Well...I went to New York City all by myself a few weeks ago! "Why?" You might ask. My poor husband had to work and I unfortunately had to go by myself...but it was awesome! Sorry Bri. ( : I had an audition in New York City for Disney. Not just any Disney...TOKYO Disney. ha! It was really too perfect to pass up. The Tokyo Disney Park is putting together a Big Band Beats show that features 2 black & 2 white female vocalists, 2 black & 2 white male vocalists. These vocalists need to be "seasoned" JAZZ VOCALISTS! WOW! It's a Big Band Revenue featuring music from the 1920s, 30s & 40s. The vocalists chosen will perform live with an orchestra in TOKYO. It's a 7 month contract and if chosen, I would be put up in my own apartment. I would have a 5 day work week and get paid weekly. How much fun would that be??!! I'm JAZZED...pardon the pun!
So...the audition. It couldn't have gone any better. My audition was Thurday, March 20th @ 1pm. Sign-in was at 12pm, so I decided to get there an hour early & beat the crowd. ha! There were 25 people in front of me. Good thing I got there early. Anyways...I made sure to leave early just in case I got lost on the subway or something. I made it safe & sound! Unfortunately, I wore stiletto heels...yeah...Ouch! My heels were a bloody mess before I even sang! ugh!
But, I didn't let that effect me. Most everyone was just chatting away & I was in the corner being completely unsocial, warming up my voice & getting prepared.
They began taking people in groups of 10. I was # 26, so I was the third group that they called out of the room. There were 2 girls in front of me and I was able to hear their audition through the door. It was sooo quick! They were in and out in 30 seconds! They didn't seem very happy either. Grumbling about this & that...mainly the accompanist. So, after 2 girls it was my turn. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all. I was excited! I went in and made eye-contact with everyone, showed my accompanist the music, introduced myself, counted it off and began! I started with "Honeysuckle Rose", which is a mid-tempo Swing tune. To my pleasant surprise, they were actually enjoying themselves! A lot of times with judges you get the most blank & uninterested stares coming back at you. I was sooo thankful for their encouraging smiles and supposed interest.
I finished my 16 bars and the main judge said, "That was great! Do you have another piece prepared for us today?" Trying to hold back my scream, I calmly replied, "yes I do", and walked over to my accompanist, turned to the music, showed her where to start and end, counted it off and away I went! This time I sang a ballad called "Angel Eyes". I felt so great vocally that day! Once I was done with those 16 bars, the judge continued talking with me about my resume. Another shocker! He commented on how much traveling I've done and how that's what they're looking for. They are wanting people who will go to Tokyo and be open-minded when entering another culture. He said thank you and I said the same. I walked out of the room and started shaking!! All my nervousness came out at that moment! It was really weird!
So...that was my audition experience in New York! I received GREAT feedback and have a lot to be thankful for! It felt sooo good to go out there and give it a shot! I walked away feeling confident in my audition and very encouraged by the judge's response. So, what more could I ask for? I'm still waiting to hear back. They said that it will take several weeks before a decision is made. If I haven't heard anything by early May, I'm to assume that I didn't make it. In the meantime, I'm praying that I'll be in Tokyo by August!
Some of you may be asking, "What about Brian?". Brian who?? Oh yeah, I'm married! haha. Of course my amazing, supportive and very hot husband will be right alongside of me if the Lord chooses to open this door for us! He's so great! The second I told him about the audition in NY he said, "If you want to go then go! I think you should do it babe." How lucky am I? I know...the luckiest woman in the world! I just wish he could have come with me!
Overall, my trip was amazing! I have several friends who live in NY, so I crashed on a couch, borrowed a subway card, packed my backpack everyday & was off to see the Big Apple! Of course, by day two I had learned from my previous stiletto mistake and wore my tennis shoes the rest of the trip. I didn't care if they matched or not...I was comfortable! It was very cold and windy! Brrrr!
The subway was a very interesting experience. My favorite part was making eye-contact with people and smiling at them. You'd have thought that I just stuck my tongue out at them or something. The response was hilarious! They just aren't used to people smiling or making eye-contact I guess. I actually had one lady roll her eyes and follow it with a sound of disgust. It was great! It became my goal to get as many smiles in return as possible! If you ever go, you should try it sometime. It helps pass the time. ( :
By the end of my 3 day trip, I felt like a local and looked like one too. I had my iPod headphones in and was trucking through the city with a bagel in one hand and coffee in the other. I'm so thankful that God provided me with the awesome opportunity to go and explore the city and get the experience of a NY audition.
New York here I come??!! Maybe not...but it sure was fun!
