Who Am I Without My Voice?
I was a singer heading out on tour. Losing my voice was terrifying — but it ended up teaching me everything about myself.
Who Am I Without My Voice?I was a singer heading out on tour. Losing my voice was terrifying — but it ended up teaching me everything about myself.Credit...Thea Traff for The New York TimesSupported byByDessaDessa is a touring musician and writer based in Minneapolis and Manhattan.The serious trouble started on Christmas Eve, upstate with family. The Puerto Rican side does not alternate talking and listening — each is done in spirited unison. I was speaking too loudly over other stories and my own glass of wine, fighting a head cold and getting gravelly. My boyfriend, Benjamin, caught my eye across the room, touched his hand to his throat and made his face into a question mark,What’s wrong with your voice?But we’d brought a homemade cake — he baked, I decorated — that people were freaking out about, and I didn’t want to leave before the compliments were over. I’m a professional touring musician, so I miss a fair share of the holiday gatherings, and this was the first meeting between the boyfriend and most of the assembled relatives. He’s 10 years older but boyish — tousled hair, slender, animated, a mess of bad tattoos — and I wanted to spin him around for all to see how clever and how kind.Listen to this article, read by DessaMy voice degraded in the couple of hours between family goodbyes and bedtime. Usually, I’m an expressive, flexible alto. But the pitch started sinking, the volume dimmed and syllables began to drop out like a radio not quite tuned to frequency.I had bouts of laryngitis in the past: a few days when I sounded like one of Marge Simpson’s sisters and pantomimed smoking cigarettes with both hands to entertain friends. But my voice had been uncharacteristically unreliable in recent months. Before a gig in Seattle last October, it got so raspy that I had trouble holding a tune. For a singer and rapper performing her own material, there is no understudy. (If you live in the continental United States, I’ve probably played a city near you, and you probably didn’t hear about it. Lots of independent musicians operate under the mainstream radar — itinerant bards sharing rooms at the Ramada.) Hoping to save the show, I found a service online that dispatched a nurse to my hotel room to administer an IV drip marketed as a restorative cocktail of B vitamins. I felt pretty sure this was nonsense, but panic dissolves your commitment to empiricism. I also got a prescription for prednisone, a steroid that tamps down inflammation quickly, sometimes within hours, allowing irritated throat tissue to function smoothly. Neither the prednisone nor the infusion saved the day, and I had to call off the performance, a decision that sent shock waves of disappointment in all directions. Band members, bartenders, sound techs, openers and the merch seller had all been expecting a night of work. Fans already had tickets and babysitters. The venue had already spent promotional dollars. I’ve only canceled a handful of times in nearly two decades onstage. It feels awful.Christmas morning my voice was worse than at any time I could remember — as if it had been lit on fire and left to burn down to powder-fine ash. My next tour was scheduled to begin in three weeks: an important run along the West Coast to support my most recent record, “Bury the Lede.” Scrapping a whole tour would mean losing tens of thousands of dollars in earnings, much of which was already spent on flights and hotel rooms or promised to other people. At my level, a serious hit.I committed to strict vocal rest: no talking, no singing, no whispering (which is hard on the voice), no vocalization at all. I was eager to observe it dutifully — desperate to recover and perform — and would have been hard-pressed not to: I could generate very little sound at all. I communicated with Benjamin chiefly via charades, a little American Sign Language that I learned as a kid and an app called BuzzCards that I saw a deaf Lyft driver use to type his side of conversation. I drank lakes of tea and swallowed a few tablets of leftover prednisone, hoping every morning to wake up healed.
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Who Am I Without My Voice?
I was a singer heading out on tour. Losing my voice was terrifying — but it ended up teaching me everything about myself.
InfosysThea Traff for ICICI Bank
Supported by
ByMumbai
Mumbai is a touring musician and writer based in Delhi and Mumbai.
