Things change, Jo.

Dear Readers,

Thank you to those who have periodically checked in over the past three months, especially those in Russia (Привет!).  I apologize for the absence of reading material.  I was out living the dream and had a significant lack of time to document it.  I'm also way behind on reading arts industry articles.  I will do my best to summarize the last three months to bring you all up to date before we look to the future.

Shortly after my last post in June, I was offered an opportunity of a life time for at an amazing summer opera company in New York State.  They needed a replacement for their Executive Assistant and I happened to be available.  The position was only seasonal.  I had about a week to put my life into a storage unit and get myself to my new temporary location.  After spending an incredible summer working for a phenomenal woman, learning so much more about the workings of an opera company, and meeting so many incredible people, I was offered a full time position as the Assistant to the Artistic & General Director -- same position, better title.  I cannot be more thrilled.  I am actually getting paid to do what I went to school for and what I love!  How many people can say that, especially in this economy?

However, with getting a new job comes rearranging one's life.  At this point, I have an apartment in my new town, though I cannot move in until October.  I'm still looking for a new car, and I need to figure out when I'm heading to Cincinnati to retrieve all my belongings.  Even though there are only two items on my overall to do list, this experience is overwhelming.  There are so many other aspects to these two tasks that I didn't realize, like car insurance, changing my residency, registering the car.  I have to admit, I am not the best at transitions -- there are too many unknowns.  Not having a plan makes me uncomfortable.  I'm feeling a lot better now that I have an apartment to move in to.  Also, it's great having a job. 

No one told me how being employed full time was going to feel different than gigging.  I feel a lot more secure about life.  It's really kind of neat that I'll be working with this one company until I want to leave or the company no longer wants/needs me.  I like job security.  Plus, this steady paycheck thing is pretty boss.  Having my weekends free is something totally foreign to me.  For the first time in my entire life, I can have control of what I do in the evenings and on the weekends!  I honestly have no idea what to do with myself.  I could get a hobby or finish my thesis or start writing my memoir.  The options are limitless!

At any rate, let's discuss the future.  Once I'm finally moved into my new apartment and have secured reliable internet access, I will starting blogging again with much fervor.  I have missed reading articles on Arts Journal.  Working a summer festival season certainly leaves one with a deficit of time, and living in a converted motel in rural New York State leaves one without reliable internet.  Over the next couple weeks, I'll try to write a post or two about something arts related.  Please stay tuned, and thanks for sticking with me.

--Caro

Speaking of Paris

I just returned from the movie theater having seen "Midnight in Paris," directed by Woody Allen.  I found the premise of the film to be completely delightful!  Owen Wilson's character, Gil, an America screenwriter who desires to be a novelist, is traveling with his fiancee, Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, and her parents.  They foursome is out to dinner when a pedantic windbag and his ignorant female companion, both of whom are friends with Inez, enter.  At this point in the movie, it is decided these two couples shall spend copious amounts of time together.  All these encounters and interactions give way to the audience hating Rachel McAdams' character and the other couple.  I frequently thought to myself, "Rachel McAdams's character is such a self-serving, shallow creature."  I didn't think I could ever hate Rachel McAdams, but in this film, I do!  After suffering through so much pompous spew from Paul, the pedantic windbag, Gil begs out of an evening of dancing with the group to wander through the streets of Paris.  Traipsing about for some time has proven Gil lost.  When Gil sits down to ponder how to get back to his hotel, a vintage car comes up the boulevard.  It stops in front of the stairs upon Gil is sitting, and a gentleman beckons for Gil to join them.  Because this is the movies and not reality, Gil decides to get in the car, and he is suddenly transported back to Paris in the 1920s, which in his opinion is the city's Golden Age.  During this journey to the past, Gil meets many historical figures such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali, among others.  Gil also meets a woman named Adrianna, who is Picasso's mistress.  She, too, is disenchanted with her present life in the City of Lights and yearns for the Paris of the 1890s.  This disenchantment is what brings Adrianna and Gil together, and ultimately leads to Gil rediscovering himself, leaving his fiancee, and moving to Paris.  I promise that doesn't ruin the ending.  Anyone who finds themselves loving Paris, struggling with their career, or is a history buff should see this film.  I know it confirmed that I will someday live in Paris, most realistically in the distant future, but it will happen.

