That S is burning a hole in your dress...

I recently learned - from one of the (ahem) awesome followers of this blog - of a true instance not only of being an amazing colleague, but of a really effective audition/performance prep technique. I have (un-creatively) dubbed it: The Superman Effect.

Apparently the talented guys of the Presidio Brass ensemble have a routine before they perform at showcase or a show that pretty much makes them some of the most awesome colleagues I've ever heard of. They pump each other up right before the show by telling each other that they are...Superman. No, really. That's the routine. It goes a little something like this:

Trumpet A : Dude, your cape is showing, it's totally flowing right out of your back
Trumpet B : Yeah man, I feel it, it's kindof heavy but it's blowing in the wind and feels awesome. You better be careful, that Superman S is burning right through your shirt, do you see it? Cuz I see it
Trumpet A: Yeah, I see it, its freakin huge today (sketches big S with finger across his own chest)
Trumpet B: You're gonna have to by a new shirt, it's that strong, its actually blinding me
Trumpet A: Your cape is totally going to knock something over and may blow us all off the stage
Trumpet B: We are totally going to rock this
Trumpet A: **** yeah we are!

You get the idea. Silly? Absolutely, and that's the beauty of it. Right when you're the most nervous, it makes you laugh. But you don't feel that stupid, because someone else is pumping you up, and relying on you to do it for them. Like football players doing ridiculous grunty chants before a game - because it works. And while you want to scoff at your colleague because it sounds so dumb, the smarter part of you knows that participating in this goofy back and forth is a lot better for your morale and mindset than all the negative self-talk and self-doubt you would otherwise be indulging in.

This past weekend I had an audition, and the talented second trumpet player from Presidio happened to be on hand to give me the Superman/woman treatment firsthand. I wanted to scoff, to brush it off, but instead when he told me my S was burning through my dress, I smiled and emphatically outlined it with my finger from shoulder to shoulder. Later, while I was singing my audition, I felt the nasty critical thoughts creeping in, and instead I felt my cape billowing out from my shoulders, and away they ran like comic book villains, to return yes, but only to be vanquished again by the superpowers blasting through my carefully selected audition attire.

So on October 22nd and 23rd, when my stalwart and awesome cast is performing The Yeoman of the Guard at Opera San Luis Obispo, I know what I'll be saying to them: "Girl, the costume designer is going to kill you because that S is burning a hole right through that dress."