was really only interested in Marian, which was pre-cast. The audition process was so scattered and inefficient, I found myself longing for the rigidity of 16 bars and the militaristic herding that reigns in equity calls. I nearly abandoned ship, watching the first group of 10 "dance" after waiting over an hour for my chance. But, I figured, what a great opportunity to practice the art of auditioning and to erase the negativity I was feeling over being typed out after my high C! I sang "If I Loved You" and for the first time in NYC, got applause! They had me read for a bunch of parts and they were really lovely and sweet people, if unorganized. As much as I liked them, I had already decided that no matter what part they might offer, I would not be able to handle doing a show with them, on a volunteer basis. Adrienne had suggested that any sort of NY experience is great, but I think the audition told me otherwise.

Thursday, I joined forces again with Kat, waiting together for two different calls without success. We gave up and went Trader Joes shopping (thinking of Char and his "cat cookies" the whole time, of course) after seeing the alternate list rise above 100. Eek. Earlier Thursday I ran into Annie Petersmeyer, my 1st grade partner!!!, who moved to NYC just a few days ago. She looks great and when she said my name I at first didn't recognize her, so out of context! She knows a bunch of folks from her theatre travels and introduced me to a few...I loved catching up with her and getting some gossip on my favorite "dancelife" characters. (It's a show on MTV...anyone watching???? It's amazing!)
After coming home from Trader Joes, I made sandwiches and brought them to my roomie from last weekend, Jenny, who surprised me with a trip to the zoo!!! So fun! I kind of knew there was a zoo in Central Park but had no idea it contained monkeys, penguins, two polar bears and red pandas!!!! We had so much fun and took some cute pictures. Jenny works at a real-estate investment firm on Madison and 59th, very near the zoo. We're planning on future picnics. It totally made my day and cheered me up so much.
Thursday night I went back to class which was again, so much fun. It was amazing to see, in 3 classes, all the growth in my classmates. Really exciting stuff! I brought in 2 songs from "She Loves Me" and apparently, I'm "quirky." The director said so. It's always interesting to have someone who knows you from only 60 minutes of work define you...I guess I never defined myself that way, but hey, I'd rather be quirky than boring!

Friday...yay...did you make it this far? I finally caught up!
As Adrienne says, perhaps nothing is worse than a rainy day in NYC. Imagine, puddles nearly flooding every subway station...umbrellas waiting to poke your eyes out on every sidewalk...my own "weather-proof" umbrella biting the dust...just like all the tossed, wounded soldiers literally lining the streets...I arrived to my first audition sign-up with a wet backpack and it just got worse from there! I went back and forth to 3 different studios within a few hours and did my first straight-play audition. I didn't get a call-back but I'm glad that I went in and tried it, at least! I lost steam and was feeling sick for the other two EPAs. I had the best of intentions of returning after the lunch break but when I got home I felt like I really was coming down with something so I opted for a quick nap instead. At 4 I had a coaching with Laura from "The Gym." She is helping me learn to mix and was so encouraging. But again, she thinks I'm quirky and ethnic-looking and that we have to work on my "look." She thinks that my presentation is probably the biggest reason I haven't gotten more call-backs. Hmmm...interesting. I told Adrienne about this and she is very excited to help me with the makeover, whateve that will entail. I'm thinking about getting my haircut, just once, at one of these curly-hair specialists, so they can teach me what to do with it.
Oh, by the way, on my way home from the coaching, on 8th Avenue, I walked past Austin and Jay from Project Runway's 1st Season. I snickered when a guy passed them and said "Hi Austin" and left Jay unacknowledged to his offense. These celebrities are everywhere.
I had high hopes that Adrienne and I might see a show tonight or do something fun but the feeling sick thing inspired us to order in and eat some really delicious German chocolate that our sweet Jen Piazza Pick sent us! Sorry Dr. Oz.

finally 50!

2007-02-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

So...I'm going to be brief about the last couple of days!
Monday was a holiday for normal people but an early morning of rushing to various audition calls. I was "typed out" for the first time for a production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in WI. Typing is when they bring you in front of the director in a large group and he looks at you and your resume and puts everyone's resumes in seeminly random piles before calling out the few that he'll keep and hear sing. I was apparently not a cute flapper-to-be. Oh well. I did get to sing Ogunquit which felt great since I had spent 8 hours a few weeks ago trying to crash their EPA. They were really nice and asked how well I tapped. I said, "pretty good" and one asked, "Susan Stroman good?" and I nodded yes and said "no" at the same time. They thought that was funny. :)
Monday night I went to the Bixlers' house in Harlem for a Redeemer Performance Workshop. They host the gathering of musicians once a month and several people play before we all eat dinner together. I ended up singing a short song and reall enjoyed hearing a great Prokofiev quintet and a trumpeter's excerpts for a symphony audition. I met some nice people and it felt so nice to be in a home among children, not to mention a yummy home-cooked meal. Harlem is a little shady though, outside their house, and I was glad for new friends to join on the subway.

Tuesday was disappointing in the audition department, with two failed attempts, including the chorus call for Mary Poppins. I guess I'm not the only one that thinks she can sing "supercalifragilistic..." with charm! I used some of the extra time to bake some brownies for somebody special's upcoming birthday and brought the extras to bible study. Such a great way to make friends! They were a big hit! I'm so thankful for the oasis that the group is for me, and each week I gather more courage to speak up. They are all so smart! I came home to find Adrienne had made an amazing dinner of Chicken Parmesan with pasta and zucchini. Yummers....

After the disappointment of yesterday and the general feeling that every audition I do get to sing, they enjoy me, but don't know what to do with my trained sound, I decided to take the day off auditions to work on my "book" and do some more productive practicing. I went back to NIA class...it had been a while and it was great to shake those bones again. I spent a lot, a lot of time at Staples copying all my new songs for my "book" and was excited to get a phone call from Shari Mowlavi who got engaged last week. She met him on Match only a month ago and her story was better than any romantic comedy I've encountered. I cried and laughed hearing all the juicy details, including the description of her 4-carat rock. Oh my, I'd settle for 1, okay 1/2. Goodness. I did some practicing and organizing before taking a nice walk to the West Side because it's 50 degrees outside!!! Amazing! It's kind of a strange temperature, nearly too hot for the sleeping bag that I am used to wearing at all times. I barely made it to the library before it closed, copying "Come unto Him" for the "Coram Boy" audition that I'm hoping and wishing I'll get seen for. I killed some time working on my acting choices for my songs before heading over to Juilliard to wait in line for their production of "Iphigenie en Aulide" an early French opera. Other than the mezzo, who I had heard before and love, it was a bit boring so i ended up taking off after the first act. And now, it's time for bed. Thanks for checking in. I miss you all, all the time. xoxoxo

Happy New Year and Debbie V!

2007-02-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

Okay...I'm catching up on the weekend, again!
Friday was one of those days where all the best plans were disrupted and the day evolved into something entirely wonderful, depite it all. Plan--go to Nia, then 2 more dance classes at Steps, go to the library and research news songs and then have a coaching with Michael at Juilliard. Reality--go to the gym, barely miss beginning of Nia and skip it and work the cross-trainer instead, go get soy milk and splenda (Ah!!!! I couldn't take no splenda life anymore!) at Key Market where I was 26 cents short and the cashier tells me to bring it in next time (amazing! NYers can be nice.), get call from Maria D'Amato that she is in the neigborhood and decide to ditch dance and meet Maria at the cutest tea place in the world called, "Alice's Tea Cup." It is completely decked out with Alice in Wonderland paraphenelia and Maria says the waitresses often wear fairy wings. Maybe I should get a job there!? It is just a sweet and wonderful place and I loved the chance to really catch up with Maria and not just hear her gorgeous voice from the stage. I tried a pot of ginger tea and Maria had two amazing-looking scones (pumpkin and chocolate-cranberry, I think?). I can't wait for you all to visit so I can take you there...I'll even eat some sugar with you, I promise! Since I am now aware that people can find this blog on the WWW...to all you opera directors out there, trust me, you want to hire Maria...she rocks! I practiced in my apartment a bit before heading to the West side...and then got a call that Michael had to cancel. I looked positively on the great opportunity I had to linger at the library! I ended up meeting a woman in the aisle where the Handel opera scores live...she ran up to me and asked me if I was a soprano and if I could help her find a Handel choral-like piece for an upcoming Broadway audition. She was so excited when I picked "Bel piacere" and wrote out the pronunciation and even found her a CD of Renee Fleming singing it...she said, "I just know God sent you to me as my little angel." And you know, I like to believe God did send me to help her and also tell me about that audition that I will definitely be crashing on Thursday! There was a reason I didn't go to dance class and my coaching got cancelled. All good. I had so much fun finding several of the songs that Laura had recommended the night before. I loaded myself up with scores and books and braved getting on the subway during rush-hour. I have to say it's not real fun. When I arrived home I was met by Adrienne and her mom, Susan, who came for the weekend from Pennsylvania. We had such a nice evening, ordering in Chinese and watching "Wordplay" a documentary about crossword puzzlers (I heart Will Shortz) which inspired a friendly competition of Scrabble. Adrienne cleaned up and I lost, but I'd like to blame it on all those vowels!

Saturday morning I rose with the sun to attend the Redeemer Membership Seminar. My new strategy is just to leave my blinds open at night. I find waking up early for the casting calls, etc. is so much more pleasant and I don't have to get frustrated with the finicky blinds that sometimes don't like to close!
The Redeemer Offices are down on Broadway near Herald Square. They had catered coffee and fruit and breads and there was a little awkward mingling before the sessions began. We sat in tables from which we split up into groups and I met some interesting girls. I know, I keep meeting girls. Yeah, yeah. I learned a lot about Redeemer and how it started and its vision for the whole of NYC...very cool stuff and I was also interested in hearing about the PCA denomination and how that differs with PCUSA. Basically, it's a bit more conservative in the areas of women's ordination but similar in that way to what I knew at Highway. I was really impressed with the two staff members who led us...both seminary graduates and so quick on their feet about really tough questions that people posed...mostly having to do with the hot button topics of infant baptism, pre-destination (EEK!) and the ordination of women.
Adrienne had thrown out the possibility of going to Jersey for the afternoon to do some shopping and just get out of the city but she and her mom were pooped and disappointed with the shopping they found in the morning so we altered our plans. Instead, we had an amazing Malaysian dinner at "Penang" where I had some desserty banana frozen cocktail and the Curry Mee. Yummmmm. We were stuffed but saw a "Pinkberry" across the street which is a fro-yo place that had been highly recommended by my new friend Grace. They only have two flavors, yoghurt and green tea. It's all-natural, pretty low in sugar, and comes with the option of many fresh fruit choices. I went for yoghurt with mango...so refreshing and delicious!
We had gotten tickets to the Radio City Music Hall that evening. Adrienne had wanted to see the Chinese New Year Spectacular and so her mom bought us amazing orchestra tickets. Gong hay fat choy. Oh my goodness...first of all, it was a nightmare getting into the Music Hall and getting our tickets from Will Call. Mob scene! But once inside I was thrilled by the art-deco space...really really cool. Our seats were perfect and I sat next to a woman and her husband who slept through the entire show. He snored through it all and I decided they must have just gotten off the plane from China! The show started with a funny dramatization about some Emperor and Adrienne nearly lost it when the set graphics started floating around. Hard to explain. The costumes were stunning and it was a sort of variety show with singers, instrumentalists and a lot of dance numbers with props and banners. We didn't realize until about halfway through the 1st Act that this show was full of Falun Gong propaganda. It turns out that the TV station that organizes it is a Falun Gong affiliate. Hmmm....very interesting. My favorite part was the woman who played the two string instrument that is a hybrid of a guitar and a violin. She was amazing and there were no words to ponder about the Divine Way or Tianamen Square.
Of course, as soon as we came home, we did google research and found out exactly what we suspected...undercover Falun Gong propaganda at Radio City! Hmmph!
On a side note...I seem to have a frequent problem when i open cab doors...the wind pulls the car door and generally hits the car next to it....oops!...Adrienne has now witnessed this 3 times...the first time I actually saw yellow paint on a shiny black Mercedes. Nightmare!

Arising again with the sun, I enjoyed my walk across the park to church. The snow is still packed onto the lawns and the sun was out and so were all the dogs in Manhattan. The only problem with these long walks is that I end up arriving at church a bit hot and sweaty. You know, here, you're either hot or cold. I guess I prefer hot. Church was wonderful as always with highlights being an amazing violin sonata and a quartet from Mendelsohn's Elijah that included two guys from my small group. The bass, Louis, was especially amazing. Wowsers! I chatted bit with the two women next to me who happened to be visiting from Baltimore. One of them grew up in Mountain View! Random. As I was chatting with the them, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the one and only Deborah Voigt, talking to my friends from small group. Oh my goodness gracious. I didn't want to go over there and fawn all over her but I did end up saying "Hi" to Rosemary and by way of her, getting a hug from Mark. I slithered away, not wanting to be another drooling fan, and went downstairs to get coffee. I ran into Julia, a girl I met a few weeks back at a Citilights praise night and I really enjoyed catching up with her. She is so sweet and gentle. While we were talking, Mark came up to me and said, "Kristen, I'd like you to meet my friend Debbie!" ahahahah! I shook her hand and I think I said something like, "Wow, it's such a pleasure to meet you" before introducing her to Julia and making a bit of small-talk. It was pretty amazing and she is so beautiful and kind in person! Jenny, a fellow singer that I met last week, came up to me a few seconds later and we giggled about how we couldn't believe we got to meet her! It's like meeting Bono in opera-land, really. I giddily walked back through the park calling all my opera friends that I thought would be awake to let them know what had happened! On my way back home, Alexandra, my new friend from the library, called me with desperation in her voice. I ended up meeting her at a studio on the West side to teach her a song for Thursday...we ended up with "Dido's Lament" from "Dido and Aeneas." I really was happy to help her and like she said, I hope I get to sing for this audition, because it's perfect for me!
I had hoped to meet up with Laura Andersen, one of my Redwood Camp campers and a freshman now at Georgetown. She was in town visiting some family and after about 6 games of phone tag it ended up not working out. We had a good chat on the phone and I was glad for the extra time to practice and get my week of auditions in order.
I took my first trip to Queens to have dinner with 3 Rice friends: Amy Krivo, Jameson James and his new wife Naomi Horowitz. I had such a great time with them and felt home once again. Jameson was a voice major with me at Rice and I have fond memories of straddling him during "Pirates of Penzance". Naomi actually directed the Hanszen College production of "Guys and Dolls" I was in and Amy K was and is an amazing actor-singer and someone I always felt was a kindred spirit. Jameson and Naomi live in Astoria which is famous for its Greek food. Astoria apparently has the greatest concentration of Greeks outside of Greece....Opa! Actually, their house is right near a restaurant called, "Opa!" that has a great recommendation. Can't wait to try it! The dinner and wine was amazing...Jameson is now a cheese and wine expert and is the general manager of a new wine store in addition to singing tenor. He hooked us up with a beautiful Pinot Gris. Yum. They served a white bean puree with truffles to start and then some Greek sausage with an asparagus and edamame risotto. Tres gourmet and so delicious. I really loved looking through their amazing wedding photos and seeing the passion that both Naomi and Jameson had for eachother's dreams. Really sweet! Amy K lives across the street from them and we had fun commiserating about the life of the non-equity actor. She has a real job, as a copywriter for Oxford Press, and isn't auditioning as much, but still may join me at some of the auditions to come. It was such a great, great night and I hated to leave but with two auditions early in the morning...I left around 11 pm. Just a note, the subways are scariest on Sunday nights. That's all. :)

early morning and lots to smile about...

