"I Could Have Danced All Night!"

I could have danced all night...because I got a JOB!!! I am so thrilled and excited and exuberant and every other adjective for pure joy because of the opportunity I have been given! So here is the story:

On Sunday, I had an appointment to audition for The Clurman Singers. Aundrey had one as well--his was at 2:15 and mine was at 3:45. I went early with him thinking that I might possibly get to go in early. Fortunately for us we were both early. Aundrey was the very first person to audition and I was the fourth. So he goes in, sings, and comes out. We wait a few minutes for two more girls to audition, then I go in. There are 3 people sitting in there (I'm guessing members of the CS) and then the accompanist, who introduced herself as Judy Clurman. CLURMAN. The FOUNDER and DIRECTOR of the Clurman Singers! She was so nice when I introduced myself to her and handed her my resume. She looks at and says to me, "Oh, I see you've done some straight theatre." I said, "yes ma'am," and she looked at me and said, "That's really cool! Wow! So what are you singing today?" I said "Se tu m'ami" and she immediately started playing it, by heart! That's a great sign! So I handed her my music (not like she needed it) and had me stand at the end of the piano. I sing the song and I felt so great about it because A) even with my sinus infection, it didn't even affect my voice, B) it was incredible to finally sing for someone and something, and C) it was the first audition I have been to that I was actually able to sing for because other auditions I have either been typed-out or released because I am non-Equity. After the song, she wanted to check my range, so she had me sing some arpeggios, then she wanted to check pitch recognition which I also felt great about. She then asked me how I felt about my sight-reading skills and I told her I felt very confident about sight-reading, as I always have (thank you BGHS and WKU choirs!) Judy then asked if I had been in many choirs, and I told her I've been in choirs most of my life. She then said with a big smile on her face, "I can tell. Thank you so much for coming!" And then she wrote something on my resume. As I walked to collect my music and thank her, she started making small talk with me about music and I had a quick mini-conversation with her and the three others that were in the room. I left feeling wonderfully about the whole thing. I knew that even if nothing came of it, I felt great about my audition and that was the most important thing.

Jump to Monday night:

I hadn't heard anything during the day but I didn't know when of if I would hear anything at all. I was out having dinner with a friend when Aundrey calls me and says "Get home and check your email." And I was like, "Oh Aundrey, what do you know, please tell me." He told me he didn't know anything but just to get home. So I'm thinking the whole time that Aundrey got the job and I didn't or we both did or I don't know, I just wanted to get home! So I get home and Aundrey is on his computer and I practically take it out of his hands to get on my email. (He gladly handed it over though.) So I look at my inbox, eyes scrolling the screen seeing Facebook updates and junk mail and then, from someone's everyday ordinary email address with the subject title "An Invitation to Join the Clurman Singers." I open the message and lo and behold, I GOT THE JOB!!!!! I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them the news, but it was too late and I thought I could wake up early and call everyone. And let me tell you, I literally could have danced all night for all the excitement I had keeping me awake!

What's the job?:

I will be singing music by musical theatre composers Lerner and Loewe (My Fair Lady, Camelot, Brigadoon...) in Carnegie Hall in April along with Broadway stars Kelli O'Hara and Paoulo Szot. I begin rehearsals in January! And Aundrey got the job, too!!! Only 12 of us that auditioned were chosen to sing, so we feel pretty excited!

I know its just one job, but this is my foot in the door to meet a lot of people, make contacts, and most importantly, SING ON STAGE!