What Now?

So thanks to the trip I know I can reach the professional level, but there's still plenty of work to be done before I'll really ready to make the move. I have skills I need to sharpen, habits to establish, and tools of the trade to acquire. I'm set to graduate in May, but I can get started (and have started) many of these things while still a student. Let's break down my plans in greater detail:

-The biggest hole in my performance package is my dancing. It's the area I have by far the least formal training in and has been a stopper for a couple Twin Cities callbacks already. To improve this I'm looking into the Hennipen Center for the Arts to enroll in some beginning ballet and jazz dance lessons. I'm also looking to improve my fitness in general. I have been exercising 3 to 4 times a week since returning from NYC, and am hoping to move from 195lbs down to 185lbs. before the summer begins. In addition to the dance classes I'd like to get involved in a martial arts program upon returning to the Cities. I did two years of that in late Middle school, and I remember the level of flexibility, balance, discipline, and confidence it gives you. All useful things for dancing.

-My voice lesson with Claudia Catania was an incredible NYC experience. She gave me some valuable instruction and (equally valuable) encouragement. The techniques she helped me fix made me more open to the advice my current voice teacher (the wonderful Dr. Petillot) has been giving me all this time. This past month there has been some great progress made, but it is progress that is just as easily lost if I don't keep it fresh. I've been able to average 5 days a week at 45 minutes to an hour of voice practice since returning from NYC. That's much more than I used to put in, but still less than I need to do going forward. It needs to be a 7 days a week thing. I need to establish that as a habit now as I leave UWEC for a less structured atmosphere of life after college.

-Thanks to our pre-NYC meetings I have brushed up my resume and have a look for it that I am happy with. My headshots, although workable, will need to be updated shortly after I graduate. With these new materials I plan to submit headshots and resumes to multiple talent agencies around the Twin Cities area. If I can get representation from these agencies I may be able to make some extra income and credits from industrials.

These are just a few of the things I'm looking to improve on, but overall it's about developing the mentality that I am the CEO of my own business. No one is going to force me to practice or exercise, I just have to do it. The knowledge of what is possible is an encouraging thing, however. I think the memories and experience gained from our trip to NYC made my goals clear enough to pursue at full force.

-Evan

Finding the How

My favorite moment of the NYC experience actually took place in Anoka, Minnesota. It was Saturday afternoon, 3 hours after we landed back in MSP, and the weather was immaculate for March in the Midwest. My Mom and I decided to savor a few moments before I drove back to Eau Claire and sat out on our deck in the sun and talked. Unsurprisingly, the trip was the main focus of the conversations. Who I'd met, what I'd seen, what I'd learned, and most importantly, "what now?". As I was recounting and explaining all these things, the first time I had summarized thoughts to someone outside of the trip, I became aware of the level of focus I now had regarding my future. It was a positive change, a firmer, clearer sense of direction that came from a newfound, firsthand knowledge of what it will take to make a living on the stage. There is now a how to the what. Talking to my mom after it was all over made me realize how far I'd come, I could see on her face that she noticed a change. The look of pride she had on her face is one I hope I can keep with me as I move to achieve my goals.

Let's take a closer look at how I answered those questions:

Who I met: In 6 days and change we had 8 large group interviews and 5 small group interviews surveying a total of 19 industry professionals. Their disciplines included Broadway singers, Opera singers, Church singers, dancers, singer-dancers, working student actor/singer/dancers, agents, voice teachers, professional accompanist and film actors. Their experiences ranged from a couple of years to longer than most of us have been alive. Among non-performers I met some native New Yorkers who gave me a much better sense of what Manhattan is like than the romanticized versions in films and television.

What I saw: A mass at an Episcopal Church, 2 events at the Met, 2 shows on Broadway, one show Off-Broadway, and a Juilliard Honors Recital. Again, this is in 6 days. Some in our party added a couple more Broadway shows to the mix.

