akintsucrooner

#letsdoover2020ok

#covid-19

#myworldat51

#thecrownviruscankissmybehind

#daylightsavingsinsomnia

#03072020

#akintsucrooner

1. I now find myself side eyeing fellow bathroom hand washers to see how long they are scrubbing. Data collected thus far: not terribly thorough.

2. Corona came to town the first week of March 2020. It sure didn’t take long to move around the globe from Wuhan, China to Bergen County.

3. The 24 hour news cycle has entered a whole new whiplash level with smart phone news updates. It makes me wonder about the dispensing of news during the days of the Spanish flu.

4. Today a colleague and I shook hands after which we both immediately doused ourselves in hand sanitizer at the nearby table. Wild times.

5. In 51 years, I don’t recall the threat of shuddering schools due to viral outbreak.

6. I am an enneagram 5 when faced with unknown worldly perils.

7. I wonder if some OCD tendencies are born out of worldwide pandemics. Maybe Joan Crawford love for bon ami scouring powder was her Typhoid Mary ptsd. I don’t know if I’ll wash my hands less than 20 seconds ever again.

8. There hasn’t been much newspeak about global hatred and killing lately. I guess a formidable virus is perspective bearing and shakes up our worldwide snow globe.

9. I really don’t like that an emoji appears when I type virus.

10. I had a tarot reading in 2005 before I began teaching at my current school. I still remember her reaction to my question about the future. She sighed and said things will be tough but you’ll be ok. From hurricanes, to school shootings, to recessions, to political blood sport, to rampant cancers, to a brand new virus, I’m thinking she may have been on to something. Bless us all.

MOVIES🍿 🎥

#akintsucrooner

2.29.2020

MOVIE I HATE: Irishman, Dune. Sorry

MOVIE I WILL LIKELY NEVER WATCH AGAIN FOR ANY REASON: Lighthouse, La Llorana, up (downer,) Wall-e

MOVIES I THINK ARE OVERRATED: most Eastwood movies, too slow. Sorry Clint.

MOVIE I THINK IS UNDER APPRECIATED: Swing Kids

MOVIE I LOVE: Man on Fire, 28 days later, I am legend, Rocky 1 esp, league of my own, book of Eli, vision quest

MOVIE I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN: enough, exorcist, Carrie, Malcolm x, titanic, Scarface, sleeping with the enemy, karate kid 1, rockys (all of them,) godfathers (even 3 with Andy Garcia:-)

MOVIE THAT MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH MOVIES: Benjamin button, legends of the fall, platoon, Saturday night fever, grease, that thing you do, dead poets society, good will hunting

MOVIE THAT SURPRISED ME: Pearl Harbor, heaven is for real, son of god, inside out, ratatouille, cars (I cried at a damn animation!)

MOVIES THAT DEPRESS ME: Mr Holland’s Opus, Her

GUILTY PLEASURE: Pretty baby, but I’m a cheerleader, SHOWGIRLS, flashdance, footloose, 91/2 weeks, urban cowboy, fatal attraction, Poseidon adventure, terms of endearment

MOVIE I SHOULD HAVE SEEN BY NOW: Casablanca, ET

MOVIES I STILL THINK ABOUT: Lion, Django unchained, parasite

MOVIES MY MOTION SICKNESS WONT LET ME SEE: Blair Witch, Friday night lights, saving private Ryan

MOVIE I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD SEE ONCE: Green book, Joker with Joaquin, Bent, Philadelphia, Bombshell, platoon, inherit the wind, last temptation of Christ, born on the 4th of July, do the right thing, schindlers list, Amadeus, Priest (so good)

I’ve been around the proverbial church block as a professional singer. From Christian Science to High Episcopal, I have had many enriching experiences being a part of diverse music ministries. I am especially excited by the Lenten theme my church in summit, NJ is presenting this year. We will singing spiritually focused broadway musical pieces that enhance the pastoral message. We having been preparing really interesting pieces from “dear Evan Hansen” to “Big River.” I am a bit less in the know with present broadway musicals (with the exception of wicked and Hamilton which rocked my world.) My broadway background was steeped in classical musical theater. It’s been cool to explore contemporary shows. I love where many churches are currently leading with their ministries. It was what always resonated with me as a baptized and confirmed UCC in the 70s and 80s even though these were years of growing pains. God is still speaking indeed. #godonbroadway #cpc #summitnj

#akintsucrooner

My parents listened to mostly lyrical singers as I was growing up. My mom Janet Perryman had a luv for tenor Alfredo Kraus that rivals her fan girling for Sam Heughan. So as a young singer I sang a few too many lyrical roles that weren’t exactly befitting of my jugenlich dramatish fach (aka heavy soprano voice.) I will say, it was a hoot to sing Mein Herr Marquis and Je Veux Vivre. Now my renditions of these lighter pieces provide great comic relief to friends like Scott Hines. This glorious gal below sang the first Rusalka I ever heard. Her singing often takes my breath away. My voice guru Patricia O’Neill and l looked at this piece in my voice lessons once at LSU. After I sang it like a bull in a china shop, she said to me “what were we thinking? Were we on crack?” Boy I miss my PON sessions. #akintsucrooner

A day in the life of a dramatic soprano:

Random opera directors to thick throat me: You don’t sing on top. Your voice is too big.