2007-02-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

OOOH. It was a rough wake-up when that alarm went off at 6 am. Today was an open-call extravaganza and I was determined to get seen...and that I did! I left the apartment at 6:55 with probably the worst hair I've ever called my own. I mean, really, New York hates my hair. Or does my hair just hate the winter? The Nor'Easter as they like to call it here? My ball of frizz was a sad, sad scene. More on that to come. I went to NOLA studios (after walking the 8 avenues to get there, because remember, i don't believe in transferring) and arrived there around 7:20 to be #13 on the unofficial list that was hanging on the door. The studio didn't open till 8:30 so I was left with more than an hour to pace around in the cold sludge. I first went to Kinkos and made some copies, then went and got some more coffee and a bottle of water, then walked around the block a few times before picking up a copy of my new favorite magazine, Time Out New York, at Duane Reade and cutting myself on one last venti tea at Starbucks. Every warm place I went into I ended up spending money! The monitor for the audition was really, really nice, almost suspiciously nice. But he honored our list and in fact kept thanking us for arriving so early. Nice, but WEIRD. In the holding room I met a nice girl Megan who is from Southern California. More on her later. Who should walk in the door but sweet RJ? It was so fun spending a few hours with him and catching up on his life. Because I was #13 and we were only singing 16 bars I was out of there by 10:30. I got a heartfelt "Lovely, thank you" but no callback. Honestly their season is not really right for me but a callback would feel warm and fuzzy regardless.
I went straight to Chelsea Studios and signed myself and new-friend-Megan up for the Hilton Head production of "Fiddler on the Roof." Time to cash in on all those assumptions that I'm a good Jewish girl. The non-equity women's call wasn't going to start until 3:30 so I went home to just taste the gym before doing some hair 911. I had seen a girl with my hair on a great day at NOLA that morning. I asked her what the secret was and she told me she used some drugstore gel that I hadn't tried yet. I went on a mission to find just that and failing, decided to take a chance on some Suave...shhh...yes, I'm really saying it out loud...MOUSSE!!! Huge improvement. Not feeling like a frizzy poodle, I jaunted back to Chelsea Studios where by the time they got to us lowly non-equity girls, we were allowed a whole 8 bars to sing. OOOOH.....that pretty much makes for girls all singing the same 10 words and then a high note at the end. Apparently whatever everyone was singing was getting tiresome because the pianist came in the holding room and gave a little lecture that all the high notes were not really appropriate. Too bad that is all I do. I sang 8 glorious bars of "If I loved you" and got another "thank you" with yet again, no callback. But I did have fun at that audition running into nearly all of the girls from the oppression tap musical callback and enjoying also my new friend Megan. And my favorite non-equity new friend, Emily, from last week also showed up. It was so nice to see her and get a hug! I hope that we can be true buddies. It's a funny thing...some of these girls that you see everywhere are nice and newsy on a certain level...like a "what are you doing? and what should i be doing that you're not? and what callbacks are you getting?" and then others have potential for true friendship. I see Emily in the latter category.
I got out of there by about 4:45 and reflected on my day...a whole day of waiting and prepping for a grand total of 24 bars of music...amazing!
I had a few hours to kill before my first "The Gym" class nearby Chelsea. I wandered around about 8 blocks popping into stores before realizing my hunger. I somehow resisted the pull of Trader Joes, even though I was in Union Square, but went into Whole Foods and got an amazing piece of whole-wheat, cheeseless, roasted-veggie pizza. YUM. So good. I went upstairs to the picnic area to eat and it was around 5:45 and there were no seats anywhere. Well, I spotted one in the middle of a large table and went to sit down. In a typical bizarro NYC moment, my new friend Mitch from church was staring across from me. He was on break from his new job at Strand Books (where Claire Danes was apparently spotted this week) with a co-worker. So crazy! It was such a blessing to chat with them and feel so connected to this wild city. They had to go back to work and I prepped myself for class, anticipating hard questions about my song.
Class was soooo great. I love it and I'm so inspired to learn and grow and not be a perfect opera singer but instead have conversations and problems and uncomfortable moments in my songs. And then maybe I'll stop being lovely and start being called back! The teacher, John Ruocco, was awesome and so quick on his feet with each girl. There are 8 of us and I went last being pretty scared about how undefined my story was for my songs and feeling pretty inadequate next to the focused acting of the others. The pianist was amazing and gave me tons of tips for songs to learn. I am going to the library tomorrow! Eek. I'm excited.
And now I'm trying to wind down after all that excitement and so to that end I'm going to try to go to bed....sweet dreams!

catching up with st. valentine

2007-02-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I'm a few days behind.
Here's to the highlights of the last four days:

Sunday...Double-Dipping at Church
I walked to church in the morning, finding yet another path through the park. This week the string quartet was back and Mark Delevan (from my bible study, and frequent baritone at the Met) sang "Love bade me welcome" from Vaughn Williams' "5 Mystical Songs." Tim Keller continues his series on the end of Mark and the beauty of the Cross. This week he spoke on the Garden of Gethsemane passage. I had never heard an insight into the parallel between the first garden where Adam sinned and this garden where Jesus had a foretaste of the hell he would encounter to take on that first sin and everything inbetween. Adam was asked by God to obey Him by the tree and he failed. Jesus was asked to obey God by the tree, a different tree, and as our substitute fulfills the law for us. Okay...sorry for the divergence but I am loving learning about the cool details of God's plan for us. In fact, I was so into the sermon that I went back for a second round in the evening. More on that later. At the first service I ran into Coke, (yes that is his name) a tenor who is also in my bible study. He introduced me to Jenny, the girl who sang in church last Sunday. I really liked meeting her and she also introduced me to another singer, Piper, who told me about a Monday artists fellowship group called "the Haven" that I'm planning on checking out in a few weeks.
I walked home from church...I just love Central Park and all the little hidden groves and playgrounds (all ready for Char!) that I keep finding.
It was quite chilly went I headed back to church so I went for the bus and subway route. The evening west-side service is held in an ancient Baptist Church on Broadway. I sat next to a really sweet girl from rural West Virginia named Samantha. She just graduated from Princeton and decided to move to NYC. We exchanged info...Adrienne tells me I'm really great at meeting nice girls at church but that I should work on the nice boys part. Hmmmph. I went out to eat with the Citilights group afterwards at Cosi...a chain cafe here. My new friend Mitch came along...he has quite the ascerbic wit. I also met Christine, a second year drama major at Juilliard; Bob, an engineering student at Columbia; Cambron, a boy from OK who moved here on Wednesday; and Elizabeth, an oboe player who also just moved to the city.

Monday...No audition love
I woke up early, early Monday to press my luck at an EPA for The Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. I got to NOLA studios at 8 in the morning...only to wait in line out side for 20 minutes before being shuffled into a hallway for another half an hour...not being able to sign in till 9. I had a bad feeling, as I saw the steady stream of Equity Cards being flashed, that I had skipped beauty hours for nought....and around 10:30 the monitor dismissed us. I decided to go to the MOMA for some free inspiration. I explored the special exhibit on the 6th floor which is currently featuring Reveron, the first modernist of Venezuela. He was a quirky dude with a penchant for building his own dolls and then painting them, often in the background of his own self-portraits. The exhibit included some of the actual dolls as well as the self-portraits.
I also spent some extensive time on the 5th floor where some of my favorites were the Kandinsky paintins, Klimt's "The Park" and Van Gogh's "Starry Night." It's cliche to say but the brushstrokes up close make for an amazing museum moment! I enjoyed eavesdropping on a tour guide with an English accent...she was very passionate about DuChamp, who seems to be a bit of a nut.
I met Grace, Mary and Seri's friend, for lunch wayyyyyyy downtown. The problem with downtown is that all the numbers go away and I remember how truly directionally challenged I am. It took me a while to find Grace but we ended up meeting on a corner in Tribeca...very fun and chic down there. I passed by the Odeon Cafeteria and glanced at the menu...sandwiches for $19! Eek. I guess that is how lunch goes down in Tribeca. Grace and I went to a really yummy pan-asian place called "Mangez Avec Moi." I could mangez there every day...it was delicious and they had really reasonable lunch specials with brown rice!!! Hurrah! I had a peanut-curry chicken with potatoes..yum-o. I walked with Grace to her office...in the historic Woolworth Building...wowsers! For the first time, I walked past the World Trade Center site. I think it's easy to think of 9/11 as something that happened a long time ago, in a far-away place that doesn't exist. Seeing the big hole in the ground and the bustle of business people all around made me think of the faces I see in the Subway on their way everyday to those surrounding buildings...realizing they probably knew someone in that hole, or could have been neighbors had I lived here then. Heavy thoughts. To run away from the heaviness, I went across the street where NYC's most famous discount store lives...Century 21. I'd heard about it since I moved here and seeing it across the street from the WTC Construction made me think it's a great big dose of retail therapy for NYC. The great prices are certainly no secret...the place was packed. I went straight to the hosiery department and bought some tights...my daily staple in the cold weather.
On my way back uptown, I stopped by Trader Joes for a few essentials and you will not believe who I saw again!!!!! Angela from Project Runway. I guess we are meant to be besties...Crazy, right?
I did some practicing and went to the gym before making dinner. I was planning on going to DTUT (coffehouse) for a Citylights Coffehouse event...it was funny, they didn't have a clear sign marking the group and although I guessed it was them, I found myself unusually shy and ended up cozying up in a corner and journaling. At that point, I felt like it would be reeeeeely dorky to approach them so I spent about 20 minutes journaling before my new friend Carrie met me. She had agreed to check out Brandy's Piano Bar where my friend Michael sings on Mondays. I was so glad she came...we had so much fun at the somewhat random place...Michael was dreamy and amazing as always and Carrie and I both expressed regret on why the cutest ones are always gay. Ah. It was a late night but Michael's run-through of his Xanadu audition sent me to sweet dreams.

Tuesday...lots of homework!
I slept in a little bit on Tuesday, went to the gym and read a play. I did a bunch of practicing before walking across the park for Bible Study. Ah! I got lost. In fact, it was a little scary for awhile. I ran into the pond, I think, where there were signs that said "no outlet." I guess it DOES matter which cross street you start at....hmmm...I arrived at bible study not too late but much too sweaty for a wintry day! It was a great study on Romans 5 and I am starting to feel more comfortable and able to speak up. I found out that Louise, our leader, has been playing in the pit of "The Producers" for over 6 years and they are set to close this summer. Right now Tony Danza is starring...you better book your tickets! Adia, a new girl, came and visited the group. I really liked her and she is also a singer-actor and actually went to CCM. I look forward to talking to her more when we're both not rushing off. I had to go back to the East side to see my friend Maria D'Amato in the cover performance of L'Arlesiana that she is singing with the Opera Orchestra of New York. It was so great to hear her beautiful singing again and I also ran into Luke Grooms, another CCM friend. I was so excited to hear how well his career is going. He has management is getting set to travel to Baltimore for a stint with their opera company. As I walked home it began to snow! I was so excited for the snow...I figure if it's going to be this cold, we should get rewarded with the pretty powder.
I went to bed much earlier than I had been and fell asleep with the windows open. Really, the blinds I have don't keep out much morning light anyways and I have to say it was pretty thrilling to wake up, on Valentine's day with a pinkish cloud spurting out snowflakes!

Wednesday...oooh, did I really wish for the snow?
Okay, the snow on the ground, so beautiful. The snow on the ground, run over by dirty Taxi wheels, when I have to walk through it, disgusting. Today was a productive Valentine's day. If I'm not going to be wooed, I may as well be clean and efficient. I did my laundry in the morning and prepped for my coaching before heading over to the West side. I was excited to get some errands done before meeting Michael at Juilliard at noon but my plans were totally foiled. I ended up walking around for about 35 minutes in the freezing rain, which really hurts your face when you're walking downwind of it. Yuck. The Nor'Easter is no longer my friend. After my coaching, I headed to midtown to get some heeled tap shoes, a necessary evil. I had gotten a bit scolded at the one dance call I attempted for my flat shoes. I figure it's time to grow up and learn to tap like a star! Walking around, collecting ice on my boots and jacket and then trying shoes on was not a great idea, but I got what I needed, all in time to go to tap class back uptown. I just love the teacher, Germaine Goodson. She is so positive and patient. On my way home I stopped by Gourmet Garage to replenish the Peets supply...they sell the beans!...and also got Adrienne some Valentine tulips. I made us my special dinner...goat-cheese and pineapple and walnut stuffed chicken breasts with spinach and whole-wheat cous cous. I made creative use of the extra peach cups that I bought for Charlie's package...and made a wine reduction sauce with them. I don't know how Char would like his peaches after tasting that! I enjoyed hearing him say "Bye, bye Kithy" on the phone tonight. Aw. Adrienne and I just watched Idol and I'm a little bit shocked about some of the choices...hmmmm...I need to get ready for my really long day of open calls and my first class tomorrow night. It should be an exciting Thursday!

