♪ Lauren (withonevoice) wrote in mcdermott_game, @ 2011-03-05 10:40:00 |
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Current mood: | amused |
Entry tags: | kj, kj/lauren, lauren |
Who: KJ and Lauren
What: A voice lesson
Where: A practice room in the PAC
When: Friday, March 4
Rating: G
Status: Complete
KJ would be willing to admit that she was pretty much a slacker when it came to school. However, she was used to putting her life on hold for a theatrical production. She lived and breathed performance, and when she was in production mode, she threw herself into it. So what if she didn't get much sleep or time to focus on other classes? KJ lived for the stage, and she'd do whatever it took to make sure people knew why.
She'd been ecstatic when she'd been cast as Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie. To her, it symbolized that the theatre department saw her potential, even though they'd noted they could tell singing was not her strongest point. Still, it was a definite mark of faith that they'd cast her regardless, and so KJ had vowed as soon as she'd gotten that feedback that she'd work her ass off to nail her part down.
When she'd talked with Professor Langley, he'd referred her to their musical director. Her name was Lauren Korliss and when KJ had asked her peers about Lauren's reputation, they'd had nothing but good things to say about her. This made KJ feel much better about the prospect of voice lessons.
She'd gotten in contact with Professor Korliss and they'd agreed to meet in one of the practice rooms in the PAC. KJ looked into each of the rooms until she found what she thought was the right one - a woman (who KJ assumed to be a teacher) sitting at a piano, studying the music in front of her. "Professor Korliss?" she asked, poking her head into the doorway.
Lauren loved working with students involved in the musical. It was clear that they had the acting chops and it wasn't hard for those of them who were better actors than singers to transfer that talent. Lauren had always considered singing as sort of an extension of acting, anyway, even though she herself had never really acted before. She did have some experience in musical theatre, though, having been in productions in high school, and so that definitely helped.
She'd gotten a heads up from Mitch that he'd be sending one of their leads to work with her, and soon enough, she'd gotten an e-mail from one miss KJ Hart. Lauren knew the name, but she'd never worked with the girl before. She wasn't sure what to expect, so she'd just prepared herself with the songs the girl's character, Rosie, had to sing. At their assigned meeting place, Lauren was smoothing out her sheet music when she turned at the sound of a voice. "Are you KJ?" she asked.
Nodding in relief, KJ came into the room. "That's me," she affirmed, dropping her belongings on the floor and smiling tentatively at the woman. "Hi," she added.
"Hello," Lauren replied, giving KJ a slightly amused smile. "Congratulations on your castin'," she offered. "Are you excited?"
"Yes," KJ answered, excitedly, as she took a seat across from Professor Korliss. "I didn't think I was going to get it, honestly. But I guess we're going to have to do a lot of work," she said, her expression dampening slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not the best. Which is why I'm here," she added, gesturing with her hands.
Shaking her head slightly, Lauren reached out to touch KJ's (currently slightly flailing) arm. "Honey, don't worry about it. The directors know you're talented. I've seen you in previous productions and you're very good. It's just a matter of thinkin' a bit differently, that's all." She gave KJ a reassuring smile. "So tell me what kind of classes you've taken so far that have to do with your voice and speakin' in an actin' capacity," she told her student. "Just so I have an idea of what you've had and where you're at."
KJ returned Lauren's smile easily; she could see why everyone liked her so much. There was something very reassuring about Professor Korliss's warmth. She colored as her teacher complimented her, and then tried to recall everything she'd taken. "Let me think about that," she said, laughing a bit. Looking up, she began ticking off her fingers, thinking out loud.
As KJ listed off her classes, Lauren nodded. Though she was an acting major, she seemed to have a good foundation for her to work with. "It seems you've taken quite a few classes, in general. Are you graduatin' soon?"
"Huh? Oh, no, not yet... I'm still a junior," KJ said, a bit thrown off. "But yeah, that's what I've taken. No voice classes, though," she offered, shrugging a bit. "I mean, no singing classes," she clarified.
"That's alright. What we're gonna do is build on what you've had and take it so we can improve your voice," Lauren told KJ, nodding. "Now, have you taken a look at your music yet?" she asked KJ.
KJ frowned slightly. "I have," she admitted, "but I don't read music so it's been a bit difficult. I have been listening to the original Broadway recording, though, so..." She shrugged again, offering Lauren a bit of a sheepish smile. "I've been alternating between that and RENT, actually, since one of the original leads has been here recently," she added. "That's my favorite musical." Not that KJ thought Professor Korliss would care, but KJ did tend to ramble on when she was nervous.
