"Run In"

So, I am having a surprisingly mild weather here in New York. No sign of snow(I'm knocking on wood here) so far. I guess back home in Chicago they had some snow. We were supposed to have snow today but fortunately not. It did get much colder today though. Still, I'm thankful for the fact that no bad weather is coming this way yet.

Had another audition. No folks, I didn't "crash" today. I was scheduled to sing for a company(Yay!). It went well, despite that the person that was auditioning stop me at the beginning of the first aria, my choice, and asked me what else I have. He asked for another aria that was much shorter. It went well, if I may say so myself... If this was an old me, I would have lost all confidence at the moment he cut me off. But the new and improved me, or rather a little more experienced me, handled it with a more confidence. Even my pianist told me that the audition went quite well. I guess afterall, if the aria is long, they might not want to hear the whole thing, instead they will hear another selection to show variety. I left the place with a smile on my face.

I hate to write mainly of what I do for work but my line of business brings me to many interesting and very fun people to work with. Now, not that we all are lucky like that every where we work. Just like 'normal' folks who work in their office and what not. But it's always nice to see people I have worked with or met while they were working at a location I used to live in. In fact, I have had few "run ins" for the past couple times in auditions. Again, it is always great to see people you recognize. Auditions can be a very tense place. People are all concentrating to go on for their time. Not much people want to talk. Not me. I like to talk, keep my mind off from trying to over-concentrate what I am going to do. I already have a plan of action once I go in there so why bother worrying about it beforehand. I just have to collect myself few minutes before I go in and then I make my move. Then it's more like what I will have to do on stage. No one knows what will happen in the story, why do we want to get too far into the story. No one knows what will happen. As my old opera director from Cleveland used to say. "Tell your story from the beginning. It might be the same old story you've told many, many times but this audience is experiencing for the very first time. Tell it like you are experiencing it for the first time". It might sound simple but many of us do not do that all the time. This, of course, includes myself as well. If we have to 'perform' in an audition, why not take the situation like you are performing a show.

Anyhow, back to "run ins".

So I got to "run in" with people I have not seen in years. People I actually did not work with but met through because they were working in Cleveland while I was living there. It's fun because I have seen their names in reviews on the internet or upcoming production announcements. So I have somewhat followed up on what these people are up to. But the funniest part for me was that when I say their name and they totally look at me funny. And slowly the recollection happens and the light bulb goes 'click!' Then it's like old times. The first thing they say will go something in the way of: "Oh my GOD! You look so different, I wouldn't have recognized you at all if I saw you pass me by!"

Then I started to wonder. "Do I look that different?"

I was talking to a very good friend of mine and also my old teacher about this. After mentioning my few "run ins" I realized that I do look quite different since some of these people that I met back when I was in undergrad. I was 19, still young, didn't know much about singing, and I was skinny... Or at least so says another friend who knew me since my first year in Cleveland. As he puts it, "Yeah, you were a scrawny kid!" Well, not so much anymore. I have filled out. My hair has grown, with a bit more gray laced through.

How fast a time has flown by me. Well, not just me but to all the people that came in contact with my life. It is always nice to hear about what these "Old Friends" are up to. I had a dinner with a friend who used to go to school with me in Cleveland. She was a voice major, a soprano, now she is a singer-songwriter waiting to finish on her CD. It is so exciting to hear that her music-making, though a bit different from mine, is continue to go on after our little world of music conservatory. She said, "it is so exciting to see your creation take life and I can proudly say, it's mine! and there is no one else that can say you are doing it wrong". That is great.

Some of us have taken a different path since our initial meeting, yet we all try to strive in whatever the path, either same or new, we decided to stick with. I heard that one former singer I knew is now an actress in NYC, I also know another that is pursuing the same profession of acting in Alabama. Some speak of going into law, some have become an agent, some had started a family yet trying to get back into singing, some are teaching singing. Then there are people like me trying out our luck in the singing business.

I wish all my friends success, whatever the path they choose. I hope to hear more about them when I have my next "run in" with another old friend.