Pagliacci | Kelly Kaduce as Nedda

I am at "home" now after the first orchestra dress. I put home in quotes for the obvious reason. It isn't really home, but we do our best to make it feel like our home. I even go so far as to pack and ship a box of things that I consider a bit luxurious. They are mostly kitchen items: a good set of CUTCO knives, a hot water pot that heats water super fast, spices, left over kitchen condiments from my last job...you get the idea. Then before the last performance, I will pack it all up and ship it off to my next gig.

It's always difficult to unwind after a high energy rehearsal like tonight. I was all geared up since this is my first Nedda. Before the rehearsal I "walked" through the whole show with all of my staging and double checked all of the spots I have a tendency to miss musically. I also make a game plan for the rehearsal. For example, I have a phrase that repeats itself in act 2, but with slight changes. So I resolve to commit the first version to my brain before the show and second version during the intermission so I don't confuse myself during act 1 and accidentally go into the second version.

I also make a game plan vocally. I decided that for this rehearsal I was going to focus on taking a good low prep breath for every phrase of singing. I do these little game plans because it can be very easy to get swept away with all of the other things going on around you and not do anything well. As for how I did in succeeding with my plans? Well, I wasn't able to get a good breath for every phrase, but I did much better that I would have if I had not planned for it. And yes, I DID get the two phrases correct for each act. A small victory.