A diner, some Schubert and an audition

2007-02-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I made the ultimate sacrifice for my treasured friend Karim. I must really love him to skip my two favorite classes at Equinox to take the A train on the weekend all the way up to Washington Heights to brunch with him. I was happy to spend the time with him since he really lives in Toronto most of the year and is only in NYC now for specific auditions or performances. But, I missed my classes for the second week in a row, and also my new friend Gail.
The A train was a total nightmare. They are doing construction on the C train on the weekends so all the trains are running local and you're required to take a shuttle at the last leg of the trip. Craziness. All in all, it took about an hour to get to Karim's house on 184th. His apartment is really nice with tons of space and great high ceilings. We went to a really cheap and somewhat craptastic diner on 181st. Our waitress was a total space cadet and brought our food at different times and then made us ask for the check three times. My favorite moment was watching her read the NY Post as we sat and waited for her to deliver our check. Awesome. I helped Karim pack and then we got on the A train and relived all that madness.
I came home, took a quick shower and headed off to my friend David's concert at a church nearby. He's doing a series of Schubert's "Die Schone Mullerin" in Florida and Minnesota with this one NYC concert. It was such a treat to hear him sing again and see all his growth from CCM days. He's always been one of my favorite baritones. I saw his parents and loved watching their pride swell from across the aisle. I unfortunately didn't get to stay too long to celebrate him as my Opera North audtition was scheduled an hour later in Midtown.
On the subway I met an adorable two-year-old boy named Micah who was all smiles and a huge flirt. He was trying to ride the pole that you hold onto for dear life as though he was a fireman. I really enjoyed playing hide and seek with him and told his dad that he made me miss Char. Aw. It was my most joyful subway ride yet.
My audition was in NOLA studios, a very popular venue for December opera auditions. I hardly recognized the place without the hundreds of singers pouring through the halls. It was so mellow with only one audition happening instead of the usual five or six. I had plenty of time to get warmed up and ready and then entered the room, with the attitude of knowing all my French wouldn't be perfect but wanting to be in the moment and enter in the space that God has already prepared for me. Yesterday when I was practicing I realized that I hold onto the singing as though it is mine and only mine when really it is the place where God allows me to enter into his work. That thought brought so much joy and relieved so much pressure in my practicing and I wanted to bring that into the audition as well. I have to say the auditor threw me off a little bit. He stood up and paced through my entire audition, very rarely actually looking at me. I started with "Du gai soleil" which went well. He said it was charming and sweet, refreshing after so many Turandots in a row. (Turandot is one of the operas they are doing this summer and it has a honkin soprano role that I guess a bunch of girls were aiming for!) He asked for "Deh vieni" one of my all-time favorites to sing. It was okay, but unfortunately not much better than that. I couldn't get my breath under me and because of that couldn't stay in the moment as well as I would have liked. It wasn't a bad audition by any means but not great enough to get a job, I think. I guess I am always learning....
I had to call Charlie after that and got to hear him say, "HI Kithy" for the first time. Amazing. I miss him so much and loved hearing him say, "yeah" so casually. Aw. I always love talking to my best sister, of course.
Adrienne and I went to the movie theatre down the street for "Catch and Release." We smuggled in some Tasty-Delite and homemade popcorn for a snack-tastic experience. The movie was pretty good but kind of all over the place. I was soooo tired after the two late nights in a row and was happy to settle to sleep before midnight.

Late night #2...

2007-02-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Friday I tried to sleep in with little success but definitely started slowly. I spent the morning finishing my Valentines and shopping for last minue additions to Charlie's box (okay, I guess it's not going to be a surprise.) Surprise! I had an interesting trip to the post office where an old man was flirting viciously with the girl behind me. At first, he seemed sweet and harmless, "how did I get so lucky to hit the post office behind a beautiful blonde" but his comments grew salty and rude. It was a taste of the weirdos that clearly are all around!
I did a bunch of cleaning in the afternoon and had a practice in the apartment breakthrough....I was able to sing full out with abandon for the first time. Jessie and Karim had given me a pep talk the night before, telling me I didn't need to worry about the neighbors...this is how the city works!
I went to the gym for a quick workout and then made us some whole-wheat pizza for dinner. That Trader Joes crust is just the best...except, note to self, don't forget to flour the pizza stone before baking. Eeek.
Ali had invited me to a party that night at her friend Melissa's place near Columbia. Adrienne and I headed over there around 9:45 to learn how to play "The Village." It's a game where everyone has different roles and you are trying to kill wherewolves and decide who is telling the truth. We had fun and met some true characters and once again, left there around 1:30 in the morning. Two nights in a row of being up way past my bedtime!

Late night #1...

2007-02-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning I put some time in at the gym. Equinox has these turbo elliptical machines that have crazy resistance with hills...I love them for days without dance classes. I did some warming up and prepping for my noon coaching with a pianist that Craig Verm recommended. I met him at Juilliard, where he is on staff. He was so great and cleaned up my languages. He mostly made me realize how much refining work I have to do. The thing about musical theatre is that I can always be working on my dramatic interpretation but the vowels and language come pretty easy. I was really encouraged and inspired after the coaching, knowing that if I do my homework I can sound a million times more professional and polished.
I went to Starbucks by Lincoln Center expecting to see Midori or James Levine. Instead, I got a coffee and ate my peanut-butter and banana sandwich (my new favorite...it's the best) as I wrote valentine cards (coming soon to your mailboxes!) I was set to meet Ali Dawson at her law-firm at Rockefeller Center at 4 pm. On my way there I ran into RJ, my Billy from "Anything Goes" in Salinas. So random! He had just sent me a message on myspace that morning and there he was on 6th Avenue! Very fun chance encounter.
Ali and I went to the Starbucks under the Rockefeller Center (I know, 2 Starbucks in one day...please don't tell) and had fun catching up on all the fun teaching jobs she has as well as her new boyfriend. I was lucky to steal an hour of her time considering she works about 12 hours a day in various locations. Eeek. The life of the starving artist.
I was supposed to meet Karim at 5 but he ended up cancelling on me. I had dinner plans with the two girls I met at church (Carrie and Kristin) on Saturday. I was going over to their house and offered to bring a bottle of wine. I first tried the Whole Foods in the Time Warner building...totally overwhelming in typical NYC fashion and devoid of any wine!!! I told the concierge that the CA Whole Foods have amazing wine selections to which he responded, "This isn't CA." He was nice though and explained that with so many great outlets for wine in the neighborhood they stopped carrying it as a public relations favor.
I walked all the way along Central Park South to greet the 6 train right smack in the middle of rush-hour. I was to passive to get on the first, second and nearly the third train that came by. From mid-town at that time it is nearly impossible to cram onto an already packed train, especially when you're fending off career pushers! Karim thinks that in no time NYC will change me...be agressive. Be agressive.
I got off the train at 86th and ran right into a great wine store called "Best Cellars." They have nightly wine-tastings and all of their bottles are less than $20. I got to taste two really yummy wines including a champagne made from Pinot grapes that I will definitely be back to buy. For the moment I found a Rueda which is the region in Spain where my favorite Bodeguita wine is from. The clerks were so helpful at the store and gave me a chilled bottle and I was on my way. Carrie and Kristin live with another girl from Redeemer, Ruth, who I also really liked. She is a nurse at NY Presbyterian and she is planning on going back to school with the goal of doing full-time medical missions. Ruth is a vegetarian and so the dinner was a wonderful smorgasbord of veggies...a pumpkin-ginger soup, steamed asparagus, sauteed squash and a salad with green beans and some kind of fancy cheese. YUM-O. Their apartment has really high-ceilings and is totally charming but the kitchen is even smaller than ours and requires lots of creativity on their end. I'm really excited those girls live so close and I'm looking forward to more dinners and fun times together.
Karim called me while I was there, asking if I wanted to meet him at the stage door of Carnegie Hall at 10. Our friend from Rice, Jessie Lloyd, who is a singer now living in Toronto, was performing there with her choir. I had tried to get in touch with her earlier in the week but those dang Canadian cell phones don't work in the Big Apple. We met up with Jessie and her dad and step-mom...it was the first trip to NYC for all of them so we went to the famous Carnegie Deli. I think they are more famous for their imposing stacks of pastrami than their service but it was fun to hear about the Dave Letterman taping that Jessie's dad and step-mom had attended. Jessie, Karim and I then looked for a place to get a drink and catch up further. It was ssssssooooooo cold that even the Canadians were complaining. We ended up at Rue 57, a French restaurant and sushi bar that happens to have the best drink I've ever tasted....called, the Rue 57, go figure. It was a champagne cocktail that included some sort of grapefruit yumminess in a glass that had a rim of caramelized sugar, almost like a lollipop with some bonus bubbles. Karim and Jessie somehow convinced this lightweight to have a second cocktail...I definitely can pull that off only among dear friends. Those sweet bubbles (and even sweeter friends!) made sure that I took a cab home and I was happy to meet my bed at around 1:30.

oh the places i went...

2007-02-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

It's official. I completely wore myself out today. I went to bed with every ounce of muscle, bone and thought spent. I didn't brave any EPA auditions...nothing interesting enough to get out of bed for and then not get called. Do I sound like I'm getting cynical? Well, maybe a little bit, but also a little choosier. The extended vacation is about me getting better and getting to the next level and some days I need to do that by myself. I had really missed my NIA classes so I went to one of those in the morning. The theme for the day: taking our time. What a good theme for me!
I've been really frustrated with my hair out here. I know it is quite vain to admit it but I hate how I look like a mess everywhere I go...when I use the diffuser I end up looking frizzy and frazzled or like Jersey. It's not real great...I think it might be a product issue. So, after the gym I took a shower and tried a new technique of styling my hair and then applying product...much better result but I'm still working on it. Suggestions?
I went to two dance classes at Steps. See, I told you I was vain. I was sick of looking like the wicked witch of the west at all these classes. It is strange how not being apalled by what you see in the mirror does inform your dancing. Deep thoughts...
I took Beginning Theatre Dance again and I got called out at one point for not extending my arms on this one move. I thought it was a little unfair as I was just trying to avoid running into the ballet barre, but, hey, I'm here to learn! I then took Germaine's tap class again. I really really like her and even though I am one of the slowest she always makes me feel good, and as though she's glad I came. I have to say that three dance classes in one day was a little draining and by the end of tap I was giving up in using my brain to remember combinations, etc. I'll remember that next time.
I next headed off to my first lesson with Carol. Yesterday it took me about 45 minutes but at $100/hr (and that's pretty reasonable, if not cheap here for a voice lesson!) I was taking no chances! I was so beat from dancing that I fell asleep a little on the train but clutched my valuables close to me. I ended up getting to Inwood about a half-hour early which was kind of a bummer because unlike the parts of NY that I usually frequent there is no Starbucks, no delis or any kind of store in which to browse. I mean, I guess if I was truly desperate, I could strike up a conversation at the gas station or body shop. I took a walk in the freezing cold and found a really beautiful park. Her apartment overlooks a bridge as well as the Columbia football stadium. Finally, 5:30 arrived and I had a great lesson. Her technique is new to me...all about onset and keeping the throat open. I found myself singing much "bigger" than I'm used to. It's a little scary but it doesn't hurt and she's in her 60s and can still sing like a goddess. I'm really excited as I feel like this may be the technique that gets me over high note issues for good. Yippee!
I took the train home and then the crosstown bus. I quickly grabbed some dinner before heading to Union Square. I had an audition scheduled at 9:20 for Theatre Ludicrum, a theatre company specializing in classic plays that they modernize. I'm frankly not that interested in the project but a scheduled audition is always a great opportunity to practice auditioning. I went to Trader Joes first madly picking up the 12 most necessary items so that I could be in the 12 or less line...it was still a total madhouse and they were out of our Fiber bread...but I got out just in time! I took the L train to 8th Street and walked a few blocks to the Atlantic Theatre Company which is housed in a really fancy building...they took my picture and gave me a label to wear with my picture, etc. Very swanky, especially for a place to learn how to be a starving artist! The audition was interesting with two somewhat awkward but really nice men running it. I did my monologue, then a strange cut of "Simple Joys" that threw the pianist so we did it twice and then two monologues from their script. There was a crazy Latin name in one of them and I had asked how to pronounce it. When I got to it in the reading, I totally blanked. Ah! I think it was fine and like I said, I don't want the job, so it's all good!
It took forever to get home but I finally made it back at around 10:30.
And if you haven't guessed it's now Thursday morning and I just had the best 8 hours of sleep since I can remember! I just counted and yesterday I got on 3 different busses and 7 different trains. Thank goodness for the unlimited metro card!

new friends and a full day!

2007-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day...it had definite moments of questioning and imperfection...but also wonderful tastes of the community that is being knit in the pockets of NY that I've discovered. The day started early, again, this time for an open call for the Sharon Arts Playhouse. Their season includes a Carousel in concert so I was excited to sing for them. I fought the bitter cold to get to Ripley Grier on 8th Avenue...this time I walked along 32nd and found Koreatown. I need Soon to visit now!
At the audition I found a girl I've been seeing at other EPAs and became acquainted...her name is Emily and I really like her! Yay! I feel like she could be my audition buddy. She is also a Christian and we shared stories about the churches we've been going to. I sang well but didn't get a callback. Oh well. From there, I headed to the Performing Arts Library and had so much fun looking through scores and finding songs and books on acting.
Tuesday has become my favorite day of the week thanks to my fellowship group. I just love the people. They are all so smart yet artsy and humble and full of faith. Even though I had to leave early, I was so inspired and excited and encouraged for the future friends and family I see in them! There was a new guy, Mitch, that moved to NYC a week after I did. He is a pianist and composer and has lived in Paris for the last 6 years. He was quirky and smart and I think he and I will be friends! Yay!
I left early because I was going out to Inwood to observe a few voice lessons taught by a potential new teacher, Carol Kirkpatrick. She was recommended to me by a colleague of Adrienne's at Cornell. The two sopranos I observed had fierce, rich voices with great tops and I was so excited by Carol's teaching. I have a lesson scheduled for tomorrow! She is a warm and no-nonsense kind of a teacher in the vein of Dr. Farwell. I really clicked with Anna, the second student who I joined on the train home. She studied at Indiana and we know some people. I'm excited for her potential friendship!
So that's the daily summary...I'm really thankful for all the points of connection I made with folks. On the bus ride home I started feeling like this could be home, temporarily of course.

Super Bowl Sunday and Super Cold Monday

2007-02-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

I think I've definitely settled on the AM West Side service at Redeemer. Maybe in a month or two I'll even have regular friends to sit beside! My new friends from last night go to the PM West Side service...I would consider giving that one another chance but apparently last night's band leads at that service...and as hard as it is to criticize a band leading worship...it was too loud for me! I LOVE the music in the morning service. I can't wait for you all to visit! This week a flutist played a Bloch concerto as well as the Mozart "Laudate Dominum" (my wedding hit) with a soprano soloist. So beautiful! Tim Keller continues to be an amazing teacher and I can't write down fast enough all the morsels he shares! This week he talked about the significance of the Last Supper and all the ways it connected to the celebration of Passover. I love nerdy Bible talk!
I jetted over to an audition that I'd been called in for after submitting my materials via mail. I learned a painful lesson about the necessity of always caring extra headshots and resumes. Eek! I wrongly assumed that they would have my h/r on hand since I had submitted and they called me. Nope! It made my audition really awkward and I was embarassed that I made that rookie mistake. The good news is that I don't even think they got my last name so hopefully they'll forget they ever met me! It was an audition for a small company in Florida who is doing a show about Judy Garland called, "Beyond the Rainbow." They had called me in for Young Judy...a fun prospect but not a great match vocally. After some serious self-beating I went home and got ready for our fun adventure to North Plainfield, NJ for the Six's Super Bowl party. Scott and Amy have a really nice house...and they went all out with mini-hot-dogs and mac and cheese and every kind of chip and dip you could imagine. YUM! It was really fun to see Gabe and be around Amy's energetic family! We also had a fun time meeting some of their friends, including Chemagne, who we've invited to stay with us in NYC for some big city partying. Chemagne gave us a ride to the NJ Transit station after the Prince half-time show. Good times!

