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City Beat by Bill Bell SINGERS FIND KEY TO COPING
This night, she was a Star. There she was, as bold as Broadway, vamping in a clinging, sequined black mini, a long red boa draped around her shoulders, belting out "Big Spender" on the spotlit stage of The Triad, a midtown Manhattan cabaret. But don’t think of it as giving up the day job. Think final exam. Halpern, 35, was one of 15 warbler wanna-bes and closet crooners who were finishing a singing workshop run by Linda Amiel Burns, a veteran on the New York cabaret scene. The last session required them to sing in public. "It’s about singing, of course," said Burns, "but, it’s also about conquering fear." As she waited in the dressing room a few nights ago, Halpern said that sure, she was nervous -- "it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done." By now, this is an old, familiar line to Burns, who started The Singing Experience workshop 20 years ago for people who want to sing to somebody besides themselves, and are terrified at the idea. But, the coaching they get from Burns applies to a lot of other fears her pupils don’t or won’t -- confront about jobs, relationships and important decisions. "Once you sing in public," Burns tells them, "nothing can scare you." The other night, the performers included a librarian, aerobics instructor, novelist, paralegal, patternmaker, computer consultant, actress, a couple of retired teachers, the owner of a small ad agency and a couple of housewives. Three were men, and ages ranged from 23 to 72. Some brought more than melodies to the workshop. There was Jennifer Callan, who turned 25 on Friday. Her divorce was made final the night of her first rehearsal, and she was so shaken she wasn’t sure she could go on.
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For
about four minutes, Eileen Halpern was not just another accountant
riding the E train from Glendale,Queens, to her Wall Street job
with Nikkko Securities.
