Singing for my supper

11 musical numbers and 12 dialogues to finish memorizing before rehearsals start on July 6th. Two photo shoots to complete. School's out. Heatwave. All washed down with a healthy dose of "Gene-Genie-isms", since our continued march through the British TV we've managed to miss in the last 5 years includes currently catching up with Ashes to Ashes (aside: it's slightly dangerous to let my husband watch this program in the large quantities we're currently enjoying it, since his dry sense of humour and Manchester upbringing mean that he lapses into his own brand of Huntspeak all too easily. The plus side to this is that I haven't stopped laughing in about 4 days, so I'm not really complaining...). Next up: doing every scrap of laundry I can find so I leave the troops with clean clothes. And packing.

So, a big day for us in the show as we get to our first orchestra rehearsal! This is always one of my favorite moments in "the process" - after working with a piano (both on our own in preparing a role and in the rehearsal room), it's always a real lift to finally sing the music as it will be performed. Singing with an orchestra is a very different experience: there's the difference of sonorities in the form of overtones and the much larger sound 50 instruments can produce than 1 piano, and also the different energy of that many musicians all focused on the same music, even though we all have our own distinct part in the fabric of the whole. No matter how many times I do it, whether the rehearsal is good or bad (and I'm happy to say this one was good!), this moment is always magical for me, kind of like watching a static picture coming to life right in front of me. I get an incredible buzz from the sounds, the group dynamic and just the sheer FUN of that ki...

Today was our first day off since we started rehearsals. This was a good thing, but when I'm not busy "on the job", I tend to dwell on not being at home, and The Mommy Guilt starts to creep up. Add to that it was my daughter's school play today - an event marked by my absence - and it was actually kind of a hard day. I spoke to her, of course, and Grandpa will be emailing me the pictures that he took but still - not being there when I feel like I "should" (and want to be) can be hard. I can't deny that I indulged in a bit of retail AND ice cream therapy (and as an aside, ladies, may I just recommend the image to the right as what I think may become my one of new favorite cosmetic products, happily onsale at Kohls this week) That said, modern communication makes this job so much easier. I remember mumbleumph years ago when on my first tour just after getting married, and our long-distance phone bill was - literally! - nearly my entire fee! With cellphone...

The memory is an odd thing. I'm one of those people who, for the most part, doesn't need to "memorize" per se - in the course of learning something, it usually just goes in so that by the time I've finished learning the notes and rhythms and "singing it in" (the process of working out the vocal/technical side of things), I usually have it pretty well in my head and only need to specifically address small details and the occasional stubborn bar of music. But, for me, this requires actually doing it, not only studying it; I have to SING it to be able to retain it. Not only looking at it on the page, not only speaking it (although that can also be helpful, particularly if it's a language with which I'm not terribly familiar), not merely studying it but.... USING it. On this occasion, I found myself running way behind schedule. On February 1st I came down with the flu which resulted in THE WORST laryngitis I've had in years - two weeks of tota...

Or at least I will be tomorrow. My early career was on the road ALL the time since my first professional gigs were tours - in some cases lengthy tours with several months between opportunities to get home - but recently? Not so much. I've been immensely fortunate: my two "local houses" (solid A and B companies both within easy commuting distance) have been generous with contracts in the last couple of years and I've been able to sustain my career without being away from home very much; even my New York gigs have enabled me to get home pretty much every week in a "semi-commuting" manner, so it hasn't been the same as Going Out of Town. Thus, being out of "road mode", I'm finding preparations to get out of town a little more challenging than I have in the past! Especially since I've just finished up a production here which kept me very busy for the last month, I'm feeling more than a little behind in my organising and packing as I ...