Today was a fun and somewhat productive day. I had high hopes for an audition for Musicals Tonight, a company very similar to 42nd St. Moon, but when I arrived and found the line already looping around hallways I knew my chances were slim. Two fun things happened. I realized that a guy I'd recognized a few weeks ago was indeed the Richard I lived across the hall from in Aspen. I guess he's doing a lot of musical theatre in addition to opera work. I also ran into Michael Hunsaker, my prince from "Into the Woods." He is one of the funniest guys I know and it totally lit up my lackluster morning to see him! I was #3 on the EMC list but the way things were going it wasn't looking great, so I left around noon and didn't return in the afternoon, opting to leave my headshot behind. From my other experiences, the afternoon only seems to get worse with the Equity alternate situation. I think the hardest thing for me is that second-class citizen feeling all based on a little card that I don't yet have. I end up feeling after a while that I'm not talented, that I don't belong in that room, etc, etc and it puts me into a spin of self-doubt that certainly doesn't help my confidence.
The best thing I did for myself was leaving and deciding to spend the afternoon practicing and remembering why I came here (not just to spy on equity actors!). I had intended on going to the Performing Arts Library and picking out some new songs...alas, closed on Monday! I walked in the bitter cold for nothing but luckily found a bus home pretty soon thereafter. After practicing a bit at home I decided to rent a studio for an hour to really let loose and SING. I'm so glad I made that decision. I now feel energized and excited to keep learning and growing and practicing!!!!
I went to a fun and intense "urban rebounding" aerobics class where everyone bounces on individual trampolines. I loved the teacher. He made lots of high screams, ala Prince yesterday!
I had planned with my two new friends, Carrie and Kristin, to go to Michael's piano bar tonight. I had thought it was weird that they hadn't called me after I left the directions. But then Carrie called to let me know the fire dept. was on their way over....they think they had Carbon Monoxide poisining. Yikes! And honestly, it's 8 degrees out, with a windchill of negative that, so I decided I couldn't trek out there alone. Hoping for next week!
I just opened an amazing package from Pie. She knit me the most beautiful and colorful scarf...I just love it and even more I love the note she sent with it. I write with a heart very full of thanks for the amazing friends and family God has given me! Miss you!!!

Crazy for You!

2007-02-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning at about 6:15. I did not intend to be #2 in line for the open dance call of "Crazy for You." I had set my alarm for 8:30 since last night ended a bit late. But, I was wide awake and ready to fake my way as a dancer. I headed over to Chelsea Studios and arrived there before 8. I guess I was walking through the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on my way there...not the best, but I did discover they have a flea market there and lots of cheap wig stores if anyone is in the market for one.
Like I said, I was the 2nd girl to arrive and we waited about half an hour in the hallway of the 6th floor before the studios were opened. I was afraid the audition wasn't going to happen because of the low turnout, especially considering the masses that have been showing up at every audition. But, at 10 o'clock the fun began and we were taken as a group of 30 to learn a short tap routine. It really wasn't impossibly hard but I psyched myself out at the beginning, intimidated by leggy dancers in fancy leotards and well-oiled tap shoes. I was lucky enough to be in the last group of three. I wasn't the worst in the room but also not in the top 75% and I didn't get asked to stay to sing. I was hoping my smile and shimmy might have made them forget my missteps. Alas. I knew going into the call, that as a singer-actor-dancer, I would be competing amongst dancer-actor-singers...and I think for now, I'm going to stay away from such calls! I was just proud of myself for not escaping from the room before my number was called.
I came home and intended to take a nap but instead Adrienne helped me put together a match.com profile...haah! Here's to meeting some NYC boys that are not actor-singer-dancers!
I took a walk in the freezing cold weather, finally finding my way across the park from 94th and catching up with friends on the phone.
After I made dinner, (tonight... Adrienne's special salad and a whole-wheat quesadilla) I got to talk to Mom and Dad briefly and hear about my favorite boy. I think that got me crying for about an hour. Sorry for the crazy message, Lis.
I then bravely headed out by myself to a Redeemer praise night for the 20s and 30s group. It reminded me a lot of Sanctuary at MPPC except that the band was soooooooo loud. I seriously could not believe it. No restraint whatsoever. I really loved some of the songs and learned a few new ones. The greatest answer to prayer is that I happened to be sitting next to two girls who I ended up following out to dinner. They were helping lead the after-worship dinner at Arnie's Deli. It turns out they live really near me on the UES and I loved talking to them and hearing about their graduate studies in forensic psychology! I gave Carrie my number and we're planning on meeting up maybe even on Monday. I'm so thankful for the promise of new friends! Okay...need to go to bed!

Restaurant Week!!!

2007-02-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

Friday, friday! I didn't have any auditions to crash this morning and after a little research, I realized that the S & M retelling of Oliver called "Twist" I briefly considered singing for was even less appealing than a tap-dancing opression piece. So, I had the morning free to do our weekly Trader Joes stock-up. We are doing so great on our whole grains and no sugar plan. Except for very special occasions...like tonight...I can't wait to tell you all about it!
There was a problem with the local train on the East Side and I've never felt so crowded than in that teeny, tiny subway car. Eek. Needless to say, I took the bus home and I was sure excited to have my new cute Bible because as great as the bus is, it takes forever to get home!
I nearly missed my tap class, but I had great luck getting on an express train. This was my second attempt at Scott Thompson's Broadway Style Tap Class...so much better this week! He didn't make us do crazy pull-back combos and instead we did a routine to "Move" from Dreamgirls. So fun and I have th soundtrack so I can practice!
I came home and prepared myself for a long afternoon of waiting around for the cable guy (again! but this time for the right company). To my amazement he arrived about 15 minutes into the 4 hour window and now I have internet. All the time! No excuses for late blogging from here on out. I will say that I noticed that this week my blogs got kind of boring. I'll try to boil down the uninteresting stuff and don't worry, you can just skim...I'll never know!
I did some practicing and chose a great time to run out to WaMu for some cash...it started raining, almost freezing, and certainly got me nice and cold. Too bad I was having a great hair day. Oh well.
So, tonight we did a really fun thing. We had made plans to have dinner with Adrienne's friend Stan (the one who is an intern at Union Square Cafe and hooked us up on her birthday) and last night, searching Open Table, we realized that it was still NY Restaurant Week. It is this great tradition where most of the best restaurants serve a prix fixe menu to let us poor laymen taste what the rich get to eat, once a year! The lunches are $24.07 for three courses and the dinners are $35. Most of these places have entrees above and beyond $35 so it's quite the deal! I wish I had known earlier...next year! After reviewing several menus online last night we landed on Maya (http://www.modernmexican.com/mayany/index.htm), a modern Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side. OH, yum! We had a 6:15 reservation. We started with homemade guacamole and Sangria...my new favorite. For an appetizer Adrienne and I both chose the mushroom tamale...amazing...and Stan had the duck puff pastry something, something. My entree was an adobo chicken breast, sliced like steak and stacked with a fried manchego cheese dumpling on top and garnished with a cilantro pesto and roasted corn. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMY. Adrienne and Stan had a tender hanger steak with chipotle sauce of some sort. Also delicious. And for dessert we shared a flan (almost as good as Mom's) and a silky arroz con leche (rice pudding). My favorite thing by far was my second drink (I know, scandalous), a mango mojito. AH, the best drink I've ever tasted. It was a really fun evening and Adrienne came out of nowhere and treated us which was totally out of control and generous.
And now we're home...Adrienne and Stan are playing Donkey Kong and I'm all caught up on my blog! Yay! Happy Weekend everyone!
Here is the full menu if you're interested:
MAYA
RESTAURANT WEEK MENU $35
January 22-26 & January 29-February 2nd
ENTRADAS
~choice of
MAHI-MAHI CEVICHE
mahi-mahi / mustard seeds / capers / horseradish / red onion / cilantro
CARNITAS DE PATO
braised duck / puff pastry / camembert cheese /
butternut squash pureé / frisée salad / chile ancho~cranberry sauce
TAMAL CON MORILLAS
steamed cornmeal / goat cheese~requesón /
chanterelle and morel mushrooms / tomatillo sauce / crispy leeks
PLATOS FUERTES
~ choice of
PECHUGA ADOBADA
adobo marinated chicken breast / roasted corn / pico de gallo /
cilantro pesto / huitlacoche-manchego cheese dumplings
HANGER STEAK
grilled hanger steak / black bean purée / grilled tomato /
caramelized onion / guacamole / chile de arbol sauce
SALMON CON PEPITAS
spicy pumpkin seed crusted salmon / mixed vegetable fondue /
creamy wild mushroom-chile chipotle sauce
POSTRE
~choice of
ARROZ CON LECHE
~ mexican style rice pudding
FLAN DE ELOTE
~ caramel corn flan

Fun times in the Actors Equity Building, again.

2007-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Thursday I woke up quite early to get a jump on the Tuacahn EPAs at the Actors Equity Building. I won! I was the first EMC signed up and I was sure that this was my day to break through! The way it works is that the building opens at 7:30 and so until then we wait in a line outside. (I think I got there about 7:15). Once inside, they make you stay in your original order and sit and wait until 8:30 when they pass out the appointment times for the equity folks or sign you up on the EMC list (me first!). So, depending on when you get there and when the next Bernadette Peters gets there...you never know who you might have to sit next to for an hour. And I had fun luck on Thursday. The girl next to me had been one of the final girls who got cut from Grease Academy before they went to the live shows. And chance would have it that she recognized the girl sitting across from us from the NY callbacks and so they started chatting about their experiences. Girl across from me is actually Derek's roommate for those of you who watch the show. He is my favorite! It was fun to listen in on their conversation and eventually offer up my opinions. I think the guys are more talented because they chose the Sandys more for look than talent. Adrienne and I think they all have the same face. Anyhoo...that was kind of fun. I waited and read my new play for another 3 hours or so (even getting all made up because I was sure I would be called) before they said the EMCs would definitely not be seen before lunch.
I discovered the Drama Book Shop...apparently very famous and most thrillingly across the street from Parsons School of Design, home of Project Runway! EEEEEEEK! It's Fashion Week here too...I wish I was a somebody so I could go in the tents. Wouldn't that be amazing? Adrienne tells me that even though I'm somebody special, I'm not the right kind of somebody to get an invite. Oh well.
I met Manami so that we could walk over to her voice lesson together. I wanted to observe her lesson with this man who has a pretty unconventional teaching method (mostly alien sounds with no real singing for an hour and only $75 for all that). The great news is that I didn't fall asleep (I got really close) and I have one teacher crossed off my list. Hurrah! I got to meet Manami's husband, Sean, and we talked about getting together for dinner soon.
I went back to the Equity Building to check out the situation....of course, more and more alternates showed up and after waiting for another hour, I took off. I went home and quickly worked out (Adrienne thinks I have issues on days where I go sit at these auditions...I have to feel like I accomplished SOMETHING) and then had dinner and tetris time with Adrienne before fun tv and Backstage perusing.

Dance what you feel!

2007-02-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

The Performing Arts Library behind Lincoln Center was my morning project. Earlier this week I discovered the secret to the West Side train....there's an express from 96th (where I get on) to 72nd (where I get off for dance, Lincoln Center, etc). So great! Well, I arrived at the library with high hopes of pouring through scores and scripts for hours upon hours. Alas, it doesn't open until noon! Ding Dong! (That's the new swear word for #7F) So, instead I went to the Barnes and Noble across the street, read through monologue books, read some magazines, bought some monologue books and a great thin-line Bible to carry in my purse. After trekking my big 'ol Study Bible to church and bible studies and nearly breaking my back, I decided it would be great to have a more compact version of the good book. I got the cutest, leather-bound, NIV Bible and it's perfect for everyday use. You never know how much time you'll have on the crosstown bus to break out a little Isaiah. :)
Anyhoo...I did get to go to the library for about 15 minutes and quickly checked out some plays and got really, really excited for all the fun that is in store in all those shelves! They also have viewing rooms where you can watch all sorts of archived Broadway shows and operas. Can you say music-nerd paradise???
I went to two dance classes. I started off with Scott Thompson's Beginning Theatre Dance...yay for a true beginning class! I didn't feel like as much of an idiot. I then went to Germaine Goodson's Advanced Beginning Broadway-Style Tap Dance. She was so encouraging and fun and never made us do steps alone which makes newbies like me really happy.
I spent the rest of the day practicing, cooking dinner and watching American Idol and Top Chef. I still can't believe Sam didn't get to be in the final 2 and win. He was robbed. Seriously.

Tuesday Blues

2007-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was my sad day. I woke up remembering a dream where I got a big hug from Charlie. I really really miss him. I mean, I miss you all, so so much. But I just see pictures of Charlie and even heard his “Hi Ma” on the phone the other day and I feel like he’s getting so big and boyish without me. I just want a hug!
I went to they gym early and then got ready for my “Double V” callback…think oppression with time steps. When I arrived I noticed that nearly every person I saw at the audition the day before had been called back. Interesting. The director and writer were late…I think they might be married. They are really nice people but almost a little bit too laid back and fruity for me. The writer taught us a pretty simple and short “jazz” dance…to be performed in a Harlem scene and then a tap number. Gotta shuffle off to buffalo into persecution. Not to toot my own horn but there were some pretty weak dancers in the groups and I definitely held my own. And yet, I got cut. In some ways I was relieved feeling like I wouldn’t want to be doing a show with this laid-back and fruity company. But no matter what way you look at it, getting cut just doesn’t feel good. They were really nice, yada, yada, and I have a feeling my voice type wasn’t right for the show. But then, I kind of wish they would not have called me back in the first place. There was another audition I was hoping to crash this morning. Oh well! I window shopped a bit on 34th Avenue, briefly considering some retail therapy, before heading home. I abstained and came home and sorted laundry. I did laundry and went on a cleaning rage. I was stuck in the apartment from 2-6 waiting for the cable man to come install my internet so I can reconnect to the world finally! Of course he showed up at about 5:40 and propelled my day further into its sad hole. Adrienne has the TV cable set up by another company so Time Warner can’t supply our internet cable. Great. I wish the lady had asked me about that when I called! I can’t tell you how frustrated I was. I really wanted to cry. This has just been such a nightmare. The good news is that we just signed up for internet cable (why we didn’t think of this weeks ago…I know, good question) through the TV company and all will be well in the world by Friday at 5. I know many worse things have happened to people but it was just not the best day for me. Here’s to better things and discoveries tomorrow!

