Enough about you...let's talk about me.

I'm thinking most of you have been checking this blog daily and have been disappointed that I haven't written in awhile. I, too, have been sad that I haven't written in awhile. Truth is, I've wanted to write quite often, and I've even started several drafts, but I just haven't had the time. Ok, sometimes I have the time, but not the emotional energy for this kind of endeavor. I know, I know, I make it look easy, but blogging is actually a deep process involving a lot of soul searching and creative inspiration. Betcha didn't know that. Hm, anyway...I'm back and I thought I would give you all, my lovelies, a run-down of what life is like for me at school.

It's freakin' awesome! Woo hoo!
The End.

No, seriously, school is going great and every single day I'm reminded that there's nothing like this in Texas. My schedule is pretty rigorous, although I hear first semester is light compared to the following semesters. Here's a list of the classes I'm taking along with some details:

Voice & Speech Production (VPS) - This is where I am relearning 13 different vowel sounds and am trying to fix the Texan accent I never knew I had. I'm also learning to speak while my voice floats on a constant stream of air. We do a ton of yoga and tai chi to relax and center ourselves. I like that part. Right now, we are working on a short text from Romeo and Juliet, so I feel quite fancy.

Acting - I love this class, but it scares the poop out of me. I am pretty much a beginner with acting...at least this kind of acting...you know, real acting. I'm learning so much about just behaving normally in front of people. Sounds easy, but it ain't. My teacher is this really hip, older guy who really knows his stuff. He's hilarious and serious and cranky and sassy. We all love him, even when he yells at us.

Musical Theatre - I believe I wrote about this class in a previous blog. Ah yes, the day tragedy struck and my body was temporarily possessed by crappy-singing aliens. That was a rough day. The good news is I have regained my confidence and am now singing my butt off...in my own voice! The class is all about acting a song, identifying the objective of a song and then attaching actions within the lyrics that drive toward the objective. It's quite cerebral. No more singing just to hear the sound of my own voice. (Not that I ever did that...)

Private Voice - I have a private voice lesson once a week with a wonderful teacher off campus. Private voice is meant to teach musical theatre singers how to sing classically (and by "classically", I mean "correctly"). Since I already have some classical training, I've been able to jump ahead of the game a little and I'm doing really well on my classical song. It's been so rewarding to get back into private voice lessons again. It's been a long time and my voice has changed a lot. It's so much darker and stronger now. I feel like I'm getting to know my new voice and it's so exciting!

Musical Theatre Film - This class is totally made for me. We just watch film clips of famous performances. I've seen a lot of performances from shows that have a movie version, but there are a lot of new things for me too. We research and write papers on time periods, styles, and theatre breakthroughs. It's pretty cool.

Sight-Singing - AKA Music Theory. You know, reading music, rhythms, pitches, chords....ew, I just threw up a little in my mouth. Wait, didn't I already take that crap when I got my BA? I served my time. Well, it turns out that this guy is teaching it all differently and making it practical for sightsinging in auditions and work in actual shows. It's pretty fun most of the time. Did I just say that? Anyway, pardon the music theory jargon here, but so far my only problem is that he's teaching Fixed Do ("Do" like Do Re Mi) and I've using Moveable Do since I was 11 years old. All the pitch relationships seem wrong and I feel like I'm being forced to count in colors or something crazy like that. I am thinking of founding an underground resistance. But you didn't hear it from me.

On to the dancing... I have a different dance class four days a week. I take Tap, Jazz, Ballet, and Theatre Dance. We have requirements that we have to demonstrate in each class at the end of the semester and then each class also has a special dance specific to our class skill level. My favorite dance class is Tap. I thought I would like Jazz more, but we haven't done anything hard enough to be really fun yet. I like Theatre Dance, but it's more about mental focus than dance steps. Ballet is the bane of my existence. I like being fancy and graceful, but it's my last class of the day on Fridays. I'm so done by then. Ballet is the last thing I want to do.

Along with these classes, we are also required to attend vocal warm-ups in the mornings before school and dance flexibility routines after school. Even though I fit in vocal rehearsals when I have free time between classes, I've been coming to school on Saturdays for a few hours to work on my songs and review my dancing. It's a huge time commitment, but I feel so much more prepared the next week when I take the time to work through stuff on my own.

That's about it as far as the schedule goes. In general, I'm trying my best to keep mentally focused, stay disciplined, and to keep improving every day...even if it's just baby steps. That's all we can do, right? Be better today than you were yesterday. It can be a lot of fun here, but I'm always aware of that terrifying vulnerability just underneath the surface. It's hard to put yourself out there for judgment and to risk failure, but believing in yourself and committing to your goal is what makes life jump to the extraordinary. Isn't that what we're all looking for?

Until later, my lovelies... Dream Big!