It's Been a While!

Hi Friends!

So this past month has been busssyyyyyy! Showcase is now over, Bound for Broadway is finished, and I am currently in the process of auditioning and having meetings.  As soon as I have video footage of Bound for Broadway I will be sure to post it for ya'll.

It's been crazy trying to get a clean, organized book together.  Ya know, something that truly shows off everything I can play without going too far out of the box.  But I think I'm finally getting there!

I am having a lazy day today, which means I am watching 'Friends' all day and laying on the couch.  Next week is bound to get more hectic, so hopefully I catch up on some rest today.

I'll fill ya'll in more this week!  Have a wonderful night!

*HUG!*
Honey

Bound for Broadway!!!

Hey Everyone!

So I know it's been a little while... AGAIN!  Things are in full swing right now for rehearsals, my parents are in town, auditions are attacking me left and right... so finally I got the chance to take a breath and fill all of you in on my life!

As you all know, the websites are coming along like I mentioned last time, which I am so incredibly excited about!  And recently I have been going on random auditions and have gotten called in for a few things.  What I am the most excited about though is a cabaret show I'm doing in a few weeks!

It is called the "Bound for Broadway" cabaret and it takes place at the Duplex in NYC.  Please be sure if you are interested to click on the link for more details and let me know if you're interested.  It's going to be a really fun night and I absolutely cannot wait to be a part of it!

Bound For Broadway

I hope to fill you in more soon, but the parents are here and breakfast is ready :-) Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

*HUG!*
Honey

Keepin' Ya Posted!

Hey Everyone!

It's been a while since I've last written, but I promise it is for a good reason!  I figured this post would be a great way to catch you all up on what I am currently doing and what projects I am working on!

To start off, I am almost finished with my website.  There are a few fixes that need to be made, but here is the link www.HoneyRibar.com

Another project I have been working on is getting myself out around the web and cleaning up all of the site I am currently associated with.  Here are the following links if you'd like to take a look:
www.facebook.com/honeyribarmusic
www.twitter.com/honeyribar
www.youtube.com/HoneyRibar
www.showcaseyourmusic.com/honeyribar
www.linkedin.com/in/Honeyribar

And of course this blog page...

As you see I have been busy in the online world.  Other than that I have been to a few auditions/callbacks in the past two weeks.  I was recently callback for a fun NYMF show called "Greenwood" and the equity tour of "Hair".  I am also going to try and go to the Mamma Mia call this week.

I am now in full swing of rehearsal for my latest upcoming project, which is Cap21's Summer Practicum showcase.  For more information about it, please visit my new website HoneyRibar.com

Fhew!  I feel like that was a lot of info in one blog but i thought you would all like to be updated since I have not written in a while.  I will keep you all posted on new projects/events in the upcoming future.  For now I love ya'll and hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

*HUG!*
Honey

What Influences my Art

Hey everyone!

So I was thinking about showcase today, and about where life may or may not take me after.  Then I thought about what it is that has kept me constantly loving what I do and continually having my passion for art and performance.  I honestly could not answer the question when I thought about it.
At first I thought, "IT"S FUN!" and lets be honest... IT IS! But there is something deeper lying under the surface that I couldn't quite touch.

Finally I thought about and came to this... I love to perform because I feel that a part of me is dead when I'm not.  I feel that me in real life is great, but me on stage is 10 times better. I feel that i am able to express sides, emotions and parts of me that I am unable to express or show in real life.  I feel that performance is a way to get out of adulthood and go back to childhood.  Playing make believe and creating an objective and obstacle to get what I want, that I necessarily can't have in every day life.  Performance makes me feel beautiful, it makes me feel powerful, it makes me feel in control of my own life, even if I'm not in control at all!

There are sooooo many reasons why I love doing what I do... but what influences it?  I got may answer... people.  People are what inspire me.  Watching people, observing people, mimicking people, copying people.  I can't even count how many times I've taken someone that I've seen on the street and turned them into a character I have played in a class or on a stage.

But the people that inspire me the most are my friends and family.  My Mom for always pushing me to go after my dreams, my dad for telling me to not be so hard on myself and to relax once in a while to gain further knowledge of what I am doing, to my three brothers for always complimenting me even when they have heard the song for the hundredth time, and to the love of my life, Matt.

