"I'm forever blowing bubbles..."

My voice teacher trotted out a new exercise this week.  She had me take a cup with a little water in it, along with a straw, and blow bubbles while humming up and down a fifth.  The point is to try to keep the air pressure consistent instead of letting it ebb and flow.  Not quite as easy as it sounds, but it sure does make you realize whether you're sustaining an even, level air flow.

That's one recipe we *won't* be using again.

Tried a recipe for Chicken Tangier from my new slow-cooker cookbook.  Made a half batch at the full time, which resulted in rather dried-out chicken.  That's not a deal-breaker, but the ingredients (olives, prunes, capers, et al.) combined to give the whole a flavor neither one of us much cared for.  Good thing it was only a half batch. That recipe's getting a "don't make this one again" note. :(

I called it!

As I predicted last May, the costumer for The Arabian Nights was one of 5 nominees for Outstanding Costume Design in a Play.  Hurray!  I knew the adjudicators would recognize her expertise.  I mean really - don't they look wonderful?

As a result of the halo effect, I was nominated for both hair (5 nominees) and make-up design (6 nominees) for the same show.  Thanks, L!  Now I only wish I'd gotten close-ups of reach of "my" actors in their glory.

Really enjoying this rehearsal process so far.

Enjoying Harvey rehearsals so far.  One entertaining bit is the 10-month-old offspring of the couple playing Dr. Sanderson & Nurse Kelly.  First because said child is adorable and tolerates rehearsals amazingly well, possibly because Daddy is a high school drama teacher and Mommy techs so she's used to it.  She has also been a good sport about playing Harvey once or twice, perched on Daddy's shoulders to get the height correct.

We've got some great talent in the cast - our Elwood is very endearing.  (And already starting to get off book, darn it; I'm still stuck w/ my nose in my script. )  Even the people in the 3 or 4 cameo roles are stand-outs - I'll really have to bring my best game not to be shown up!

I'm loving this director's process.  She stops repeatedly, coaching the actors on posture, vocal levels, or phrasing to punch up the comedy or point up a relationship. She also asks us to try things, acknowledging that "I may not like it, but I want to see how it works."  Last night she gave me a very different way to deliver one small speech, changing the emphasis and adding some physicality. The first way was good, but the new way is even funnier so she's keeping it.  Now I just need to drill my vocal levels and where I step up as I build through that speech. Fun stuff!

Tried *four* new recipes yesterday!

Yesterday I made a tiny dent in my enormous backlog of recipes I want to try.

1. For breakfast I made eggs in portabella mushroom caps.  "Oil & broil" the caps for 5-10 mins (best to remove the stems first).  Then crack an egg into each mushroom, season if you like, sprinkle a little parmagiana or other cheese on top if you're so inclined.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, and you're set!  If you go for the shorter cooking time, might want to have some bread or something handy to soak up the egg yolk and mushroom juice.
2. I made a "Yankee pot roast & vegetables" recipe from a cookbook I picked up last week of slimmed-down slow cooker recipes.  That'll be dinner tonight.
3. We tried rabbit again, this time using a recipe from the Chief's old Doubleday cookbook.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth the work.  And with rabbit costing $6.59/lb, we won't make it again.
4. As a side dish, I fixed a Loaded Cauliflower Mash Bake.  I will definitely be making this again!  You boil a head of cauliflower and a few cloves of garlic until the cauliflower is pretty much mush.  Drain it, then puree.  Add 1/3 c. of  buttermilk (I substituted non-fat plain Greek yogurt, which I'm far more likely to use), 1 Tbsp of butter, salt & pepper to taste.  Pour into an 8"x8" baking dish, top with 1/4 c. shredded cheddar and 4 strips of crisp bacon, crumbled, and bake at 350 degrees F for 5 or 10 minutes (enough to melt the cheese).  I tasted this while I was pureeing it and think it would be just as good without the cheese or bacon because the yogurt gave it such a good zing - think sour cream.  If you think cauliflower is boring, you gotta try this!

More experiments in the kitchen

Tonight I finally roasted the duck that would have been dinner a few days ago if the Chief hadn't been sick.  I'd forgotten how very much fat there is on a waterfowl, which means not a lot of meat and a very high fat-to-drippings ratio.  A 5-lb duck fed 3 people with enough meat for one more.  However, we decided to leave the remaining meat on the carcass, which is now duck soup.  I'll skim the fat off tomorrow and see how we like the results.

I also tried my hand at roasting beets, after having a wonderful "harvest salad" for lunch last week that had roasted beets and butternut squash on it.  (It also had "baby kale", a very nice soft goat cheese and grilled chicken.  It was SO good!)  The beets took a lot longer to cook than I'd expected - well over an hour, so they didn't make it onto the dinner menu as I'd planned. Between cooking and peeling them, they ended up going into the fridge, where they'll wait until dinner tomorrow night.  That's when I'll learn how they turned out.

