What an Indian Parable and Michael Phelps Taught Me about Getting Through 8 Shows a Week

Years ago, I was an understudy for a lead role in a show. This was a long run, and I rehearsed for 5 months before actually getting to go on. Needless to say… I WAS READY!

On a completely unrelated note, I’m allergic to poultry. I can’t eat chicken, turkey, duck, quail, nor pheasant. Get outta here Cornish Game Hen! It’s weird I know...

To make a long story short, I was accidentally served some Chicken Apple Sausage at a cast brunch, and ended up calling out of the show for a week. On my first day back, eager to return to my ensemble track, I got the call that I was finally “going on!”

I was in my “Little Red from Into the Woods” season, feeling both excited and scared. I had prepared for this moment for months, but after a week huddled over a toilet, could I pull this off? Would it be another 5 months before I got another chance?

So I agreed to go on.

The performance was fine. My cast was incredibly supportive. The super fans on Tumblr approved. And I learned a valuable lesson.

To be a human and to do 8 shows a week, is to accept that fact that there will be days when you are not 100%. You will get sick, you will have allergies, and you will experience fatigue.

On that day, I realized that I had been acting as if(and training as if) I was going to do a long run of a show and things were always going to be “perfect.” I knew how to hit the high notes on good days, so it just always HAD to be a good day.

All of this came into focus years later when a mentor recommend I read “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin

In this incredible book, the author shares an Indian parable:

“To walk a thorny road, we may cover its every inch with leather or we can make sandals.”

8 shows a week is the thorny road, and I was singing in a way where I was trying to cover every inch of it with leather.

My warmup had to be perfect

My voice and body had to feel perfect

The humidity in the theatre had to be perfect

The diameter of my straw had to be perfect.

Aggressively willing the universe to cooperate was exhausting and stressful (2 things that turns out aren’t so great for optimal performance)

Eventually I began to work on making sandals, in the hopes of being able to better adapt to the truth of 8 shows a week.

What does "making sandals" look like?

Well first of all, I still took care of my voice and body, I did the straw bubbles, and used a humidifier when necessary. But I also began exploring more variation and play in my singing. This play allowed for the discovery of new options and possibilities. With more possibilities, I had more ways of feeling healthy, confident, and expressive in my singing when faced with minor setbacks.

This experience reminded me of the story of how Michael Phelps won a Gold Medal in the Bejing Olympics despite his goggles filling with water. His win was at least partially attributed to the fact that his coach had him practice with varying missteps in mind. He trained with variation so no matter what would happen, he would be ready.

Couldn’t we do the same for Broadway or as I call it “The Olympics of Showtunes” ?

If this way of thinking interests you, I’d recommend reading “The Art of Learning”

And if you’d like to explore implementing this into your singing practice, I’m always happy to chat!

-Kevin