Habits

I'm starting to fall back into that comfortable place for me where my days consist of the same thing: performing and drinking/eating. I promised myself that this tour would be different. That I wouldn't waste my time like I did last tour. I have three months where I can actually focus and make a change in my life. But the old trappings are here again.

I've stopped doing yoga, and making time for the gym. The first week was easy; everything was new. We were all getting used to what makes up the daily tour life routine: wake up for bus call, travel for the day, get to hotel for an hour, head to theater for sound check/show, go out for dinner/drinks around 11, and finally bed around 2...just to wake up the next day to do it all over again. Our bodies weren't quite used to the multiple time zones we crossed. I tended to wake up at 3 am. And again at 5 am. By 6 am, I was ready to go to the gym. But I've adjusted to the typical routine again. I wake up later, now around 9 am. I skip the gym because I'm hungover. I go do my show, and then I drink without thinking. A good time for all, right?

Right.

But it hasn't been all bad though. I've made some progress in other areas that I hadn't before. I've been researching auditions like mad and sending out my "package" to as many people as possible. I didn't do that at all last tour. I've come to realize that if you want to work, you've got to keep pushing. You have to keep putting yourself out there, even though you're not where the auditions are. As soon as I left New York, the season picked up. In the span of about two weeks, there were 19 auditions that I was actually viable for (and countless others that I wasn't.) Little Mermaid. Mary Poppins. Les Mis. Everyone is doing them. And luckily, I am perfect for all three. So I've been spending hours at a time, sitting in front of a computer in various hotel lobbies, praying that one of these emails I send will pay off. 

And I'm happy to report that one has! Yesterday, I heard back from a director that he's considering me for a production of Mary Poppins - a show that I've been very interested in doing for the last year and half. It was the first show I saw on Broadway when I moved to New York City this past year. And this production lines up perfectly with the end of our tour schedule. I would only have a few weeks without work before having to move to another city again. And I've heard very good things about the theater as well, so I'm crossing my fingers.

In some ways, focusing on tour is easy. I don't have much to distract me from the important things I need to get accomplished. But I also know that I need to get past those old habits that are so hard to break. Having a fun time out on the road is all well and good, but it can't impede my goals. I must remember that. I must keep going. I must focus.

Ready, Set....watch me go.