3 Audition Monday

2007-01-30T17:55:00.001-08:00

Monday was another early-to-rise day…I had quite the audition agenda. It was also Adrienne’s first day at the new job! Hurrah! We weaved in and out of the bathroom like buzzing bees! I made it to Ripley-Grier at about 8:30…this was another ECC (Equity Chorus Call…remember?), this time for a production of Les Miz in Salt Lake City. It was CRAZY, just about as bad as the Beauty and the Beast call on Thursday. In fact, it was a bit of a re-run of Thursday. Lots of young non-equity girls sprawled all over the floor, adding the fourth layer of mascara until we were asked to vacate the room for the equity girls. So many girls were there that the announcement that we wouldn’t be heard was no surprise. But at least this time the producer allowed us to leave our headshots and resumes. I have this feeling they go straight to the paper shredder…but at least it feels like I didn’t totally waste a trip.
I next went to a non-equity call for a touring production of “Double V,” an original musical following a Jewish couple oppressed in Nazi-occupied Poland and an African-American couple oppressed in slavery. I was amazed and relieved to find I was only the 8th person to arrive after those ECC moments of claustrophobia. They asked us to sing a song with a “strong emotional core” and I honestly don’t have many songs so I chose “If I Loved You.” The other auditionees were friendly and we bonded over freezing in the hallway, wondering why and how they were spending so much time with each person. When my turn came up I sang my song in the bathtub of a room, trying to reign in the high notes for everyone’s safety! They then gave me direction to sing the song again but this time with the intention that my boyfriend was breaking up with me because I am Jewish. It was actually fun to play with the different intention and have something so specific to commit to…that is something I need to do with all my songs so I was thankful for this little acting class! Then the director asked me if I had a song that I could sing as though I was leading a march of protest against the Nazi occupation. Somehow “Simple Joys of Maidenhood” really worked out well for that and I was called back. Best part, they asked me to bring tap shoes! Mom cried laughing hearing about the oppressive musical with tap dancing…I swear I don’t make this stuff up for my comedy routine!
Armed with my first call-back I sauntered over to Chelsea Studios, about 10 blocks away, to check out the scene for the Gypsy non-equity national tour. I had heard it was a crazy mass and it was….over 300 people signed up. But the monitor was really nice and to my astonishment allowed me to turn in my materials and also, the chance to return at 4 pm.
I went home and cooked dinner and checked email at the library…efficient Monday, indeed!
When I went back to Gypsy, I ran into a few of the “Double V” auditionees. It’s so nice to see a familiar face when it feels the masses have been kindred spirits for years and years. I had a nice time hearing one girl’s story. Like me, she recently moved to NYC to give it all a go. She’s a little older than me, also classically trained and was full of advice, including help on how to learn how to mix/belt. We were limited to only 16 bars. I was one of the last to sing and I chose “What Good Would the Moon Be” because I heard the pianist was amazing. He was and I sang it well although I think I worried more about not sounding like an opera singer (totally not right for Gypsy) than on intention. I did get some “Wow, beautifuls” but no call-back. I wasn’t surprised since there aren’t any roles for me but I was glad that I took the time for the audition practice!
I came home to my vegetarian chili and filled with excitement to hear about Adrienne’s new job. We had lots of fun wondering how all those Miss America managed to choose the ugliest dresses and hairstyles we’ve seen this decade! Eeek!

Sunday and Salad Pizza

2007-01-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning I went to Redeemer, again to the West AM service. Two of the members of my small group played in an amazing brass quintet. I was literally in heaven. Those instruments really send me! Tim Keller spoke again and I furiously tried to write every word down...he is a very wise man and I love his preaching! I bravely entered coffeeland again after the service and ran into a girl I met the week before (Crystal the Clarinettist) as well as a girl Adrienne and I met at the knitting circle (Deeny Does your Taxes.) By the way, Adrienne and I assigned everyone we met special titles so we would remember them! And it works!
Adrienne and I got manicures, only $9 at the place next door, and then headed back to The Point, the knitting cafe and the venue for our now recurring family Sunday activity. Serious progress was made on the pink scarves!
Jon came over for salad pizzas for dinner. YUM-o! We took whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joes and made individual pizzas with marinated chicken and pesto and then topped it with a greek salad! Amazing! I highly recommend trying it!

New friends and NY pizza!

2007-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday and once again I’m catching up. I can’t wait for Tuesday and the nirvana of internet access once again! Ah! I can hear the angels singing already.
I’m right now at DTUT (I’m not sure what the stands for) a cute, cute coffeshop on 2nd Ave between 85th and 84th. Honestly, it’s a bit of a hike with my old school I-Book, not built for hiking the streets of NYC. But…I’m happy to be here and I find in this environment I’m inspired to write.
I officially love Saturdays because of my awesome dance classes at Equinox. First of all, I got to see Gail again in NIA. We are officially friends as well as the instructor’s new favorites. We talked to her after class and she tried to tell us that we had almost reached some next plane and she had to hold us back…..um, okay, whatever. I just loved the workout and shaking my bones with abandonment. Gail and I actually both had the idea to become NIA certified. I could see myself teaching that class more than any other because you don’t have to yell and heaven knows I need to find some day-job ideas! We had several ladies tell us how much they loved our energy in class. Okay…it all sounds a little fruity, I know, but it’s fun, fun! Gail and I exchanged info and we’re going to try to get together soon. She is so nice and said she was a bit of a “yente” and encouraged me that contrary to Adrienne’s depressing diagnosis of us being past our prime, that I was ripe to learn more about myself and get ready for meeting the right one.
After lunch, I hiked over here to DTUT, which honestly was very NYC in clamoring for a seat, and later a seat with a back, and still later, an electrical outlet. Now I can’t seem to stay connected to the wireless and I’m about ready to go.
Adrienne and I are meeting up with Mary’s friend Grace and Grace’s husband Don in the East Village. I’m excited for the possibility of new friends! Yippee!

Okay…we went and met Grace and Don and had yummy, yummy pizza at Lombardi’s. Totally not-whole grain and wonderfully delicious! I also had a glass of Sangria which is a popular NYC menu item. Hoorah! I think I’ve even got Adrienne excited about my White Trash version.

It was nice to find a piece of home in Grace. Even though we’ve never met (although we were at Seri’s wedding together), having that connection with Mary and Seri felt like a great tummy hug. I miss all my girls! Adrienne and I hope to have them over soon for dinner and we heard all about the yumminess that Astoria offers!
When below 14th St. it’s pretty hard to resist a stopover at Trader Joes. We couldn’t resist the dried mangos and whole-wheat staples and we found the shortest lines at that time (9:30) but also a pretty picked-over floor. No celebrity sightings, alas.

Friends singing at Carnegie Hall Friday!

2007-01-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

Friday, I braved the 8 degree weather to dance, because as they say in Chorus Line, “God I’m a dancer and a dancer dances!” If only! The more I take class the less I feel like a dancer but I guess I can only improve! I must say I’m probably taking dance classes at one of the more prestigious studios in the city, so it’s my own fault. I took a beginning ballet class where I felt more like an inflexible cow than a future Gisele. The teacher was really nice and tried to help my turn-out and various other issues. I apologetically thanked her after the 90 minute class and she said I did great. Really? I promised I would try the BASIC level. So much for starting at beginning! After a short break I entered Advanced Beginning Broadway Style Tap, alongside two Rockettes, yes, the ones from Radio City, fully decked out in Rockette wear just in case you wondered who you were tapping beside. I sucked in various moments…I need to seriously work out the pull-backs but at least I rocked the turning flap-heels. Even better than the Rockettes, ha! The routine was fun and a little bit too hard for me but I loved the teacher and I know I’ll be back. I also gave him an apologetic thank you but he said I did great with a slap on my rear. Those gay guys get away with it all!
I rolled myself up and out of the dressing room full of bony ballet bodies and bused and trained it home where I found a celebratory Adrienne. She finished her last day (well, at least part of the day) at Bank of America and she begins her new job at Cornell on Monday.
Later, I checked out the nearby branch of the Public Library so I could check my email. I had to make an appointment to get on a computer and once there, I had 20 glorious minutes. As soon as my time was up another typical NYC moment occurred. The lady with the computer’s next reservation, literally scooted her chair into mine and as I stood up she whisked mine away. No “Are you finished?” or “Do you mind if I take over?” niceties here. Yikes!
I decided to try my luck with Donna and Andrew’s Carnegie Concert and so braved the chill again. Thankfully, I was able to get a ticket in the mezzanine and then had an hour of postcard-writing time at Starbucks.
The concert was up and down. It was pretty cool to see Marilyn even though I have bad memories of her indifference towards me in Music Academy of the West auditions of old. The hall was just the most gorgeous space I’ve ever seen, even if you can hear the rumble of the N-R train at various inconvenient moments of otherwise sublime stillness.
Andrew and Donna were definitely the highlight and the most engaging pair of the evening. I was excited that a fellow Rice grad and rising superstar, Sasha Cooke, sang with great rich color and sensitivity. There was even an appearance by opera superstar, Marcello Giordani, who brought me chuckles with his stereotypical tenor antics. The final Brahms quartet was a bit of a mess and I was in view of Stephen Blier, head of the NY Festival of Song, the whole time. His constant broadcast of his disinterest and even disgust with some of the singing frankly disappointed me.
But all in all, I was once again inspired and invigorated if not puzzled by one thing. Marilyn Horne is known for championing singers with huge voices and yet she has this foundation that is supposed to bring intimate art song to the masses of America. And most of her chosen ones just don’t know how to do that. Lucky for her and for me, Andrew and Donna have the handbook written!

Thursday Jan 26....

2007-01-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

Thursday I went on a reconnaissance mission to understand the nuts and bolts of the ever-intimidating ECC (Equity Chorus Call). This one was for “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway and I knew it was going to be a mad-house and there was no chance I would be seen. Thankfully, I anticipated the hordes of humming blondes with their flirty dresses lining the halls and saved myself an early wake-up call. Instead, I even skipped the shower, discovering that enough anti-frizz serum can’t make any pile of dead curls work and took my time getting over to the Ripley-Grier studios. It was biting cold but the walk from the 6 train took me through the Fashion District. Windows blaring “WHOLESALE ONLY” teased me with flowing dresses and chic blouses. I turned my attention to finding Mood Fabrics where all the Project Runway beauty begins…I’ll have to look that one up I guess.
I arrived at Ripley Grier only to jump in the wrong elevator in search of the audition. I met another nervous non-equity cutie also lost. We found our way to a large mirrored dance-studio full of barely legal pretty girls putting finishing touches on makeup and fully armed with hot rollers and curling irons. After signing my name, 37th on the unofficial non-equity list (no EMC priority in ECC land) I found a seat on top of a portable ballet bar and settled in. Munching on my extra-special trail mix, I eavesdropped on nearby conversations, longing for the day when I’d have friends to catch up with and encourage. I did run into Michelle, a girl I met at Ogunquit on Monday. She was #8 on the EMC list on a day when the first 7 got called before lunch. I was sad for myself, sitting on my rear, hoping to be called, but I was definitely more sympathetic to her case. Michelle and I shared skepticism that we would be seen and as the time drew closer to call-time the room filled up with women, hungry to don a fork or a feather-duster costume on Broadway! The room got so packed (where is my camera when I really need it!?) that the monitor asked the non-equity girls to vacate so that more equity girls could move in. This time I found a spot of hallway next to my fellow lost and now new friend, Alex. We chatted for a while and discovered we were both trained in opera. She just graduated from college and had taken a one-hour train ride in from Jersey to make it to the call. Beauty and the Beast, she said, was the reason why she started pursuing musical theatre. I looked around at all these dreaming girls, perfectly coiffed and warmed up to change the casting world in 16 bars of music. The scene broke my heart, even more so when the monitor announced that the casting director did not want to hear any non-equity folks and didn’t even want to see our headshots and resumes. More than anything, this week has shown me in great big brush strokes the haves versus the have-nots. I’m not sure, as a privileged white girl, if I’ve ever experienced the second-class citizenship to this degree. I’m sure it will fuel some amazing auditions, autobiographies and acting choices to come!
Alex and I walked out together and she shopped with me for no-salt Katie’s bday present. I got her some really cute pink I heart NY pj pants as well as a Broadway collage magnet. I’m looking forward to seeing Alex again this next week when we fight for the right to sing for some other auditions!
I headed home and then returned to midtown to meet up with Donna Loewy, one of my coaches from CCM, and Andrew Garland, a colleague, also from CCM. Those two are making their Carnegie Hall debut on Friday as part of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. I tried to get tickets to their sold-out concert with no luck. They let me know about another Marilyn Horne sponsored-recital that afternoon featuring two colleagues I met when I was in Aspen. We hung out a bit before parting for a few hours.
I was super-productive, visiting Staples where a favorite NYC moment occurred.
Guy behind me to lady behind him: Do you want to go ahead of me?
Lady: No, why?
Guy: You keep bumping into me.
Lady: I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…
Guy: Well, you’ve done it at least three times!

Ah, such fun! I was able to mail Katie’s package before showering, working the diffuser (I’m afraid the end result is a little bit Jersey) and heading out to my first Carnegie Hall concert. Hannan Alattar with D-George teamed up in recital with an amazing tenor-piano duo. I never am moved to tears by a tenor…well, maybe Karim…but a big voiced, creamy tenor, with real emotional connection to his text….ah, it was stunning and I was weeping. I really LOVED it and was so thankful Donna and Andy had let me know about the sweet gem of an event. We waited together afterwards to greet the artists…such a crazy scene, full of the dignitaries of the NYC singing world. I have to admit the intimidation factor there is great. I was thankful to run into Camille, a friend from Aspen as well as the chance to greet Hannan, who didn’t remember me but told me I was her favorite audience member! I guess all that smiling comes through to the stage.
I felt filled with the excitement of being in NYC and the joy of being so close to such amazing music. Inspired to get to sing in that hall one day, I got back on the 6 train for what seemed like the 10th time of the day and settled in for the night.

Oh to be Equity, the Met, and La Bodeguita!!!

