Week 2:
The Lullaby of Broadway

June 24, 2021

This week has been super wonderful and at the same time really intense! I feel myself learning so much, and I can’t believe this is only the end of the second week!

Movement and Body Awareness

I really enjoyed what we did in Movement Techniques and in Voice and Speech classes this week! We did exercises in both that woke up our bodies and had us lying down on our yoga mats to find alignment in our spines and strengthen our cores. Both teachers said that we should be stretching every day, and one suggested doing a one-minute plank every morning. I have been trying that out for myself. I love an extra challenge for strengthening my body and mind! In our Storytelling Through Dance class, we did an exercise where we stood still in front of the class for a minute and became aware of the tensions that we held in our bodies. I noticed that I tend to hold a lot of tension in my legs and lock my knees on command, cutting off my breath — something that is rather important for a singer! 

Acting a Song and Doing the Work

In this week’s Acting a Song classes, BD Wong (who has stepped in as our teacher for the rest of the intensive) emphasized the importance of not “playing the end at the beginning.” Each scene or song has an arc, and you can’t achieve that arc if you play the end of the scene, or get to the emotions at the end of the scene, too early. You must allow the performance to be a journey. I remember getting this same note during my time at Cornell from my academic advisor, Caroline Price, and it has really helped me in my acting.

This week’s masterclass was led by the amazing Peter Flynn, Director of Musical Theatre Programs at the Adler Studio. He said something during another student’s performance that really struck me: “Musical Theatre gets a bad rap because anyone thinks they can do it. And if you come up to perform without doing your homework, without specific choices, and without intention, then it becomes loose, bland, and vanilla.” I wrote that down because I have struggled my whole life with wanting to be taken seriously in this career path. There are so many people who think that theater is easy, but in actuality, it is very hard and demanding. It is the hard work behind the scenes and before the performances that makes theatre look easy.

Fit and Essence

One of the challenges we have in this intensive is picking songs that fit our voices and essences and allow us to give compelling performances. In Audition Skills and Strategies this week, I sang two different songs. After I performed “I’m Breaking Down” from the musical Falsettos, our instructor said that, while the song fits me very well vocally, it is older than the essence I give off. (Since it’s a song I really enjoy, I am going to keep it in my book and save it for later.) I also performed “Omar Sharif” from the musical The Band’s Visit. As a woman of middle eastern descent, I feel a special connection to this song as it is a central piece in one of the only Broadway shows I’ve discovered to include classical Arabic music. The instructor said the song fits me well both vocally and essence-wise. I am planning to continue working on this piece during this intensive.

“Omar Sharif”!

During our Acting a Song class, I got the chance to sing “Omar Sharif” again and get feedback from BD Wong, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life! He had me sing the song three times and gave me some excellent notes to guide me each time through. After the third time, he said it was “beautiful” and told me that this song is a great fit for me, as is the role of Dina, which made my heart soar! After class, I went out with some classmates for mozzarella sticks and chocolate mousse cake to congratulate myself!

More Adventures

Other highlights of the week included a private voice lesson, working with a classmate to submit online auditions for the National Tour of The Prom, celebrating another classmate’s 22nd birthday, and attending a rooftop party in Brooklyn that provided yet another incredible view of the Manhattan skyline!

I am very excited for this upcoming week but am also quite nervous about having to perform during our June 22nd Masterclass! Fingers crossed that it goes well 🙂