The hills are alive...
Today Cougardiva (finally) started practicing for her audition on Monday. I wanted to send out the views from our apartment, so you all can see that the hills really were alive with the sound of music this morning! Ha, I crack myself up!
This is the view from Cougardiva's dining room window:
This is the view from Cougardiva's dining room down into the garden:
And this is the view from Cougardiva's bedroom window. This is the side that goes down to the main part of town:
Yes, I know, she's a spoiled brat.
Gumby made it to the crown room
Here is a picture of Gumby in the Crown Room at Sea-Tac. It was so awesome to fly first class (Thank you to Dad and frequent flyer miles!!) I also got to use the same romper room in the JFK airport, but I have to say that Seattle is the best. Gumby really enjoyed his free snacks and beverages... - Cougardiva
Three days until the first audition
I am getting excited for my first audition in Germany. I found out from an old school friend who is also auditioning in Germany that she will be at the same audition. It will be nice to see her.
My jet lag is almost gone and I think I managed to stave off any cold that may have wanted to overtake me before I left on my trip. Now the only thing I have to contend with it seems is a lack of practicing space and the incessant smoking going on around me. It is so strange to see people smoking inside buildings, and the woman sitting next to me at the internet cafe is about 20 inches from me and puffing like a steam engine. But, that won't keep me from giving a good audition, surely. As for the practice situation, all I need is a room to warm up every day and run through a few of my pieces. My land lady told me informally that I can practice in my apartment, but I have to clear the time and duration with her first. I think I'll ask her if I can start practicing. I think I've taken enough days off now that I should get back to it so my voice is in good form for Monday.
So, hopefully I will have more information on Monday!
Hello Handy!
Helmut, Regine und Tante Annegret had tea with Cougardiva and me on our first day in our new apartment!
Our new apartment is very beautiful and we are already settled in. There are three spacious rooms on the uppermost level of a beautiful three-story house. There is a combined kitchen and dining room, a bathroom with a beautiful tub and blue tile, and a large bedroom with a small sitting area and bed. Silke's Dad brought a TV for Cougardiva so she can watch German TV. Last night there was a murder mystery movie on that involved a catholic priest. He seemed kind of slow and bumbling like Colombo, but Cougardiva couldn't always follow what was going on, so she read her book instead.
On Monday we are heading out on our first adventure together. Cougardiva has an audition in Cologne, Germany. She needs to call and get some more information about where exactly the audition is, but now that she has a handy she can do that right away. She is extra excited because one of her schoolmates will be there as well. What a surprise! I will take a picture of them when we see her.
The weather continues to be warm and sunny here. I hope it stays like this a little longer, it is so fun to walk around outside and see all of the beautiful things Hagen has to offer.
Cougardiva is anxious to go shopping, so I have to sign off. We will write more soon!
Travel and staying healthy
Since I carry my instrument around with me all the time, it is often the case that when my body is taxed, then my voice suffers the consequences. This week as I have finished up with my various jobs, said goodbye to friends and family, and inevitably done more chatting, lecturing and singing than I normally do, I am faced with some vocal fatigue. Normally the best way to recover is to get some extra sleep, take a few days off from lots of talking, and to drink plenty of water. But tomorrow I have to get up extra early, and since I can't sleep on airplanes, I will probably go without sleep for at least a day. Planes and trains are also very dry environments that are normally not ideal places for singers. So, tonight I hope to get to bed very early and tomorrow, if I can't sleep on my flights, hopefully I can at least get as much water to drink as I want to keep hydrated. If that is the case, this vocal fatigue I'm feeling should be gone in plenty of time for my first audition, which is one week from today in Frankfurt!
Goodbye Seattle
Cougardiva and I are about to leave our apartment in Ballard. It took her awhile to get everything packed up and loaded out, but she managed to fit all of her things for three months into one small suitcase and a garment bag! Wow, for a diva she sure packs light...
We're headed to Olympia tonight to say goodbye to Cougardiva's parents, and then bright and early tomorrow morning we get to go to the airport and get on a big plane and fly to Europe! Cougardiva's Dad bought her a first-class ticket, so we get to ride in style. Hopefully she'll share the complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste with me.