When I retire, I'll have to find a soup kitchen or some such place that wants cooks - there are so many recipes and things I want to make, and just two of us at home to eat all my experiments.  The Chief and I were watching the Great British Baking Show tonight - dangerous, because it gives me so many more things I want to try in the kitchen.

I've done rather a lot of feeding people the past week or so - made three different "meals on wheels" runs to ailing friends down with one thing and another.  It reminded that I miss cooking for more than two.  Yep, I completely see myself feeding people once I retire.  :)

Change of New Year's Day brunch menu

The Chief's stomach started rumbling a bit last night night and he woke up this morning with a stomach bug, poor thing.  We had planned to have a nice, hot brunch to start the new year.  Instead, he's "feasting" on tea and plain bread.  (Turns out the grocery store had a "take and bake" loaf that's actually pretty good.)

Oh well; if he starts the year sick, it's gotta get better, right?

February show

Turns out I'll be doing Harvey.  I get to play Veta Louise Simmons, sister to Elwood P. Dowd (played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie version).  I get to play ditzy, with dashes of hysteria and steel thrown in for spice - this is gonna be fun!

Goodbye, 2014

2014 has hardly been the worst year of my life - I finally sang a principal role with a company I'd worked in the ensemble with for years.  (Now if only I'd been more ready for that opportunity...)  I also got to spend the year laying a good, solid vocal foundation with my new voice teacher.  Designing hair and make-up for The Arabian Nights was a blast - very talented cast, who were willing to go where I pushed them, and the crew were equally talented.  The new neighbors who bought our late, lamented neighbor's house bid fair to become friends, which is always good news.  We learned at Christmas that two nephews will be receiving degrees in May, and that there's other good news due in late summer or early fall.

We also buried a neighbor, a church friend, and a former stage-manager friend, and Dad's health continues to decline.  I know I should focus on the good, but losing loved ones, or watching them hurt, definitely casts a pall on things.

C'mon, 2015 - you can do better than 2014.

How on earth did I manage that?!

Yesterday I got home from a week spent with family.  The Chief and I stayed in a hotel, which meant eating out a lot.  (We did have a supply of cereal, milk and bananas in the room, so at least breakfast was reasonably healthy.)  And of course we ate the usual holiday fare, though perhaps not quite as much as usual because the food was at Sister3's house and we were at that hotel.  Still, I ate nearly all my WW points and was very sedentary.  Despite all that, I actually managed to lose weight!  The last time that happened, I had two wisdom teeth extracted a few days before Christmas and couldn't chew much of the holiday food.

Big year ahead

When I go back to work next week, I'll contact my HR rep and start talking seriously about starting my retirement paperwork!  I'm actually looking at setting a last day at work; currently May 1st.  I've been working for the same company (though in many different capacities) for over 35 years -  I can't believe this "retirement" thing is soon to become something more than an abstraction, a "someday, when I retire..."

The Chief has already started teasing me about accompanying him when he drives out to the Midwest for family functions.  "We can bond in the car, and sing camp songs!"  He didn't object or protest when I responded "And I can teach you some G&S so we can sing duets!" (he insists he can't sing; he can, he just doesn't wanna), so I'm not sure how serious he is about those camp songs. :D

My list of "when I retire" things is very ambitious, as it includes:

• taking piano lessons (I don't play a note, but would like to learn at least enough to plunk out new songs I want to learn);
• taking music classes, maybe even getting a degree - voice lessons haven't taught me music theory, for instance;
• volunteering - SO many desperately deserving causes!
• auditioning for a local community theater company which has a very heavy performance schedule - up to 6 nights a week!

I'll also continue to do community theater, in addition to the odd costuming, hair & make-up assistance, for which I may have more time (if I'm not practicing scales or serving food at a soup kitchen or traveling with the Chief). 

The Chief is looking forward to my retirement because I'll then be able to take back grocery-shopping duty, which he took over when he retired 6 years ago.  I tease him that he'll miss out on seeing all the babies shopping with their parents; apparently that's a sacrifice he's willing to make. :)

Crazy vocalist tricks

I sometimes tease my voice teacher about the tricks and exercises she has me do in order to achieve

various goals - releasing tension, improving breath control, changing voice placement or what-have-you.  Some that come to mind off the top of my head:

- sticking my tongue out as I sing vocal exercises (vocalises);

- singing vocalises while holding a drinking straw crosswise under my tongue;

- singing vocalises while holding the straw in my teeth but in front of my tongue;

- dancing around "like a ballerina" while singing whatever piece we're working on at the time;

- draping myself, stomach down, over an exercise ball and rocking on it while singing vocalises;

- thumping myself on the chest while singing vocalises.

Pretty wacky stuff sometimes, but we have fun with the silliness.  Better, it's working - I'm releasing vocal tension, improving my sound, boosting my breath support, and generally singing better than ever.  Still much room for improvement, of course, but I'm feeling a lot better about how I'm singing.