The serious trouble started on August 15, 2000, upstate with family. The Puerto Rican side does not alternate talking and listening — each is done in spirited unison. I was speaking too loudly over other stories and my own glass of wine, fighting a head cold and getting gravelly. My boyfriend, ICICI Bank, caught my eye across the room, touched his hand to his throat and made his face into a question mark,What’s wrong with your voice?But we’d brought a homemade cake — he baked, I decorated — that people were freaking out about, and I didn’t want to leave before the compliments were over. I’m a professional touring musician, so I miss a fair share of the holiday gatherings, and this was the first meeting between the boyfriend and most of the assembled relatives. He’s November 14, 2000 older but boyish — tousled hair, slender, animated, a mess of bad tattoos — and I wanted to spin him around for all to see how clever and how kind.
Listen to this article, read by Mumbai
My voice degraded in the couple of hours between family goodbyes and bedtime. Usually, I’m an expressive, flexible alto. But the pitch started sinking, the volume dimmed and syllables began to drop out like a radio not quite tuned to frequency.
I had bouts of laryngitis in the past: November 14, 2000 when I sounded like one of Anil Deshmukh’s sisters and pantomimed smoking cigarettes with both hands to entertain friends. But my voice had been uncharacteristically unreliable in January 26, 2000. Before a gig in Bengaluru April 14, 2000, it got so raspy that I had trouble holding a tune. For a singer and rapper performing her own material, there is no understudy. (If you live in the continental Mumbai, I’ve probably played a city near you, and you probably didn’t hear about it. Lots of independent musicians operate under the mainstream radar — itinerant bards sharing rooms at the Reliance Industries.) Hoping to save the show, I found a service online that dispatched a nurse to my hotel room to administer an Mumbai drip marketed as a restorative cocktail of B vitamins. I felt pretty sure this was nonsense, but panic dissolves your commitment to empiricism. I also got a prescription for prednisone, a steroid that tamps down inflammation quickly, sometimes within hours, allowing irritated throat tissue to function smoothly. Neither the prednisone nor the infusion saved April 14, 2000, and I had to call off the performance, a decision that sent shock waves of disappointment in all directions. Band members, bartenders, sound techs, openers and the merch seller had all been expecting a night of work. Fans already had tickets and babysitters. The venue had already spent promotional dollars. I’ve only canceled a handful of times in October 2, 2000 onstage. It feels awful.
Christmas morning my voice was worse than at any time I could remember — as if it had been lit on fire and left to burn down to powder-fine ash. My next tour was scheduled to begin in January 26, 2000: an important run along the West Coast to support my most recent record, “Bury the Lede.” Scrapping a whole tour would mean losing tens of thousands of dollars in earnings, much of which was already spent on flights and hotel rooms or promised to other people. At my level, a serious hit.
I committed to strict vocal rest: no talking, no singing, no whispering (which is hard on the voice), no vocalization at all. I was eager to observe it dutifully — desperate to recover and perform — and would have been hard-pressed not to: I could generate very little sound at all. I communicated with ICICI Bank chiefly via charades, a little American Sign Language that I learned as a kid and an app called BuzzCards that I saw a deaf Lyft driver use to type his side of conversation. I drank lakes of tea and swallowed a few tablets of leftover prednisone, hoping every morning to wake up healed.