What I learned: Claudia Catania said to us that the best way to learn from someone is to go in knowing what you want. I had a number of specific questions that I wanted to have answered over the course of the trip, but it all fed into one overarching question that I needed to answer for myself: Can I make it? Do I think, after getting a closer look, that I have the means and the know-how to make a career as a Broadway actor possible? I found answers about my future from the pasts of others. I explained the wide range of professionals we had talked to earlier. Their stories are all unique. Some of their roads to NYC were straight shots, others had a few more twists, turns and detours. The absolute greatest thing about interviewing all of them was when the things they all had in common started to shine through. They all are extremely busy people, pushing themselves constantly to the limit so that they can make the most ends meet that they can. Some have it more comfortable than others, but even the comfortable ones never rest. They all have an insatiable drive to perform. Something is in them that makes the long hours of practice and rehearsals and second jobs worth the precious moments onstage. It is not an automatic things to posses this drive. They have all suffered downs in their careers and fought through them. Every one of them mentioned that, make no mistake, you will be discouraged to the point where you want to quit. There is only one solution: DON'T. You'll bounce back.

So as the week went on I gathered my notes and thoughts and observations, what I'd heard from those gracious performers, and what I'd seen at the stages. I took the experience of my private voice lesson with Claudia Catania and the moment Tuesday night when I finally "got" the Subway. I reflected on these things and much, much more and I found my answer: I learned I can. This goal is within my reach.

Which leaves only one question...

On meeting fantastic, very talented people

I was very fortunate to interview two succesful female conductors, which is a very male dominated profession, so that was very encouraging. They were both extremely interested in helping me in whatever way they could, and I could have easily talked to them for hours more! But I'm very grateful for the hour they both took out of their incredibly busy schedules to talk to me.

Something that one said that I just loved was that conducting is, for her, all about solving problems—putting the puzzle pieces together to get to the big picture. Its about the love of a challenge and the love for bettering other's lives with music, both your musicians and the audience. I just connected with that so much, and it reminds me how excited I am to teach music.

Overall impressions I got from these interviews were how important it is to be exposed to, and expose others in the community to as many different experiences as possible. It helps young people grow as individuals and figure out what they want to do with their lives, and generally enriches the lives of others. And the more my life is enriched and the more knowledgable I am, the more I'm able to bring these experiences to my classroom and my community.

Other miscellaneous things picked up from these and other various interviews: Do what makes you happy. Only take a job if it has 2 of these 3 criteria met: it looks good on your resumé, it pays, and you love it. Don't take a job if it makes you miserable, not even for the job experience. Take care of and support your fellow performers/co-workers, you never know when you'll need support yourself. Say yes to as much as possible—it  keeps the opportunities coming and helps you grow creatively. Surround yourself with positive people. And finally, be patient, you'll get there!

-Jennifer

Reflections on a marvelous opportunity...

So, it's over a month later and I'm just starting to make sense of everything we have accomplished from this trip. As others have said, I have discovered that networking is not nearly as daunting as I originally thought. Before this I never would have considered emailing complete strangers for an interview, especially professional conductors. But I found that in general, people are very willing help out students and give some time to answering all of our questions. This has probably been the most valuable thing that I have learned from the experience, and I'm considering doing this again the next time I travel. I learned so much about NYC and the arts culture there just from talking with professionals there.

In an interview with Jennifer Peterson, a professional conductor and wonderful person, she told us how important it is to be creative and assertive in this business, which is not something that comes easily to me (I would say it's the Midwest nice thing, but I'm not technically from here). She talked about a job that she really wanted when she was just out of college, and after calling about it, they told her that they already had "stacks of resumés". As a way for her resumé to stand out and be taken seriously, she left copies in the mailboxes of the director and the hiring director in the opera building. It was a simple thing, but she stood out and got the job.

Long story short, I've learned a simple yet valuable lesson about being polite but assertive, and meeting new people who are more than happy to help you be successful.

-Jennifer

Meagan Moment

I happen to have my own blog, and while unknowingly still signed in to that account, I accidently posted my last blog in that one, so let's get this straightened out for partial credit :)
I have made a big decision recently: where I am going to grad school. It was a battle between the impressive, big ol' Indiana, Jacobs School of Music and small and fierce Oklahoma City University. I had great experiences at both campuses and really couldn't decide. But after making some discoveries about what I know of large cities (New York) I actually did know which one I was going to choose: OKC. I absolutely loved Indiana. It was a friendly place, and had an immense supply of resources at my fingertips. It was so tempting! However, I knew that it was HUGE! The grad program there had around 200 graduate students. I realized I probably wouldn't have gotten in any lead roles until I was almost done with my second year. I knew that OKC was the answer for me. It was small, and I adored how beautiful it was. The opera there was just as impressive as Indiana, but you get more experience faster, and I wanted to get my feet wet right away. I also loved the professor I had worked with at OKC. He spoke my "language" and I understood what he was trying to accomplish with his students.
Needless to say, NYC helped me decide my future. It made me realize what I was ready for, and what needed to wait. I can't wait to go to grad school!
Meagan

Some more reflection...