One more crack at a February show

I learned last night that the group I did "Guys and Dolls" with a couple of years ago is holding auditions for "Harvey" this coming week.  Gotta do a little homework and see if it has any roles for middle-aged women.  It's not a musical, of course, but it is a chance to be on stage, and it should be fun.

Sewing again

A local chorus is doing a Messiah sing-along this Sunday as a benefit. They're using our church as the venue so they've invited our choristers to join them and I'm one of those who are taking them up on the offer.  I managed to get to their last rehearsal Monday night (SO much fun singing those choruses!), where it was announced that dress code for the women is a full-length black skirt and long-sleeved red blouse.  No blouses of any color in my closet, but it seems my red turtleneck will do.  The "wardrobe mistress" (the woman making the dress code announcement) looked pained when I told her my longest black skirt is only boot-length but gave her grudging approval.  

I used that as an excuse to swing by the fabric store after work this afternoon (yes, I braved a mall on Black Friday and lived!) and buy a simple skirt pattern and some fabric.  I went with a black short-nap velour.  The panne velvet was a bit flashier than I really wanted for a "uniform", and the woven solids were either too shiny/sparkly or too dull-looking.  Well, there was that one floral jacquard, but it wasn't one of the sale fabrics.

I cut everything out tonight - easy when it's only 3 pieces.  I plan to put it together tomorrow and see if I can dragoon, er, beg someone to pin the hem for me.  It suddenly occurs to me that I should have cut it so I can add pockets - argh!  Maybe I can fudge the seam allowance a little...

"Break-through moment"

That's what my voice teacher called it.  We'd been working on the Schubert "Ave Maria" and she gave me a visualization trick to try.  I noticed the difference immediately - I could feel the sound acquire "spin" or resonance, and it wasn't as much work to produce it.  I've been taking voice lessons for years but there's still so much to master!

Yes, this singing stuff can be hard work: supporting the breath fully instead of "under-singing"; sustaining that support all the way through a phrase, then an entire piece; enunciating properly; focusing the sound and keeping it forward in the mouth (mine keeps wanting to head for the back of my throat); conveying the message and emotion of the piece; and not frowning in concentration while I try to keep all that going!  Seemingly little things like that visualization trick can mean a lot when you feel you've just bumped up a level - encourages you to keep at it.  Now if I could just get someone to hire me to sing at their wedding or something... :)

Sad duty

A friend's mom called last Sunday to let us know that she'd died the week before.  R asked me to pass the word to other members of the theater company for which P had been stage manager for so many years.  I spent a few hours on the phone over the next couple of nights calling people and reminiscing, as well as on line with strangers (to me) who'd gone to school with her.  It seemed odd to be the one to tell these people what little I knew, though at least I was able to let them know they hadn't missed the funeral.  Yesterday R called me, upset because the church's music director hasn't gotten back to her yet and she wanted to be able to do the funeral program. I offered to help, though I turned out my services weren't required; the music director called R last night.  The music director apparently planned to call me, though I haven't heard from her yet.  Doesn't help that I left my phone at home when I left for the theater this evening. :(

No audition after all

Turns out the group I was going to audition for this week is an employee club, and they only take "guests" if they can't cast the show from within.  At least I learned this before I headed out.  I was just as glad to stay home that night; I hadn't slept much the night before and was exhausted.

The house smells delicious!

A colleague and I were talking food yesterday and he told me about the chicken stew he'd made the night before.  It sounded so good that I got some details, added the necessary items to the grocery list, and today I put together my own batch.  Chicken thighs (minus skin and most of the fat), half a pound of baby bellas, onion, garlic, a sweet potato, a coupla little red potatoes, some fresh oregano and parsley from our yard, a little vegetable broth and a few sprinkles of poultry seasoning.  Eight hours in the crockpot could be torture - that wait seems like forever when the house smells so wonderful!  At least we have a wonderful dinner to look forward to tomorrow, or maybe lunch.  Or even breakfast...

One more chance

I just learned of another company holding auditions next week, this time for a musical.  Only one mezzo role, and I don't know how large their ensemble will be, but hope springs eternal.  I've already alerted my voice teacher that I want to work on audition pieces again this week, especially as this group wants to hear two short, contrasting pieces.  Tomorrow I'll have to dig through audition pieces I've known and loved and pick some candidates to take to my lesson.  

I've missed my lesson the past two weeks thanks to rehearsals, so that's all the more reason to look forward to it.  My choir sang a funeral this morning and one of the pieces the family requested was the Schubert "Ave Maria".  Not only did it prompt me to think a bit about the music I want for my own funeral, but it also reminded me that I need to memorize the Ave Maria so I'll be ready should someone ask me for it on short notice.

0 for 3

Turns out I wasn't cast in the show I auditioned for Monday, so I'm 0 for 3 in auditioning for February shows.  I offered to tech for this one; we'll see if they take me up on the offer.  Now to see what shows will be playing later in the spring that have roles I might be considered for.