This class is gonna kick my butt

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is called Rendering for the Theater I.  It's intended to teach basic drawing and sketching techniques to people interested in theater design (mostly costumes, but also sets).  After just 2 classes, I'm already feeling the pressure.  The instructor moves at quite a good clip!  She has 2 grad students to help her, and there are only about 10 or 12 of us in the class, so not a lot of competition for the TAs' time, but this is my first-ever drawing class and it's got me intimidated!

I'll just keep reminding myself of last semester's Scene Painting class.  I survived that one, I'll survive this one.  And that instructor suggested I take this class.  I don't think she'd have pointed me to a class I'd flunk out of. :)

Extra pay

Maybe this is just how the system works, but I got paid for a full 8 hours for that short (3 hours) extra gig I worked.  That was a nice surprise; it means I didn't lose money that day after all, which is never a bad thing.

Having some good singing stuff lately

About a month ago, I started noticing I was having the same throat-clenching when singing that put me on vocal rest last October, just as I was about to record my music school preliminary audition.  However, I've managed to have 2 good auditions despite that - one for the university choruses (everyone has to reaudition every year), the other for the School of Music's voice minor series (finding "guinea pigs" to take lessons from vocal pedagogy grad students).

I think some of it is getting better at remembering all the technical stuff that keeps me vocally healthy.  I've also been shaken up by having to take lessons from my two previous voice teachers while my current teacher deals with some other things.  That reminded me of some things I'd covered with them years and years ago.  And maybe I'd gotten just a bit too comfortable working with my current teacher, so this forced me to look at other aspects of this whole singing thing.

All of it makes me feel a lot better about this year's attempt to get into the School of Music.  I finally have a lesson with my current teacher this Friday.  Depending on what she recommends, I may end up recording this audition in September, not October (deadline is 1 Nov.) so I can relax a bit while I wait to hear whether they want me to come for a live audition.  Wish me luck!

I got that paid singing gig back this spring, and my voice teacher just emailed me about a section-leader sub job in a coupla weeks.  Just a one-time thing, late enough in the morning that I'll still be able to sing with my own choir, and it's Catholic, so I already know the order of service.  Now to call the music director and hope they haven't already filled it.