Choices, Choices

  So, after the audition in NY was over, it was time to work on a new song. Mostly because I had beaten "Danny Boy" to death, but also because new songs teach you new techniques and help you grow. After discussing it with Angela, she suggested "Put on a Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie. I've always liked that song, and it was a good change of pace from Danny. Funny enough, I had tried to sing it years before in a video I made for someone, but ended up lip synching Dick Van Dyke's version because I had no training and my voice sucked. Things have a way of being circular, I guess.
  Little did we know, of course, that I'd get accepted to LAMDA, and so quickly; so this week, we discussed still more song possilbilities. Now, not only do I have to work on something to sing in the spring recital, I will also need another piece for the callback audition. I left my lesson on Wednesday with three candidates:

  "I Could Write a Book" from Pal Joey
  "Leaning on a Lamp Post" from Me and My Girl
  "Younger Than Springtime" from South Pacific

  All of these have their good and bad points. "Younger" is the most challenging of the three, and has some big notes. I actually had to sing part of this when I auditioned for South Pacific a couple of years back. Difficult. "Leaning" is a great, jaunty tune, and is very light and kind of humorous. "Book" is also lighter, and has more of a crooning sound to it. Frank Sinatra sang it in the Pal Joey movie, and Harry Connick, Jr. covered it in When Harry Met Sally. I think I'd like to give that one a go.
  Here's a fantastic version of the song done by DC's own Steve Walker:



  I think it would be a great song, and would give me a bit of a new style to work with for a while. Not sure yet if it will lend itself to acapella singing, but then again, I don't know if I'll be accompanied at the audition or not. So many unknowns!

I'm going to London!

  Early this morning, completely unexpectedly, I got an email from LAMDA about my audition. I wasn't expecting to hear for a couple more weeks. Here's what it said:

Thank you for attending our recent auditions. I am pleased to inform you that we would like to offer you a place on our One Year Classical Acting course PG (Dip) commencing 6 September 2010.
Entry to LAMDA is highly competitive so congratulations on achieving the place.
We would also like to recall you to London for consideration for the Three and/or Two Year Acting courses.
We will contact you shortly with possible dates and further details on the recall day.

  I'm still in shock as I write this. I had high hopes for myself, and I thought I did really well at the audition, but I am still blown away by it all. Not only did I make it to the callback stage, but at the very least, I've been offered a place in the one-year. Either way, I win.
  I will now have to take it VERY much to the next level if I want to compete for a slot in the two or three year degree course, which is my goal. This audition will be in front of the entire LAMDA faculty, and it will be a hundred times more intense than the one in New York. I'll have to start preparing additional material immediately.
  I'll update when I know dates.

Can't believe it.

I am Petruchio

  As anticipated, we all got our assigned characters last night at Studio, and I think everybody was really pleased. I was hoping for Hamlet, but Petruchio from "Taming of the Shrew" is a great role. My Kate and I already have a natural chemistry, and I think that will serve the work especially well. The only thing that concerns me is that it's got so many similarities to other characters I've played recently. I'm starting to feel a bit typecast in these "charming rogue" roles. Don't get me wrong, they're fun to play, but I'm already growing a little tired of them.
  Regardless, we are hip deep in Shakespeare now, and it's so interesting breaking these texts down in a way that you really begin to understand them. I had no idea how complex they are in structure and form. Just brilliant.
  Should be an interesting semester.

A very good Saturday

  If you're looking for the short-short version, I made it to New York and the audition went very, very well. If you want a more detailed account, read on.
  Friday's storm in New York pretty much shut down the airports, and about 1500 flights were cancelled, along with mine. After juggling a few phone calls, I was able to book a seat on a sold-out Amtrak train that evening. I got into Penn Station at about 10:45 and walked a few blocks to my hotel room. Conditions in Manhattan weren't nearly as bad as I expected.
After hooking up with some Starbucks breakfast, I spent the morning in my hotel room rehearsing my monologues and warming up my voice. About thirty minutes before the audition, I walked over to Pearl Studios and headed up to the twelfth floor. Right after I sat down, they told me they were running early and asked if I was ready to go in. I said "Absolutely," and stepped into the room.
  It was your typical studio space. Hardwood floor, high ceiling, one mirror wall. There were two gentleman reviewing applicants, one of whom was a faculty member from LAMDA. Being a dialect freak, I was a little entranced by his English accent and missed a bit of what he said.
  There was a brief interview, then they asked me what I was going to perform for them. Then, it was time.
  I ran my Shakespeare piece first, and I was immediately awed by how good the resonance in the room was. My voice came out, full, rich, and ringing. I hit every line just how I wanted to. Then I switched gears (and put on my NY accent) for a monologue from Frankie & Johnny. Again, I hit it just how I had rehearsed.
  After I had finished that, it was time to sing. This was the thing I considered to be my weak area, and the only part of the process I was dreading a bit. Again, the room helped me here, and my voice came out smooth, and full. I didn't miss any notes, and I didn't have any breath issues. I couldn't have done it better at this point in my experience.
  They seemed to really like everything. The instructor from LAMDA gave me a different set of circumstances to work into the Shakespeare piece and had me run it again, obviously to see how I could take direction. I gave him quite a different version, and I think he liked it, because we discussed it afterward for a good few minutes. I got some good feedback from them, and they explained that callbacks were in London and how much school would cost, etc. I got the impression that I had done well, and I felt really good about it all.
  A few minutes later, I met a friend of mine on 8th avenue and we had lunch. I felt such relief that I wanted to just collapse. We spent the rest of the afternoon just catching up and walking around the theatre district. Then, I caught a cab to LaGuardia and flew back to DC.
  After that, I had a really nice evening out. I was pretty tired, and not much good for conversation, but hopefully she'll forgive me for that.
  Got to bed at about 2:30. Today, I have to catch up on everything I haven't been able to do for the last 48 hours, and it's a lot. Kinda wish I could just stop for a few minutes and do nothing. Meh, that'd just be boring.

