By owasco on Skatehive
Years ago, nearly twenty, I started auditioning for community theater plays, and I got cast in a few. Then I started auditioning for musicals. Over and over again I auditioned, and left knowing I would not get the part. I had totally flubbed all the musical auditions because I was terrified, literally terrified, to sing where people could hear me. Not a good thing if you want to be in a musical. But whenever I saw someone on stage, belting out a tune while acting, I would think "That must feel so good! I wish I could sing." The day finally came when I decided to learn to sing. I was in my mid-fifties. Five or more years of weekly voice lessons later, I still could not land a part with a solo. Thinking that I needed some performance experience before my next audition, I got up to sing at a small jazz club's open mic. That first time, I sang too quietly, had no idea how to use the mic so that there was a lot of feedback, and ordered a shot of tequila when I was done, I was so freaked out