God and Art

This post is going to be far less eloquent than a post entitled "God and Art" should be. It is rambling but I hope to reach some sort of conclusion by stream-of-consciousness thought on this matter, so bear with me.

Throughout history, art and religion have crossed paths - a lot. It's been a love-hate relationship. In every music history class we learn how music was extolled as having healing properties in ancient Greece, banished as the work of the devil during the Dark Ages, and then brought back in the Renaissance and Reformation. Luther thought it was the best way to convey religious ideas to children. Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and every other fantastic composer in history have written liturgical music. Almost every religion in the world employs the arts in some form.

Many opera singers start off singing in a religious choir. I sang in synagogue choir from 6th grade on. Judaism has a rich history in music, but it is one that a lot of American non-Jews seem unaware of, while Jewish musicians are schooled in the history of Christian music for as long as they are in a music history class. A lot of the people in my conservatory class were "discovered" when they began singing in church. Classical music itself seems to many people like a wholesome art form that wholesome people practice. And it's true, there are quite a few people in the opera world who value a God in their lives.

BUT

There is another side to the arts. One that has had religious persona insisting for years that music leads to dancing, dancing leads to sex, and sex leads to hell. While I have many friends in this business who value having religion in their lives, I have just as many who reject it. There's something about creating a character or interpreting a song that is deeply personal and sometimes lonely...it makes me simultaneously doubt and confirm that God exists. It seems to push every artist to one extreme or the other.

The basis for the thoughts that inspired this post was the show I did this weekend. I just finished the show with a company that is based in "Christian fellowship through theater." This is where religion starts to seem as though it is forcing itself upon the arts, instead of the art enhancing the religion. Before every rehearsal or show, we had to pray. In a Catholic manner. No sensitivity or regard for other's religions. Apparently Jesus was the only way to transcend that company's love of theater. Not that this isn't ALLOWED to happen - it's a free country and a private theater company. They also accepted and cast me despite the fact that I am not Christian. But it seemed sneaky to bill the show to the public as one thing and then have a religious agenda that was forced upon the cast. It was a learning experience, to say the least. I know I am overly sensitive to my perception of the public's insensitivity to religious diversity. Especially in the midwest. I don't know what about the experience made me so indignant, but I feel as though religion is so intensely personal, and to foist it upon a cast who might have disagreed with the ideals goes completely against what art should promote.

Too many words!!!

It's been awhile since I blogged, and it's because I've been covering a lot of the arts scene in Cincinnati for my side career as a journalist. Check out some of those articles at www.davidsvoice.org

I went from writing 500 words per week to more like 500 words per DAY! Very exciting, but kind of mentally exhausting. I've been told you can train yourself to write prolifically just as you train your voice or your body. So far, it still seems pretty difficult.

Be back with a better blog soon.

Auditions vs. Callbacks

This past Saturday I received some exciting news...I will be performing the role of Lily in The Secret Garden with the Fairfield Summer Theater. It was an expedited audition process compared with what I usually go through. I sang a cattle call on Friday night, a callback Saturday afternoon, and got the casting notice on Saturday night. Going through a process that can take 6 weeks or more in the opera world in a matter of 2 days led me to reflect on the way I feel in an audition for opera versus musical theater. Auditioning for both is a double-edged sword; you get all of the good and the bad of each. Nonetheless, I think it is beneficial to experience both so I'm prepared for wherever my career may take me.

There is the issue of timing with each. In an opera audition slot, you usually get between 5 and 8 minutes; in a musical theater cattle call, you have between 16 and 32 bars (approximately 1 minute). You might think the advantage goes to the longer time slot...at least the panel is spending a bit of time with you and getting to know you as an artist. However, holding focus for that long is extremely difficult. The music is more challenging. There's a larger window to show weakness and error. Then again, when you only have 1 minute, you better know what makes you sparkle. (that was always a favorite word of my mother's when she coached me on auditions during middle and high school: "You go out there and you SPARKLE!!" I did my best). It's a sink-or-swim moment. The problems I face in both auditions are two different versions of each other. I have moderate nerves for opera audition (can I get through all the songs? What if my high note doesn't come out right? Will I keep my knees from locking? In Musical Theater auditions, I worry more about my 'break' (the spot in your voice where your chest voice ends and your mixed voice begins). If I keep the chest too chesty, as I tend to do when I'm nervous, there is a large sound discrepancy between the two ranges. Most of the MT songs I sing start out kinda low for me and then go into the comfy higher range towards the end of the song, so I have to try and not get too excited and blast out the high notes once I get to them.

Then there's the difference in sheer numbers. For opera auditions, you have to pre-apply. Send in a resume, headshot, recommendation letters, sample of unicorn blood....and then you sit and wait to see if the great opera genie grants you an audition. So by the time you get there, the amount of people auditioning is often lower but the talent level can be astronomical. In MT auditions (and granted, I haven't done them in NYC, just Boston, Chicago and Cincy) there are more people. Any schmo can walk in off the street and sing for a cattle call. This equalizes the talent level a great deal. And since broadway types are supposed to be a triple threat singing-acting-dancing, oftentimes I have the edge on the voice, since I've spent much more time honing it than dancing or acting. You'd think this would calm my nerves in the 1 minute of singing...but somehow it doesn't. Adrenaline is adrenaline.

However, once I get to the callback, in either an opera or MT audition, the nerves disappear SO fast. It's like I need that little extra nudge of validation, that "yes, we like you!" middle-school popularity approval, and then I can really shine. The callback this past Saturday was beautiful. I sang through one of the songs twice, with a mini-coaching on it in between. One of the things I think I do well is take and respond to direction. If I know what the director wants, I can give it to him. I WISH judges on an opera audition panel were able to shout out a word or two in the middle of my aria. Sometimes one of them will wave an arm expressively, almost subconsciously, and I am able to read their body cues and respond to them. The worst thing you can get in an audition is a dead-pan judge, scribbling away and then talking to the person next to him about the Panera menu they have in front of them. A callback, in each audition scenario is a chance to show them not only who you are as an artist, but how you work. Can you listen. Can you respond to what they'd like. At the end of my Secret Garden callback, I said what I usuallyjust think in my head when I finish a song, which is "God, I love this music." He agreed.

Wiggle Room

Things are changing rather quickly right now. My interviews have been successful (hired at 3 schools so far! And one more interview to go). I'm beginning to build a student base, and as I do so, I'm able to let go of my other work. But it's a time of very strange transition...some weeks are FILLED with work, some have almost none, and I'm hoping to fill them with students so I'm leaving them open for now. We're back to uncertainty! But hopefully uncertainty that will be made certain soon.

The writing front is going well. My review was acceptable to Cincinnati Opera, and today I received my official pass-to-get-a-press-pass. Very exciting to know that my review is the first that David's Voice has published on Cincy Opera, and now it won't be the last! I've also begun covering the Cincinnati Fringe festival...a 12 day affair of all things avant-garde. It's fun so far but pretty demanding for me both time-wise and writing-wise...I'm putting forth reviews and tweets and blog posts at a faster clip than ever before. I am sure it will be a useful exercise for me both as a writer and an artist.

And performing is kinda okay too right now. I have Wizard of Oz right around the corner, then a recital in July (and MAYBE a show in July too...fingers crossed for audition Friday), and then certainly another opera at the beginning of October. It feels like I am starting to have more control and steer my life and work in a satisfying direction. I can't wait to see what develops next.