This photo was taken three and a half years ago, but it might as well have been taken tonight because it sure reflects how I’m feeling right now after having survived the first three days of classes. Yes, I know I just blogged about how fun the start of the school year is for me, but that was then. Now I’m shouldering the reality of teaching while also preparing for my first solo faculty recital in over twenty years. (I’ve done some recitals over the years, but basically all of them have been shared with one or more of my colleagues. Flying solo is an entirely different ball game.)
What made today a veritable Frying Pan of a day was the combination of all I had to do at Carthage with all I did at WGTD. I taught my Vocal Diction & Literature class, played for twenty student auditions of Musical Theater Workshop, and helped out with the Carthage Choir retreat. On top of that, I had a live morning show with Art Cyr offering analysis of current events- and then before he had even left the studio, the phone was ringing for an interview with the co-author of “The Grand Design” – one of the most discussed books in the country discussing nothing more than The Existence Of Everything. There’s nothing like physics to make me feel like a complete moron, and surviving that interview was no small feat. And before I could even wipe the sweat off of my brow, I interviewed the director/producer/writer/subject of a neat PBS documentary about adoption and identity. And that’s just the morning. After I was done at Carthage, I had to circle back to the radio station to record three interviews with the republican candidates for Racine County Sheriff. And the cherry on top was when I interviewed the Chicago playwright responsible for a play UW-Parkside is presenting next weekend titled “As the Beaver” – in which. . . believe it or not . . . Ward and June Cleaver discover that the “Beav” is gay. In case you’re counting, that’s seven interviews I conducted today.
Now that’s a full day! And on top of all that, I was trying to catch a moment to finalize my recital program. The theme is “Why I Sing” and it’s supposed to be a look back at some of the most meaningful moments in my life as a singer- and a celebration of the biggest reasons I love to sing. If it were a more tradition recital: 3 Purcell, 3 Schubert, 3 Faure, etc. – there would be nothing to ponder at this point. But because I want this program to be a very personal reflection of who I am and where I’ve been, I find myself retracing my choices again and again, trying to find just the right collection of songs that I will sing well and which will collectively say something important. Oddly enough, today was when I really did some of my best thinking…. which makes me think that maybe my brain is wired to work at its best level when I’m having a Frying Pan Day. If there’s too much time for sitting around, my neurons somehow stop firing. But today, as I was running from thing to thing to thing, it was as though I was seeing my recital with new vividness. Go figure.
So at the end of all that, I am feeling fried. . . but all of the craziness has also served to remind me that Singing is something that can push away the stresses of life maybe better than anything else can. And as I gear up for Sunday afternoon’s recital, it’s great to have one more way to finish the thought of “Why I Sing” . . . I sing because it keeps me from going stark raving mad on Frying Pan Days like this one when I say goodbye to Kathy at 6:30 a.m. and don’t lay eyes on her again until 9:45 p.m. Singing reminds us of who we are, why we’re here, and of how much there is to be thankful for even on the craziest of our crazy days.