make your own d*** yap…part two
PART DEUX!
Welcome back yall! If you’re reading this, it is clear you love me. Seriously, thank you. These ramblings I like to call a blog are aimed at being a sort of reference for Young Artist. Something I myself used to research and look into from a “working” Opera Singer. Of course, ‘rona has come on in and sat everyone down, so this will have to do. In my first post, I talked a little about rejection and my conclusion to create my own d*** YAP. In Part two, I hope to show you some tools to use that have been proven to be helpful to me. With that being said, here we go!
Five days a week, I aim to use my down time in the most productive way possible. Of course, I know what you’re thinking: “Sis, how are you going to make this work? We are in a pandemic, money is tight, resources are few…” Yea, yea, yea, blah, blah, blah. I gotchu’!!
First, the voice teacher and coaching sessions were the easiest. They are who I call my “team”. They lead and guide, pick and prod, add and subtract in order to make sure I am BEING my best. That part is thankfully covered. I review my roles with them and can combine my endeavors accordingly.
As far as language study, the best tools I can recommend are FREE, that's right, I said free! Duolingo is my favorite phone app to use. It helps with pronunciation, sentence structure and even community building. The other website I am looking into is preply.com Its fairly easy to use, much like grub-hub for teachers. This website allows you to be paired with a teacher, who may be a native speaker or connoisseur of multiple languages. The teachers are fairly affordable, some as little as $10 for an hour and it's also interpersonal. From what I’ve seen, I think it's good for helping those on a budget. I plan to share my experience on this soon.
“A person has the right, and I think the responsibility, to develop all of their talents.”
For movement, I prefer things that are accessible, free and that overall make me happy. Did I say FREE?? Ok, just making sure. Youtube is your best friend! They have everything from meditation to afro-fusion dance and more. Heck, if I ever decided to go back to dancing on pointe, Youtube would probably be my biggest help. Recently, a group of friends and myself decided to join the Chloe Ting challenge via YouTube. For those of you who don’t know who she is, look her up! She is one of YouTube's most influential workout “coaches”. She creates challenges for various goals, via daily uploaded videos. For me, working out is annoying. So having that group of friends who empower you to get going, and knowing you’re all struggling with the same thing is encouraging. Another idea to look into are local online classes. If there is a local Artist that you would like to support, consider donating to their online dance classes. They tend to only charge “pay what you can” fee’s and they are also trained by some of the most well-known and respected artists in the world. Help them out. After all, they, like many of us, have lost work.
History to me is one of the easiest things you can look into. Because I love to read, I specifically read books that are helpful to me. For example, the book I am looking at now is called “The last Prima Donna” by Lanfranco Rasponi. It’s a fascinating tale of some of the Divas we both know and love, and those who unfortunately are more unknown. Their work ethic, dedication to the art form and overall love of opera has given me pause many a night. In fact, shortly after I finish this blog, I plan on going to read another chapter. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”
Beverly Sills
Of course stage experience is another monster all on its own. One cannot simply go to a stage and perform. And one certainly cannot ask an Opera Company to hear them out and allow you to perform said role. That's…well, that just doesn’t make any sense. The best thing that I find would remedy this is simple: competitions. Of course, competitions require a lot of work before the actual “big moment”. They require an immense amount of dedication, aria prep, an outfit that makes you stand out (in a good way) and of course, those good ole’ recordings and an application fee to boot!
Said fee can range…from hefty. hefty, hefty to…cute. You must know if you’re willing to go after it and if you’re actually ready. The other thing I would recommend would be to sing in front of a mirror. I’ve often found myself to be the best audience member for myself. Opera is a working art, which means you are constantly trying to be better than your last performance. Watch yourself. Ask yourself if you portray the work according to how the composer envisioned it. Then, if you can, find some trusted friends and family and ask if they mind being your audience/panel of judges. The people closest to us are usually the most honest and blunt. Plus, it's a win-win! Free concert for them, free advice (that you should of course filter through) for you. Yay!
All that aside, this is just a portion of what it would take to create your own YAP. In my next blog post, I plan on going more in depth about the daily task I set for myself, while balancing a work life. Of course, leave a comment, tell me your thoughts and if you have any ideas to offer other Young Artist. Love you all!
