Meme from Vissidarte27
She gave me five words/topics to talk about. Comment and I'll give you five words as well.
Littl'un
The light of my life, and currently in bed with the flu, poor little thing. I never imagined that being a parent could be quite as rich an experience as it has been, and wouldn't trade it for anything. My only regret is that we only managed to have one, but if we were going to be limited in numbers, we certainly got the right one first time!
Mezzo
What I sing, despite having good high notes :D In fact, to ME there was never any doubt I was a mezzo (once I got past the initial idea that I would never sing Tosca, The Countess, or Desdemona). But it took a lot of years for the "are you SURE you're not a soprano?" thing to die down, even though it was abundantly clear that my strength was really in the middle-lying part of the voice. Of course, once I did put the whole voice together, I started getting hired for contralto work (and still do get a lot of requests to sing low, plummy roles). I'm no more a contralto than I am a soprano, but then again, a mezzo really does have to "do it all": sing high, sing low, and everything in the middle. Usually while carrying lots of props :D
Gown hunting
I don't so much "hunt for gowns" as trip over them... usually when I DON'T actually need them! The trick to finding great gowns at a discount is to make sure to ALWAYS check the sale rails and being willing to spend the money on them when you find them rather than waiting until you need one. I'm lucky in that we have a pretty good Loehmanns, Talbots Outlet, Saks OFf 5th and Nieman Marcus outlets in the area, so I have places to look for high end stuff at good prices.
Teaching
Rewarding, frustrating, what I always planned to do (long before I decided to turn performer) and what keeps me grounded, no matter how much performing I'm doing. I think I'm a better teacher now than I ever have been - as my own technique has grown, I've only gained in greater knowledge to share, and my passion for communicating that which we can neither see, nor hear for ourselves has continued to grow as well. It's frustrating when working wtih students who just don't want to put in the effort and really work, but getting a student who "gets" it is one of the great joys - both in terms of watching their progress, and just having fun sharing it!
Fav drink
Hmmm... I used to be a Diet Coke junkie but, while I still drink it occasionally, these days I most enjoy good coffee or filtered water. Alcoholic? Used to love wine until I had Littl'un and started reacting to it with migraines, so now am limited to beer and spirits. Love Blue Moon, Kennebunkport Blueberry, Killians Red, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Cherry Wheat for beers. Spirits are usually based around gin - Bombay Sapphire and tonic or bitter lemon are teh yum. I also harbour a secret guilty passion for frozen strawberry margaritas - yep, the totally cheezy California Tex-mex kind. Slushees for grownups :D
Littl'un
The light of my life, and currently in bed with the flu, poor little thing. I never imagined that being a parent could be quite as rich an experience as it has been, and wouldn't trade it for anything. My only regret is that we only managed to have one, but if we were going to be limited in numbers, we certainly got the right one first time!
Mezzo
What I sing, despite having good high notes :D In fact, to ME there was never any doubt I was a mezzo (once I got past the initial idea that I would never sing Tosca, The Countess, or Desdemona). But it took a lot of years for the "are you SURE you're not a soprano?" thing to die down, even though it was abundantly clear that my strength was really in the middle-lying part of the voice. Of course, once I did put the whole voice together, I started getting hired for contralto work (and still do get a lot of requests to sing low, plummy roles). I'm no more a contralto than I am a soprano, but then again, a mezzo really does have to "do it all": sing high, sing low, and everything in the middle. Usually while carrying lots of props :D
Gown hunting
I don't so much "hunt for gowns" as trip over them... usually when I DON'T actually need them! The trick to finding great gowns at a discount is to make sure to ALWAYS check the sale rails and being willing to spend the money on them when you find them rather than waiting until you need one. I'm lucky in that we have a pretty good Loehmanns, Talbots Outlet, Saks OFf 5th and Nieman Marcus outlets in the area, so I have places to look for high end stuff at good prices.
Teaching
Rewarding, frustrating, what I always planned to do (long before I decided to turn performer) and what keeps me grounded, no matter how much performing I'm doing. I think I'm a better teacher now than I ever have been - as my own technique has grown, I've only gained in greater knowledge to share, and my passion for communicating that which we can neither see, nor hear for ourselves has continued to grow as well. It's frustrating when working wtih students who just don't want to put in the effort and really work, but getting a student who "gets" it is one of the great joys - both in terms of watching their progress, and just having fun sharing it!
Fav drink
Hmmm... I used to be a Diet Coke junkie but, while I still drink it occasionally, these days I most enjoy good coffee or filtered water. Alcoholic? Used to love wine until I had Littl'un and started reacting to it with migraines, so now am limited to beer and spirits. Love Blue Moon, Kennebunkport Blueberry, Killians Red, Sam Adams Summer Ale and Cherry Wheat for beers. Spirits are usually based around gin - Bombay Sapphire and tonic or bitter lemon are teh yum. I also harbour a secret guilty passion for frozen strawberry margaritas - yep, the totally cheezy California Tex-mex kind. Slushees for grownups :D