13 April, 2011

day of the show x2

Yayyyy! Day of the show part deux...
First of all, I was kind of annoyed for the past 2 days..because..
Sunday night we had a huge rain and windstorm here, and on Monday I was supposed to drive to an audition about 3 hours away. I woke up at 7am, got on the road by 8am...and all the time I was vocalizing just a bit in the shower and in the car, it did not feel EASY or GOOD.
This is a first warning sign that something is wrong.
My nose was totally clear, I didn't have any gross phlegm or anything nasty...I just felt bone dry. Accessing my top in a light headvoice was barely possible, and the only way I could sing a high F was to 'muscle' it out..which, in emergencies for performance I would say is acceptable if you HAVE to get through it, but..this was an audition...followed still by 3 more opera performances, and.. it just was not worth it to drive for so long and know that I wouldn't feel my best.
I called my manager at a gas station about 1 hour away and asked if there was any chance of rescheduling.
A few phone calls and texts later-- there was.
And so, I made my way back, knowing that whatever allergic reaction I was having for the day would not make me possibly blow out my voice for that day.
The rest of Monday- quiet, water, bananas, and also went to see the ENT that the opera company recommends.
I haven't been to one since 2009, and I needed to make sure there was nothing going on BESIDES allergies.
He took a look at the vocal cords and said everything was dandy (and I saw it on video), except that I did have some redness on the outside tissue...could be an acute allergic reaction to something, or some reflux..
well, I've been PRETTY careful about reflux which I have not had a serious problem with in over 10 years...so I will chalk it up to whatever was blowin' in the wind that night of the storm.
Tuesday I felt way better, even went to a bikram class, had sushi for early dinner, chinese for '2nd dinner', woke up today..and since it's 10:30am I still don't know about how awesome my voice may or may not feel, but it doesn't feel crazy dry like before, which is a good sign.

Before the show today I am thinking about another Bikram class (at noon)...simply because I forgot how good it makes me feel.
Relaxed, rested, stretched out in all the places that need expansion...and calm...
(before the "storm"!)

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