Day 19

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

-Robert Frost

Daily Practice Session

Today I watched part 3 of the documentary mini-series Broadway: The American Musical (1930-1942). I found this part particularly fascinating. There are a lot of things that are reminiscent of today such as the poor economy (of course we're not as bad now as we were during the depression!) and war. And yet, Broadway still goes on! It's amazing to me that nowadays whenever there is a budget crisis of some sort, the first thing that goes is the arts. But back then, even during the Great Depression, Broadway was still pressing on and was at that time, very daring. They were taking risks they never did before, especially when it came to African Americans joining mainstream theatre.

I was introduced to (although I've heard the name a million times) Ethel Merman. She was so beautiful when she was younger, and (even though I didn't think so) I really like her voice. It was cool to hear how she got her start. But also I wonder, because she never had voice lessons (and as I learned from the documentary) the Gershwin's told her to never go near a singing teacher. So I listened to see if I could if she was doing anything wrong. Of course I can't hear anything because I'm not a voice teacher. But I mean, really, is it possible that someone could just be so naturally talented that voice lessons would be a bad thing? And how did she just magically know how to sing in a way that was healthy? I don't buy it.

I also learned about Ethel Waters, who was a wonderful sassy black singer who was one of the main influences on African Americans entering the mainstream. She was very famous, especially for her take no you-know-what attitude. She was the main performer in "As Thousand's Cheer" and was praised for her moving performances.

And it talked about Irving Berlin and all those wonderful shows about Patriotism blah blah blah (This is the Army, etc.) But I've rambled long enough.

I liked this part of the documentary the best so far and I think that I will keep liking them haha.

Head Shots/Photography

Since I can't sing, I've decided to keep working on other aspects of my artistic life. Today I did very poor research on how to take/what to look for in good head shots. It's really hard to find good, valuable information on the internet, especially about current trends. I had to draw most of my own conclusions, since the internet isn't reliable and the various professional advice I've gotten usually contradicts itself.

Today I enlisted the help of one of my best friends (of 14 years!) to model for me for practice. I want to get better at photography, especially head shot photography, since I plan to use it to supplement my income when I move to New York. Here are a couple of her best shots for the day, enjoy!