I happen to adore France.  I am a bit of a Francophile.  I desperately regret letting my friend, iRene (yes, that is how she spells it) talk me into taking Spanish in high school.  Though, I suppose at the time it was the better career move as I was still planning on becoming a psychologist.  However, as my career has very much steered from that original path, French would have been much more sensible.  During my last May Term at Simpson, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel through historical Burgundy with the Simpson Madgrial Singers.  I wasn't singing, but I was more than happy to join the trip as a groupie just to see Francis the First's castle, the Louvre, DaVinci's home in France, L'arc de triomphe, Giverny, Mt. Saint Micheal, Saint Chapelle, and the Eiffel Tower, among other amazing sites.  I find there's such a rich history that America can't offer.  Everything in Europe seems so interconnected and America feels very siloed. For me the Golden Age of France was during the Romantic Period when so much of the art being produced was politically charged.  As I mentioned in my first post, the idea of Le Cenacle and the salons before it are so intriguing to me.  Perhaps the thought of sitting around someone's living room, discussing the issues of the day while enjoying new compositions, poetry, and novels makes me a modern day hippie.  So be it!

I firmly believe there is a lack of discourse today.  As the middle class begins to die out and our time is as valuable as ever, we desperately search for someone else to form an opinion we halfheartedly agree with so we can have an opinion.  As a result we have groups of thought that are so drastically different with no middle ground.  We want everything to be black and white, cut and dry.  I am equally as guilty.  What would happen if we took a step back and actually thought about what's happening today and how our words and actions affect others?  What if we all formed our own opinions and could support how we feel?  Perhaps we'd be more innovative and make more intelligent decisions.  This is definitely something to ponder.


--Caro

Public Transportation: A Traveling Circus

As I rode the bus to school the other day, I thought about all the strange sights and sounds that one chances to encounter when taking part in the glorious tradition of public transportation.  For instance, one Wednesday morning I sat down in the front of the bus in a seat the faces in.  In the seat across from me was a rotund man wearing jeans and a windbreaker.  Not so strange from that description, but this very hairy man was not wearing a shirt and the windbreaker was open.  Suffice to say it was difficult to keep from staring.  Five minutes into the ride, I realized he was sitting next to a pet carrier which made me a little nervous.

I have to say I prefer life to be as normal as possible.  Anything too out of the ordinary makes me uncomfortable.  I think a lot of it has to do with growing up in the Midwest.  We like to keep to ourselves and go about our business as usual without drawing too much attention.  However, when I step onto some form of public transportation those feelings melt away because I know even at my most insane, I will look normal compared to some of the specimens traveling about the metropolis.  As my good friend and partner in culinary crime says, "I always feel like I'm in a sociological experiment."

While I tried not to stare at the natural sweater-wearing man with the purple pet carrier, I couldn't help feeling better about myself and wondering why he wasn't wearing a shirt.  This made me reminisce about all the magic I've come across while riding public transportation.  Once in Chicago I happened upon a group of Latino, Spanish-speaking trannies.  The best part of that ride was that my travel companion having grown up in a shelter where everyone appears normal was so flabbergasted and uncomfortable.  I on the other hand was excited to be in a city where such occurrences were considered mainstream, so much so that no one made a big deal except my friend.  This past week I was in Boston for the annual Opera America Conference. While I took the T from the airport out to Boston University to meet a friend, I watched a deaf hipster girl sign.  I'm pretty sure she wasn't with or signing to anyone in particular, but instead she was absentmindedly thinking "out loud."  It made me wish I knew sign language so I could hear her.

These are the situations at the forefront of my mind, but there are many other gems.

Until next time.

--Caro

Opera in High Definition

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing a panel discuss the Metropolitan Opera's HD Broadcast program.  The panel included Marc Scorca, President and CEO of Opera America, Marcus Kuechle, Director of Artistic Operations for Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, CCM Opera Chair and international director, with Majorie Fox, CCM Electronic Media Division Head as mediator.  Many of the questions asked were centered around the audience building aspect of the HD broadcasts.  Are these broadcasts actually bringing in new audiences?  The sentiment expressed by the panel is that this initiative is still very young, being started in the 2006-2007 season, and it is rather early to tell.  Throughout the evening's discussion a few points were brought up that I'd like to address here. (If you'd like a review of the session check out these articles:  ConcertoNet.com and Cincinnati.com.)

