<p>This month's issue of Dramatics magazine (EDTA) featured an article titled "Take care of your voice" all about, well... ya. Most of what is mentioned is good sense, and well known technique. As a whole though I found the article to be a good reminder for those of us still working late nights for school - festivals and performances approaching as usual.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting cejaducegu. I sent it on to DD. I know it contains things she already knows and mostly does, but it never hurts to see it again.</p>
<p>Just to pass along our experience. Being very concerned about our daughter's stamina and her abilitiy to travel to 7 remote auditions in a 10-week period, I tried to limit her extra-curricular activities (without any success). Then, wonderful mother that I am, I inadvertantly exposed her to my own terrible case of laryngitis which she contracted three days before her scheduled audition at her number 1 school. This left us both speechless (figuratively and literally), but we were advised to seek out what is known as a "vocal rescue." The next challenge was getting into the office of a specialist sometime with the next 12 hours (as opposed to the next millenium which is frequently the case with specialists). Somehow, we did get in. The vocal rescue was a tapered prescription of steroids from an otolaryngologist (sp???). I am not particularly predisposed toward these types of remedies and there are some people who are adamently against them. Nonetheless, within 24 hours our d could speak and within 36 hours she could sing as she normally does. So I guess the advice that I would pass along to young vocal performers -- establish a relationship with a performance-oriented otolaryngologist before you are in trouble. Ask what you should do to get beyond the recepetionist barrier should you run into an emergency in the future. We were lucky -- we got in -- but I am sure there are many auditioners who are not so lucky. </p>
<p>By the way, under the rubric of "More Adventures in Audition Land," on her way to the last two auditions, our daughter came down with a stomach virus (also contracted from her generous mother) for which a vocal rescue does no good, as you might guess. Neither did beseeching the admissions office to re-schedule her audition (she was originally scheduled for the last date). Fortunately, however, the stomach virus was short-lived and she was able to audition the following day as scheduled. There was one other close call with illness, but I don't remember what it was. Somehow D got through all seven auditions.</p>
<p>Wow! Good thing you had such a great doctor, KeyofH! </p>
<p>I sort of had a similar thing right before my very first audition at Lawrence Conservatory. Thankfully, both my parents, a doctor and a nurse, were able to get me back to health just in time!</p>
<p>But, anyways, thank you for posting this article, cejaducegu! This sort of information is always good to revisit, not matter how much us students think we know! :)</p>