FREE AT LAST!!!

Okay, the fact that I just got through the last few days in one piece is a fucking miracle. Let's start with a few days ago - shall we:

Okay, on Friday night my dear friends Barb & Jon Rosen came to see the play. They are just wonderful supporters of my work and I love them dearly. Jon is currently directing a production of Hair in San Jose which opens this summer. It was wonderful to see them at the show.

On Saturday I went to an audition and then I had the show at night. The performance was going fine until I went blank. I found myself repeating a line and then not knowing how to get back on track. I know the play inside and out - so I could have covered up and found my way back but I just couldn't. Thank God that Randy stepped in and said his line that brought us back on track. It was the longest five seconds of my life. I felt awful - I felt like an amateur. As soon as I walked off stage Randy said to shake it off - it happens to everybody. I mentioned this to my beloved teacher Linda Hoy and she wrote back, "welcome to the club!" It really does happen to everyone at one time or another. It was a lesson to me in focus - you must at all times be 100% present otherwise things like that can happen. Ahh - live theatre.

I redeemed myself on Sunday's closing performance in which I gave myself to the play completely and it was by far one of my better performances - it was a great show to close on. I already miss everybody. I could only stay at the wonderful cast party that Bruce Kerans threw for us for a little while because I had to run to dress rehearsal for musical theatre workshop at school. Exhaustion started to kick in at 11 PM when we ended the rehearsal and I had to go home and study for my two finals that started the next morning.

This is a pic of my wonderful stage manager Beverly Grant and my First Lady - Diahanna Davidson on closing night of the play.

I woke up at the crack of dawn to finish my Music History paper that was due at 2 PM and then headed off to school, did my finals, went home to take a nap and then off to musical theatre workshop performance. It was a special performance because my entire family was there to see me sing "Soliloquy" from Carousel and I think after months of working on it I did the piece justice. It is probably the hardest piece I have ever worked on - the musical, rhythmic and emotional demands of the piece are huge and I hope I did the piece justice. My family was very proud and my sister gave me the best compliment of the evening - she said "you were fucking awesome!" and coming from her that is high praise indeed. Mary is a much bigger critic than I and usually after a show she'll just smile and give me a hug but I could see how proud she was of my performance.

Yesterday I had voice juries at 11 AM in which I had to sing Soliloquy again and the famous Neapolitan song O Sole Mio - what the fuck was I thinking? My voice was in shatters by then and it's a miracle I was able to perform at last night's final musical theatre workshop performance. Oh did I forget to mention that after I sing Soliloquy I have to run back on stage to do this huge ensemble piece to We Dance from Once On This Island. Yeah - good times.

So school is over, the play is over and I can breathe again. I am still looking for a summer show to do - I am actually waiting to hear from another company regarding casting for a show in the city - so keep your fingers crossed for me. I was actually not invited to callbacks for the show I just auditioned for on Saturday which I must admit hurt my feelings a little bit because this is a company that I have worked with numerous times in the past and done great work for them, so at least they could have given me the chance to read for the part - just as a courtesy. I understand if someone is better for the part but I usually get a chance to read for it! Oh well. Like my pal Gary Martinez says - "Hell of a business!"

Tomorrow night I will be seeing my best friend Heather in Opera San Jose's production of Madama Butterfly - I have seen all aspects of this story - the play M Butterfly and the musical theatre version - Miss Saigon so I am excited to see the operatic take on this story.

Okay - that's enough ranting from me. I wish everyone a wonderful summer and I will keep posting as we go along.

=+)

Cheers!

Martin

p.s. I will be back at Max's starting this Saturday night from 6-10:30 PM.