That went ... better than expected
Jan. 28th, 2019 12:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lyornStage fright, as usual, stopped when the audience was in and the lights went on.
Before, we had the usual kind-of-overdone last-minute rehearsal, which I hate with a passion, because while it is useful to remind everyone of all the little details easily forgotten, it also uses up mental and physical energy and takes brilliance and power from the voices which is then missing for the performance. It's a trade-off.
That several pieces fell apart completely did not do much for my confidence, but at that point, confidence is irrelevant: It's all determination to see it through and to always look as if you are the coolest people in the world in the happiest place on Earth.
The church was loosely packed, probably 120 people or more -- a lot better than expected. Acoustics became a lot better to control with so many winter coats in the room.
I am aware of what I'm doing when I sing, mostly of the myriad of opportunities for failure, but I never remember much afterwards. Nothing really bad happened. Of the opportunities for failure, I did not take the obvious ones like singing out of tune, forgetting the lyrics, losing my timing, or falling over the hem of my skirt when changing position and nose-diving into the audience. Yes, some songs did fall apart, but it wasn't because of me! And we got them back together every time, through this strange magic that only happens on stage.
Still, this should not happen, and it frustrates me that it does. Oh, well. Perfection offends the gods.
The whole 18 pieces took about an hour (felt a bit rushed), afterwards we got back into more suitable clothes and hit an eatery, where I inhaled a Greek meat plate (with some alibi salad and rice). Must have been hungrier than I thought. We talked about what we'd like to do next. I am not sure if I really want to stay, actually. I was in a bad place with regard to the choir in the last 4 years or so, and I'm not sure I'm succeeding in crawling out, or if bad habits have become too ingrained.
At first glance, we seem to have collected far above the expected amount of money. This was a benefit performance for the homeless, so it's not our money, but the more performances we do, the more support we get from the city, so it's still a net gain for us.
So, all in all: OK. Magic was on our side, again. We must be doing something right, even if I am unsure what it might be.
And I am very, very relieved.
Before, we had the usual kind-of-overdone last-minute rehearsal, which I hate with a passion, because while it is useful to remind everyone of all the little details easily forgotten, it also uses up mental and physical energy and takes brilliance and power from the voices which is then missing for the performance. It's a trade-off.
That several pieces fell apart completely did not do much for my confidence, but at that point, confidence is irrelevant: It's all determination to see it through and to always look as if you are the coolest people in the world in the happiest place on Earth.
The church was loosely packed, probably 120 people or more -- a lot better than expected. Acoustics became a lot better to control with so many winter coats in the room.
I am aware of what I'm doing when I sing, mostly of the myriad of opportunities for failure, but I never remember much afterwards. Nothing really bad happened. Of the opportunities for failure, I did not take the obvious ones like singing out of tune, forgetting the lyrics, losing my timing, or falling over the hem of my skirt when changing position and nose-diving into the audience. Yes, some songs did fall apart, but it wasn't because of me! And we got them back together every time, through this strange magic that only happens on stage.
Still, this should not happen, and it frustrates me that it does. Oh, well. Perfection offends the gods.
The whole 18 pieces took about an hour (felt a bit rushed), afterwards we got back into more suitable clothes and hit an eatery, where I inhaled a Greek meat plate (with some alibi salad and rice). Must have been hungrier than I thought. We talked about what we'd like to do next. I am not sure if I really want to stay, actually. I was in a bad place with regard to the choir in the last 4 years or so, and I'm not sure I'm succeeding in crawling out, or if bad habits have become too ingrained.
At first glance, we seem to have collected far above the expected amount of money. This was a benefit performance for the homeless, so it's not our money, but the more performances we do, the more support we get from the city, so it's still a net gain for us.
So, all in all: OK. Magic was on our side, again. We must be doing something right, even if I am unsure what it might be.
And I am very, very relieved.
