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stage fright
Jun. 21st, 2004 10:36 pmTomorrow, I'm going to sing in a huge concert. I'm really talking HUGE here. There are about 80 people from my choir, and I think 5 other choirs, two orchestras and something like 7 or 8 soloists.
Sounds like a gigantic thing? It is. It's the 8th Symphony by Gustav Mahler, in case you happen to know it. It's called Symphony of the thousand, and that pretty much says it all. We're about 300, but it still get's pretty tight on stage. Some members of the orchestra sit in places were usually the audience is.
So this sounds all great and fantastic, but here comes the bad part:
One of the choirs has been practicing no longer than 3 weeks. None of us really gets along with our conductor - if we happen to see him at all. He's a rather short guy and we are many. Also, for some strange reason taller people are all in the front rows, so even though there are steps on the stage, we still have to peek around other people's shoulders to be able to see.
All the singers are divided into two choirs. I'm one of the sopranos of choir 1, but I'm standing right next to the sopranos of choir 2. Which means that the people I hear most sing something completely different from what I have to sing.
Getting interesting, isn't it?
This evening, we had our last rehearsal. It was incredibly bad. The ladies standing right next to me only sang about half of the time they should, and then they didn't find the right notes. But that doesn't keep them from talking ALL THE TIME. This is actually the thing that bothers me most. I know I'm not perfect, I know my choir isn't, but at least we try our best. These girls just blame it on everybody else when actually they could do a lot to make the whole thing sound better.
Usually, I don't mind concerts. I have been in some plays as a kid and regularly sing in public (only in a choir, though, I'm not good as soloist). But usually, I'm sure we can make it. This time, I can imagine the thing being over and the whole audience (who has to pay quite a lot of money for the tickets) just sitting there staring at us and talking about how bad we were.
There is some saying about that the concert will be good if the last rehearsal was bad, and my Mom reassured me that you don't hear it if two out of 300 people mess up. So that's what has to keep me from giving in to my stage fright tomorrow.
Maybe I fall down the steps leading up to the stage and break my leg and don't have to be there when the audience starts throwing eggs and tomatoes...
Wish me luck!
Sounds like a gigantic thing? It is. It's the 8th Symphony by Gustav Mahler, in case you happen to know it. It's called Symphony of the thousand, and that pretty much says it all. We're about 300, but it still get's pretty tight on stage. Some members of the orchestra sit in places were usually the audience is.
So this sounds all great and fantastic, but here comes the bad part:
One of the choirs has been practicing no longer than 3 weeks. None of us really gets along with our conductor - if we happen to see him at all. He's a rather short guy and we are many. Also, for some strange reason taller people are all in the front rows, so even though there are steps on the stage, we still have to peek around other people's shoulders to be able to see.
All the singers are divided into two choirs. I'm one of the sopranos of choir 1, but I'm standing right next to the sopranos of choir 2. Which means that the people I hear most sing something completely different from what I have to sing.
Getting interesting, isn't it?
This evening, we had our last rehearsal. It was incredibly bad. The ladies standing right next to me only sang about half of the time they should, and then they didn't find the right notes. But that doesn't keep them from talking ALL THE TIME. This is actually the thing that bothers me most. I know I'm not perfect, I know my choir isn't, but at least we try our best. These girls just blame it on everybody else when actually they could do a lot to make the whole thing sound better.
Usually, I don't mind concerts. I have been in some plays as a kid and regularly sing in public (only in a choir, though, I'm not good as soloist). But usually, I'm sure we can make it. This time, I can imagine the thing being over and the whole audience (who has to pay quite a lot of money for the tickets) just sitting there staring at us and talking about how bad we were.
There is some saying about that the concert will be good if the last rehearsal was bad, and my Mom reassured me that you don't hear it if two out of 300 people mess up. So that's what has to keep me from giving in to my stage fright tomorrow.
Maybe I fall down the steps leading up to the stage and break my leg and don't have to be there when the audience starts throwing eggs and tomatoes...
Wish me luck!
