A quick follow-up to my earlier rant. The show was just great, and without the extra person, it turned out to be just the right length. The people who performed were cooperative and poised and confident. One of the girls sang with a sprained ankle on crutches. Now that is professional ... amazing that it was from a 7th grader. Someone else came even though her voice was not working this morning and she had to coax it out of her body. Why? Because she knows that there will be times in her professional career that she is engaged to sing and her voice might say, "Let's stay in tonight. I don't feel like it." So she did steam, mucinex, and she sang the crap out of both her pieces.
Seriously... unless your throat is truly on fire and singing might cause further damage or you have digestive issue that might cause a mess (a different and much more unpleasant way of "singing the crap" out of your pieces), you sing when you are committed to sing. Earlier I had included "or you've injured a limb," but then Grace showed up on crutches, so clearly, that's not a factor.
Next recital - June 6, hopefully at the same place - theme and personnel TBD!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
VIVA TO THE DIVAS! (Minus one)
This afternoon I am hosting a studio recital called "VIVA TO THE DIVAS!" featuring 14 13 of my students, Ryan Cappleman and myself. I was really excited about it and I still am, except my best performer just dropped out, two hours before her call.
If this happened in the "real world" (meaning theater, if you can call that a real world), a person would be fired. I organized my whole program around who had committed to perform this afternoon... some of the people are very young and/or less advanced than others, and I organized the program carefully to showcase everyone and not have anyone feel inadequate, while still making the program interesting and entertaining for the audience. Also, having the best people on the show inspires the young ones to take their performances to the next level.
I had just printed the programs an hour before the call. I put on this recital to allow people to present material that they have performed or will be performing in an audition or performance setting, whether that be WSMA, college, or as the lead in an upcoming musical.
I went by a verbal commitment - perhaps I should only count financial commitment (i.e., paying the recital fee) as valid. Going forward, if you don't pay your recital fee by the Friday before the performance, you're not on it. I committed to paying Ryan to play for 14 singers - he has practiced the music for 14 singers, and I'm still paying him what I committed to paying him. Even if it has to be out of my own pocket.
Sorry to cast a pall on the day - I will get over it because the remaining singers are committed and wonderful and the performance will be phenomenal!
If this happened in the "real world" (meaning theater, if you can call that a real world), a person would be fired. I organized my whole program around who had committed to perform this afternoon... some of the people are very young and/or less advanced than others, and I organized the program carefully to showcase everyone and not have anyone feel inadequate, while still making the program interesting and entertaining for the audience. Also, having the best people on the show inspires the young ones to take their performances to the next level.
I had just printed the programs an hour before the call. I put on this recital to allow people to present material that they have performed or will be performing in an audition or performance setting, whether that be WSMA, college, or as the lead in an upcoming musical.
I went by a verbal commitment - perhaps I should only count financial commitment (i.e., paying the recital fee) as valid. Going forward, if you don't pay your recital fee by the Friday before the performance, you're not on it. I committed to paying Ryan to play for 14 singers - he has practiced the music for 14 singers, and I'm still paying him what I committed to paying him. Even if it has to be out of my own pocket.
Sorry to cast a pall on the day - I will get over it because the remaining singers are committed and wonderful and the performance will be phenomenal!
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