h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, sorry for stumbling in late.
Another nice one that calms me down when life is more than I can handle is
"I am in and is in me"
Sometimes it feels good to use God in that space, sometimes I like "the Universe" instead.

And yes, it is reassuring to be told that one is wonderful. I finally have that.

And you are wonderful too.

Just wanted to add another couple of things to the list ...

DAVID

You are Talented

You are Dedicated

You are Gentle and Kind

You have a great sense of humour

You are Patient

You are Intelligent and Thoughtful

You are Knowledgeable

You are Versatile and always willing to learn new skills

You are Endearing

You are considerate of other's feelings

You have a great singing voice

You are always willing to help others

You are brave and full of grace under pressure

You are great with small children

You can project your singing voice

Yeah, when David mentioned three crescendos without any diminuendos inbetween I thought 'wow, he must have quite some lung capacity!'

I do have to breathe in between, Ti! The song suits me so well - the last crescendo is on a G, which is my "money note".

Breathing or no breathing it must still be quite a rise in volume?

Yup. It takes me from 'normal' to 'quite loud' to 'really rather loud' to 'oh my goodness, how loud?'

Have you ever felt as if the music, song and lights have flowed into you, lifting you to unknown heights?

If not, I do hope you experience it one day.

It's what the Spanish call 'Duende' - I had a good description somewhere but can't find it right now.

I was trawling through an old Atelier thread when I found this - a real self booster:

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/canterbury/Review-Pirates-Penzance-Canterbury-s-Gulbenkian-Theatre/article-780588-detail/article.html

Ah yes, I meant to say - I have experienced duende. Not often, but I have. West Side Story a few times, and the first night of When Midnight Strikes in my confrontation with my on-stage wife. My on-stage brother noted that as I came off from the scene I was in tears, and that was because I had got completely swpet up in the moment, a sort of transcendent oneness with the show and the character, horrible as the character was. It's a peculiar feeling - I don't "become" somebody else as such, but something takes over.

'Something takes over' - that's exactly the way I've experienced it too.

Once at an end-of-term Flamenco performance, I 'become one' with the dance, the music, the audience, the spotlights and completely lost touch with reality, flying high on a strong wave of warmth and light.

It was quite embarrassing afterwards when a complete stranger came up to me saying 'wow, you were good!' since I had no idea what I had done or if I had indeed even danced the same dance as the others in my group. I was completely exhausted though, sweating and short of breath.

Ah yes, found the description I was looking for:
'Duende is like a katharsis for the soul'

David B,
You mentioned Biblical reference to a better self-image. Check these:

Ephesians 2:1-10
Luke 12:22-31
Psalm 8:3-6
1 John 3:1-2,18-24
Romans 8:1-2

Feel better?

B4thenextchapteriswritteninyourlifethatislessthanordinary

Thanks for those, B4 - the Psalm 8 verses are ones I remind myself of quite frequently.

One of my colleagues has really made me smile today. It was the first time she'd seen me since The Pajama Game and she said how much she'd enjoyed it. Then she said that the local groups must all be fighting over me now and went on to explain it. She said it had been really good to see me in different shows over the years because I've been getting better and better in all the different aspects of performing and stagecraft and it just showed how much effort and dedication I put in.

People often say that performances were good or great or amazing, but I think this made me smile because it reflected the fact that I do try *very* hard, and also it acknowledged that there is of course room for growth and improvement, and I'm progressing along a journey. Somehow much easier to take and believe than simply saying "you're really good".

Your colleague (G?) is right. You have got better and better over the years - it has been a pleasure and a privilege to see many of your shows and watch you grow as a performer. However, when I saw your most recent performances it was actually like watching a different person. There was something else in your performances in WMS and TPG that hadn't been there in your previous performances - I don't mean to denigrate your previous performances in any way because I have always thought that you are an excellent performer - but your most recent performances were...on another level, is the only way I can really describe it.

I hope this helps and is not too vague and therefore meaningless. I'm afraid I'm not very good at saying what I want to say. Sorry!