2007-01-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

It was a verrrrrrrrrrrrry eaaaaaaaarly morning! I actually kept waking myself up because I was worried I would sleep through my alarm. Turns out that would have been okay. I made it to the Actors Equity building at 7:15 (yes, AM) and was probably 30th in line for the audition sign-ups. The great news was that I was #4 in line for the EMC list. The bad news is that at 11 the monitor announced that there were still 40 Equity folks on the alternate list and that it was not looking good for us. Alas. Before I left I had the great fortune to run into a man who is an actor and singer who I met last night at the Bible Study. He gave me some great tips about an acting class and an open-mic night to check out. It was really nice to see his friendly face after hours of feeling pretty alone. The thing with these auditions is that it's such a small community that most people seem to know eachother (or at least it seems that way) and it's hard not to wish for that!
The disappointment of the morning definitely turned up when I met Nicole Etienne at the Met. She treated me and we caught up in the cafe in the atrium before she led me through the amazing "Americans in Paris" museum. My favorites were the Cassat paintings (especially the ladies at the opera and all the maternal scenes) and the John Singer Sargent portraits. So stunning. Once again, seeing all of those paintings that are so familiar up close made me a little verklemmt! We also toured around the Egypt exhibit as well as some Asian displays. I also loved the medieval sculptures of Jesus and Mary. It was really fun to be with Nicole and have that taste of home and family. On our way to our respective homes we stepped into a fancy gallery on 82nd St. that had a collection of Sargent paintings. The gallery was in one of the brownstone mansions that I've always wondered about. Amazing marble staircases....definitely worth the trip.
The best news is that even though RD is letting me write this presently on his internet connection very, very soon Adrienne and I will be hooked up with cable hi-speed internet. Hoorah! The no-internet ordeal has been quite a trial!!!!
But before we start celebrating I have one more fun story about our trip to La Bodeguita on 2nd Avenue. This time it was a real restaurant. We took our cab to the Gramercy Park area and had a lovely dinner. The jamon croquetas were my favorite....but of course the platanos maduros were also a hit. We tried some empanadas and for entrees their version of Ropa Vieja and Bistec de Palomilla. I prefer the Palo Alto food, in general, but it was such a treat to taste all those flavors again. There was a really cheezy keyboard musician who serenaded us more than we asked and I was busily taking pictures and looking for any sign of trademark infringement. Once again, no logos stolen. All is safe in La Bodgeguita land. Adrienne and I splurged and shared a coconut flan...our first non-darkest of dark chocolate desserts since her bday. Muy sabroso. It was definitely a great time and even that small little glass of sangria made me goofier than ever. The best and worst, perhaps, is that coming out of the cab just now, I managed to hit a parked S-series Benz with the yellow-painted door. Sorry to all of you Dads out there with your fancy toys. Park at your own peril when I'm around! The incident brought us many giggles and frantic running up into our apartment.
Good night for now!

opera with teenagers..

2007-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning I ventured downtown to see a school show of "Signor Bruschino," a Rossini opera that Gotham Chamber Opera is mounting. Tawnya is playing viola in the pit and arranged a ticket for me to see it with a house full of teenagers. I loved the staging and the concept but a few of the director's choices were loaded with sexual inuendo and wow...i've never seen such a ruckus at an opera. It was pretty exciting, all in all! Maria d'Amato, a sweet friend from CCM and an amazing soprano, was covering the lead. I'm bummed because she has been en garde all week to go on for the principal who has been sick during the whole production process. I really wished I could have heard her sing. Alas. It was really nice to see her, regardless, in the audience. The opera was at the Henry Street Settlement and it was a really cozy and beautiful theatre but a huge hike from the 6 line (subway!). I did get to walk through Chinatown and on the way back, Orchard Street, aka "The Bargain District." Let me know if you'd like a leather jacket anytime soon! I did get a little lost and I have to say the Lower East Side is not my favorite spot.
Since I was "downtown" I took the opportunity to go the Astor Place K-mart...(why there are two or more? K-marts in this city and no Targets is a very sad story, but I digress) to pick up, drumroll please, a diffuser!!!! Can you believe it?...I've broken down after 28 years of no artificial hair-drying! But these early morning auditions with wet hair in 20 degree weather are just not a good idea. Success!
I also went ahead and made a Trader Joes pilgrimage. It was 2 pm on a Tuesday and the place was a zoo. I think I was in line for 25 minutes but I was excited to spot Angela from "Project Runway" wearing some crazy and colorful quilted pants. I stopped myself from taking a pic or grabbing an autograph. Maybe next time.
I went back to the musician's fellowship group...they are such a nice group of folks with amazing faith and prayers that definitely restored my soul! I especially am enjoying chatting with Audrey, a jazz wind-player who comes all the way from Princeton, NJ. She works pink as much as I do!
Adrienne and I made an awesome Greek Salad....note to everyone...if you haven't tried "Goddess Dressing" from Trader Joes or also by Annies....run, don't walk and get it. AMAZING and totally Dr. Oz approved!

sittin' and hopin'

2007-01-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

Okay...I'm at the gym so this will have to be a quick one! Adrienne already thinks I have issues considering I went to the gym at 8:30 at night. But, we have no internet. And you know how I am about that. Also, I literally sat on my butt today from 9-5 (yes, roll that Dolly Parton song) hoping to get seen for an EPA (Equity Audition) for a summer theatre company in Maine. I was 15th on the EMC list and they got through #7 by about 11 am so I thought I had it in the bag! I went to the MOMA on my lunch break. That gift is soooooooooooooo clutch! I spent my hour on the 4th floor...my new favorite! Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko and all sorts of other fun and crazy stuff. And then I sat and sat until at 5 pm the monitor announced that we weren't going to be seen!!!! AH! A whole day sitting on my behind. So, that is why I am at the gym. I felt at least I could have one productive item checked off my list. I did write 15 postcards at the audition and did a bit of knitting. I ran into my friend DaRon from Ray of Light Theatre (he sang the Jennifer Hudson Dreamgirls song...if you remember). He was #14 and it was nice to see a friendly face. I also talked to a really nice girl who was also on the EMC list. I was encouraged to hear that she finds a lot of non-equity opportunities here.
I got a killer migraine while I was sitting there...too much flourescent lighting and not enough fresh air, I guess. So when I came home I was grumpy and went into a dark space and sweet Adrienne made delicious dinner. And now I'm here and heading home to take a shower so I can wake up tomorrow (earlier!!!) and do it all again.

Sunday funday

2007-01-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

What a great day! It is still soooooooooooooo cold here. I still couldn't help taking some long walks...I just love 'em but I was wishing I was wearing some longer underwear, if you know what I mean!
I tried a third Redeemer service option...this time the West Side morning service, held at the Society for Ethical and Cultural Society. What an amazing and beautiful space! I thought I had tons of time to spare so I walked through the park, past frozen ponds and spare trees...listening to my tunes and freezing my bunds. And when I got to church I was so confused because it was totally full! Ah! I thought it started at 9:45 but really it was 9:15. Bummer! I didn't miss too much and two members of the small group I joined led music. Louise, the violinist, played 1st violin for the string quartet that played exquisite movements of a Haydn quartet. Aw....another reason to love church in NYC. This was the first service where Tim Keller didn't speak....Rev. John Lin gave the talk about the passage in Mark where the woman breaks her alabaster jar of nard over Jesus. I love that passage and he brought to life the contrast of Judas' betrayal and the woman's extravagant love. And how that extravagance is a preview of the even more sacrificial and extravagant love of Jesus that comes on the cross. I found Jennifer, my new friend from small group at the coffee hour and met a few other musicians. That was a big step...not leaving right after church!!! I walked through the park a different way and found an ice skating rink as well as the carousel that I can't wait to bring Charlie to!
I walked all the way home on 5th Avenue past all the fancy fancy apartments that have fun little red lights on the corners of the buildings to call taxis as well as the Museum Mile. It was cold, cold, cold. But I'm stubborn, stubborn, stubborn and wanted to walk all the way home!
I convinced Adrienne to join me at a knitting circle put on by Redeemer at an adorable knitting cafe called "The Point" in Greenwich Village. So cute, I felt like I was a character in a chick lit novel! We met some really nice girls, possible future friends!, and Adrienne is already hooked on knitting. We're currently watching "Brothers and Sisters" and she is knitting away with much purpose! The knitting cirlce meets once a month and we're planning on going back.
Adrienne and I got on the A train to head out to a concert by the Althabasca String Trio featuring my favourite Canadian and violist, Tawnya! It was way up in Washington Heights at a beautiful old co-op building called the Hudson View Gardens. The concert program was a Mozart flute quartet, a really cool and haunting Penderecki trio and then after intermission a John Harbison trio where each of the 4 movements had the subtitle: Fast. The finale was a beautiful Schumann piano quartet where the strings were the stars!
Next, Adrienne and I embarked on my first undercover detective assignment for La Bo. Lara is having me check out some possible trademark infringers in the city and one of the addresses she gave me was really close to the concert...only a few blocks into the really shady part of town. Yikes. The deal is that Lara is paying for me and a friend to eat a 3 course dinner and take cabs to these places in exchange for pictures and materials that show whether or not they are using the trademarked logo, etc, etc. I had called this place called, "La Bodeguita de Broadway" this morning to see if I could make reservations for dinner. When the line picked up I heard, "WASSUP?" I then asked, "La Bodeguita de Broadway?" and then had a really awkward conversation about dinner and reservations, etc. I was doubtful Adrienne and I were going to get a high-end meal but I was cracking up with what we found...this was a tiny little quickie store with a sign advertisitng liquor and cigarettes. I think Lara has nothing to worry about here! We were pretty excited to find a cab RIGHT AWAY to get out of that neigborhood and I felt once again so blessed to live where we do, where I always feel safe.
Our cuban feast derailed, we settled for trying a new restaurant down the street, Geronimo, and ended the evening with some Tasti-D which is all over NYC. It's low calorie frozen yoghurt that is just delicious!!!
I'm trying to figure out how to post some pictures but I think my images are too large...but they'll be coming soon!

Soon I promise..and finally caught up!

2007-01-21T09:19:00.001-08:00

Saturday….can you believe it? For the first time in many days, I’m actually writing this today, Saturday. Yay for catching up! Maybe this way, you’ll get more raw, honest entries than grocery lists. No promises!!!
It was a glorious day at Equinox. Instead of fighting my way into Abby’s sculpt class and because I don’t like lifting weights on audition days (tension) I chose to take a Nia class with a new teacher to me. The best part was that I made a friend, something I thought was impossible at this gym! Gail was new to Nia and we bonded over how much we loved shaking our bones. The teacher, Jayne, even had us do partner exercises where we had to tell each other our stories with our bodies. All of a sudden I felt like I was in acting class again! The only bummer about my new friend Gail is that she told me she’s moving to London in April to be with her fiancée but I know I will enjoy shaking bones together until then! Abby’s dance class was amazing…I LOVED it. Instead of the usual hip-hop style we did a lyrical routine to this amazing song that I need to find on I-tunes. I think it might be called “Keep Holding On”…that at least is the climactic lyric so if any of you out there know what I’m talking about let me know. Oh my gosh, I felt like Alison on “So you think you can dance”….it was amazing…I would love to learn more about lyrical and modern dancing. It really moves me. One thing Abby said today I loved….she told this really cute little dancer to be a little less Mozart and little more Brahms. She explained that Mozart is all about showing off….look at all the notes I can play…aren’t I great…while when you play Brahms you are consumed by the music and the audience is more voyeuristic…watching you experience the music. Cool, huh?
Those classes were exactly what I needed to get my audition day going! I was so full of creative energy and joy!
I came home and cleaned and prepped for the audition. I don’t know if I mentioned before that this audition was kind of a private invitation to sing for the director of the Opera Company of Middlebury. They are putting up “A Little Night Music” in June and I had seen a notice of the audition for next weekend and had submitted my materials. I guess he was just flooded with submissions and had already filled up his slots by the time he got to mine but he was impressed by my resume and thought I would be a good candidate for Anne. (I think so too!) Anyhoo…it was a really exciting opportunity. Because of my coaching with Jon, I was feeling really good about it, but I still used that nervous energy to do some serious cleaning! Adrienne was so encouraging and even did my make-up. She is a pro and was so cute as she was doing my eyes…”Oh yeah, ooh…gorgeous…etc, etc.” The audition was at 11th and W. 52nd. The thing about the Avenues is that they are REALLY long. My subway stop was at 52nd and Lex which is about 9 Avenues down from 11th. And….did I mention how cold and windy it is? CRAZY! But the walk definitely kept my energy up. I arrived at about 4:52 and met the director straight away. I was a bit nervous because he was really insistent that I be ready right at 5 and Jon was coming straight from a matinee of The Color Purple. All was well because Jon got there with 4 minutes to spare! It was such a blessing to have him play. Not only is he an amazing pianist but also the director was able to focus on me and not on how to play the piano! I sang “Soon” and “What Good would the Moon Be”….both went well, I thought and I was able to channel fun and alive Kristen instead of nervous Kristen. I also did a cold reading and the director told me he was from Dayton so we chatted a bit about that. He was very nice and complimentary but he will be hearing a bunch more singers so I won’t know until after next weekend. I was just so thankful for the opportunity and also glad for having a great audition under my belt to keep me confident for the ones to come!
Adrienne and I are chilling at home tonight. I’m catching up, well, now caught up on my entries so I’m feeling pretty good. I’m excited for what tomorrow will bring!

MOMA and singing again!

2007-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

I woke up on Friday to the beautiful sight of snow-covered trees and gardens outside my window. First snow! I went to Nia in the morning, my new favorite exercise class. I love the freedom of movement that it brings and the teachers are all just so fun and fruity. You can definitely make it a work-out if you concentrate on all the strength moves. Anyhoo….I spent some time practicing before heading out to the MOMA for the first time. Penny and friends from my dance classes gave me a year-membership as my going away present…amazing gift, especially since the admission is $20 for non-members and I can go for FREE as often as I like! Yay! Except for Tuesdays…they are closed then. They also have films that I can to for free as well as discounts at the MOMA stores….put in your orders now! I only had an hour and a half to spend there so I barely skimmed the surface…I’m looking forward to spending longer periods of time there…maybe just sit in the Monet water lilies room and journal or fun stuff like that. Its location is perfect as an oasis between auditions that are generally very nearby. My favorite moments were when I walked into the first big gallery on the 2nd floor…I got a little verklemt…I can’t remember who the painter was but these huge canvases were just so grand and really took me aback. I especially loved the Quattro Stagioni series. Other highlights: A really weird movie from Finland that was playing on 3 screens at once with different scenes of the same action in each screen, Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s Land and The Dance by Matisse. That one made me a little teary as well as that is the painiting that Penny printed up for me on the card she gave me. She said she was giving me the MOMA gift so that I could go visit the painting often and think of my dear dance friends!!! So special.
I picked up a couple of postcards in the store before running over to the Hilton to meet up with Manami, my Japanese mezzo friend I met in Aspen who is now a soprano and recently married to a blonde tenor!!! So fun to see her. She cracks me up with her bluntness about her husband. I told her I thought he was handsome from the picture she showed me and she said, “Oh no, he is much too fat. “ Okay. We had fun catching up at a nearby Starbucks.
She is so hilarious and really wanted to be my personal shopper. I could tell she was a little disappointed that I didn’t have more errands to do. She did take me to a fancy soap store, Sabon, for a free hand scrub and lotion application. And she toured me around Daffy’s which is a lot like Ross, with much detail! “See how the underwear is so cheap and cute….see, they have shoes from Timberland….” Etc, etc in every section of the store! I told her she should be a personal shopper! Our last stop was Bed, Bath and Beyond by Lincoln Center. The one thing that I needed for my room was some adhesive to get my new chocolate rug to stay in one place. Gracie, the cat, loves to ride it like a magic carpet, which is cute, but creates quite a mess! I had to say goodbye to Manami to meet Jon at his apartment to work on our audition repertoire. He was so helpful and it felt GREAT to sing out and to have his amazing support beneath me. He gave me so many great tips and helped me feel totally confident and that the song was my own. Yay! We got some ingredients for our special dinner and cabbed it over to our place…Adrienne had the great idea to recreate our favorite Dewey’s Pizza (of Cincinnati), the Green Lantern. Yum!!!! Whole-wheat crust with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pesto, artichokes, mushrooms and goat cheese. AMAZING! I also made us a salad and it was chocolate night…it doesn’t get much better than that!