Matt tells me every day "you are amazing".  You would think it would get old after four years, but it honestly hasn't.  And even on the days when I'm not on my game he still tells me it over and over.  Sometimes I am self conscious, insecure, or just plain scared that I won't reach my dreams or goals.  And when I am he is always there to grab me by the shoulders and talk some sense into me.  Without him in my life I honestly do not know where I would be.  I must admit that I can be a little technically challenged so whenever I need help with anything he is there at the blink of an eye.  My new website, this blog, the videos I post on youtube... he is the man behind the scenes and behind the camera.  So I thought I would shed a little light on him for once, to show him that he is my spotlight.  Without him I would be in the dark.

Who or what is your inspiration?  I honestly would love to know!

*HUG!*
Honey

Cover Letter = Ahhhhh!!!!

Hello Friends and Family!

I am writing this blog on account of my feelings towards cover letters =)

I've always found it hard to talk about myself, so when I think about my future in the performance world, I can't help but get nervous thinking that for the rest of my life (or at least until I have satisfied my inner artist) I have to sell myself as a product and "talk myself up".

One of the assignments in our business class it to write a cover letter to a manager.  I have never written one of these before so I find the task quite daunting.  I mean I can't tell if I am getting too personal, writing too much, writing too little?  I can't tell whether or not this letter is really going to sell who I am or even if it will get me an interview.  One of the things I have always felt confident about is my personality.  I seriously could sit and talk with a person for hours, even if we have absolutely nothing in common.  So how do I sell myself in a few paragraphs or less to get them to want to meet with me?  If anyone has any ideas please let me know! =)

To be honest... I have never been one with "the words".  My college essays weren't A+ papers like many of my friends and I sometimes find it hard to express what I truly mean or how I really feel. Which is why performance has become the drive of my life.  I feel like when I perform, I don't even need to say anything... it simply is expressed through what I am doing.  I've always been a firm believer in "actions speak louder than words" and I as a performer live through that statement.  I wish there was another way besides writing a letter to get an agent or manager to interview me, or as I like to say... get them to know who I really am and appreciate my product.

In the end... we're all looking for the same thing.  We all want to be seen and heard and in the end it is going to be based upon: what you have in common, connections, and simply what they need in that moment of time.

So hopefully this letter turns out lovely; and hopefully Honey what they are craving that day! ;-P

*HUGS!*
Honey

I am... Honey Fierce

Hello my friends, family and fellow bloggers!

Yesterday I went to an all day audition for the NBC television show "The Voice".  It was so much fun! My darling brother and I woke up at 5:30am (which ain't bad compared to some of the auditions I've been to), jumped on a train to port authority, road a bus over to jersey and walked to the IZOD center from the bus stop.  We finally got in line at around 8am and for my 2pm audition slot.  Thankfully we were one of the first people there for my audition time so we both felt happy about leaving at the time we did.  After making friends with the people in line and getting baked by the hot summer sun, Grant was asked to step out of line so that I could enter into the grand stadium by myself.
After waiting 5 hours out in the 100 degree weather, I walked into the blast of ice cold air and registered for my chance to sing before a judge.  It had been another 2 and a half hours before I was seen.  When the time finally came, my group of 10 went into a small, dark room and each of us got up to sing before a blonde woman, no older than 25 years old.
I was the second to last person to sing my song and as I got up everyone in the small room cheered for me.  I smiled internally and externally as I stood up and walked to the center of the room.  There I stood in my ruffled dress, tan heels and jean jacket as I cheerfully introduced my song "River Deep Mountain High."  My mouth opened as I blasted my first note.  I made sure that the song I chose was balanced enough so that whoever I sang for would get a full taste of what my voice sounded like in head, chest, mix and belt voice.

After I sang my song the judge smiled at me and thanked me.  Another girl sitting in the seats that I became friends with in line threw her hat at me and told me to "get the hell out" haha.  Everyone cheered  and laughed because they did not expect the sound that came out of my body.

After the 10th person sang, the judge said that no one in our group made it but we were so close and to try again next year.  I have been told by people I know through these shows that there are certain rooms who can choose tons of people, some rooms that can only choose a few people and some rooms are just unlucky rooms and do not get to choose anyone.  I honestly feel that I got the room that chose no one because there were a handful of beyond amazing singers in my group and not one of them went through.

