Being a Professional

I consider myself a professional musician. And why not, I make money making music. However, I don't make a living making music, I'm not at that level just yet. I've always believed that the moment you accept money doing something is the day you leave the ranks of the amateur and join the ranks of the professional.

Although my first paid role was about a year ago and I have done paid gigs as a singer since about 2002, I've always carried myself as a professional. I believe it's the polite thing to do when in a show. To me, carrying a professional demeanor means; showing up to calls on time, unless you explain a conflict to the right people well in advance, do what's asked of you, and treat everybody with the courtesy and respect they deserve. There is no room for divas and divos in the professional world of today, at least that's what I believe.

The flip side of being a professional is being treated with respect by those around you. I feel that in one of the shows I'm doing, I'm not treated with the courtesy and respect I give them. It eats me up inside and I try not to let it affect me, I've always felt that if I start bitching to directors that they'll think that I'm having a "divo moment" and think I'm being less than professional. So I keep these things inside me, and usually I just let it slide and we're all good.

I'm not going to go into detail of my troubles because I don't want The Seventh Inning Stretch to turn into a gossip blog and to air things out without going through the proper channels is, well, un-professional.

I can't do this anymore, at least not with this show, it's affecting me outside of the show.

So under a friend's advice I did voice my grievances in as much of a courteous fashion as I could. I used email because I could calmly gather my thoughts while typing on a computer instead of rambling emotionally in person.

So consider this a shout-out to Sean Cooper, a very talented individual who's going to make it in Musical Theatre (as opposed to me) for many reasons especially:

• He's white (I'm asian)
• He has the right kind of voice for Musical Theatre (light, while mine is big and heavy, or layman's terms "operatic," although we're both high tenors)

On top of that he's an excellent human being. I can't say he and I are the closest of friends, but I can trust him with anything. Did I mention he's an A's fan?

I think I'm done with Musical Theatre. The worst part is, I really love Musicals. At the level I'm at I feel like I'm stagnating and I can't stand the drama, and drama is un-professional. I can't seem to make it to the next level, even though I try, for many reasons I have stated before (ethnicity, height, weight, type of voice, etc.). After this summer I'm going to take a big break and not perform in one. I may design or try my hand as a conductor/musical director but as an actor, I'm done.

Here's to opera.