BTP: Day 1

I'm sitting here eating a depressing salad from Wendy's.

What a way to start an exciting new life experience!  Clearly, I fail at story-telling.  But really, this salad is pretty damn depressing.

Aside from that, though, things are looking pretty good!  I had an easy flight into Tampa, no stress at baggage claim, and I was picked up by Kim and whooshed to the hotel!  She's super-nice, by the way.  Even though my room wasn't ready when I initially arrived, I met with Mary, who walked me through the basic format of how the first day was going to play out.

I'm not going to lie, this experience has been one big whirlwind getting into it.  I was at the right place at the right time, and it just so happened that the right people were there and I did all the right things.  I've been so busy worrying about tying up loose ends before this trip that I haven't had a chance to really let it set in.  Hurray!  I'm going to be working side by side with some of the biggest, bestest, smartest, talentedest people in the musical theater world!  Go me!

And then it dawned on me -- I would have to sight-read 200 auditions on my first day.  FML.  Still, I can't complain; I was flown down here, housed in a fabulous room (with two beds?), and paid generously for something that I love to do.  Life is pretty great.

After talking with Mary, it turns out that I will be working the dance auditions all day long, rather than the vocal auditions.  She had reservations about placing me there, because the ballet portion would be comprised of improvisation.  "Would you be comfortable, say, improvising ballet-esque waltz music?"  She gave me a concerned expression.

Faced with the option of sight-reading 200 selections of some of the most difficult music out there and making some 'pretty' shit up?

So life is extra great.  Monday looks like "Variation on an 'Underwater Theme'", a la Super Mario Bros. 

All in all, everyone I have met so far is nice, welcoming, a little intimidating (in a good, daunting way), and energetic.  I may spend some time in the pool's hot tub this evening before it gets CRAZY tomorrow.  Working from morning until 10pm every day will be quite the experience!

Also?  I started a sock on my flight.  Toe-up, US4 circs, with Knit Picks sport-weight Felici yarn in "Chimney".  I'm doing a bubble-like slipped stitch pattern that I'm developing, but between work and my side job of writing percussion parts for my friend's ensemble in Colorado, I might not have much time to work on it.