We don't know where the closest internet cafe is in our town in Germany yet, so it may be a few days before I can write about my first big adventure, but keep checking back!
Time to start packing
Cougardiva is getting all her things packed for her big trip and I'm getting so excited! Don't you love travel-sized things for trips??
Who you should audition for
Last night I stayed up until almost 2:00 a.m. calling agencies and trying to secure more auditions for myself. I was able to get three more auditions, bringing my total up to six.
One of the auditions I scheduled was for October 2nd. The woman making the appointment encouraged me to come to the agency on October 9th instead of the 2nd because there would be more agents there to listen and it sounded like a good deal for as many people to hear me as possible. I already had an audition scheduled, though, so I needed to take the October 2nd date, when there would only be one or two agents around to hear singers. I relayed this information to my voice teacher today and he said that I did the right thing in taking the audition with the fewer number of agents. He said that in an ideal situation I should only be singing for one agent at a time. The reason is that the more agents who are sitting in on an audition, the more singers the company will try to cram into a day to make it more convenient for the agents. And what ends up happening is that what was supposed to be a personalized audition turns into a cattle-call, with several agents hearing over 100 singers in a day. It's harder to get an agent's attention when they are listening for so many singers at a time. So, I guess beginner's folly turned out to be a good thing. But that October 2nd audition is my very first appointment and is just a few days after I get into the country. Actually, that audition is only a couple weeks away!
The Final Push
I leave for Germany in less than a week. I am now done with my part-time job, teaching private voice lessons, and I also had my last voice lesson with my teacher this afternoon. I said goodbye to my sister and her girlfriend just now and am quickly coming to the realization that this trip is finally upon me. And I'm not quite ready to go yet.
Tonight I am staying up late to do a few things that I haven't been able (or willing) to work on. The biggest bullet on my to-do list is to call my desired agencies one more time to try and get an audition. So far I have sent e-mails, made preleminary phone calls, and also sent in audition materials via snail mail. After getting three auditions set up (one by e-mail, one by phone, one by snail mail), it's time to go knocking on the doors again. I have been in contact with about 12 agencies and, if you can do the math, most of them haven't gotten back to me yet, which means I have to pick up the phone again and try to get myself an audition. I have to keep in mind that I am one of several hundred singers who wants to find a job in Germany and that sending in my materials in a neon orange envelope won't always get the agencies to take notice of me.
I am fairly apprehensive about making cold calls in German. I'm not totally comfortable speaking "off the cuff" with native German speakers and I always get a little nervous that, although my understanding of German is very good, someone will speak in a dialect that I won't understand. However, now is the stage in the game where I have too much on the line to let a little nervousness get in the way of scoring a potentially career-breaking audition. So, I'm sitting up late tonight to wait for German businesses to open early Thursday morning and get my phone calls in. To help pass the time I think I'll triple-check my packing list and start organizing my things in suitcases. Wow, now that's a reality check.
Anticipation and Performing
(I started this post on 9/15 and, although I didn't finish it, I thought it would be interesting to still post...)
A lot of people ask me if I get nervous to perform and my knee-jerk reaction is a simple, "no." In a way that's true because I do not suffer from stage fright. I do not have a fear of being in front of people or having people looking at me while I sing. I don't feel nauseous or clammy before I sing, either. But, that's not to say that I remain completely calm before a performance. The anticipation of a performance brings its own mental and physical responses.
This evening I am singing a concert of all my audition arias to a group of friends and family in my home town. I expect the event to be well-attended and this is the first chance I will have to sing all of my arias for an audience in a performance setting. This is an ideal performance because I know an appreciative audience is waiting for me and there are no added pressures like in a competition or formal audition. For me, all I want to do is sing and entertain my friends and family. But even though this will be a very kind audience, I find myself slipping into performance mode now that the concert is only a few hours away.
