my fingers hurt!

Seussical is mostly a rock show, with lots of driving rhythms and loud music. Since I've been playing the rehearsals without a drummer or bass player, I've been pounding away at the piano even more than I will in the actual performances. In addition, there's really no dialogue in the show at all -- it's pretty much musical number after musical number, so playing a rehearsal involves 3 solid hours of pounding. After last night's rehearsal, I woke up this morning with a feeling I haven't had since graduate school -- sore fingers! I have strong hands, and I've never had any bouts of tendonitis or any of the other hand and arm problems that plague so many pianists, but I'm going to have to make a few visits to my sister to make sure that remains the case. Right now, I mostly just feel like my hands have been through a good workout -- my fingertips and the corners of my thumbs are tender, and I've been stretching out my forearms all day to try to get rid of the stiffness before todays rehearsal, which starts in a few minutes.

In other news, I'm getting ready to go to Calgary this weekend for an audition. Normally I just drive up to Vancouver for this audition, but this year the Vancouver dates didn't work with my teaching schedule, and the Calgary auditions are on Saturday, so I decided to build up some frequent-flyer miles. This audition is unusual in a couple of ways. First, they don't provide a pianist. Normally, this only requires a few inquiries and a phone call or two to secure a good accompanist for the audition, but it was slightly more complicated this time. It seems that there is a huge music festival/competition in Alberta this weekend, and I went through about 12 pianists before I finally found someone. No big deal, in the end, and he seems really nice and came highly recommended.

The second oddity about this audition is a fun one -- they require a monologue. I don't often get to work on monologues, and I quite like them. I also finally have one that I feel really comfortable with, from A Perfect Ganesh by Terrence McNally, one of my favorite playwrights.

I've never been to Calgary before, and though I'll be there less than 24 hours, I'm very excited. I love Canada, and having lived there for 4 years and graduated from a Canadian University, I almost feel part Canadian. It always feels like going home in a way, even if I'm going to a new place. It does, however, make getting ready slightly more complicated in the midst of my currently crazy schedule. First, I have to find my passport! Second, I have to go to the bank to get Canadian currency to pay my pianist, as writing American checks for Canadian funds, while possible, causes nothing but headaches in my experience. In any case, it should be a fun trip. This audition, when I've done it in the past, has always been a very positive experience.

I'm hoping my t-shirt arrives before I leave!