After I walked out of the IZOD Center with my new friends they all expressed their feelings about my voice and how they weren't expecting what they heard to come out of my mouth.  They expected some Taylor Swift, country song or simple, all-american sound, which brings me to my whole point of writing this blog today.

Sometime I sit and think about school, performing, and just life. I contemplate the "type" of person I appear to be, am told to be, or would be best marketed as.  But is this my true passion?  I do love singing country music and I do love curling my hair to look cute for a day or two.  And, lets be honest, I am a good girl raised in Minnesota by a good family so I have turned out with a personality that settles well with the all around "good, all-american girl".  This is all fine, it really is; and it is definitely a character I would love to play.  But at the end of the day... I cuss sometimes, and I wear dark makeup, and I sing a song where I'm riffing or belting my face off.

My point is... we all play a character in life. I do sell well as the all-american girl, but my voice sure doesn't.  I sound like an r&b or pop singer and have been told many times that this is not the music I should sing because it does not fit my look.  Well... I disagree!  If I can sing it and it is what I love, nothing will stand in the way of it.  But I will not forget what brought me to this place.  I am still a girl from Minnesota, who goes to church every sunday, wears sundresses and treats people with the respect they deserve.  Therefore, I will not run away from what I am "thought to be", however I will not limit myself only to that.

I am... Honey Fierce

*HUGS!*
Honey

Hello my friends!

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!
This has been a crazy busy week, but it's finally starting to wind down.  This weekend is going to be full of refining music, my book, headshots and resumes.  I'm really looking forward to organizing my artistic life.  I still feel like I have so many questions and second thoughts about songs in my book.  I mean... "Is this song too old for me or isn't it?" "Is this too dark?" "Is this too corny?"... I mean I guess it's all an opinion anyway.  No one will ever feel the same exact way about something and I guess instead of trying to please other people what I really need to start doing in order to make myself feel more confident in my performances and auditions is please myself.

Of course there are rules to that statement, but I feel like those of us who are artists trying to break out into the world really need to first and foremost love the piece of material we are using to audition, because if you don't, then what is the point in all of this.

I finally found a song I believe to be truly me.  I am a fun-loving girl, who is madly in love, I am bubbly, hopeful, and young.  On top of all of that I love singing pop/rock music, belting, yet also using other variations of my voice... and I feel like the song I have found finally does all of this!
I would love to sing it for Showcase so I hope when I bring it in, the directors all agree with me.

Anyways... it has been a long few days and I am going to sleepy sleep now.  Goodnight loves!  Sleep good!

*HUG!*
Honey

A fun Weekend!

Well hello my friends!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!  I simply must write about mine.

Well... this weekend I had a friend of mine from Minnesota come in town.  We've been friends since high school and she decided to come out for a mini vacation.  I have to tell you... it was so nice not doing work for once.  I mean I still walked dogs and babysat, but nothing I did was not something I didn't enjoy.

It was so wonderful we spent the afternoon on Friday walking the dogs together, then grabbing a quick lunch at a little cafe in the west side.  Then that evening we ordered Thai food and went to see "Spiderman Turn of the Dark" on the Broadway.  It was actually surprisingly good!  So many people were either completely in love with it or completely not.  I was happy I got to see it!After the show we went out for a little Juniors dessert which was of course... AMAZING!

Saturday we went to Central Park and laid out in the hot sun, went for a walk, and later that evening I went to babysit.  Later that night we met up for dessert again at Juniors (yes I am obsessed... it's ok) and walked all the way home because it was such a gorgeous night.

Sunday she left, and I actually had to do some work, so I finished another youtube video for the week.  The "Monster" video I put up last week already hit 1,000 views so thank you so much for watching.  It truly does mean the world to me to know that I have such a supportive group of people who've gt my back.  I love you all... and like I said... before I leave anyone I always...

*HUG!*
Honey :-)

New Video!

Hello my dear Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I know most of you are off of work today due to the holiday, so I thought I would post and keep you informed on what's going on and share a few random thoughts.

