Embracing the inner Drag Queen - What the??

Today was one of those days that you could question the process of teaching used at the Victorian College of Arts. But what you couldn't question is its effectiveness, the result.

Each week we have a vocal workshop in front of our peers and today I was asked by my teacher to "embrace my inner Drag Queen" and spew forth a voice full of breath. Of course, many great one-liners eschewed from many including our teacher.

The result: Greatly improved onset of sound and this is really the true philosophy of the VCA Vocal department; forget the how and focus on the result you want, once achieved we can break down what is going on and reproduce the result on demand.

According to many in the industry this flexibility to change quickly and on demand is very much a VCA quality that is greatly appreciated by many in the industry.

So for me it is just a matter of coming up with a Drag name, any ideas?

Never EVER Give Up

I don't know about you, but for me, life has sometimes been a struggle. And as much as you know me as a very happy person with a great positive attitude it wasn't always that way. At my darkest, I was binge drinking excessively and attempted suicide twice. I wanted to give up!

The turning point for me was through attendance at a state and a national surf life saving camp (thanks Claire Parry) and a motivational seminar (Breakthrough to Success) that I rediscovered my purpose, gained a new perspective on my life and took my first step towards my dream of becoming internationally renowned Classical Singer and inspiring others through 1-1 coaching.

I tell you, not to impress you but to impress upon you, that you too can start TODAY on living the life of your dreams, just like the man pictured.

At 28, this young man has been an INSPIRATIONAL Speaker in more than 20 countries and connected with more than 2million people face to face.

People are his passion!

He wholeheartedly believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles we encounter in our lives and that our attitude towards those struggles can be the single most effective factor in overcoming them.

His mission is to motivate people from all walks of life in every circumstance; to gain perspective; to find their purpose; to live the big dream.

His message is simple:

When you realise what you can achieve in life,
When you think you can’t afford to go on,
When you realise your unlimited potential in your life
What you need to understand is YOU can’t afford to give up...

NEVER EVER GIVE UP!

His name is Nick Vujicic and for him, no Arms, no Legs, NO WORRIES because Attitude IS Altitude

Nick Vujicic :: Attitude is Altitude :: No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

Want to fly higher? Change your attitude!

Practice Practice Practice

Today was one of those days when I got to see that all of the practice is actually getting me more of the education I want. Today I saw that HOW I am doing practice has changed so drastically that I even inspired myself when I realised WHAT I was doing.

For the past 12months I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing teachers and artists involved with Pecan Summer and the Victorian College of Arts. One of the true heart and souls for me is Vocal Coach, Toni Lalich, who was always pushed me further than I thought I was capable of but never too far in advance of where I was.

One of the pearls of wisdom from Toni's years as an artist and teacher is the concept of practising until you can't get it wrong. This is a very different thinking to the more commonly actioned belief of practice till you get it right. And today I got it!

My thinking has shifted and today I focused not on practising to get it right (once) but on practising and revising to work out what I needed to do so I couldn't get it wrong.

As Proffesor Higgins said referring to Eliza Dolittle "By Jove! I think (s)he's got it"

The Barber of Seville, Melbourne Opera

Gosh, I do love the operatic voice and live theatre!

Today I got to be educated, inspired and entertain by the Melbourne Opera production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. If you know your Bugs Bunny then you will know the score to this masterpiece.

All the leads are great and my stand out performer was David Gould (playing, Don Basilio), who was so strong in his lower register and was a brilliant actor.

And with Melbourne Opera priding itself on making its productions as accessible as possible by performing in English, there are some seriously funny moments of popular culture (Tiger Woods, Lara Bingle) that had the audience in stitches.

This piece is such a great place for new audiences to opera to start their education. So if you get a chance to introduce yourself or a friend to opera please do so by attending this production as it tours through regional Victoria and ACT.

Warrnambool
Venue: Warrnambool Entertainment Centre
Date: Saturday 27 March
Bookings: 03 555 94 999 / www.entertainmentcentre.com.au

Wangaratta
Venue: Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre
Date: Saturday 17 April
Bookings: 03 5722 8105 / www.wangarattapac.com.au

Benalla
Venue: Benalla Performing Arts & Convention Centre
Date: Saturday 22 May
Bookings: 03 5760 4529 / www.bpacc.com.au

Canberra
Venue: Canberra Theatre Centre
Date: Saturday 29 May
Bookings: 02 6275 2700 / www.canberratheatre.org.au