Me: Wanna bet? Well, I didn’t really say that. I just bring in high and hard music and put my money where my mouth is.

Random opera directors: See you at your audition.

Me: At the audition, I show my steel and fully hang with the coloraturas singing high and hard. Now not everyone wants a steak dinner on top, but some of the 19th century opera charts demand it.

Random opera directors: Ok, top it is for you.

My point, you wonder?

Singing high IS NOT “hitting” upper notes once in awhile.

Singing high IS being able to hang in the high note room aka passagio aka path to top of range. For many sopranos, that top hang/tessitura ain’t an easy feat. No matter how many high Cs you can pop out, singing between D5-A5 takes mad technique. Singing high means you can sit in this range on many different vowels and consonants and not become fatigued. Some sopranos can hang higher than others. I love singing Mendelssohn high but give me Madame Butterfly humming chorus and I’m running for the cigar smoking alto section.

So there may come a time where you get music that lives in this upper range. Often a less than vocally minded composer is not too concerned about writing closed vowels on G# and above. You think to yourself. Tsk. Tsk. I can do it. G# is no high C.

Au contraire, sitting in this upper middle range can be far more taxing than popping out some Mariah Carey extension pitches.

So today, my voice student brought this gremlin of a soprano section to her lesson. See music below. She had been getting tight singing these passages. Most of us would. Our goal was to find ease throughout this range.

Via vowel modification, rotation, head voice oo, body work, isolated chest voice exercises, and modulating the phrase higher than what is written, she found much more of a release and was able to sustain the tessitura.

It’s a gym workout for the throat to be able to sing challenging phrases in the “break.” After creating solid muscle memory, it will work automatically. You will be able to access these phrases also by finding the most efficient sensation on your best vowel and consonant.

High notes are great. They are exciting to an audience. But it takes a vocal village to be able to produce healthy sound continuously and consistently.

Find your bff vowel. Hang with your fave consonant. They will be a loyal companion regardless of repertoire and melodic approach.

You won’t be sorry.

#akintsucrooner

THE RETURN OF THE BOUNCY BALLS

1.18.2020

By E Perryman

akintsucrooner.wordpress

It’s a snowy Saturday. I’m teaching a couple voice lessons. Dramatic mezzo supreme Mariana Santiago-Jiménez is recapturing her ease and singing her face off.

She exclaims in classic NJ Mariana form, “I got my bouncy balls back!! Thanks!” I am excited knowing she’s talking about finding a singer’s curve and track on the breath.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Honer is live streaming in VR with someone. He hears the balls back conversation and asks Eliz “Wait, somebody lost their balls????

Hello! Please see link for final rehearsal and performance reminder info. Our BOE performance is tomorrow night. I would like to see these actors tomorrow at recess to review.

I am collecting booster info until Friday. You may email me your info at eperryman@nbtschools.org.

See you soon! 🙂 Ms Perryman

https://juddsong.blog/2020/01/09/grease-boosters-jan2020/

By E. Perryman

January 4, 2020

akintsucrooner.wordpress.com

Teaching the young folk seems to suit me. Our musical and theatrical work is usually their first performance exploration. My inner drag queen/midwest worker bee persona seems to amuse and motivate the kids. I have also worked with and enjoyed the middle school aged students. They are intense, talented, moody, quirky, and loyal; somewhat of a small snow globe of modern society.

Outside of private voice, I haven’t done much work with high school. So when I get the chance to slip into their world, it’s intriguing. My friend is a master choral director. I greatly respect how she grows the vocal, musical, and artistic skills of this age level. She works at a performing arts magnet school so the children are very focused. Today, I met and adjudicated some of next year’s incoming 9th grade students (these kids were born in 2006.) For this gen x fossil, it was informative and interesting to experience the modern landscape of an aspiring vocal performer in 2020.