This weekend has been a little stressful... I decided that I'm not completely fond of all the songs I chose as options for my final showcase performance, so with tons if research I have finally began finding material I truly love and think with showcase who I am splendidly.  One problem though... none of the sheets are available.  When it comes to finding sheet music I truly believe I am the queen, not only because I know tons of websites and random connections, but because I have a boyfriend who is kind of a techie and can find ways to get random things.  Neither of us can find the music for any of these songs.  However, a dear friend of mine has a friend who is willing to compose it for me in a piano score which is unbelievable! I wish I had that skill!

Other than that I have been busy kitty/house sitting at my friend's beautiful apartment.  It has been nice to get away for a bit and see what it is like to live with an animal again.  The cat is a sweetheart!!!

I have also been trying to get a new youtube video up.  Finally both Matt and I buckled down of Friday night and composed my newest video, which is of me performing Paramore's newest single from the motion picture Transformer's 3... "Monster".  Matt did all of the work for this, I just sat there and sang... gotta love technically gifted people.  He truly does have a great eye... and this is just him messing around... you should see him when he is actually working his hardest.  He composes masterpieces.  Bu this is just us messing around, doing what we both love to do.  We'll make a new one in the next month... this is just a test run to see how it all came together.

Anyways, feel free to check it out.  I always love the support of friends and family. and please... if you like the video "like" it on youtube if you have time.
I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

*HUG!*
Honey

I'm Tired... But It's All Good!

Hello People!

I hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!
Well today was my day off, but instead of me getting to sleep in, I had to wake up at 7:45am because I was told that a plumber was finally coming to fix our stove today.  We have had a gas leak for almost 2 months now and today it is finally going to be fixed.  However... the man has not shown up yet!  I'm sad because I could be sleeping right now... oh well.
So as some of you know I am EXTREMELY organized.  I usually write out my weekly schedule on my "stickies" on my computer.  So as I was just writing it out I realized I have dog walking, babysitting, school, and people coming in to work on my apartment.  Not bad, not bad.  But then I started getting into all these nit picky things... I need to choose songs for showcase, finalize headshots, order them, figure out audition songs, get my book together, make those small resume cards for dance auditions, get little mini headshots made for when I send Thank You's to casting directors.

Hahaha so much to do in so little time!
But I must say even though it is a busy week, it will all be well worth it when it is finished, and hopefully we can all enjoy the 4th of July weekend :-)

Thanks for listening to my nonsense!  Love ya'll!

*HUG!*
Honey

Like Father Like Daughter

First off... Happy Father's Day!!! I know many of you aren't father's, but we all came from somewhere, whether or not they are here; without them we wouldn't be who we are today.

Secondly... I would just like to tell you a little back story of my life.  

I  have blurry visions of my dad and all the things he would do with us when I was around two or three years old.  He would take me to the park, feed the duckies, and so much more.  However it was him rocking me to sleep at night and singing "You Are My Sunshine" that I will remember the most.  I remember there would be some nights that it would be bedtime and I would wait for my dad to come in and rock me to sleep.  I would wait and wait until he would come in, pick me up and slowly start rocking back and forth as I'd drift off to sleep.  Then there would be nights where he wouldn't come in.  I would have to run all over the house to find him, until finally when I did, I would walk right up to him, stare up at him, lift my arms in the air and say "wock me!"

He would scoop me up, take me in my room and rock and sing until I zonked out.  This actually lasted for years.  The bigger I got the harder it was to rock a 5 year old, so he would move to the rocking chair that we had.

I truly believe that it was my dad who inspired me to become what I am today.  I would sit around the house sometimes and watch him play his acoustic guitar and sing old Beatles songs or folk music.  Then as I began to grow he would pull out his electric guitar and show me what rock and roll was.  I think that because music seeped into my body at such a young age, I have a love for it that I will never have for anything else.  And because I saw how happy his passion made him, it affected me in the same way.

My dad is an inspirational man.  He is kind, gentle, compassionate and has not a single mean bone in his body.  He would be the one to lead girl scout meetings or take me shopping for homecoming dresses or drive me an hour to voice lessons.  He never missed a single game, recital, or show.  Without him I would not be who I am today as a person or performer.

Figure out in life who inspires you... and when you do make sure thank them, because where would we be if we didn't have them to guide us in our artistry?

Thank you Dad for all you do and all you have done.  I love you!  Happy Father's Day!

*HUG!*

Honey

What Is Cap21?