At that, Lauren laughed slightly. She was well aware of the frenzy it had caused when Kent had come to lecture. "Well, that's better than nothin'," she agreed. "Today we'll just run through the music, then, have you sing a little bit and see how you do, okay? Do you think you can handle that?"
Actually, the prospect freaked KJ out a little bit. She was stepping out of her comfort zone, and even though she was with probably the best possible voice teacher imaginable, the thought was still enough to make her heart race, and not in the good way.
She realized she'd taken her time in answering and so she finally replied, "I think so." KJ took a deep breath and said, "It's kind of scary to think about. I mean, I know I have to do it to perform, but I'm not really fond of my voice, to be honest."
Lauren pondered this for a moment. She understood KJ's self-consciousness and nervousness, and she had the feeling that KJ wasn't the type whose nervousness was a detriment. She nodded, and then finally said, "Don't worry about that for now. We're just goin' to work with the melody of the songs and gettin' all the words down and workin' on the basics, really. Think of it as blockin', but for your voice." She gave KJ another smile.
Nodding slowly, KJ relaxed a bit. She could handle that, she thought. "Okay," she finally assented. "Okay. Oh, I have my music here," she said, busying herself with pulling out the folder she'd set aside for the music she'd received. It helped her give her a moment to wrap her head around the fact that she was actually doing this.
Lauren waited for KJ to get situated, and then she asked, "Is there anywhere you'd like to start in particular?"
KJ, who had been shuffling through her music partly because she was still a little nervous, looked up in surprise. "Huh? Well... I don't know. I do happen to like 'What Did I Ever See in Him?'," she said. "It's the one I listen to the most on my Zune." She liked it, even though she knew she'd have to perform it with Charlotte - the thought still bothered her slightly, but not as much as it would had before.
Smiling, Lauren said, "Well, we can work with that." She went through her music to find the song KJ had requested. "Okay," she said, pausing to look at KJ. "You ready?"
KJ hesitated, but then nodded resolutely. "Yeah. Let's do this."
Lauren grinned. "Okay. Show me what you've got," she encouraged, and with that, she began to play the song.
It didn't sound quite the same as the recording, but KJ could hear something familiar in what Lauren was playing, so she began to sing when she thought it was right. It didn't quite sound right, though, so after about three measures she stopped. "Wait, wait, wait, I didn't do it right," she said, interrupting the flow of Lauren's playing.
For someone who didn't have much experience in music, Lauren was mildly impressed with KJ. She could sense that her lack of confidence was getting in the way, though. This wasn't the first time this had happened with one of Lauren's students, though, and it probably wouldn't be the last, so instead of getting frustrated, she simply said, "You did well. In fact, you came in right when you were supposed to." She gave KJ another smile. "You're better at this than you think you are," Lauren assured her. "Did you want to try it together, though, so you know for sure when to come in?"
"We can do that?" KJ blurted out, before she laughed. "Of course we can. Yes, I'd like that," she told Lauren. She breathed a sigh of relief. "I feel much better about this now."
Lauren couldn't help but laugh as well. "That's what I'm here for, KJ," she told her student. "I want you to feel comfortable with your role. You're just startin' so it's fine. Just remember I ain't performin' with you, though. I'm not the greatest piano player either, so it'll sound much better than this when you're on stage - much better than me."
KJ shrugged. Professor Korliss was much better than KJ could hope to be on any musical instrument - but then again, she supposed it was part of Professor Korliss's job. "I'm just grateful that you're here to help me," she admitted. Was it a bit of sucking up? Maybe, but for the most part KJ's words were genuine. "But yes, I would definitely like some backup," she reiterated. Hopefully it would make KJ feel better about her singing and preferably soon, because the sooner she got over this and got singing the sooner it would be one less thing to worry about.
"Alright," Lauren agreed. "I'll count you in and we'll sing it together, okay? I'll be here backin' you up but I want you to come in nice and strong. Don't worry about makin' mistakes, just sing it."
"I need a drink," KJ thought out loud, and at Lauren's slightly bewildered expression, KJ waved her hand. "No, no, not like that, I promise!" She laughed and put her head in her hands for a moment. "I just mean it's a lot easier for me to sing when I'm, um..." KJ wasn't quite sure how to breach that topic with a teacher. "Alcohol helps me," she tried again. "To sing, I mean. I'm not a alcoholic or anything, and I'm totally overage."
