Swing and a miss

I had an audition at Masquerade Theatre last week. It went well. As I went in, I recognized the accompanist. That seemed to be a good sign. We talked a bit, he went over the music, and then the director came in. I sang for him. He complimented me on my timbre. We talked about my availability and he asked me about when I played the Music Man and who directed.

He said they'd be calling either Thursday or Friday. Nope.



Why don't they ever call?

I have a theory that he did a little digging and found the lackluster review of my Music Man performance. That made me think I should note in my resume that I was an emergency substitution in that role. So that at least gives me something to do.

Oh, I didn't get the part at Theater LaB Houston, either. But we did go see the show, and it was very good. Not as good as it would have been with me in it, of course, but...

And Bach performances are over for the year. Next one up is February 7.

Gala!

I'll be in the Fort Bend Theatre Gala next Friday, November 13. It is a fund raiser for the theater. There will be some sketch comedy performed by actors (like me) who have been involved in theater productions this year, and there will be some minor celebrities who will be involved in sketches, as well. See the link for more information.

And this weekend, I'll be auditioning for a play at Theatre Suburbia. This one is not a musical, just a straight play. It is about a radio station in Minnesota, and it is directed by Bunny Hartman, who I acted with in the last straight play I did, Impossible Marriage. So it will be nice to see her again, and maybe that will give me a little edge. :)

Push-ups and Bach

They have nothing to do with each other, as far as I know, except that I'm going to mention them both in this post.

The push-ups part

I have done push-ups on a regular basis for most of life, since I was an adolescent. They work out a lot of muscle groups at once, and don't require much time, space, or any equipment. My limit has always been "about 60". That's how many I could do in a row when I was at my peak of fitness in college, that's how many I could do in high school, that's how many I can do now. It is interesting (and somewhat frustrating) to me that the number never goes up. To be fair, in college I think I could hit 67 in a good set, while now my top number is 64. Still, not much difference.

There is a website called One Hundred Pushups that lays out a plan to work up to doing 100 push-ups in a row. According to their schedule, if you can do 60 push-ups, you're on week 6, the final week. You will do multiple sets of push-ups, with prescribed rest periods in-between. No doubt this is the key to building up endurance. However, when I tried, I was unable to even come close to doing the prescribed workout, which is (again) instresting and frustrating.

Anyway, five sets is too time-consuming, so I've been doing three sets: as many as I can do (about 60), 30 seconds rest, as many as I can do (about 13), 30 seconds rest, as many as I can do (about 10). We'll see if it leads to increasing my maximum. I know it has to be possible. Look at all the records!

Another exercise I like is Burpees. Again, it works a lot of muscles at once, in a short time, and requires little space and no equipment.

The Bach part

We had our first vespers of the new season with the new, smaller (16 singers instead of 24) Bach Choir. It went well. We were situated on high risers so that our voices could carry over the orchestra. Having heard the recording made by KUHF, I have to say we sounded really good. So if you get a chance to come hear us, please do. Next service is Nov 1 (see the sidebar).

Bach Vespers October 4

The Bach Society opens its 2009-2010 season with Bach Vespers on Sunday, October 4, at 6:00 pm. The program features J.S. Bach's Cantata 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, as well as works by Heinrich Schütz and Max Reger.

The Bach Choir will be heard in its new, sixteen-voice configuration. Soloists are Bach Choir core singers Tricia Frank, Briana Kruse, Sarah Brindley, Sishel Claverie, Patrick Perez, Jeffrey Ragsdale, and Gabriel Preisser. Guest organist is Robert Brewer. The Bach Orchestra (on period instruments) plays under the direction of Artistic Director Albert LeDoux.

Christ the King Lutheran Church is located at the corner of Rice Boulevard and Greenbriar. There is no admission charge; a free-will offering will be received to support the series. For more information visit our website at www.bachsocietyhouston.org or call (713) 523-2864.

Limited free parking is available on the lots west and south of Christ the King Church. Ample parking is available for $1.00 (credit card only) across the street at Rice University's stadium parking lot on the southeast corner of Greenbriar & Shepherd.

The Bach Society is funded in part by grants from the
City of Houston
through the Houston Arts Alliance.

Next Vespers

May 24, at 6pm, back at the usual place.
We'll be singing

• Handel: O Sing unto the Lord (Chandos Anthem)
• Bach: Cantata 12, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

So, I did get this announcement up early!

Still no idea what, if anything, I'll be doing this summer. Getting the house ready to be remodeled is taking priority.

In other news, tomatoes are ripening in the garden. We picked our first, which was prematurely ripening because it had been attacked by a caterpillar. We cut out the bad parts and ate the pink fruit. It was still pretty good; better than supermarket tomatoes. The tomato bed is enclosed in mosquito netting this year, in hopes that further damage by bugs and other wildlife will be prevented.

Vespers this Sunday

For a radical change of pace, the Bach Choir will be singing a vespers service at First Evangelical Lutheran Church this Sunday, April 26, at 6 pm. We'll be singing Christ lag in Todesbanden, Cantata BWV 4, plus a work by Schutz, and another by Van Brock(?).

One of these times I'll announce it a whole week in advance. Or more!

Oh, let's not get crazy.

Back to the stage

It's funny: the roles seem to choose me more often than I them. Neither of my recent auditions got me a callback, but Fort Bend Theatre called me to invite me to step into the role of Mr. Wilson in Annie Get Your Gun. This is how I wound up as Freddy in My Fair Lady. Most of my other roles have resulted from being invited by someone involved with the show, rather than my finding out about it and going.

Still, my favorite role so far was one I chose to go after: Lumiere. I hope there will be another, one of these days.

The show is March 6, 7, and 8 at the Stafford Centre. Information at the link.

Bach performance this Sunday!

Sheesh, the primary purpose of this blog is to announce when I've got a performance coming up, and I just let this one sit and wait until I had something to write about it.

6pm, at Christ the King Lutheran Church
Bach Choir, orchestra, and soloists. We'll be singing a Bach cantata, a little Telemann, and a piece by Hiller. Guest conductor Gotthold Schwarz (who speaks virtually no English) has whipped us into pretty good shape. So it should be worth a listen.

The pipe organ at the church was damaged by hurricane Ike, so it won't be in use until next year. The orchestra is playing on period instruments (i.e., the forms the instruments had when Bach was composing), which is both interesting to see and to hear.