Nicole

Freelancing is weird. There are days when I love having the ability to make my own schedule, with no two days being alike, and then there are times when I long for the predictability of a full-time job.

BUT! Today the sun is shining! And I am fully leaning into the luxury of planning my day as I see fit and starting things off with a pastry and coffee with a fellow voice teacher and singer friend. We go to Gilda which absolutely lives up to the hype. I snarf down a bolo and watch my friend enjoy her first pastel de nata. A lot of our conversation is about how weird it is to freelance. And how weird and wonderful it is to be a singer. We are lucky to do what we do.

I spend the rest of the morning preparing to teach my amazing voice clients. I get to work with some truly amazing souls who so bravely and generously share their voices with me. A lot of them sing musical theatre, but a lot of them sing just about anything else under the sun. One just finished an intense round of college auditions to study opera. She’s been accepted into every program (but still waiting to hear from one, so can you please send some good vibes out for her?). I’ve been at this work for 12 years, and I love it.

There’s a little bit of time left before I start teaching for the afternoon/evening, so I spend some of it tending to the actor side of my life. There’s a theatre in New England planning a production with a role I’ve been dying to play, and - I do a double take -  it just so happens that an old childhood theatre friend is now on staff at the company. I send what I hope is a not too cringey message to him to see if he’d help me get an audition appointment. I wish the “it’s who you know” aspect of creative work (any work, really) had been emphasized more in my training. I’ve made a huge effort to get comfy with networking over the past year, and I have to remind myself that if I were on the receiving end of any kind of ask, I’d help in whatever way I could.

All this to say - if you’re reading this, hello, neighbor, it’s nice to meet you! It is indeed who you know, and now, you know me. How can I be of service to you?

Nicole is a multi-facted creative professional. She sings, acts, and teaches voice. Learn more at nicolerenna.net.