Audwatch '09

Hello faithful readership. I have been putting of writing because as of yet I have no internet here in NYC. It seems since the last time I stayed with my Aunt on the upper west side all her neighboors have put passwords on their wireless routers. Thay must have seen that same Today Show expose I saw about open networks and identity theft. So please excuse these entries- I'm blogging on my phone, typing with my thumbs, I have no spellcheck, and my L key is sticky. So if I use a lot of abbreviations or talk about riding in a "yeow taxi" please cut me some sack. Slack. Damn.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm off to a great start on this little audition trip. I had two on Friday. I had all the normal neuroses going in- wondering if I would remember my words, wondering if my voice would hold out, if I had drunk enough water, if I had drunk too much beer, if I had warmed up enough/too much et cetera. Also, every year I seem to forget that other singers audition too. What I mean is every time I come here and walk into my first audition I seem shocked to see a dozen people I know in the hallway, preparing for their auds as well. I see them and think 'O crap, HE'S here? I hope he doesn't hear me. And I hope I don't hear him.' Stuff like that. Of course there are also friendly faces that put you at ease too, but before I sing I kind of don't want to talk to anybody.

I did a few things differenty this time too. Aside from the vocal goals (about which I've talked wayyyyy too much here), I had a few other things I wanted to accomplish- namely to close the gap between my normal performance level (good) and my normal audition level (sucky). I went in there with a plan of how I was going to present myself, what I was going to do if my voice felt weird, and I have to say I stuck with it. Not having to focus so much on my voice (cuz I had a plan) freed me up so I felt like I could play a lot more with it thus giving me the feeling that it was more of a performance than an audition.

Going in with a plan helps. I also spent a lot of time beforehnd focusing- something I know should be a matter of course, but requires discipline all the same.

I have no idea what my auditioners thought of me, but it's nice to feel like you've nailed an audition.

I visited my Minnesota Opera friends yesterday afternoon as they were auditioning new Young Artists. What an education that is. I only stayed for a little while, but you see so much from the other side of the table. So much...

But more about that later. My thumbs are tired. Hopefully I can keep this process working!

AW