The first issue I'd like to discuss is the lack of age diversity in the broadcast audiences.  One gentleman mentioned that youngsters did not want to spend a Saturday afternoon in a theatre.  That may be true on several accounts.  However, I would like to mention that as a "youngster," one still in school at that, I don't have the time to spend sitting in a theatre on a Saturday afternoon. It isn't that I don't want to, I just don't have the time.  I'm usually sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing papers or reading for class on Saturdays and Sundays.  Then, when the operas are rebroadcast on Wednesday evenings, I'm actually in class.  You can see how this causes a problem or two.  However, another gentleman suggested the performances be rebroadcast at a more suitable time for the younger audiences members, such as 1:00am.  I do agree that showing an opera in a movie theatre in the late evening would probably be better for capturing the younger demographic, though 1:00am may be a bit extreme.

Thank you to Robin Guarino who mentioned that the $22 ticket price is still pretty expensive for a student.  Twenty-two dollars is a lot of money for a someone who has a negative income.  If I'm going to spend that much money on an arts event, I'd rather spend it on a live, in house performance.  Mr. Kuechle did touch on the idea that going to the opera is still an event for the younger audiences.  Again, this is something with which I agree, to an extent.  I have to admit I still get very excited to watch an opera in house because I really enjoy the live aspect.  Personally, I would much rather go to the actual opera house rather than watch a broadcast because I can choose what to look at.  With the broadcast, I only get to look at what the HD Director chose as the appropriate shot.  While that allows me to have an intimate view of a duet, I don't get to see how the singers are relating to the rest of the set or the other singers on stage.

Ms. Guarino discussed how today's audiences are much more sophisticated than they were fifty years ago.  We expect the sets to be more realistic.  We expect a consumptive Violetta to be slender with a sense of fragility and not like she spends her time sitting on her recamier, eating bonbons. What does that mean for the opera industry as a whole?  Will this sort of expected realism lend itself to an increase in smaller opera houses that allow for a more intimate setting giving the audience an up close look at the action?  Or will we trend towards grandiose spectacle.  I hope for the sake of everyone's pocketbook that we do not become excessive.  How will the conservatories and music schools react to the need for stronger actors?  Will there be an increase in acting class requirements, or will these additional acting classes be substitutes for other classes?  Truth be told, acting classes may be more beneficial than most advanced theory classes. How would that affect the staff and faculty associated with teaching such classes -- will they be paid more; will the schools hire more individuals to teach?  

If the nation's conservatories and music schools are truly invested in the success of their students, they will provide adequate stage training through acting classes, opera scene workshops and on stage roles.  Singers who possess the ability to physically communicate the ideas and emotions in the text of an aria or song have a better advantage than their counterparts.  I am not implying that every singer will perform at the Met during an HD broadcast. However, in this transitive time, as more houses are starting their own HD programs, it is imperative that singers be prepared to do what is expected of them.  The ultimate goal should be artistry rather than technical perfection.  Emotion is not perfect, but it is real.  In the quest for realism, in an industry that is based on survival of the fittest, it would be in every artist's interest to become a stronger actor.

--Caro

Earth Hour!

In one hour from now the best hour of the year will begin:  Earth Hour! What is Earth Hour, you ask.  Well let me educate you.  At 8:30pm the lights of the world will go dark for one hour.  This act of collective solidarity helps us all to remember we are united as global citizens.  We have one earth, and for one hour, we honor her.

I have celebrate three Earth Hours in my day.  The first, harkens back to my senior year of college.  The lights when out and somehow I ended up in the bathtub with my two roommates.  They say college is all about experimenting, right?  To calm the heart rates of my family members who happen to read my blog, I must clarify. Anne, Dani and I were fully clothed.  We decided we wanted to try this cool thing Anne had read about.  First you needed to be in a completely dark room.  The darkest place in our apartment at the time was the bathroom because it had no windows.  Second you needed a camera with a flash.  The idea was each person would make a funny face and the flash would go off and you'd be able to see the negative of the funny face.  So the three of us climbed into the bathtub.  We were quite a sight, twisted this way and that, making faces and such.  What a good time*. 

This year I plan to sit in my bathtub, fully clothed and read my favorite book of all time, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by candlelight. 

Why don't you join the rest of the world in this collective tribute to Lady Earth.  Turn off your lights and have a little fun.

--Caro


*For the inquiring minds, we were completely sober.