Cleaning up and a new keyboard!

2007-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning I met up with Heather Gilles (friend from CCM) and her friend Abby (who, on Monday I ran into at Lane Bryant) as well as Heather’s visiting friend Adrienne from Chicago. Heather now lives about an hour north of the city but she brought Adrienne in to go to the Guggenheim. I had hoped to go with them to see the Picasso and del Greco special exhibits but I felt like I had been playing too much this week and needed to practice and do laundry. The four of us met at 3 Guys, a diner on Madison Ave between 88th and 89th. I had actually been there once before with Tawnya and her friend Christina after church during my December visit. The funniest thing was that Heather was really late and by the time we were ready to order the waiter took away our breakfast menus and replaced them with lunch ones! I don’t know if that has ever happened to me before! It was so great to see Heather…she no longer sings but instead is a director and has worked at a bunch of fantastic opera houses. She is brilliant and I know she will be so successful! I have so many great memories of working on our Bellini duets that we did for a Bel Canto program at CCM. Ah.
I walked over to Cornell Medical College to hand deliver my music for Jon. His day job is there and they allow him extreme flexibility for all his Broadway playing gigs. Adrienne offered his help for my “A Little Night Music” audition on Saturday.
I really enjoyed walking down 2nd Avenue. I had never explored it before and it was chalk-full of restaurants that I’m dying to try…including a traditional Brazilian restaurant and Penang, a Malaysian one. Don’t you want to come visit????
I got really excited when I saw the Cornell Hospitals..they are so beautiful and I am so thrilled that Adrienne gets to work for them, starting in one week!
I got soooooooo much done in my room that afternoon….hung up my cute Pottery barn curtains for some wall decoration and cleaned up and did laundry. I was nervous about how that would go but the machines didn’t seem to ruin my clothes…and I love that I was able to do it ALL in about an hour and a half.
The most exciting event on Thursday was the delivery of my keyboard that I found on Craigslist. I got an amazing deal….a Casio MX 1200 which doesn’t mean much to me either except that it has over 200 voices and drum beats and a metronome and it lights up and you can record and there’s even a voice called “choral oohs”….so fun! It’s huge with 76 keys and my room that was looking much too barren is now just right! My keyboard also came with a pedal, a stand and a stool which I’m also using as my vanity stool!!! Carlos, the really nice man I bought it from and a guitarist himself said his daughter no longer was using it but it’s pretty lightly used. Can you believe I got all of that plus home delivery from Brooklyn for only $150. I feel really really thankful1!!!
I made Adrienne meet him with me downstairs just in case Carlos was scary…but he was so nice and there was definitely nothing to worry about.
I had a really nice phone chat with Seri that night and weeped and weeped during Grey’s Anatomy. Whew. I feel like that show is back in the zone after a few rough months.

1st NYC audition and CCM reunions

2007-01-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday morning I got bright and early to attempt my second Equity crashing…this time, for a new musical about NY bike messengers called "Magpie." The audition was in Grenwich Village on a really cute street. The weather has turned extremely cold and the walk there was brutal but it was a worthy hike. I ended up being second on the EMC list and got to sing in the second group. Amazing! I learned a lesson about song choices…I sang “How could I ever know” forgetting that when I’m nervous my low voice goes bye-bye. The high notes worked well but the other stuff not so much. The casting director was nice and said “ Pretty, pretty” before asking how tall I was. I met another non-equity gal who was really nice and helpful named Thalia. I’m sure I’ll run into her again soon.
My new favorite thing, have I already said this?, about NYC are the coffee carts/trucks with the $1 cups of coffee. Love them and I found a great one in NOHO on my way back home.
Wednesday afternoon I met up with Liz Russ, friend from LAHS and NY opera singer and our common friend Jackie Enrique. Jackie studied at CCM with me and at Oberlin with Liz for their undergrad. I was most excited to talk to Jackie about my time at La Bo because she is my only Cuban friend and had introduced me to friend plantains in the ‘Nati. We ate lunch at the most overpriced restaurant with mediocre food I’ve come upon…but it was right next to the Empire State Building so that wasn’t so surprising.
I walked around a bit in the bitter cold before meeting up with Adrienne at the Rockefeller Center, where she still works for Bank of America. We met up with David Lemly McFerrin, a friend from CCM, who now is studying at the Juilliard Opera Center. It was great to see David and we went to Ollie’s and caught up. David and I went to the New York Festival of Song concert at Juilliard….the NYFOS is a series of concerts that Steven Blier founded…he’s an amazing pianist and artist and he creates ensembles and scenes in carefully planned programs. The program’s theme was Songs of Peace and all the singers were from Juilliard. They were some really special moments and I was so glad to be back in that environment, listening to beautiful and artistic singing.
After the concert David and I spotted none other than Lorenzo Malfatti, my professore and mentor from the Lucca program. I love that man to pieces and he’s always been such a great cheerleader. He lives in Pittsburgh but is in town to hear Lucca auditions. It was so wonderful to see him…what a treat! I’m going to write him a letter as he told us he doesn’t do the computer thing!!! ☺

Discovery Tuesday

2007-01-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was my discovery day in the world of crashing equity auditions. I was so anxious about all the unknowns of the process when I woke up...I didn’t want to get out of bed! But I did, and I showed up and learned a bunch! The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera audition was at the Actors Equity Building….a fancy building thanks to the dues of poor starving artists! While I wasn’t able to crash the audition (too many Equity actors signed up for auditions) I learned all about how it works and how my EMC card (which I finally got that day) would allow me to get on a slightly preferred list over the regular non-equity folks. (EMC means I’m an Equity Membership Candidate, based on the points/weeks I’ve spent working in Equity Contract Companies).
Tuesday I also discovered the musicians’ fellowship bible study and I loved it. A very multi-generational group of musicians of all sorts of disciplines, they were welcoming and insightful and provided just the kind of encouragement that I was thirsting for!!! I had the chance to pray with two of the girls, one a horn player who was off to play in the pit of Wicked, and the other a masters’ student in piano at the Manhattan School of Music. I was so thankful to be in fellowship and I’m really looking forward to next week!
I was in the neighborhood (UWS) and though I was a bit tired from my big day of discovery I decided to try an advanced-beginner jazz class at Steps. Remember my post about the advanced-beginner tap class….eeek…this one was just as challenging and beyond me….I could tell, once again, I was the only newbie as the whole class did the warm-up without the instructor. I loved the teacher, Jay T. He was warm and encouraging and his choreography (to Peter Frampton!) was awesome. If I take my brave pills I may go back but I really felt like the ugly and uncoordinated duckling. It’s definitely time to try some true beginner classes!

Adrienne's Birthday!!!

2007-01-19T05:51:00.000-08:00

Adrienne shares her birthday with MLK so she had the whole day to play. I was really excited that she was feeling more celebratory and ready to play when the day arrived. I had gone to NIA class, this time with a new teacher. It was hilarious. There were more pelvic thrusts than any Elvis concert one could imagine. Seriously. And it's me and a bunch of 60 year-old women. I almost wondered if the guy was drunk...it seemed so odd. But it was a cardio intensive workout so I was happy! One of the old ladies told me what a good-little-dancer I was. Those confidence shots are helpful after my dismal performance at Steps!
I came home and Jon and Adrienne invited me out on their shopping spree. We hit Lane Bryant first where I ran into (again, I tell you!) Abby Powell, a singer I knew from Aspen and also one of my friends from CCM's best friend. From there we went to Macy's. My gift to Adrienne was a Prescriptives lipstick of her choice. She loves MAC but has had trouble finding the perfect color....I was excited for her to get color-printed and find out if she was a blue-red, red-orange, etc. Well, Prescriptives is sure glad I brought her in for that lipstick because she ended up buying the whole makeover (minus the lipstick that I bought her!) It was fun to see her so excited about this new world of makeup and even more fun, for the woman who rang her up!!!
I parted ways to meet up with Liz Russ, highschool friend and NY singer. We met up at Columbus Circle, which has this amazing Time Warner center where the whole bottom floor is a Whole Foods. I peeked down there...such a zoo! Maybe even worse than Trader Joes. Karim frequents the Equinox there so I gave him a call on the off chance that he might be around...and as he listened to my message, I was waiting outside for Liz, and ran into him (AGAIN!) So fun! The great thing is that everyone knows Karim, including Liz, from days together at Brevard. I had to say bye to him for now because he is going to spend the next few weeks in Canada with "Carlton."
Liz and I went to two Starbucks looking for seats and caught up on life. She gave me a few good tips for my teacher and coach search.
I made an extremely efficient run at the Container Store and as Jon says had great subway karma...as soon as I walked down the stairs my train was there. It was a moment of bliss, where I thought how happy I was to live here!
At home, we were getting ready for our exciting bday dinner at Union Square Cafe, one of NY's best restaurants. It was such a delightful meal...Adrienne's mom's best friend's son is a student at the Culinary Institute of America and is currently interning there. We had hoped he might be able to hook us up with a little something special...and he did! We had ordered 2 orders of fried calamari (perfect!!!) for an appetizer...he also hand-delivered a tuna tartare and then a second course of pasta was brought out with his complements. The mushroom gnocchi might have even made Lis a believer! I ordered a filet mignon of ahi tuna...it was amazing and the thickest cut of tuna I've ever seen. YUM! Everyone's favorite was the side of mashed turnips we ordered for the table. We were so stuffed but decided to split one banana tart....but instead 4 desserts were brought out, one with "Happy Birthday Adrienne" written in chocolate. It was such a delicious evening and full of joy and laughter. We tried to coax Sara and Eric to come back to our apartment for Jon's cake but everyone was so full and it had been a 3 hour meal....11 pm on a school night....so everyone bailed. Adrienne and I indulged in our last non-Dr. Oz approved dessert treat at home before heading off to bed. It was a really happy day, and a turn-around I think for A and me!

shopping with celebrities and sweet potato-chicken curry

2007-01-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I decided to take Abby's "Body Sculpt" class before dance in hopes that it would be less stressful to claim my "spot" for dance! Oh my word...there is nothing like fighting the U-E-S excer-maniacs to get a spot in the studio!!! I ended up on the very back wall....with 10 inches of space between me and the wall. There was one other girl who was as screwed as I was...and she left in frustration mid-class. Bad idea!!!! Abby has a really great sense of humor but leaving class without putting your equipment away was a NO-NO! I watched in horror as she followed the girl out and then made her take her equipment out the long way, through the cardio room, just for some extra embarassment. I think Abby is amazing and funny and lifting weights to her comedy act just makes me giggle...and that beats boredom! Dance class was even more fun this week because I was familiar with the routine. Confidence in the steps makes all the difference! I even got a comment that I was a good dancer from one of the U-E-S. Crazy! A funny thing was that I ran into Lindsay Frugaletti, sister of Mike Frugaletti, and a former Dance Attack superstar. She was a guest at the class and I begged her to teach some more at my Equinox. It's crazy in this city how even though you feel like you're all alone all and there are so many strangers all around.....you end up running into people you know! Later that afternoon I ran into Sara and Eric, Adrienne's good friends that we had hung out with Friday night, at Anthropoligie. I went on a shopping adventure to return my new Urban Outfitters rug. Cute as it was, it didn't match my green comforter. At Bed Bath and Beyond, I was searching for coatracks when I saw Tyne Daly (from Judging Amy). She ended up following me at one point...and seemed like a nice, down to earth person!
I had really wanted to go to my first Carnegie Hall performance that night but I got the time wrong and the Bach St. Matthew Passion was completely sold-out. Oh well. It gave me a great opportunity to visit the Apple store (this amazing crystal cube right in front of the CBS headquarters...where I kept seeing replays of Kerri Walsh playing volleyball on their display tvs) and get my airport base station.

Sunday, I tried out the U-E-S Redeemer AM service held at Hunter College. I walked the 30ish blocks because I love discovering all the shops and markets. I should write down what treasures I find but usually I just get excited with hopes that I'll return at some point. The seats in the auditorium were definitely more comfortable than the crowded, no-leg-room slanted pews of the U-W-S PM venue....but it definitely felt less like a church and more like an auditorium. A String Quartet and organ led the worship with beautiful movements of Mozart and Medelssohn quartets as serving as the prelude and postlude music. The message again was amazing...now we're in a series about The Cross...already leading up to Easter! I did shake hands with a bunch of people but my pink coat got a complement from the girl to my left which enabled more of a conversation to open up. Still, it's awkward and hard to really connect with people in such a large setting. There was an all-church business meeting following and while I thought about staying, as I'm pretty sure this is the church I want to serve with...the awkwardness was too much, and I took off.