"KJ," Lauren said, laughing. "I get it, sweetie. Don't worry about it. I suspect it's because of the loss of inhibition," she said, wisely. "But we'll see if we can overcome that without a drink. Let's try this again, shall we?"
Taking a moment to refocus herself, KJ nodded again. "Yes. Okay."
"Okay," Lauren echoed. She took a glance at KJ, who seemed to be steadying herself for the task, and then began again. "I'll count you in," Lauren said, over the music. She did so, and nodded her head to signal that KJ should begin singing.
Knowing her voice teacher was singing with her made a lot of difference. KJ could feel herself being able to sing a little bit more strongly, and it helped her to get through more of the song. Slowly, but surely, KJ was able to bring her voice out, and even though it wasn't anything spectacular, she did put in the right amount of expression where it was needed.
Lauren nodded as they continued to play the song together. Towards the end of the song it became a duet, and so Lauren picked up Kim's part, trying to get KJ exposed to the prospect of singing harmony. She also wanted to see if it would throw her off, as that would probably be something they'd have to address as rehearsals went on.
It did kind of confuse KJ when Lauren sang a different part, but they'd gotten through this much of the song so KJ figured she should just finish it, even if it sounded horrible. When they were done (Professor Korliss holding out the note much more than KJ, obviously), she exhaled again and gave a smile to her teacher. "That wasn't so bad," she admitted.
"No, it wasn't," Lauren agreed. "I can see what Mitch meant when he said you had potential." She gave KJ a smile. "Your pitch is pretty good. We'll have to work a bit on breath control and rhythm, but this is going to be easy, KJ. I promise." She continued to smile at KJ's skeptical look. "We just have to put some good hard work into it and you'll be a Broadway-caliber star in no time."
"I doubt that," KJ replied, but she was glad Professor Korliss thought she wasn't horrible. "But thank you. Should we meet every Friday, then, to do this?"
"Yes, I think so," Lauren said, nodding as she folded her hands in her lap. "I want you to bring a pencil to all our rehearsals, by the way. It's probably somethin' you're used to for plays. It's the same kind of concept - we'll mark up your music so you know when to breathe, when to hold notes out, when to cut your notes off, things like that." She nodded again. "It might seem a bit overwhelmin' to you at first but I promise not to make it complicated, okay?"
"Okay," KJ agreed, hoping she wouldn't forget to do that. She frowned, though, as she thought. "I think I might need more than just Fridays, unless we do, like, two hour sessions."
Lauren frowned as well. "My schedule is a bit busy on Fridays, I must admit," she told KJ. "I don't want to rush you for this as well." She paused, mulling on their dilemma. "How about next time you bring me your schedule and we'll compare notes? I'll talk to my TA, too - if I'm not available at all for anythin', he might be able to help you with a few things. You'll like him. His name is Joel, and he's great with students."
KJ blinked, smiling because she couldn't help it. Joel had never mentioned being a TA for anyone, but what were the odds of some other Joel helping out in the music department? God. McDermott really was a small school. "You wouldn't be talking about Joel de Laurentis, would you? He plays the guitar? Because if you are he's a really good friend of mine."
"Really?" Lauren said, surprise crossing her features. "Yes, that's my TA. Oh, that would work well then! If you are friends then you'd be comfortable around each other. That would be a good arrangement." She smiled as well. "If you're okay with it, then I'll let him know. Will that work?"
Nodding, KJ grinned. "I think so." She didn't want to tell Professor Korliss that it might work too well, that the thought of Joel trying to teach her how to sing would probably just induce all kinds of giggles and everything except not singing. Besides, KJ was under the impression that Joel would only do it if Professor Korliss wasn't available, and KJ would much rather work with her more often. She didn't know how far she'd be able to get if Joel was teaching her.
"Okay, good." Lauren made a note with her pencil on the corner of her sheet music - "e-mail Joel" and then turned to KJ. "So do you want to try that again, or do you want to try a different song?"
KJ considered Lauren's question for a moment. She did like that song but she knew there were lots of others that she needed to learn as well. "We can do another one," she told Lauren. "It doesn't matter which one, though."
"Alright." Lauren turned her sheet music to the beginning. "How about we just do our best to run through all your songs, see how you feel about them? It'll definitely be a good way to get started, I think. Is that okay with you?"
It sounded like a good enough idea to KJ so she nodded. "I'm cool with that," she agreed. "Let's do this."
Lauren smiled. "Let's," she echoed. "You ready? Here we go."