Our rehearsal today was a walk in the park. Seriously. We grabbed a coffee and ambled into the park, reciting lines and lyrics as quickly as they would spill out of our mouths – no rhythm, no pitch. Despite the unusual setting, compounded by the presence of speeding cyclists on the narrow return path and other distractions, the words continued to come. Yippee!
I may repeat this meandering tomorrow, since my most complicated number came today in one of the less populated segments of the park pathway. The lack of potential collision hazards allowed me to focus fairly intently on the 14 “Sharon McNight buts” (basically, any transition word that implies contrast has to segue to appropriate physical and/or vocal distinctions from the earlier phrase). I was also able to hone in uniquely on each of the 10 repetitions of the song’s main line (which is also the song’s title). It is both a delight and a challenge, and, therefore, worthy of another wander to wonder at the charms of Irving Berlin. I’ll need to be able to do it a crowd, at a dance, in a house, in the light, on a streetcar, on a train, at a party and at a ball…but too much more, and you’ll know it all!
We repaired to the home music room, ran the duets a cappella and top&bottom’d the solos into and out of the patter. Harmonies were intact. Lyrics were as transcribed. Patter patted down. News of no cordless mic has just changed the entrance…but we are nothing if not flexible.
A walk in the park. I trained for my first (and, to date, only!) half-marathon there. What could be easier?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
72 Hours to Go!
What will it be like to own my evenings and days again? Yesterday (my husband’s birthday) I tried, in vain, to adapt my mind to a “relaxing afternoon.” Once I no longer have the pressing demands of my upcoming duo show, *Recognition*, will I pine for Gershwin songbooks and crave the obscure lyric that nails the sentiment required in some imagined 11 o’clock reverie? Will I awaken with the sun and dream of solo shows for one? Will I again descend the slippery slope from YouTube to online sheet music downloads?
I now have 16 Google Docs running with solo show themes and 2 Docs for shows set in a cabaret format of intimacy and humor that combine art songs and poetry. Yet, at the rate I’m building my book, I’ll be as old as (and much less accomplished than) Julie Wilson before I get them all done. Nonetheless, I’m hopeful my ability to learn and interpret songs will progress as quickly as it has in the 4 weeks we’ve had to pull together *Recognition*.
It has been a blessing to have come to this business as a gregarious conversationalist and conveyor of amusing anecdotes…that’s what patter is all about, and that’s been the easy part.
Similarly, as one of my warm-up exercises announces, “Oh I can sing!” It’s not always pretty; it’s not always perfect, but it’s pretty darned good enough of the time that I don’t worry about that piece of the puzzle either. [Thank you, arum triphyllum.]
The hard part is leaving the bathroom in the morning, fully aware of the flaws in the 10x hand mirror and, yet, wanting to deliver what is necessary, “Make them either want to be you or to fall in love with you.”
My duo partner is calm and confident in his personae. Our music director is adept at drawing out of us the nuance of the lyric and finding the perfect arrangement to convey both our talent and the song’s place in the show. What could possibly go wrong?
I now have 16 Google Docs running with solo show themes and 2 Docs for shows set in a cabaret format of intimacy and humor that combine art songs and poetry. Yet, at the rate I’m building my book, I’ll be as old as (and much less accomplished than) Julie Wilson before I get them all done. Nonetheless, I’m hopeful my ability to learn and interpret songs will progress as quickly as it has in the 4 weeks we’ve had to pull together *Recognition*.
It has been a blessing to have come to this business as a gregarious conversationalist and conveyor of amusing anecdotes…that’s what patter is all about, and that’s been the easy part.
Similarly, as one of my warm-up exercises announces, “Oh I can sing!” It’s not always pretty; it’s not always perfect, but it’s pretty darned good enough of the time that I don’t worry about that piece of the puzzle either. [Thank you, arum triphyllum.]
The hard part is leaving the bathroom in the morning, fully aware of the flaws in the 10x hand mirror and, yet, wanting to deliver what is necessary, “Make them either want to be you or to fall in love with you.”
My duo partner is calm and confident in his personae. Our music director is adept at drawing out of us the nuance of the lyric and finding the perfect arrangement to convey both our talent and the song’s place in the show. What could possibly go wrong?
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