Sunday night Jon came over for dinner and I made a new recipe....a sweet potato and chicken curry served with whole wheat cous cous. It was a big hit! We watched "Little Miss Sunshine" whose title-aspiring character is so lovable!!!!

advanced beginner tap

2007-01-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

I'm a pretty good tapper...when I think of my dancing "skills" I'd put tap close to the top. In fact, Miss Cabot entrusted her tappers to me this summer for some beginner lessons. I thought choosing advanced beginner tap was a very safe and low-ball choice for my first class at Steps on Broadway. I had gone to another NIA class Friday morning and used my precious few minutes of gym internet time to check out the class schedule. I jetted home with hopes of making it to an 11:30 class. Here comes the East-side/West-side issue. The crosstown bus is the easiest way to get across the park but buses, during the daytime, when taxis are weaving and lights are turning red and people are taking their time getting on and off....are sometimes not the fastest. It can take up to 25 to 30 minutes just to go from 3rd Avenue to Broadway...so, I missed that 11:30 class. I then had over an hour to kill on the West side...the side everyone tells me is much hipper than my snobby neighborhood. I do love the character of the West side and for me it represents every other NYC experience I've had until now. From my first stay with Tawnya 6 years ago, to one shady visit to the 66th Street YMCA, to stays at Karim's loft on 86th...it's all I've known until now. Friday was one of the days I was completely obsessed with finding a rug for my bedroom and I looked everywhere until happening upon Urban Outfitters and finding gold!
But back to tap...I was excited to get my keyring Steps card and signed up for my class. There were only 8 students and I was the only new one. Whew. I was in trouble. The teacher's style was rhythm tap, pretty different from the theatre-style tap that I can hack. She would perform a step and then we were to repeat it in time....no breakdown, no calling out, flap, shuffle, hop, no nothing!!! Eek. I was sweating bullets for multiple reasons...a few steps I could manage but I found myself anticipating failure and then getting flustered. The teacher was really nice and didn't bar me from coming to future classes...which I half-expected.
Imagine...if this was advanced beginner....what would intermediate look like? I won't know for a very long time. So, I guess the lesson, is like many lessons in the big apple...you may think you're a tapping pro...but here, you've only just begun.

Craigers!!!

2007-01-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday, I went back to the slow dance class and I have now decided as fun as it is to watch Sean dance, it is no workout or challenge so I’m going to keep pursuing taking classes at Steps on Broadway (www.stepsnyc.com). There was a lady in the class who clapped to get his attention and yelled at him that she had to go back and teach him the beginning part because she didn’t get it. Oh dear. Unbelievable!!!
I showered and left a bunch of stuff at Equinox because our water was off from 9-4 at the apartment and then went on an adventure to Astor Place, in the East Village in search of Kmart. I’m still trying to find a rug and a lamp for my room. Since my room wasn’t always a “room” it has no lighting other than the shining sun. Also, the hardwood floors are amazing but the apartment insists that we cover a certain percentage of it with rugs for noise reduction, etc. So…..I was hoping Martha would hook me up but she didn’t and Kmart was kind of a bust. The one fun thing was that the basement of Kmart was connected to the Subway and so I swiped my card through only to find I was on the downtown side when I needed to go uptown. Usually there is a way to go under or around but this one was a dead end. So then I crossed the street but note to all, if you’ve just used your unlimited MTA pass, it won’t swipe successfully. I tried to get help from an attendant but I didn’t understand what she was saying and I missed the train. So, sad recent NYer that I was gave up and got back on the street. I then got really lost in the East Village but found a hole in the wall called “Pommes Frittes” on 2nd Ave that I’ll have to take Filip! I took a pic. I finally made it to Trader Joes to return the sugar-laden products we mistakenly bought on Saturday and picked up a few things before taking the limited bus home.
Craig Verm, friend from Rice and CCM, and amazing baritone had an audition on the East Side in the late afternoon. And he had flown in from Pittsburgh and was waiting in my apartment lobby when I got home. I was excited to make him lunch but then I remembered the no water situation. We went to a nearby Israeli café that I had been eyeing “Effy’s Café” and enjoyed catching up with eachother. It was really, really great to see him and feel home and full of joy in his presence. He caught me up on his various jobs and wife Karen and dog Bella! It worked out pretty well that my boxes arrived in the window that he was there…he helped me bring them up to my apartment. The heaviest box with all my books nearly didn’t make it in one piece….there was a huge gash in one of the seams…but thank you LORD, all the books are fine!!! Yay!
Craig gave me a list of about a dozen pianists he recommended which was awesome information that I needed! I walked him out and went on a walk to retrieve my gymbag and to search for some hangers. Once again, no internet access today so I spent a bunch of time writing this novella for you. I promise I’ll cut out some of the gory details in the future.

HAIRSPRAY!!!!

2007-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

Wednesday’s highlights included a fun and fruity dance class called “NIA” at Equinox where I learned how to shake my bones. I loved the teacher….he was straight out of a movie about a fruity, NY dance teacher who begs you to love your body and yourself. Tee hee. I met up with Tawnya (my violist friend from Rice and my favourite Canadian) for a very fun adventure. First, I took a train to Grand Central where I got lost, lost, lost. I get so confused about the order of Fifth and Park and Madison…I got quite the tour of the area but eventually found Times Square and even the Mary Poppins theatre…we were hoping to get discount tickets to the matinee of that one. Tawnya was late so I went and scoped out the TKTS booth on 46th…the problem with TKTS is they only give you 50% off the highest-priced tickets available, often $110-120. Tawnya and I wanted to spend $40 or less. We discovered that each show has different rush and lottery procedures. Mary Poppins has no rush tickets and Drowsy Chaperone, our second choice, has a lottery system but it closes 90 minutes before show-time. On a whim we stopped by Hairspray to see if they had any rush tickets and they did for $25…that’s just about 2 NY movies! It was such a cute and bubbly show…I really loved it more than I expected…great dancing and costumes and funny script…two of the characters even broke character and couldn’t stop laughing in a really funny part…it was a magical moment for all of us…seeing both sides of the comedy! We saw the understudy for Tracy and also for Penny, the character that Diana DeGarmo plays…but they both were excellent. I realized that the only other Broadway show I’ve seen was with Tawnya…about 5 years ago…seeing Jasmine Guy in Chicago, ah…another amazing and memorable experience. Tawnya and I toured around some of the sheet music stores before parting ways. I was greeted by an AMAZING dinner of whole-wheat pasta with homemade sauce and turkey meatballs. (Thanks, MOM!)

January 8...catching up!

2007-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Monday started a little later in the morning but I made it to a sculpt class at Equinox and then came home and waited for my dresser from the Pier 1 down the street to be delivered. Amazingly they came in the first half-hour of the delivery window. I love my dresser!!!! It was such an amazing deal…only $120 marked down from $499 (because it was last season’s floor model.) It is so cute, wicker with 6 drawers and two-tone brown. You need to come visit it! Although, I packed so many boxes, the drawers are already full. No room for yours! ☺
I started cooking a Dr. Oz approved dinner and then headed off on a long walk to meet Karim at the Columbus Circle Equinox to return his fancy Paul Smith gloves that I “mistakenly” took home with me the night before. The gloves have cute, cute pink stitching on the softest brown leather…mmm, I wish he didn’t love them more than me. My walk was so fun…I walked nearly 40 blocks on Madison Ave past all the fancy, fancy shops and then along the South side of Central Park. The Time Warner Center is a new addition to the Columbus Circle…I think it’s like a mall, only, like everything else here, fancier. I want to check it out later. I met Karim only to be cajoled into going into another movie with him and a friend that night…so glad I walked an hour to return his gloves with such urgency…anyhooo…I rushed home, finished dinner, and then headed over to the Lincoln Center movie complex….while walking on the West Side I nearly ran into Brian Stokes Mitchell, star of Broadway! He actually kind of glared at me…so much for friendly New Yorkers. We saw “Freedom Writers” with Hillary Swank…I enjoyed my Adrienne-made popcorn and loved reuniting with Keri Marcinko, an amazing soprano I met in Aspen and one of Karim’s closest buds here. Karim and I walked to 86th together on Amsterdam and sang our favorite Christmas carols…just like old times.

From January 7....a little behind!

2007-01-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

I have so much to catch on!!! What an exciting week!
Just so you know, one of the main reasons why I haven’t been updating this blog regularly is the lack of internet connection in the apartment. “RD” is the one network we can sometimes hook onto but he is a fair-weather friend. Lately, he has been no friend at all and I’ve been limited to checking email at the gym.

I’ll try to remember all the fun details…
Sunday, Jan 7, I did end up visiting both the Brick Church and Redeemer’s Upper West Side Evening Jazz Service. The Brick Church is on Park Avenue, just a few blocks down from the apartment, and wowsers, swanky doesn’t even begin to tell the story. The ushers literally take you to a seat and they are decked out in sharp suits with boutonnières!!! The music was beautiful with a professional choir that sang some of my favorites: “Rise Up Shepherd and Follow” and “In the Bleak Midwinter.” Ideally, I could find a job in a choir like this one and then go to Redeemer at night. The positions are really hard to find, especially, go figure, for sopranos! I definitely did not feel at home at that church in the same way that I feel frumpy among all the perfectly put-together upper east-side pixie models that I walk past on every street. Okay, Sheina, was right. I can’t get away with pilling sweaters here!
After church Adrienne and I went on a shopping adventure to the Container Store (where I revisited childhood memories of coveting all the jewel-colored plastic boxes in every size) and the original Bloomingdales on 59th Street. I found a really great bookcase for my room at the Container Store. Shopping in NYC is a whole new experience because you have to factor whether or not you need it delivered or if you can fit the thing in a cab. Also, everyone seems to bring their dog into every store. Seriously, when we were at the Container Store there were at least 10 dogs browsing canisters and crates with the common folk.
Sunday night I ventured over to the UWS for my first crack at Redeemer. It was an amazing service….I loved the music….they had a jazz quintet and a female vocalist leading us in some songs I knew and many I didn’t but this musician-friendly had sheet music for all of them in their program. The head pastor, Tim Keller, spoke about whether God is really in control as reflected in the last half of Romans 8. He talked about the power we each have to make choices but how even in that free will, God is continually working out His perfect plan in seemingly insignificant forks in the road. The illustration he shared is how we ended up in that church that night…well, because 20 years ago he and his wife felt led to begin a ministry in NYC…and that only happened because he was part of a denomination (PCUSA) that supported that calling and vision…and he only became part of that denomination because of a class he took in his last semester in seminary….and that class was taught by a British scholar who was a fill-in…but he almost wasn’t able to come and teach because of immigration issues…and the dean of the seminary was praying about it when a student happened to come by who asked what he was praying for…and in the 11th hour that scholar was able to come and teach Tim Keller because that student happened to be the son of the current president of the USA, Gerald Ford. And Gerald Ford was only President because Nixon resigned….and Nixon only resigned because of the Watergate scandal…and that scandal leaked out because a door was open 2 inches and the conversations were taped….you get the idea….so whether you open your door or close it all the way, you don’t know how God is using you to changed the world! I loved that illustration…I’m sure I don’t do it justice!
The only part of church that was hard for me was being a loner and feeling completely on the outside. I’ve been so blessed to be on the inside for such a long time and I’m sure it’s good for me to see what it’s like to really be alone but I’m longing for a piece of Christian community out here.
Karim called me as I was on the crosstown bus home and I ended up meeting him at the Apple store on 59th and 5th Ave. This store is crazy…you’ve probably seen it on TV. It is a glass cube and all of the merchandise is underground…and it’s open 24/7! Crazy! It was raining but we walked all the way to Times Square. All the beautiful Christmas lights were still glowing including the ones on the Rockefeller Tree, even more stunning with sans tourists! We went to a 10:30 showing of The Holiday (for $11…eeek!)….easily two movies crammed into one so that we didn’t get out of there till nearly 1 in the morning! This is life with Karim! A very interesting ride home on the A-train (there’s a song about this somewhere) followed….less is more for this story…but I ended up taking a cab from the West Side and was safe and sound by about 1:30. EEK!

trader joes!

2007-01-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! It's Sunday and I'm pretty excited about going church shopping. This morning I'm going to check out the Brick Church on Park and 92nd. It's the church that hosts the annual Park Avenue Tree Lighting Ceremony and Carol Sing that Adrienne and I attended in December. That was such a beautiful evening and a source of many God moments that I decided I need to check it out! This evening I'm planning on going to one of Redeemer's services...this is the church that every person I ask about churches in NYC seems to suggest. My friend Betsy and her husband Riley go when they are in town (she is not, right now) and Redeemer has a whole network of small groups for artists and musicians. I'll report back soon....
Yesterday I went to my first Equinox dance class. It was so fun although definitely more intense than CA. I miss my dancing friends! I hope to make some new ones. This one was taught by Abby, who is a friend and former teacher of Molly Bell. She reminded me of Molly in so many ways and it was an all-around great time. Molly had called me on Thursday to wish me well and had left me a message about Abby. I thought it was particularly fortuitous that Abby teaches a class at my Equinox! So exciting! I found out that it will cost me $300 to change my Equinox membership to All-Access. I'm going to hold off on that one...apparently they have two free-enrollment periods during the year...so we'll see! I just have to convince Karim to visit my Equinox!
Saturday's adventures also included a healthy lunch at Fetch...there are two dog-themed restaurants within 94th Street. I'm not sure what that's about. On Friday night we got burgers and fries from The Barking Dog...next door and featured once on Sex in the City. Adrienne and I went shopping for our new eating plan...we're working on the Dr. Oz diet...no refined sugar, no white flour, no trans fats, etc. We had two fun shopping adventures...first to the local supermarket and second, the big adventure! Adrienne had never been to a Trader Joes...we went to the only one in Manhattan in Union Square. It is such a cute area...right by NYU and apparently very trendy and pricy. You would NOT believe this TJs. It has all the good stuff, of course, with pretty much the same prices (although $2 buck chuch is $3 buck chuck.) Big difference...as soon as you walk in the store...you see the line and a guy holding a card that says "12 items or less." Yes, TJs is the NYC Disneyland where you wait in line for as long as you would for Space Mountain. Seriously the line runs the entire perimeter of the store and if you need any cheese or cereal you have to fight through two lines of people just to get to the items! Crazy! I wish I had taken pictures. We took the bus home on 3rd Avenue and it was fun to look at all the restaurants and shops at a relatively slow pace.
Goals for today...calling more friends, finding a keyboard and figuring out how to get from my side of the park to the West Side. Miss you all, friends!

NYC here I come!!!!

2007-01-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

In about an hour Dad will be driving me to SFO and I'll jump on a plane to JFK. I'm excited but still drying my tears from lots of goodbyes. It's been such a crazy and fun week of packing and shipping and sorting and sharing and crying and eating and drinking! I had a really fun party last night with a bunch of friends. Mom made adorable mini NY Cheesecakes and we had some Noah's bagels. Friends from Highway and dance class and high school stopped by and filled me with warmth and love. My heart is just overflowing from good wishes and prayers and amazing cards and gifts and smiles. Sigh. I have really amazing friends that I am leaving (for now!). It's a beautiful thing, in some ways, to have the opportunity to move. The change and ritual of saying goodbye forces conversations and truths that might not otherwise come up of how much we love and appreciate eachother. Like I said, my heart is overflowing and I'm so thankful for the community of friends and family that supports me. And I know that as I step out into the scary city I have them, you all, behind me. And I will grow and go to auditions that scare me and meet new people and attempt new things and develop new tastes with the strength of this community. Okay, many pictures and stories to come!