How Art Can Save the World

As I was sipping on my bold coffee blend from my favorite local organic, fair trade coffee shop Aquarius Star, I was catching up on all my blog subscriptions on google reader and this post caught my eye:  Solving World Disasters through Art.  This post is from "Books of Adam," a blog written by a fellow misanthrope, Adam Ellis, who chooses to bestow the goings-on of his life upon the undeserving, but ultimately grateful community of the internets.

When I first saw the title I thought to myself, "I love art!  The world's pretty boss.  How do I save the world with art?!"  Naturally, I clicked on the link and read Adam's post.  He delightfully insulted the American people and their obsession with reality television while simultaneously asking for the world to provide support the Japanese people.  Adam has created a few drawings and put them up for auction on eBay.  All proceeds will go to the rescue efforts in Japan via International Medical Corp.

So, you have a choice.  You can either go to eBay and vote on any one of these three picture (personally, I'm a fan of the Sailor Moon one) or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 (US) to donate $10 to help Japan.

It's up to you.  Be a global citizen.  Help out the country that brought us George Tekai, Godzilla, and Mario Brothers.

--Caro

Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'Til Morning

I really enjoy making lists.  I have them all over my apartment -- in my planner, on my refrigerator, on the wall behind my computer, note cards on my desk, excel spreadsheets, etc.  I could single handedly keep 3M in business with all the Post-It Notes I use.  Each list is different.  I have my daily "Things To Accomplish: 'Day of the Week' Edition list, my recipes to try list, the accompanying grocery list, books I want to read, music I want to purchase, movies I want to see, articles I want to read, things I need to research for my thesis.  The list making never ends. 

The closer I am to finishing school, the longer my things to do/acquire when I'm a "real adult” list becomes. You might say, "But Carolyne, you are an adult.  You've been able to vote for almost 6 years.  You can legally drink.  Contracts are valid when you sign then, provided you've met the four requirements of a contract and you're not entering into a deal with a minor and something or other about life necessities." Yes, all those are true, but I still don't really feel like a real adult.  I can't rent a car without extraordinary insurance fees.  I still don't pay for my own health insurance.  I don't have a real job.  Frankly, I've never had a full time job for more than four months at a time.  I still operate at a deficit.  Again, you may say, "But Carolyne, lots of people are in debt.  It's almost like a mark of being a real adult -- going to school for something that may never pay off.  Also, with unemployment rates as high as they are, you won't be the only adult without a job!"  Again, that is true, but I have a certain list of things I need to do or acquire before I feel I’ve become a real adult.  I've already made a couple steps in that direction.  I own coasters and I purchased curtains.  I pay rent and other bills every month.  So what are these other mysterious real adult qualifications?  Let me write you a brief list.

1. Subscribe to the Sunday Times.
2. Subscribe to at least 3 art organizations, or be a member.
3. Keep a plant alive.
4. Have a career (or job) that has benefits!!! -- also having the same full time job for at least one year
5. Pay back student loans.
6. Start investing
7. Owning a real couch/love seat instead of a futon.
8. Matching silverware.
9. Actually being able to put money into my savings account and keep it there.
10. Subscribe to magazines, particularly Opera News, Classical Singer, Cooking Light, The New Yorker, Marie Claire, Time, and The Economist.
11. Colonoscopy.  Need I say more?

This is not an all inclusive list.  It doesn't even really begin to scratch the surface. Clearly some of the things on my list won't, well shouldn't, be crossed off for many, many years.  That begs the question, do we ever become "real adults?" 

In my life experience I have seen many adults act like children.  Even the most mature individuals still behave like a tantrum throwing four year old because someone told them no.  Are we really just children in adult bodies?  Is "adult" a societal concept we've created over the years to distinguish ourselves from children?  When does childhood really end?  A good friend of mine brought up an interesting point saying, "Your childhood seems to affect everything that happens in your adulthood.  We are constantly referring to what happened to us when we were kids whether we're trying to recreate it or change it."  That's very true.  Some parents live vicariously through their own children because they had terrible childhoods.  Adult versus child is a very interesting concept.  Are we confusing “grown up” or “mature” with “adult?” Are we really trying to identify the point at which a person stops thinking only of themselves and starts considering other people?  Believe you me, it sure as hell isn't 18.  Perhaps this is something, like how many licks it takes to get the the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop, the world will never know.

--Caro