Friday 23 September 2016

Diversify! Diversify!.....imagine that said with the voice of a Dalek.

The title of this post makes it sound far more sinister than it actually is. I just thought it would sound funny. Plus, I can legitimately write "Doctor Who" in the tags thus attracting a whole new audience, albeit an audience with little or no interest in the inner workings of a soprano's brain. Although you never know. It's always good to broaden ones horizons which is, kind of, what this diary entry is all about.

So, apart from my foray back into the world of musical theatre during the summer, I have not been performing much over the past couple of years. Not through choice, you understand, I absolutely loved my time in the big tent on the seafront in Frinton. Just imagine a Great British Bake Off sized tent, though not worth £25 million (or is it £75 million), 200 seats but no gingham or Mary Berry. Anyway, this small blip, or temporary stagnation, in my singing career has got me thinking of different ways in which I can pay the rent. Of course, I can think of many ways I could easily pay my bills, unfortunately most of them aren't legal or moral so I am not prepared to embark upon them. However, there are a few things I am capable of doing without throwing my good name in to disrepute.

As regular readers of my diary know, I teach singing to the unsuspecting of Croydon (and Chatham). I teach privately but I also teach at a couple of kid's theatre schools. I have come to realise recently that I have become a little complacent over the past year. I would love to not have to teach at the schools anymore and be my own boss (not because I don't enjoy it, I do! In case anyone I work for reads this, I am not leaving imminently!). I want to be totally in charge of my own destiny but this takes legwork.

I have a friend who also teaches singing privately and she has more than enough students to pay her bills and keep her food cupboards fully stocked. SO, what am I doing, or not doing, that is holding me back?

Part of the problem is she is far more the go-getter than I will ever be. I tend to live in a dream world, hoping that fabulous things will land in my lap. I am a little bit of the mindset, if I think it, it will happen even though I am intelligent enough to know that this is codswallop. Nobody ever got anywhere by day-dreaming in bed. Well, except Angela Lansbury et al in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (if you don't understand the reference, look up the film, it is amazing). Anyway, all that is set to change. I have already updated my teaching website, and then re-updated when another friend pointed out everything wrong with it, I have put up flyers in my local area and am now waiting for the phone to ring. It hasn't yet but I am hopeful it will.

In the meantime I am also putting into action plans to start an adult choir (that makes it sound a little kinky, it's not, unless you want it to be). This isn't going to make my fortune, and it isn't meant to, it is more a way to become a bigger part of my local community. Being an actor/singer waiting for the next job to come along can be a lonely business. You cant go out meeting friends as much as you would like because this normally costs money. Money you haven't got when you aren't working and with such an uncertain future you have to save every penny possible. Which is why so many actor friends come to realise that you have to have something else on the go in order to get by between jobs. So if I can add to my teaching portfolio with a choir and meet like minded people in my local area it has to be a good thing. At the moment my best friend is Netflix and nobody should have to say that.

I have never been a hugely proactive person but as time rolls on I think this has to change. I therefore apologise in advance to my Facebook friends and Twitter followers as I intend to inundate my Facebook timeline and Twitter feed with posts about my business. Please understand, as a person who tends to apologise for her very existence, this is the final time I am going to apologise for this!

For more information about singing lessons in South Croydon click on The Singing Stars.

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