When I get ready to perform a few things happen mentally. First, I become extremely focused on the concert and find myself mentally running through my music in my head over and over again. This is good for the actual performance, but can be a bit distracting if I am required to perform other tasks such as carry on a conversation with people, work on a quiet project, etc. My brain is definitely doing its own thing at this point. Also, I begin to visualize specific logistical details about the performance. For instance, I imagine what it will feel like to be standing in my high heels and walk in my dress up to the stage. I try to anticipate what sound my heels will make on the wood floors and what the piano will feel like when I touch it with my right hand to take a bow. If I am expected to speak before I sing I will run through a script in my mind of what I want to say.
Stamina and Practice
Yesterday I had a two-hour lesson with my teacher and accompanist. We ran through each one of my audition arias at least twice to work on characterization and presentation, which means over the course of the rehearsal I probably sang about 18 arias. To someone who doesn't know a lot about classical singing, this is about the equivalent of a long-distance runner running a half-marathon.
Being able to sing at full-voice for a long time takes a kind of vocal stamina that builds up gradually over time through healthy practicing and good vocal technique. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hit-or-miss with practicing. For example, a few days ago I was headed back into the practice room after taking about four days off from singing. Although I didn't do anything potentially harmful to my voice during those days off (like a lot of yelling, talking, drinking, etc.), my practice session was terrible. I was in a small room with bad acoustics, I was a little tired and my mind was on something other than singing. After about 20 minutes I noticed I was vocally tired, so I took about 5 minutes to walk around the building and take a rest. But when I went back into the practice room, I only lasted another 10 minutes or so before I felt tired again. Whether it was poor breath support, pushing due to the bad acoustics, stress, nerves, whatever, I was done singing for the day. So, I packed up, went home, and didn't try singing again until the next day.
The next day when I went back to the practice room, I told myself a few things that I try to remember before singing: 1) I will practice slowly and mindfully. 2) I will take time to sing things right even if it means not making it through an aria all the way. 3) I will be in character and understand what I am singing about. My voice teacher always says, "practice makes perfect only when the practice is perfect" and he is right. It only takes a few minutes of bad practicing and a resulting sore throat to realize how important perfect practice is to build up the stamina needed for long performances, recitals, concerts, auditions, etc.
Considering "Plan B"
One very frustrating aspect of the performing arts is that my immediate success is so dependant on many factors that I have no control over. Even if I sing a fantastic audition, there may be other determining factors that keep me from getting cast. For example, if a director or style team is looking for a short curvy girl to sing a specific role in order to realize a design concept, he/she probably won't even consider me because I am tall and thin. Matching body types and shapes within a cast seems fairly important from a stylist point of view, but can be discouraging if you don't fit into the "concept."
Although a positive attitude and optimism are two key factors in enduring the audition process, realistically there has to be a Plan B lurking around in the background to help cushion the blow if nothing pans out. After seemingly endless preparation and three dedicated months of being in Germany to find work, I have to face the reality that there is a possibility I will not get offered a contract and come home empty-handed. So, as I approach the three-week countdown, I have started to formulate a tentative Plan B upon my return.
I will have a fairly busy winter back in the States as I prepare to sing with Tacoma Opera in both the Young Artist Program and in the chorus of Carmen. Those rehearsals and performances, in addition to my teaching responsibilities at Seattle Conservatory of Music, should keep me fairly busy upon my immediate return. However, in order to make ends meet I will need to find another job. The trick of being a singer and an employee in a more "mainstream" field is finding a fairly flexible job that is not vocally demanding. For instance, since I will be singing a lot in the evenings, I don't want a job that involves excessive talking like a receptionist or tutor. Also, I need a fairly steady work schedule that allows some flexibility for extra rehearsals should they pop up. Finally, I want a job that is somewhat fulfilling and at least partially relates to my interests and education.
Based on these parameters, I think a telecommuting job would be nice, especially because most jobs that are set up as strictly telecommuting allow the employee to set her own hours and it does not involve a lot of talking. I think that an administrative job in the arts industry would also be interesting by allowing me to contribute to the local arts community and making use of my administrative skills. And I also thoroughly enjoy teaching, which would be fantastic on a part-time scale so my voice wouldn't be over-taxed.
All these options will continue to roll around in my head until I return from Germany. In the meantime, I'll return to optimism and hope for the best.