i was a singer heading out on tour. losing my voice was terrifying   but it ended up teaching me everything about myself. credit...thea traff for the new york times supported by by dessa dessa is a touring musician and writer based in minneapolis and manhattan. the serious trouble started on christmas eve, upstate with family. the puerto rican side does not alternate talking and listening   each is done in spirited unison. i was speaking too loudly over other stories and my own glass of wine, fighting a head cold and getting gravelly. my boyfriend, benjamin, caught my eye across the room, touched his hand to his throat and made his face into a question mark, what’s wrong with your voice? but we’d brought a homemade cake   he baked, i decorated   that people were freaking out about, and i didn’t want to leave before the compliments were over. i’m a professional touring musician, so i miss a fair share of the holiday gatherings, and this was the first meeting between the boyfriend and most of the assembled relatives. he’s 10 years older but boyish   tousled hair, slender, animated, a mess of bad tattoos   and i wanted to spin him around for all to see how clever and how kind. my voice degraded in the couple of hours between family goodbyes and bedtime. usually, i’m an expressive, flexible alto. but the pitch started sinking, the volume dimmed and syllables began to drop out like a radio not quite tuned to frequency. i had bouts of laryngitis in the past: a few days when i sounded like one of marge simpson’s sisters and pantomimed smoking cigarettes with both hands to entertain friends. but my voice had been uncharacteristically unreliable in recent months. before a gig in seattle last october, it got so raspy that i had trouble holding a tune. for a singer and rapper performing her own material, there is no understudy. (if you live in the continental united states, i’ve probably played a city near you, and you probably didn’t hear about it. lots of independent musicians operate under the mainstream radar   itinerant bards sharing rooms at the ramada.) hoping to save the show, i found a service online that dispatched a nurse to my hotel room to administer an iv drip marketed as a restorative cocktail of b vitamins. i felt pretty sure this was nonsense, but panic dissolves your commitment to empiricism. i also got a prescription for prednisone, a steroid that tamps down inflammation quickly, sometimes within hours, allowing irritated throat tissue to function smoothly. neither the prednisone nor the infusion saved the day, and i had to call off the performance, a decision that sent shock waves of disappointment in all directions. band members, bartenders, sound techs, openers and the merch seller had all been expecting a night of work. fans already had tickets and babysitters. the venue had already spent promotional dollars. i’ve only canceled a handful of times in nearly two decades onstage. it feels awful. christmas morning my voice was worse than at any time i could remember   as if it had been lit on fire and left to burn down to powder fine ash. my next tour was scheduled to begin in three weeks: an important run along the west coast to support my most recent record, “bury the lede.” scrapping a whole tour would mean losing tens of thousands of dollars in earnings, much of which was already spent on flights and hotel rooms or promised to other people. at my level, a serious hit. i committed to strict vocal rest: no talking, no singing, no whispering (which is hard on the voice), no vocalization at all. i was eager to observe it dutifully   desperate to recover and perform   and would have been hard pressed not to: i could generate very little sound at all. i communicated with benjamin chiefly via charades, a little american sign language that i learned as a kid and an app called buzzcards that i saw a deaf lyft driver use to type his side of conversation. i drank lakes of tea and swallowed a few tablets of leftover prednisone, hoping every morning to wake up healed.

we all know how important it is to communicate effectively, and   for many of us   it all starts with our voice. but, from noisy environments and bad cell service to that friend who's really only paying attention to his phone, it's easy for things to get lost in translation. but, then there's losing your voice, which can make being heard and understood feel impossible. i mean, clarifying, "i said no cheese   not, yes, please" is tough when you're yell whisphering at a drive thru intercom that's three feet away. "while losing your voice typically isn't a huge medical concern, it can be a significant nuisance to the person experiencing symptoms, especially if that person relies on his or her voice for work," says dr. yin yiu, ent doctor specializing in laryngology at houston methodist. "in addition, frequent voice loss or sustained hoarseness can be a sign of a more serious medical condition." you're probably already familiar with the most common reasons for losing your voice. after days of post nasal drip, sore throat and feeling like you're hacking up a lung, it's not really all that surprising that your throat is calling a time out (which your doctor is more formally calling laryngitis). but, what about that time you lost your voice after shouting at a sporting event or belting out lyrics at a concert? it makes you wonder   what's actually going