It's incredible to me that in a couple of days it will be the one month anniversary of the day that we left for NYC.  Since coming back to Eau Claire, life has been very busy - we've had a voice area recital showcasing various settings of texts by William Shakespeare, I gave my first Faculty Recital here at UWEC, performed in the faculty April Fool's Day concert, as well as with the Voice Faculty Quartet for the Viennese Ball this weekend.  Now that the dust has settled, I've been thinking a lot about the trip and all of the wonderful performances I experienced.  While I heard a lot of wonderful singing, a few performers really drew me in to their performance, one such example was Paul Appleby's recital.  What made this performance so special?  The word that keeps coming to mind is "specificity."  He had a specific meaning and intention for every phrase of music and poetry that could be clearly read by his voice, musicality, and physicality.  When you're studying a song or an opera role, the possibilities for interpretation seem endless.  One of my favorite parts of being a singer is exploring all of these possibilities in my own study, practice, and rehearsal.  However, at some point you have to make a choice and go with it.  If you try to express all the possibilities, you can end up expressing very little, giving a generic performance.  This then led me to think about something one of the cast members of Anything Goes said about choosing to be great at two things, rather than trying to be great at everything.  I think that the students were amazed by all of the possibilities and various paths one could take in pursuing a career in music.  The possibilities are endless!  BUT - at some point you have to make a choice and go with it.  This doesn't mean you're stuck with the choice forever, as Logan Tracy reminded us, you can always make another choice, but make a choice!  It is my hope that the students start making their "choice" and then take steps to realize that choice.  Most are starting to do that.  I'm excited to hear about their various plans for creating their own summer program, and I hope they know I'm here to encourage them in any way I can.
For myself, I'm going to go for more specificity in my performances; I'm going to allow myself more time with a piece to make a specific choice and realize that choice.  I'm also looking to take on Caroline Worra's suggestion that we should all find something more difficult to do than singing.  Right now, it has been working on my dissertation.  I'm looking forward to having time this summer to really focus and devote my complete attention this project.  I'm also looking for various ways to stop and "smell the roses."  After being in college for over a decade, all while starting and maintaining a performing career,  and now teaching music full-time, it's time for me to find a few non-music activities for my life.  Maybe after the dissertation is done it will be time to start training for that marathon...

Mr. P

Life Lessons
I feel truly blest to have been given the chance to partake in this immersion class. It is a completely unique experience and really gives young performers an edge when starting their careers. Many of the people we met with said if they only knew the information they know now ten years ago life would have been easier. Going on this trip really was an eye-opening experience and each and every one of the students benefited from the trip in one way or another. I am going to now share some of the life lessons I learned from this trip.
1. People are people. This seems fairly simple but I know many young people have misconceptions about other groups of people, specifically those who grew up in a different culture. What I have learned from this trip is that you can make connections with almost anyone, and have the same experiences as a person on the other side of the country. Once I embraced this simplistic idea the world seemed a less daunting place, and New York seemed less scary.
2. Don't justify what makes you happy. As young college students we often think that we have to achieve a certain goal in order to be successful but then life becomes a task. Going to school, earning your degree, this is important, but your degree is just that, a degree. There are so many options that one doesn't think about while in school. There is no cookie-cutter version of life, and you don't have to do the same things other people in your major end up doing. Every one is different and whatever ends up making you happy is what you should pursue.
3. Persistence is one of the most important aspects of success. If you keep trying, and continue to work you will be successful. Everyone has talent, but not everyone has perseverance and the willingness to get up every single time they fall and try again. If you keep pulling yourself back up you will outlast many of the people that you started out with.
I could go on and on about the things I learned but these are three things that really stood out to me. None of these 'lessons' are completely new ideas to me or mind-blowing, but they are ideas that have become more solidified because of this trip
~Britney Shattuck