1. Song Repertoire: not the strongest area. While I do appreciate alternative/grunge rock genre of music, vocal stylings-it does not show. Vocally virtuosic, it is not. It was a fresh breath of air when a few students brought in songs like “Over The Rainbow and Dites Moi.” Heck, even wicked belter songs seemed like a high level classic musical choice. And of course, I almost leapt out of my seat when a extremely talented gal sang Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Poor Wandering One,” melismas in tact. I also loved hearing “Out here on my own” from Fame; twas a “pleasant” early 80s junior high flashback.

2. Salt of the earth on the shore: these kids are so earnest. They love singing. So many of them wrote in their essays about how music has saved them in tough times and brought them happiness. One of the students who has overcome social struggles has been healed by finding her voice.

3. A dream is a wish a heart makes: so many aspiring vocalists. The desire to spread light and love is alive and well seemingly more than it was with my generations. Perhaps the pop culture singing shows have fostered singing aspirations among the young folk. Their performer dreams made me wistful. I am hopeful that these students will be able to find a balance with using their musical gifts in the work force. The performing arts field is not all or nothing. Most of us still running the race have built a musical tapestry with various outlets to express our muse.

4. Heart on their sleeves: student emotions were very immediate. As someone who still struggles to find my tears, I was amazed by the expressiveness of many of the students. It was moving to hear one student describe her strength as forgiveness. What an incredibly noble trait. Some kids were insecure which is interesting since teenagers don’t always show their hand. Not all students made eye contact in their performances. In some ways I could see some of my elementary kids reflected in their spirits. I felt the need to protect them.

5. Accompaniment: no bueno. Too many iPhone karaoke tracks, not many live accompaniments. Nope. Not good. I do hope this is a trend that will fade. A few played the uke to accompany themselves. I didn’t see it as an asset for their vocal performance.

6. Overall: I would characterize the kids as diverse, driven, conscientious, eager, and optimistic. They are in kind, passionate, and capable hands.

ABC ORDER FOR THE END OF A DECADE

12.31.19 By E. Perryman

https://akintsucrooner.wordpress.com/2020/01/01/abc-order-for-the-end-of-a-decade-123119/

A. APPEARING these days mostly on young gals are mom jeans.

B. BEDAZZLED aka ugly sweaters/holiday clothes are everywhere.

C. Flannel ain’t just for COUNTRY folk these days, it’s on the fashion runway.

D. Led lights DECORATE our lives in 2019. Whomever marketed LED must be rich.

E. My inner teacher is EAGER to correct grown ass adults who cut in line.

F. Sequins aren’t just for your grandma’s FANCY cocktail dress. These bedazzlers can be seen on everything from purses to pillcases. (And of course poop merchandise continues to dominate the tchotchke market.)

G. Once and for all, GIF is a hard G (like the word “gift,) “n’est pas?

H. HANUKKAH folk are sporting holiday sweaters like Christian pals.

I. Over the holidays, my INTESTINES insisted that I put back packaged eggs at airport bodega. I am grateful.

J. JUST do it. Sometimes you may have take a bus to a plane at EWR if going to Saint Louis.

K. EWR self serve check in KIOSKS are more like a greyhound station.

L. LAPTOPS seem to have become the blockbuster of mobile technology; scant sightings at airport security.

M. I believe there is GOOD money to be made wiring all planes with Wifi.

N. NEVER underestimate the power of stranger photobombing. It’s real thing. Check out the two kids making faces in my plane pic. Who knew.

O. An ORDERLY and tidy city is how I would describe St Louis proper.

P. As I PURCHASED my current favorite lozenge, mentos, at a midwest Walmart over the holidays, I was surprised to see alcohol being sold (unlike blue law land NJ.)

Q. A daily QUESTION I ask myself, which eyeshadow matches my mood?

R. Don’t join the RUSH off of a plane. Once you’re off, you won’t get back on. Make sure you have all of your stuff.

S. I am pleased that STROOPWAFELS are now an airplane snack offering.

T. It’s time to put down the cookie when the airplane TRAY TABLE rests on your gut.

U. Airports carry UNIQUE personalities;

-CHICAGO Urban Sporty

-NEWARK Salt Of The Earth

-ST LOUIS Boutique city/big small town

-PHILLY Old School Hometown

-NYC Gird Your Loins

-PHOENIX Big Sky, Tan & Coifed

-LAS VEGAS Anything Goes

V. A great way to VEG is to carry play doh at all times; very relaxing.

W. Not sure when this happened but no WORRIES is a part of my current vernacular.

X. Next to finding a way to play XI on words with friends triple word, AARP discounts are always on my mind.

Y. I love watching Elizabeth Honer animate baby YODA with a lightsaber.

Z. Cell phone drive lots are a brilliant, ZEN solution to frenetic airports.

c