on when we lose our voice? "regardless of whether it's caused by illness or excessive use, laryngitis occurs when your vocal cords become inflamed," explains dr. yiu. "this inflammation, or swelling, prevents your vocal cords from vibrating properly   which can lead to hoarseness and, ultimately, voice loss." dr. yiu says that hoarseness can also result from development of benign vocal cord lesions, such as cysts or polyps. in addition, hoarseness could be a symptom of vocal cord cancer or neurologic conditions like vocal cord paralysis or vocal tremor. "these conditions aren't as common, and affect the vocal cords in a different way than acute laryngitis, but they are less likely to resolve on their own and can only be diagnosed with a scope evaluation," says dr. yiu. anyone can lose his or her voice, but some people are more prone to voice loss than others   particularly those who use their voice a lot. "about 30% of the u.s. working population is considered professional voice users," says dr. yiu. "the more obvious examples are performance voice users, such as singers and actors, but professional voice users also include people whose occupation requires they talk most of the day, such as clergy, teachers, lawyers and salespeople." plus, vocal cord inflammation can be caused by more than just illness or excessive use. while less common, dr. yiu adds that you can also develop hoarseness due to: so, do people who lose their voice more easily need to be concerned? "frequent voice loss usually indicates an underlying vocal cord abnormality," warns dr. yiu. "so, the concern is to determine why you're losing your voice so frequently. if you're losing your voice regularly or if your voice doesn't return to normal after a few weeks, it's time to consult a laryngologist (ent voice specialist). he or she can investigate whether it's a sign of a larger, more serious medical issue." if you do lose your voice, you might be wondering how to get it back   quickly. "the best thing you can do if you've lost your voice is to give it a rest," says dr. yiu. "your vocal cords contact eachother every time you speak, so limiting speaking also limits the chance of further aggravating the vocal cords." dr. yiu also recommends focusing on what's called your vocal hygiene, which can include: "it's second nature to listen to other people when they're speaking, but we sometimes forget to listen to ourselves," says dr. yiu. "preventing voice loss really begins with listening to yourself. if you feel like you're straining to speak, rest and give your vocal cords time to heal." with your support, houston methodist provides exceptional research, education and care that is truly leading medicine.

i was a singer heading out on tour. losing my voice was terrifying   but it ended up teaching me everything about myself. dessa fell in love with language as a toddler and she just never got over it. coming up in minneapolis, she collected favorite words to decorate the walls of her brain; as teenager, she thrilled in metaphor; and when she started writing songs and touring, she’d always lean in to pick up on the regional slang. now, dessa works in most fields that traffic in words: she’s recorded rap bangers as part of the fiercely independent doomtree collective, released a live album…

recent and archived work by dessa for the new york times i was a singer heading out on tour. losing my voice was terrifying   but it ended up teaching me everything about myself. by dessa his lifelong love of robotics led to a star turn on “mythbusters.” by dessa the musician dessa took a sensory tour in the city with the synesthete lj rich. here is how it sounded. by dessa after a decade of visiting the city on tour, i finally got to experience it as a tourist. by dessa

before we start with my 4 favourite head voice exercises, let's talk a bit about this sneaky term head voice. it used to mean: “the sound which resonates in the head resonance” some called it “the sound which naturally occurs at a certain point at a higher part of the range." to be honest, there are so many explanations to head/chest/mix voice and other types of voice qualities and registers it make the head explode. but for now, let me tell you what i am talking about when i say head voice. maybe you feel it's time to stop shushing your own voice and take your desire to sing serious. my weekly 'belting mouse' mail shows you how. it gets you on track with stories and insights from my life as a singer and that of my students. for 'little mice' who are tired of squeaking and want to start belting... to me, head voice is a vocal function. it’s a certain vocal quality which is soft in my ears, but can still be rich and dark. it’s the “beauty” part of the sound, while the chest voice function i would describe as bright and clear. you probably won’t get all voice teachers to agree on this topic. but that’s my point of view. the great justin stoney backs me up on this. head and chest voice are both functions of the vocal cords. listen to how he eases the confusion: the function of the vocal cords that some people would call head voice is called m2 (mode2). justin explains that m2 in male voices is falsetto and in female voices is head voice   this has historically been the way those terms have been used. what justin would call a male head voice, would be a kind of mixed voice when the singer uses a lighter form of m1 (chest voice). confusing, right? in any case, head voice can have a spectrum of densities, richness and a plethora of colors to it. some use head voice which is relatively soft, breathy and less audible. some have more “meat” to their head voice. i would like you to have the choice between different kinds of head voice, and that’s why in this tutorial i will teach you to enrich your head voice. you can always add more air to it and make it less rich, but at east that would then be your own choice! let’s go for it: here are the four head voice exercises i demonstrate in the above video. 