In praise of the arts...

"What I love about actors - and this is why I appreciate their craft so much - is that they are asked repeatedly, day after day, to explore the parts of their lives that hurt the most. To tear into the innermost parts of their being, and rip their insides out, only to be completely exposed to hundreds of people."

These words - the words of one of my professors - have rung inside me the past two weeks, resonating like the beat of a drum. Softly playing off my emotion, my reason, my logic... these words have been turning in my mind over again every time I step into a practice room. People I talk to seem surprised when I have 'so much homework'. "You're just a voice major", they say. When I talk to people about my major, oftentimes they don't realize that in order to do what I want to do, I have to take 12 classes a week, I can't take Friday's off, and my weekends are usually filled with auditions or performances. I can't stay up until the wee hours of the morning studying, because my voice must be rested to perform in my classes. I need to eat healthy and make sure I get enough exercise, because I have to be physically fit enough for my career. Being aware of both my physical presence, and the presence of others is of the utmost importance. It's priority for me to rest my voice when it's feeling tired. I'll call out sick from work if I think my vocal health is at risk. My homework is not filled with calculations and charts. I spend hours delving into the lives of many characters - discovering why they do what they do. What makes Eliza Doolittle sing her fiery "Show Me" to poor, unsuspecting Freddy who just wants to walk down the street where she lives? I pore over circumstances and scenes, objectives and motives, actions and verbs... The reason my homework is strenuous is because it requires not only my intellect, but my entire being. My work is very emotional, physical and intellectual. There's no doubt that it's challenging, which is why I love it so much. I get to watch my classmates perform every day. I go to Broadway shows to write reviews. I'm certainly not complaining. But I'm discontent. I'm one of many who thinks that something has to change, because something is not right.

I don't make a habit of watching pop music videos. Maybe because I don't listen to pop music if I don't have to. I just don't enjoy it. But when I do happen to watch a clip of a pop singer, I find myself in complete awe. I'm blown away by people who"make it" in the industry with little to no training, no technique, and nothing but a rich family member or two to buy their spot of fame. I don't know how to appreciate performance without technique, because I wasn't taught to. I don't mean to generalize. There are pop artists that I appreciate. There are pop arts who are vocally trained, and are truly talented. But I don't consider songs that span a grand total of 4 whole steps repeating the same 5 words over and over again "art". I don't even consider it entertainment. Now, I'm a classical musician and I may be old fashioned, but I'm surrounded by incredibly talented people every day, musicians, composers, and instrumentalists that never fail to amaze me. These people are studying music sacrificially - studying the very essence of music for the purpose of creating something full of quality and truth. Do I think that classical art is under appreciated?  Absolutely. No one takes a night out to the opera anymore. And if they do, they either leave or fall asleep before the third act. When was the last time you heard someone say, "I am so excited for the symphony tickets we have for tonight"? It's sad, but there just isn't a market for classical music anymore. In his essay "Listen to This", Alex Ross says, "When people hear 'classical', they think 'dead.'... You see magazines with listings for Popular Music in one section and for Classical Music in another, so that the latter becomes, by implication, Unpopular Music." But classical music is, in the end, what all music comes to. Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" was once trendy, too, you know. But that's not entirely what's bothering me.

No, it's not just that art is under appreciated, it's that even art that is more appreciated than classical music - theater, film, and concerts - has become so commercialized, that it's been stripped of its true purpose. It's unfortunate that Broadway couldn't survive without commercialization. Everything is quantity over quality. The name makes the show now, not the other way around. I want to go back to the glory days of theater. I don't want to have to get 5 degrees to get a job off of which I can live. The problem isn't America, it isn't the government, and it certainly isn't partisan politics. Do I think that there should be increased government funding for the arts? Absolutely. A hundredfold! But I think that funding for the arts should start right here with you and me. I believe our money should be funding artists left and right. I believe this because I don't think that art is purely entertainment. That's what commercialization has done. Cheap art has become a way to be entertained. But true art is a reciprocation from the artist to society. It's the way that artists say 'thank you' to the world. It's something beautiful. It's what every actor is doing every night on the Broadway stage at 8. It's what the starving artist on the street is doing when selling their paintings, their carvings, their craft. It's what the writer on the subway is writing in their mind when people watching. It's

The next time you meet an actor, a musician, an opera singer - give them a hug from me. Tell them you appreciate the endless hours they practice every week. Tell them you appreciate them for their tireless commitment. Or at the very least, tell them I do.

It begins here. :)

Whether the weather is...

It's been forever. I know. But I have some legitimate reasons for not writing this time. I did happen to survive midterms, Hurricane Sandy and the Nor'Easter. I should've blogged whilst stranded during the Hurricane. Instead... I spent my time finishing Arrested Development with my lovely sister. Ah, the past three weeks! Where to begin?

Midterms. They were brutal. I expected as much, but still. I had four midterms in one day. What cruel education system thinks that four midterms back to back is a good idea? Somehow I lived. And I passed, too. :)

The weekend after midterms, I ran away to Brooklyn to weather out the impending "Frankenstorm", Hurricane Sandy. I stayed with my sister, Mary for what turned out to be the entire week. Her husband worked in the city most of the week, so we basically just hung out in Brooklyn and ate a lot of food. Sandy left the lower half of Manhattan without power for days, flooded subway tunnels and essentially shut down the city for half a week. Since everything below like 34th street lost power, my dorm lost both power and water and my roommates were forced to evacuate on Wednesday. :( Luckily, no damage was done to our building and everyone that I know stayed safe and dry. It's surreal to see the damage on the news and feel as though my life went untouched. Mary's apartment didn't lose any power, and we were able to spend time together as sisters for the entire week. I was so fortunate. So for everyone's concerns and prayers, they were much appreciated! We weathered the storm very well. After school and work opened back up, it was onto business as normal.

Nicole visited me! Her anticipated arrival was the Wednesday after Sandy, and with much anxiety, we watched weather patterns and airport closures, but she was set to go. Lovely little Nor'Easter marched in and snowed up a storm, which closed JFK for the night, so Nicole was re-routed to D.C. and didn't arrive in the city until Thursday morning. Despite the travel inconvenience, we had an incredible weekend. We saw a couple shows, did some major shopping, and saw the city! We had a blast. I love sharing my world with friends from back home.

I have a few blog post ideas brimming in my head for this weekend, so I promise now... there will be regular Sunday posts again!

I miss you all. I miss home.

-Em

Christmas Countdown: 40 days!