Well, dear readers, I’m still fighting this throat hoarseness – a lot of this is allergy stuff, feeling very congested but not sick at all. So, please keep sending excellent vibes and xylophones for no sickness and a healthy, strong, and orotund voice. Now, can someone explain to me why when Mercury is out of retrograde that things are so damn screwy? Someone mentioned that even though Mercury is out of retrograde, something is in Uranus. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want something in Uranus if it’s causing people to behave even more stupidly than usual. So, get that thing out of Uranus, whatever that thing is and let’s have some FUN and niceness and less stress. What do you say?
Yesterday was an interesting day. I got up around eleven but I have no idea how much I actually slept because if I slept at all I was dreaming I was awake. I find that incredibly irritating, but perhaps it was a by-product of something in Uranus. Anyway, up I got, and immediately had to deal with a sickening e-mail and that meant I also had to have a telephonic conversation about the sickening e-mail. Then I had to get ready for the musical theater workshop at LACC, and after a time I moseyed on down there. There was no traffic at all, which was lovely.
We had twenty-five names on the list, but the reality is only about fourteen showed up. There may have been some confusion about a rehearsal for the show their opening, but there was no rehearsal so not sure what the confusion was. But fourteen was fine and actually a bit easier to deal with in terms of giving folks time. We had a very good pianist with us, and I think I’ll try him out on a Kritzerland show at some point soon. Very young chap, but a terrific player and reader. I began as I always do, asking people what their favorite musical is, when they discovered musicals, if they’d ever been in one. Then I began discussing singing in general and interpretation and how acting a song is no different than acting a scene and songs require not only singing but breaking a song down the way you’d break a scene down. Most of these kids were very nervous about getting up to sing – that was the same as last year’s workshop. But they got up, met their fears and sang. I let each of them get through the entirety of their songs. In a couple of instances the keys were wrong and that amazed everyone – how, when you adjusted the key, everything was suddenly better and easier. I gave little notes and we chatted, then I had them do it again – the again was always better. I got them to relax and have fun and that’s always the beginning – to get them out of their own way. One gal had told me she absolutely did not want to sing and I said fine, but after watching half the people do it, she changed her mind and tried. I love when that happens. She sang part of Amazing Grace. She was really nervous, and kept breathing between Ama and zing – I got her to finally do it in one breath. But she was still nervous and I decided to do a little thing I do – I had everyone in the room stand up and sing Amazing Grace with her – well, suddenly everyone was singing loudly and very well – because there’s strength in numbers. The gal was also singing loudly and I just said, “See, funny how that works.”
We took a quick break and then finished off the others who hadn’t sung. Several people were very awkward in their own bodies, and we talked about that and that if that happens it’s really best to just plant yourself and not move at all. Then to close that phase of things, I again had everyone get up and sing Do Re Mi. They sang it loud and clear and I just kept having them repeat it. The third time through I began pointing at people – I’d instructed everyone that when I did that that they were to stop singing and let the person I pointed at sing the next line as a solo. That was really fun and going from the group strength to a solo got stronger and stronger.
Then I talked about musicals in general – construction, opening numbers, I want songs, the two examples of shows in trouble that got instantly better when their opening numbers were figured out, and then I took questions and they had lots of them. I don’t consider myself in any way a teacher but I sure do like working with young people, even if they’re not to the manner born. I refuse to give up on anyone because even if they’re not destined to be a singer, the experience of doing a musical is so special that I just want them to have it. It was like that in Li’l Abner, where ninety percent of the cast had never done a musical before. It was daunting and I had to be strong at times but every single one of them came through with flying colors – even the ones who swore to me at last year’s workshop they could not sing on pitch. Well, guess what – they did. I remember one guy during the Abner workshop that came to me after and said, “Please don’t cast me – I just am not suited to this.” Of course, he was the first person I cast and he had a great time doing the show. We wrapped the session at six-thirty, since a few of the kids had their tech at seven while others had a final. It was very rewarding for me personally, and later in the evening I got a PM on Facebook from one of the kids, who was so sweet and so loved the experience – I posted it last night, so you can see it there. I’ll be looking forward to working with these kids next year and their so eager that I’m definitely going to start doing events there again – panels, master classes, and Q&As like I did with Richard Sherman.
I hadn’t eaten anything, so I came back to the San Fernando Valley and went to Jerry’s Deli – I had my new favorite, a Chinese chicken salad and a bagel. There were about thirty or more people hovering around the bar and they were so loud and obnoxious that it became unbearable and it gave me a huge headache. Then I put some gas in the motor car and came home, answered e-mails, and played on the Internet.
Today, I must be up early and out the door by nine-fifteen for I shall be coifed by Teddy at ten and boy do I need coifing. Once that’s done, I’ll come home and just rest and relax the voice, then I’m going with Barry Pearl to see Damn Yankees at Cabrillo. I think my idea is we should eat before the show – avoid the heavy traffic, not rush, but also take separate cars, because Barry has to go to the opening night partay and he likes to stay until the end, and I’m just going to be too zonked to do that.
Tomorrow, I think she of the Evil Eye comes, which is unfortunate because our stumble-through begins at noon – our usual time would be three, but we had scheduling problems. She’s usually done right before noon, but I have to get up early and then kill time. Perhaps I’ll jog and that will take up some time, then maybe I’ll go have a snack of some sort, but just something really light because after the stumble-through some of us will go eat. I’m staying put in the evening and resting, and I’ll continue resting on Sunday right up until it’s time to be on my way to sound check and then the show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, get coifed, relax, eat, attend an opening night and come home. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – who knows? Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping that whatever is in Uranus gets the HELL out.