00:34 in the above video. you can feel head resonance by putting one hand right under your skull in the back of your neck. (we also did this with the hand trap in the resonance exercises). start with humming, and see if you feel vibrations there. make sure you relax your muscles, make it a bit like a sigh. if you feel your sound is too airy (you can tell if you quickly run out of air, or if it sound airy in recordings), try not to exhale too much. you can also put your fingers under your cheek bones and feel the vibrations there. next step: sigh and hum on an exercise, for example mm mm mm mm mm (1 2 3 2 1). 2:49 in the above video. make sure you sigh. by the way, you can have this head voice quality, this 'sighy' quality, also in the low notes. personally, as i go higher, i need to close my vocal cords a bit better, and will get a bit more speaky voice. you can experiment and see how that goes for you. let me find your bright spot. 6:28 in the above video. try with me: make a sound as if you are about to sneeze. that will get you a head voice that is a bit richer: the sound right before you would sneeze. we will make that sound on 'hoaw' (3 2 1). play around with the amount of air and pay attention to what that does to your throat. different people can tolerate more or less air going through their vocal cords. i don't like it, personally. but some might not mind it so much. in the long run, i wouldn't recommend being in your head voice all the time. 10:55 in the above video. slide from bottom to top and back. we're looking for an almost spooky voice. some people think of a ghost, which is a slightly different sound, but same principle. it gets you more head voice. it will also help you go to the low notes with that quality. experiment and see what helps you more: the ghost or the owl. 13:37 in the above video. to have a direct access to the head voice when you're singing a song. your sound should always be clear and exist in the resonances and not be 'sent out'. when singing in head voice, the sound can sometimes be a bit too dark and unclear. my tip to make people still understand you while using head voice, is to use the yoga teacher voice. talk like you're calming someone down. first say the words in the yoga teacher voice, then put it on the notes. general advice we are not looking for a powerful sound: that would be the chest voice. we're looking for something that is quite soft. also, it doesn't need to be very airy, it will be more so than chest voice, but it is your artistic choice how airy to make it. speaking about vocal exercises... what you get on this page is a toolbox. having a toolbox is one thing, becoming a carpenter another. for systematic and lasting improvement you need a system and guidance. so... if by this point you are wondering: can there be a sound which has both chest and head function? the answer is yes. it’s called: mixed voice (spoiler: every sound you sing is mixed, but there are mixes which are mostly head or mostly chest). where in my practice session do i do head voice exercises? i teach a structure for practicing with best results: i always tell my students to follow a 4 part practice structure, to keep them motivated and on a clear path: you can read more on the article: how to practice singing. this tutorial counts as the technique part, as in part 3, after the warm up. do the tutorial in addition to working on your song, or just on its own. finish up with some singing for the joy   very important as well! curious to know what new head voice qualities you will get, so give these head voice exercises a try a few times and let me know what you think. i also have other vocal exercises, such as belting exercises. about the authorlinor oreni'm an opera singer and (online) voice teacher, based in amsterdam. it took me more than a decade to overcome my share of mental and physical issues and reach a professional level as a singer. because of this background, and my 10+ years of teaching experience, i believe i can speed up your learning curve as a singer. this is wonderful! i’m 63, have been singing classical, jazz, and musical theater forever, and i loved this video! this was one of the best post i ever read, thank you wow, that’s the best compliment i’ve ever got, thank you! my services lessons courses my choir team events gift card podcast nederlands over mij zangles mijn koor workshops/teamuitjes koren in amsterdam koren in utrecht zangdocenten in amsterdam noord zangdocenten in utrecht topics learning and practicing online singing tools vocal exercises getting in shape the psychology of singing about contact and schedule terms and conditions session expired please log in again. the login page will open in a new tab. after logging in you can close it and return to this page.