Here I go

  Tomorrow, immediately after I wrap things up in DC, I fly to New York. Saturday, I’ll wake up, have a small breakfast, warm my voice up, and then make my way to Pearl Studios for what is easily the most important audition I’ve ever had.
  I’m feeling mixed amounts of stress right now. I’m confident in both my monologues, and I feel like they’re very strong. I’m comfortable with the choices I’ve made in how I’m interpreting them. But, I’m still admittedly feeling weak about my song. I wish I could just add about two or three more years of singing experience into my body. I’m at a very frustrated stage right now with my voice and a lack of consistency. Angela has been very patient and supportive and is the best voice teacher a guy could ask for. Yet, I still have so many hangups about singing for people, especially in this context, where it’s going to be judged. The further I’ve gone in my training, the harder I’ve made it for myself by over-focusing on technique.
  All of that aside, I’m looking forward to this. Regardless of the outcome, it’s going to be a worthwhile experience. The sheer fact that I’m going to New York to audition for a prestigious London acting school inspires me deeply. I was contacted by a director this week and offered ensemble work and understudy for a lead role at a professional theatre. That was a tremendous boost to my professional ego and gave me a much needed shot in the arm. Unfortunately, I had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. But most importantly, they know me, and somebody has liked my work.
  I guess there really isn’t much more to say. I’ll report back, of course, just as soon as I can. I’m going to hang out with a friend of mine up there tomorrow night, and hopefully that’ll help me unwind a bit and not obsess over details too much. Break me a leg, everybody!

Kitchen Time

  So, with all this bad weather lately, I've really been on a cooking and baking bender. I've been making normal food the whole time, but I've also been experimenting with all kinds of delicious treats. I typically don't eat that crap, but it's fun to make, and I can usually pawn it off on other people. This weekend, perhaps inspired by one too many episodes of "Cake Ace" or "Cake Boss" or "Cake Fuhrer" or whatever they're calling it now, I decided to take a run at something higher level.
  Granted, the complexity of design of MY cake is nowhere near amazing, but for me, it was a challenge. I did a little research about what I'd need to accomplish the idea that was in my head, then picked the stuff up on Friday. In the interest of brevity, I won't go into every minute detail about the process. Right up front, I'll say that I wouldn't soon do this again. It's an incredible amount of work, and should only be done when there's a good damn reason.


  The first thing I tried were roses. Actually, the first thing I tried were lillies, because they were a lot simpler in design. When that didn't cause me to rip out fistfuls of my own hair, I gave the roses a go. It was actually very easy. Tedious, but easy. The stuff I'm making them out of in these photos is called "gum paste." You roll it out like clay, dye it whatever color you want, work a little vegetable shortening into it for some elasticity, then go crazy. I built those roses layer by layer, and had to brush each petel with water to get them to stick to each other. I was very pleased with the results.




  I mixed up three batches of cake batter next, and while those were cooking, I made this bowl of buttercream icing to help stick them together.


  These photos are pretty self explanatory.


  Next came the more complex part. I wanted to cover my cake in fondant, and rather than buy my own, I decided to make it. It really wasn't all that diffcult at first. You see here my redneck double-boiler dissolving some gelatine. I had to mix in glucose and glycerin and a few other things, and then eventually, when it cooled, the stuff turned into sticky dough. Then I kneaded in a bunch of powdered sugar- about eight cups worth. This kneading process took about 45 minutes, and KILLED my forearms. This was my least favorite part of the entire project.


  Finally, when the fondant was ready, I rolled it out as big as I could get it and iced the outside of the cake with the last of the buttercream as a bonding layer. Then, ever so carefully, I rolled the fondant onto my rolling pin and back out over the cake. A mistake here would have been disasterous. Luckily, I got it on there first try, smoothed it out and trimmed it.


  To finish up the bottom, I rolled out some more fondant and cut a ribbon shape into it with a roller.
  Then, I made up a batch of royal icing (stiffer, for gluing) glued the ribbon around the base, and then set about attaching my flowers and leaves. It was like putting together a puzzle I had never seen. Again, I was lucky and didn't make any mistakes or drips or anything. Then, I was done.








  It was fun, but like I said, I'm in no hurry to do it again. Now I just have to find somebody to help me eat this!

Don't hate today

  Celebrate it. Love it.

  There are far more hurtful and awful things in the world to be bitter about on this occasion. I'm aiming this message squarely out at you types who complain that Valentine's Day is "too commercial" or you're resentful because you don't have someone to share it with.

  Get over it.

  Everything is commercial. That's how our society works. Every holiday, every occasion, every trip to the grocery store. Every time you go to the movies or the mall. It's all for your money. Copping out today is just a lame excuse to be jaded. Why go to the effort? I'm not saying you have to run out to the store and buy a heart-shaped box of chocolates. I'm not saying you have to spend a week's pay finding the most beautiful bouquet of double-dipped roses you can. I'm just saying appreciate it. Yes, you should be loving and generous the entire year round and not just on this assigned day. I agree, wholeheartedly. But, if you're lucky enough to get to spend this day with someone that you care about, celebrate it. Find a way. Just take that person aside for a quiet moment and tell them what they mean to you.
  Not everyone is fortunate enough to have that opportunity. Make the most of it. Don't let that moment pass. The truest beauty is there.