A LITTLE LATE FOR THIS...but so worth it!

Hi all you crazy's who might actually be reading this...

It's late, bit this is important and I need to write it out of my head, giving space for me development of what I'm about to write.

I was fortunate enough to have more friends visit me here in New York. Leo and Pete (and their friend Lexis, whom I now adore as well) arrived on Wednesday morning at approx 6:15 in the morning. I learned a very helpful life lesson that morning, one that I didn't expect would hit me so clearly on the head that early in the morning, but I think our brains our different in the morning. They are closer to having been in Unconscious world, which is a fun and crazy place to be, I THINK! Well, Leo and Pete and I didn't really plan this pick up very well, because what ended up happening wasn't what I had in mind. I got up late, and thought to myself, I really don't need to pick them up from the bus station, I should just tell them how to get here, and that will be fine. But my once stubborn and controlling self decided NO, I NEEDED to HELP them. So I did. I took the train to Port Authority and waited for them on the platform. Without my knowledge, or through miss communication, they jumped onto the train and headed to my place. Only while crossing the Williamsburg Bridge did they get my text saying I was waiting on the Platform still. AHHHH, my head screamed with frustration. THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING. I tried SO hard to help them. Which is exactly the point of the story. So i got back on the next train and headed home to Brooklyn. I couldn't find them when I got to my station so I figured they probably just found my house, because I had given them my address. NO, not the case, when I walked home I got a text saying they were at the McDonalds across the street from the Subway. So I turned around, AGAIN, and went to get them. I know this story may seem ridiculous to you, and it should. That's how it feels to me too. How much more ridiculous could I have been. (well I could have brought my cats with me, that would have been more ridiculous) but you get the point. I have been using this confidence to my advantage for a long time now, and it's done me well. It's part of what's gotten me to New York. But let me tell you something amazing, it's not all of me. There is so much more to Justin Friesen than being confident. Justin is also sensitive, he is brave, he is intelligent, he is scared, he is quite, timid, shy, awkward, talented, crazy, ridiculous, open, honest, accepting, and much much more. It's fascinating how attached I was to this confidence and flirtatious personality, mostly because it got me what I want. I don't think this is a bad thing, but this one little morning lesson was the tipping point for me. It had been building for a few weeks now, and finally I had to face it. What a relief it is, to know I don't always have to be flirtatious and confident. I can be a human being, and that is my goal each day. I really like the idea of trying on new qualities, be bold one day, be quite another, try listening extra hard one day, trying being opinionated one day, try anything you can think of. It's a much more exciting way to live, I think!

In addition to this wonderful life lesson, I was also inspired beyond what words can say, even though they have icebergs below them. (I believe words are nothing and everything. They are like the Titanic hitting an iceberg. You think it's just a word, but then you realize how big the iceberg is underneath. Words mean so many things to each of us) - MOVING ON - I went to see a show on Friday night called Masterclass. It featured Tyne Daly, and if you haven't seen her, she is brilliant on stage. You will recognize the face. I've attached a picture!

This show was all about Maria Callas, the famous opera singer. I will also attach a youtube link. This woman was called La Divine. She was unbelievable to watch on stage. Her performances were unlike anything before her. She took the music and the score to a whole new level, redefining what it meant to be an Opera Singer. Many didn't always agree with her BOLD choices, but you couldn't take your eyes off her. She was spectacular, and her vocal chords were basically made of steal. She could sing anything she wanted, from Colouratura to dramatic soprano, to Mezzo Soprano. She did it all! And then she lost her voice when she couldn't have the man she really loved. Slowly she lost her voice. In the show she said she lost her Necessity to sing, which was really the reason her voice could do what it did. She had no reason to sing anymore, and I think it was very closely related to that fact that she lost the love of her life. Feelings and emotions are so much a part of what we as entertainers do on stage. This seems obvious to say out loud, but it's a very important thing for an performer to remember. People don't care about the voice, or the acting, or the dancing, so long as there is a story being communicated and real emotions are being expressed. I've said it before, acting is reacting truthfully in imaginary circumstances. In truthful circumstances we are real human beings with real feelings. It is the singers job to find the real emotion in the music. It's all in the music. That is our roadmap to the X. And the journey should be like a treasure hunt, with ups and downs. The singer, actor, dancer, doesn't need to do anything more that search for all the answers in the score, or script, or choreography. It's all there. As a singer, I have been trained (from as far back as being in my mummy's belly) how to listen to music. I spent four years in university listening and analyzing music. This is second nature to me, and yet I don't feel like I've been using it to my fullest potential yet while being in NYC. Well, that's enough of that. This is why I was so moved by Maria Callas and her masterclass, it's all in the music. Out of respect for the Composer and Lyricist, we must do everything we can to honour the music. Let it be bold, let it be miraculous, let is change peoples lives, and let it represent what the composer had in his or her brain. AHHHHH, i can no longer look at a piece of music the same, ever again. I must strive to uncover what the composer was thinking, and then incorporate that into all of my singing and performing. There is no reason to work so hard at making it amazing. The composer wrote it amazing, so if I follow the score and I will be amazing and it will be me, Justin Friesen, because I am singing it! Simple as that!! It's always simple, it is, truly. The answers are always right underneath my nose!

Thank you Maria Callas for reigniting the flame. It's time to really pay attention and live in the necessity to sing, act and dance!!

TCB...

j