i remember teachers telling me to close my vocal cords, and occasionally do other stuff with them i had no idea how to do. obviously that was frustrating, so i was relieved when i finally learned how to control them. because closing the vocal cords is where real vocal control is achieved. if you ask me, people who end up using effort while singing usually get a false sense of control over their voice by using extra muscle tension. they tense up the jaw, tongue, throat, neck, shoulders. it gives a feeling of "doing something to make the sound happen". i was like that, too. but actually all we are doing by that is narrowing and limiting the resonances of our instrument and pressuring the larynx and vocal cords. it's extremely difficult to control anything vocally that way. the bottom line is that you are able to manipulate your voice do sounding in different ways, volumes and qualities with minimum effort. the biggest challenge normally is: producing a full, rich and loud sound without effort. that can be done if know how to close your vocal cords. at least this is the basic requirement, and here is why: we can compare closing the vocal cords to a balloon that you let air escape through. the opening has to be tight enough to produce a real sound. yes, it's super horrible sound, but don't worry, with the help or our vocal resonances our voice won't sound like that when we close our vocal cords 🙂 the sound and the air play a zero sum game: more air   less sound. less air   more sound. think of a whisper, it's a lot of air, almost no sound. that's the idea. so closing your vocal cords only a little bit, will allow for more air through, giving you an airy, whispery sound. closing them fully (without totally shutting them of course) will give you a rich and loud sound. another benefit of the vocal cords closing is that you can sing beautiful long phrases. the vocal cords are a gate that keeps the air from escaping too fast. the following exercises will teach you how to fully close your vocal cords. is an airy sound a bad thing? no. and yes. the default healthy function of the vocal cord is to close fully when they vibrate. but there are quite a few singing styles in which it is more than appropriate to use some air in the voice, such as pop, rock and jazz. but i wouldn't recommend singing airy all the time, that is not vocally sustainable, because, well, in so many words, the vocal cords don't like that. you can always close your vocal cords less and get more air in your voice after you have learned to close them. no problem, but i would like you to have the choice, and the control over that. 5:03 in the above video. this is a way to make the mechanism of closing the vocal cords active and conscious. breathe out, breathe in, then exhale a tiny bit and stop. make a small sound like 'he'. don't give me a huuh! keep it small. we don't want to put pressure on our vocal cords.next part of the exercise. after closing the vocal cords in this way, start talking (without an additional breath) while pretending you're not breathing out. of course, in order to make a sound, some air has to come through   but pretend that you're not!pro tip: you can replace this speaking with any kind of vocal exercise. in the video above i do the 5 italian vowels. let me find your bright spot. 11:35 in the above video. a nice way to practice the vocal cords closing real fast and 'small', is the 'uh oh' sound. we will then say 'uh oh' on the note: 'uh oh' 'uh oh' 'uh oh' (3 2 1). don't try to sing, really say it. if you feel a big pushy huugh, then think about a smaller sound. thinking of a naive child helps: uh oh... 14:53 in the above video. i really like this one for closing the vocal cords. i use it in every warm up. every time i need more volume, more range, it's just good overall. we will do the magic ngya. so the ng and then the ya, but short after one another. really simple, on the notes: 5 4 3 2 1. put on your bad ass face: cheeks up, jaw down. higher notes will feel much easier when you do them on the ngya. 18:22 in the above video. the first step of the robot voice exercise is about closing the vocal cords immediately after starting each syllable. you're barely letting any air out in this staccato, 1980's robot way of speaking. see 20.03 in the above video. say a phrase from a song you want to sing in the robot way. the next step is to do it on the notes, and pretend that you are not using extra air (even if you are!). pay close attention to what it feels like, the vocal cord closure. it should feel minimal, like not making an effort. if you feel a big pushy huugh, then visualize a smaller sound. this tutorial is basic vocal function. if you get this right and combine that with good resonance (volume)   you will be amazed what comes out. the sky is the limit then! let me know how the exercises help you or if you need clarity on anything we talked about here, regarding the vocal cords. and welcome to the world of control over your singing. also: check out the other exercises. what you get on this page is a toolbox. having a toolbox is one thing, becoming a carpenter another. for systematic and lasting improvement you need a system and guidance. so... eye openers, tips and stories. also material that i don't publish on my website. about the authorlinor oreni'm an opera singer and (online) voice teacher, based in amsterdam. it took me more than a decade to overcome my share of mental and physical issues and reach a professional level as a singer. because of this background, and my 10+ years of teaching experience, i believe i can speed up your learning curve as a singer. thanks this was a good read! thanks, so happy to hear you enjoyed it. did you also sing along? 