Raindrops on roses and Mypurmists on nightstands…Recently I received the assignment to write about “5 Unsexy Things Every Performer Needs.” I jumped at the chance to write the article—immediately picturing myself as Carrie Bradshaw at her laptop, gazing out the window while word-smithing the next sentence.
I began to wonder…
What’s unsexy? I frequently refer to a well-formed [æ] vowel as sexy, so what do I know from sexy? I turned to a few of my voice students and some performers I’ve shared the stage with recently, and asked them to report back on which unsexy or boring items they can’t live without while performing on the road.
I began my survey with Broadway’s Nathan Levy—one of my voice student alums from the Pace University BFA Musical Theater Program. He made his Broadway debut in Dear Evan Hansen, quickly following that up in Once Upon A One More Time. Before returning to Broadway in Aladdin this summer, Nathan had been on tour with the Disney family hit:
“This brand of Ginger Honey Crystals [Prince of Peace] with hot water is a lifesaver for me. No matter what climate I was in, sipping on this would ensure I had a hydrated and clean set of chords before during or after a show.”
Ndaya Dream Hoskins is a senior BFA Musical Theatre major and Commercial Dance minor at Pace University and is currently a vacation swing on the First National Tour of Mrs. Doubtfire: The New Musical Comedy. Ndaya has planned her classes and our voice lessons together with the precision of a Swiss watch this semester, and is ready to leave town to jump into the show on a moment’s notice:
“Two things that I absolutely can’t travel without are my edge control and edge brush. It sounds so silly, but when I don’t have those two things with me, I feel like my whole day is out of whack. Whether I am doing my hair at the top of the day or refreshing my edges after a rehearsal or a show, using these two items not only uplift my confidence but also is a reminder of its staple significance in my culture. We lay our edges to show creativity, to embrace our history, and to individually express ourselves. Though it’s a minute gesture done during my day to day, it is just a way I say to myself, “Black girl, I am proud of you and you look beautiful.”
I’m proud of you too, Ndaya! You’re making your dreams a reality!
Also a senior in the Pace University BFA Musical Theater Program, Delaney Brown left NYC for a spell to perform throughout North America in the First Nation Tour of
Jagged Little Pill: The Musical and had an extensive travel schedule, racking up lots of must have items for her carry-on. Delaney is currently out of town in Cincinnati for a limited engagement of Rutka: A New Musical, and texted me photos and descriptions while on rehearsal break:
“I love eucalyptus oil! I warm up when I shower because I love steam (duh!) and during that time I like to put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in my hands, rub them together and hold them up to my nose and inhale and it helps open everything up! I also have a lotion that has eucalyptus and CBD that I like to massage into my jaw, traps, and neck to get rid of tension (rlly helps ppl who struggle with TMJ! Like myself!)”
“Here is my humidifier!! I never travel for a gig without one!!! I like to have one in the dressing room and at home! Being on tour is crazy because of the constant change in climate so it’s always good to have this as a constant!”
“This is my handy dandy Vocal Mist. I think it’s perfect. It’s a bit of a splurge money wise but I will always recommend.”
“I love a Tumeric Shot! I don’t take it right before I sing because it’s a bit acidic but if I know I’m doing a big sing that day (going on for an understudy track) I try to take one a few hours before I sing because Tumeric is anti-inflammatory and because I am taking it orally, I feel like it helps my voice more than just a Tumeric pill!”
I also reached out to fellow Havranawanna-singer Cáitlín Burke (last summer, Cáitlín and I were music stand neighbors in a reading of Submission: An Opera Boufffe (Seman/Kleinman/Kopelwicz), and we realized we shared the same Indiana University Jacobs School of Music voice teacher in grad school at different times—Professor Patricia Havranek. I love our small world! Cáitlín recently performed the iconic role of Mother Abbess in the National Tour of The Sound of Music:
“I never leave home without my Boots Glycerin Throat Pastilles! They keep my mouth from drying out on a flight and when I’m singing, and I love the flavor. I stock up whenever I’m in London!”
No stranger to life on the road—be it film set or concert hall—is performer Daniel Lopez. Daniel was just a few stands down from Cáitlín and me at that reading in NYC, and I knew he’d have some good recommendations. When he replied to my text, he added a new category to the list—inconvenient:
“When I’m travelling for a gig, I can’t bring myself to leave my guitar at home. It’s a terribly inconvenient thing to travel with—it counts as your
carry-on item, a gate agent will always tell you that it won’t fit on the plane (it always does), and it’s a little bit heavy to carry around—but I just can’t bear being away from it for too long. On a practical level, I often need it for work (I’ll be playing it in a new, actor/musician version of Carmen at Pensacola Opera this November and we’re never safe from a self-tape request), but work aside, it’s so comforting to have for me when I’m away to decompress at the end of the day, feel that “flow state” of sitting there and playing some music, and maybe to serenade my fiance as we FaceTime goodnight.”
There you have it. A list of some un-sexy essentials from performers committed to keeping themselves healthy, hydrated, and sane while at home and on the road! I wonder how many you’ll have on your own bingo card, or which items you didn’t know you needed until now!
