Alice’s Adventures in an Arts Career

I’ve got two new auditions coming up.  I booked them both today. One of them is really soon.  It’s on Sunday.  A local threatre company is casting for their whole season. I’m going in to do a straight drama audition and a musical theatre audition and then see what I get.  This is going to be the first audition I’ve done since high school where I’ve been asked to prepare and perform a monologue.  Boy, am I glad I did that Shakespeare course.  I’ve still got my Goneril monologue well under my belt.

The second audition is early September and it’s for the same company that is producing The Gondoliers.  They are casting for their annual spring musical and his season they’re staging “Nine” by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston.  I’m excited about the opportunity because unlike so many shows where there are maybe four female roles, this show is unique in that is has 16 female singing roles.  So my chances of landing on are significantly improved.  Of course that’s no excuse not to be prepared.

This year I’m going to make a concentrated effort to start pulling together an audition portfolio of sorts.  I’m going to start preparing basic repertoire to meet the usual audition requirements.  I’m going to learn a few contrasting monologues that best show case my abilities as well as learn new repertoire for different types of  musical productions.  It’ll just make the whole audition process easier so the next audition I find I won’t be in the usual position of wondering what I will perform.  I’m also in the process of getting some proper head shots.  I have a couple of contacts in Toronto who are wonderful photographers and could easily help me create a good, basic head shot.

Well, there is plenty to keep me busy this year and I have lots of work to do to get this whole performance thing off the ground.  But I guess I just have to keep slogging though it.

This week, I made a huge effort to get as many Vox things organized as possible. I’ve set choir rehearsal times and booked our rehearsal space for the entire year.  I’ve put up various posters for choir auditions,  Assistant Director auditions and pianist wanted posters all over the UWO campus and the surrounding. I also went home and raided my fathers choir music collection as well as my church music collection for new repertoire.  I finally finished my repertoire research and now  have two concerts  completely programed (more or less).  I’m excited.  I have some wonderful and challenging pieces planned for this year that I think the choir and audiences are going to really enjoy.

So, here’s my fear- that after all this work and all my excitement and anticipation at being the primary conductor of Vox this year, that we won’t get the number of chorister we need, or we don’t find an accompanist and will have to cancel the season.  I am really worried that people won’t come out and join the choir and since several members from last year have had to back out this year for various reasons, we need new members.  It’s a worry that has been at the back of my mine for a while. I would be so up set if we had to cancel.  I’ve been looking forward to another season of Vox Humana and as I’ve posted before, this choir has meant so much to me.  I have learned so much about conducting, choirs, music and ensemble work through this choir and I’ve had the most amazing fun while doing it.  The primary reason I decided to stay in London after my graduation was the chance at another year of Vox.  Depending on how things pan out in the next couple years, I wouldn’t be surprised if this choir kept me in London for at least another two years.

However, the one thing my fear has given me is the drive to do everything in my power to make sure that we do indeed have another season.  I’ll be putting posters up everywhere and twisting arms and bribing and everything else I can to recruit new members, find an accompanist and have another amazing year of Vox Humana Chamber Choir.

If you would like to audition for the Vox Human Chamber Choir, we are holding quick easy auditions on Sept 9th & 10th from 5:oo pm-7:00 pm at the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Weekly rehearsal will be on Saturday from 2:30-4:30 pm at the Music Faculty.

Also, we are looking for a new Assistant Director.  Auditions will be Saturday Sept 29th or at a later date in September for those who can’t make the August date.

Lastly, we are in need of an accompanist.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact me at vox.humana.choir@hotmail.com

There is some news concerning The Vox Humana Chamber Singers.  I am sad to say that Tim has decided to step back from the choir this year to focus on his masters program.  Also, our wonderful Aaron will also be leaving us to pursue his own graduate work.  This means that I am taking over as the primary director.

I have many mixed feelings about this.  I am excited to be directing the choir this year.  It certainly is a huge opportunity for me to grow as a conductor and it will be good for me to have the challenge of being responsible for a choir.  At the same time I am sad because Tim and Aaron brought so much talent and goodwill to the group.  I am really going to miss them and don’t know how in the world I am going to be able to recreate their magic.  They certainly were more talented and knowledgeable than I and I worry about maintaining the level of excellence that they set last year.

But more than that, I worry about all the managerial and organizational responsibilities that now fall to me.  The business side of any arts project has never been my strong suite.  I sit here with only a month until rehearsals start again and I have a laundry list of chores to complete.  I need to set a new rehearsal day and time, book a rehearsal space, find a new accompanist, audition a new assistant director, recruit new choir members, research and finalize the new repertoire, not to mention practice my conducting and score study.  The conducting I feel I can do, but these bureaucratic loose ends are what worry me.  They are the things I usually avoid because I hate doing them, but now I have no choice.

I suppose it’s good for me, and I know I’ll figure it all out.  I always do.  Besides, these are the things I’m going to have to get used to if conducting is something I want to do for the rest of my life.

I’ve always been told that for every job in life, no matter how much you may enjoy it; there is always %10 that you hate.  This is my 10%.

On the up side, I’ve been searching through some really exciting new rep that I hope we can pull off: maybe some Rachmaninov, maybe some Vitoria. I also intend to give the choir my new published work, “If Thou Wilt, Remember”.  I figured it would be fitting that its first official performance would be with my own choir.

Over all, I can’t wait for the new Vox Humana season to start.  If the choir is even half of what it was last year, we’ll have a wonderful year.  That choir has meant so much to me.  It is the primary reason I decided to stay in London after I graduated.  I have had some of the most amazing musical experiences with that group and have grown so much with them.  I can only hope that I can same the same about this year.

I’m currently in the process of writing a short composer’s note for my piece If Thou Wilt, Remember, which is soon to be published.  You think it would be easy enough to write two sentences, but I can’t seem to do it.  I’m trying to sum up my composer’s directions and describe the piece in less than 30 words.  I just can’t seem to do it and I’m going crazy.  There’s just so much to say about it, I don’t know where to start.

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.

Tomorrow is the final day of my Stratford Shakespeare and Acting course, and the past three weeks have been amazing, but tough.  I’ve been working my butt off the entire time and certainly have seen some great progress, but I don’t want to stop just yet.

I present my final monologue tomorrow afternoon.  I was given a speech by Goneril from King Lear. I’ve absolutely loved this piece.  It was entirely satisfying, however I do not feel prepared to present tomorrow.  I wish I had more time.  I feel just on the cusp of really getting the nice to skin into me and I could use another week with it before a performance.  But that can’t be helped, so I guess I’ll just give it my all tomorrow and what happens happens.

This course has given me so many tools to use in my acting that I never had before and I am so grateful.  I want to keep this learning process going.  I’ll probably do more acting course and workshops later down the road.

In short, even though I was always tired and busy and running back and forth between cities, I would not trade this experience for anything.