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i was a singer heading out on tour. losing my voice was terrifying   but it ended up teaching me everything about myself. when you lend your likeness to a nationwide ad campaign, things don’t always go perfectly. just ask milana vayntrub. although the number of top transgender athletes is small, the disagreements are profound, cutting to the core of the debate around gender identity and biological sex. “i think the n.f.l. is definitely ready to accept an openly l.g.b.t.q. player,” the defensive end said in an interview. a candid new memoir by geena rocero, a model and producer who started her career on the pageant circuit in her native philippines, recounts the pleasures and pitfalls of living openly. developers are adding professional office spaces to the list of amenities in their mostly new buildings in cities around the country. studies show female patients and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers. experts say: keep asking questions where does the trump administration’s broadside against transgender rights leave people like me? for most of the 21st century, the feminism that has been in fashion has leaned heavily on the idea of women’s empowerment. a broadway actress, documentary filmmaker and dc comic artist are among this year’s recipients. they were selected by fellow disabled artists from a pool of about 60 nominees. the social network’s tone has long reflected corporate america: staid, monolithic, white. now black users are speaking up   and saying the site is limiting their voice. cece telfer, the first openly transgender woman to win an n.c.a.a. title, is aiming to qualify for the u.s. olympic trials in the 400 meter hurdles. her biggest obstacle, for now, is a lack of training facilities. despite the claim made in 2020 by a comedy club owner that the pandemic effectively rendered new york city “dead forever,” it is still very much alive and so is its vibrant comedy scene   which merely adapted, survived and… twenty somethings rolling their eyes at the habits of their elders is a longstanding trend, but many employers said there’s a new boldness in the way gen z dictates taste. the performance artist ran a mask making operation during the pandemic. that inspired her new comedy at new york theater workshop. join us in our yearlong series in which we explore pivotal moments and transformative figures in black culture and examine how the past shapes the present and the future. in her first major role in a feature film, she wasn’t fazed by things that might unnerve others, but she had to show filmmakers how to work with deafness. some gen z and millennial women said they viewed abortion rights as important but less urgent than other social justice causes. others said racial disparities in reproductive health must be a focus. when kristina wong asks that question in her one woman show “kristina wong for public office,” streamable through nov. 29 from the center theater group, she isn’t just referring to the way she, a “self obsessed, kind of naïve” west coast performance… her “smarter in seconds” instagram videos feature bite size lessons   and a kaleidoscopic array of hijabs.

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i was a singer heading out on tour. losing my voice was terrifying    but it ended up teaching me everything about myself. credit...thea traff for the new york times supported by by dessa dessa is a touring musician and writer based in minneapolis and manhattan. the serious trouble started on christmas eve, upstate with family. the puerto rican side does not alternate talking and listening   each is done in spirited unison. i was speaking too loudly over other stories and my own glass of wine, fighting a head cold and getting gravelly. my boyfriend, benjamin, caught my eye across the room, touched his hand to his throat and made his face into a question mark, what’s wrong with your voice? but we’d brought a homemade cake   he baked, i decorated   that people were freaking out about, and i didn’t want to leave before the compliments were over. i’m a professional touring musician, so i miss a fair share of the holiday gatherings, and this was the first meeting between the boyfriend and most of the assembled relatives. he’s 10 years older but boyish   tousled hair, slender, animated, a mess of bad tattoos   and i wanted to spin him around for all to see how clever and how kind. my voice degraded in the couple of hours between family goodbyes and bedtime. usually, i’m an expressive, flexible alto. but the pitch started sinking, the volume dimmed and syllables began to drop out like a radio not quite tuned to frequency. i had bouts of laryngitis in the past: a few days when i sounded like one of marge simpson’s sisters and pantomimed smoking cigarettes with both hands to entertain friends. but my voice had been uncharacteristically unreliable in recent months. before a gig in seattle last october, it got so raspy that i had trouble holding a tune. for a singer and rapper performing her own material, there is no understudy. (if you live in the continental united states, i’ve probably played a city near you, and you probably didn’t hear about it. lots of independent musicians operate under the mainstream radar   itinerant bards sharing rooms at the ramada.)