5 Days Until Met!

Well I cannot believe it but that time of year has finally come. The eight weeks of love/hate with the Metropolitan Opera House are quickly arriving. In all truth it ends up flying by but there are definitely moments when rehearsing in the dungeon around the 3-5th weeks that we all start to get a little stir crazy. I didn't even realize how close it was until casting for the first week went up the other day. Looks like it will start off fairly light for me but I do have to learn a new part before I perform it next Saturday. Nothing too major (Drunkards in Petrouchka) but still stressful seeing I will probably have about three rehearsals before then. Ah well! Something slightly exciting about going into it just a little blind.

One thing that I always get frustrated with when Met comes around is the fact that I can't really experience anything else the city has to offer. It's a lot of down time at Tower Records, Barnes and Noble and the 68th Street movie theater but no real time to go and see a show or meet up with friends. Sacrifices are part of the job though and all of my complaints are really just minor things.

In the last week I had some friends come stay with me from Michigan. It was great having them here even though a little stuffed in a studio apartment with three people. We went out one night, but other than that just enjoyed each other's emo talks and bummed around. The highlight of the week had to be Benj and Justin's debut at Joe's Pub. For those of you who don't know these two boys, never have I been so sure about the following statement, don't worry because you will soon. A song-writing team going into their senior year at Michigan, these boys are oozing talent and no where has that been more obvious than at their sold out show the other night. It was so nice to see the range of styles that they are able to accomplish with their writing and to observe the development of lyrics. At the concert there were many Broadway names singing the songs and the different age range and experience of raw fresh talent and the old pro's was great to see under one roof. It seemed like such a healthy and supportive learning environment. Even though I don't know the boys too well I still was so proud of them.

On my end of things I have just started working on a new piece of writing as well which I will try to have up within the next week. Its a sort of exploration of a person struggling with the ideas of love. Something that has a universal application but can vary so much from person to person. Looking for love vs. relaxing to find love. So often when you are searching for something your mind plays games with you, convincing yourself you have found it when really you may have not. There is a sort of desperation that I feel in the tone of voice which my peers use when we discuss relationships. A majority of my friends are single and I think we all struggle with accepting the time tested phrase of "it will happen when you least expect it". So it's in the ROUGH stages now but something to play with as Met Starts.

Got into the studio for the second time the other day and came out a little frustrated. I am feeling at the moment that the movement that I am working with is just so mundane. In my head I have these great ideas but like I said before I just struggle so much to get them out. Just gotta keep pressing on.

The picture up above is from the other night when we were out. I think the eye sums up the feeling of the whole company right now on the verge of chaos. Here we go again!