This week was the worst.
Hell Week has a couple of definitions- I looked them up. It can refer to frats and sororities or midterms and finals or theater productions. Hell Week as I know it is the week leading up to opening night and includes long tech rehearsals. Hours of stopping and starting and hoping to make it through the show. Its mentally and physically exhausting to play a show, stop and start, and focus. Focus is a typical challenge for me. :)
Anyhooo my week leading up to opening night was quite hellish.
I had a crazy busy schedule with work, tech week for the show I'm playing, and another gig (this evening). In addition, I picked up a new client and we had our conference call with the MT on the east coast (see post below). Also, I started house sitting this week for some family friends. So.... as you can read, my plate is quite full.
After logging all of my easter/holy week mass hours, I was gearing up for this crazy week. And monday I was just flattened. I had a really tough session that just caused my emotional cup to runneth over. From the get go, this week did not turn out as I had planned. Go figure. Silly Me for planning. I couldn't get it together in time for my other sessions, so I had to call in and cancel them. Everyone was extremely understanding and I knew it as the right decision. I had the conference call monday night and a rehearsal. Eventually I'd have to pull it together and I needed the time to do so.
Tuesday was better. I picked up a friend's amp that I'm using for the show and got to sit in on some rehearsals. Wednesday- Thursday were tech rehearsals till 11pm. Plus full days of sessions and seeing a new client for the first time.
Last night I had a few sessions, a practice gig for this real gig tonight and opening night. PLUS there was an opening night reception for the cast, crew and orchestra which turned out to be an excellent end to this crazy stupid week. Maybe sleeping in this morning is the best end of this crazy stupid week.
Lesson learned.
It's hard to stay focused on the one day at a time when each day feels like a deluge of things. But as my friend said, "it's do-able and you may look back and wonder how you even did it." She didn't say it had to be graceful.
More on our conference call later....
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A Perfect Storm
Hi there.
Okay- the Conference Update.
Last week I came back from our regional conference and have been on the Conference Catch-Up since.
During regional conference, a long time friend and colleague (who also sits on the board) told me that I was "the perfect storm of organization and improvisation." I loved that. In my position, organization is everything... but you also need to be able to go with the flow and respond in the moment. That was the best compliment.
ANyhow, this conference was exciting and important for me in a couple of ways:
1. It was my first conference in my position on the regional board. I am responsible for the quality of programming and continuing education opportunities offered at conference. Everything went really well. Everything ran smoothly. There were a couple of instances where we had to improvise to fill in some last minute holes or glitches. But because they happened, I know what to do if they happen again. I was pretty nervous about making sure I had the right documentation and that the systems we put in place were going to work. They did. Yay!
We got positive feedback on the pacing and schedule.
AND there were several people who told me (or other board members) that every session was worth their time. The presenters were effective and engaging. That's the best feedback ever.
2. My friend/colleague and I gave our presentation on examining the strengths/weaknesses and intersections of two opposing views in music therapy. It was standing room only - about 33% of conference attendance gathered in our room. We had amazing discussion and feedback throughout the conference. About 8 hours later, my co-presenter and I received an email from a retired music therapist who has been published numerous times and has held extensive leadership positions. This MT lives on the east coast and did not attend our conference... but they heard from another MT who was there. Word travels fast. I feel honored and humbled that this great brain in MT wants to talk to us. We're currently trying to schedule an online conference call for the next week. Wow!
3. I got to catch up and spend time with friends that I only get to see once or twice a year. There were plenty of shenanigans. There were moments during the conference wrap up Sunday night where we laughed so hard that it hurt. I even got to see some of the city too. Its rare that I get a chance to wander out of the conference hotel.
4. A couple of other presentation ideas have arisen from this conference.
I've just about wrapped everything up from conference, wrote my thank you notes, and submitted my documentation.
Now I'm moving on to the next few projects - a ton of piano gigs (theater and otherwise) and some possible private clients that have come from referrals.
I'm just trucking a long. :)
Okay- the Conference Update.
Last week I came back from our regional conference and have been on the Conference Catch-Up since.
During regional conference, a long time friend and colleague (who also sits on the board) told me that I was "the perfect storm of organization and improvisation." I loved that. In my position, organization is everything... but you also need to be able to go with the flow and respond in the moment. That was the best compliment.
ANyhow, this conference was exciting and important for me in a couple of ways:
1. It was my first conference in my position on the regional board. I am responsible for the quality of programming and continuing education opportunities offered at conference. Everything went really well. Everything ran smoothly. There were a couple of instances where we had to improvise to fill in some last minute holes or glitches. But because they happened, I know what to do if they happen again. I was pretty nervous about making sure I had the right documentation and that the systems we put in place were going to work. They did. Yay!
We got positive feedback on the pacing and schedule.
AND there were several people who told me (or other board members) that every session was worth their time. The presenters were effective and engaging. That's the best feedback ever.
2. My friend/colleague and I gave our presentation on examining the strengths/weaknesses and intersections of two opposing views in music therapy. It was standing room only - about 33% of conference attendance gathered in our room. We had amazing discussion and feedback throughout the conference. About 8 hours later, my co-presenter and I received an email from a retired music therapist who has been published numerous times and has held extensive leadership positions. This MT lives on the east coast and did not attend our conference... but they heard from another MT who was there. Word travels fast. I feel honored and humbled that this great brain in MT wants to talk to us. We're currently trying to schedule an online conference call for the next week. Wow!
3. I got to catch up and spend time with friends that I only get to see once or twice a year. There were plenty of shenanigans. There were moments during the conference wrap up Sunday night where we laughed so hard that it hurt. I even got to see some of the city too. Its rare that I get a chance to wander out of the conference hotel.
4. A couple of other presentation ideas have arisen from this conference.
I've just about wrapped everything up from conference, wrote my thank you notes, and submitted my documentation.
Now I'm moving on to the next few projects - a ton of piano gigs (theater and otherwise) and some possible private clients that have come from referrals.
I'm just trucking a long. :)
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