As I sit here in starbucks on 115th street I think back to my first day of business class when my teacher asks us all to know how to articulate was Cap21 is. Well, here is my brief explaination...
Cap21 is a musical theater conservatory that provides artist who wish to further their career in the musical theater world by teaching necessary components required to be a skilled performer. With professionals in the industry to guide the lessons students are educated in acting, dance and voice. With the highly skilled trainers there to guide us, cap21 truly does offer something quite extraordinary along with the fact that it is located right in the heart of New York City... The place where dreams come true.

I'd Like to Thank...

Wow! This really is becoming my "go to" place.  Whenever I think of something I feel like I simply have to write it down here!

To be honest I was thinking back to when I was a kid today.  One of the assignments in our business class is to make a self promotion video about yourself.  While I was writing a layout for it and brainstorming ideas I thought back to the first time I ever performed for an audience.  I was 5 years old at the time, singing for a crowd of 500.  I can honestly say that I remember everything about it.  I remember the song I sang, the turning sensation in my stomach, the butterflies flittering throughout my heart, and the excitement one feels before the drop of a roller coaster.  When I got up on that stage and began singing I didn't know who I really was or what the heck I was doing... I mean... I was only 5 years old... how much can someone know about themselves at that age?  But after I sang that first note... something genuinely changed in me.  I don't mean to sound corny when I say that either.  For the first time, I heard my voice... I felt my skin... I tasted what it was like to be a performer.  I'd alway run around my house singing show tunes and pop music, and I knew what I liked, but nothing ever made me feel the way I felt at that moment.  It was like my heart was a cocoon, and after that experience it evolved into a little butterfly... not yet grown, but starting out in it's new shape and beautiful form.  It was like the birth of the artist within me... and I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

After I heard the audience scream and cheer, my cheeks turned red and tears filled my eyes with excitement!  I didn't understand the feeling at the time... I thought it may have been the idea of everyone liking me and thinking my voice was decent.  But as I grew older and my passion for the art grew, I knew that it really had nothing to do with an applause... more so what was underneath that applause that was going on inside everyone.  That I could effect one, two... one thousand people... it didn't matter.  All I wanted to do and continue to strive to do is make an impact on just one person's life.

As I sit here preparing dinner for my brother, my boyfriend and myself I anticipate the Tony's.  I can't help but hope and dream that some day I will be the person standing on that stage saying "I'd like to thank..."  Because there are sooooo many people that have made me the performer I am today and without their love and support I wouldn't be the artist I am.  I hope that one day I can effect the lives of the people that fill a Broadway theater.  I have been given a gift, and I believe it is my job to use it and share it for the good of everyone.  To make this world a more beautiful place.  And if you have that gift, whether or not you have shared it or it is still kept hidden, make sure that you share it in some way, because trust me... you will make an impact on someone's life.  "To the world you may be just one person; but to one person, you may be the world."

Happy Tony Night beautiful people!  Who would you "Like to thank..."?

*HUG!*
Honey

I Should've Become a Lawyer...

Sometimes I look at the life I live and think... why am I doing this to myself?

I woke up at 8am on a Saturday morning and immediately began working and have not stopped.  I've been juggling my work as an artist and my work as a real person.  Looking for audition material to fit my personality/"type", editing my resume, and learning new material for my class on Tuesday; while juggling the tasks of setting mouse traps for the new friends that have come to visit me for evening snacks, buying necessities for my new home, and paying the monthly bills.

I feel so overwhelmed at times, but then I think to myself... "If I just get this done, I can go to bed comfortably".  I wonder if doctors, lawyers, dentists and accountants feel the same way I do?  I'm sure they do... but is money and stability for a comfortable living style a care for them?

A little too often I sit and think to myself... why is it that OUR careers as artists go so unrecognized at times?  We are the ones that make people feel the way they feel when they've left the movie theater, or cried to that song on the radio, or thought endlessly about a painting.  We impact people's lives the way the dentists and accountants do... sometimes even more.  No matter where they go they will have us with them... so why is it that I, as an artist, have to worry about my future of stabilization.

I guess that's just the way life goes sometimes, but you know what? ... I love what I do more than anything!  And no amount of money could change what I want to do, because I love it and I do it well.  So to all of those artists out there who are like me and wonder about the future... I'm right there with you.  And with a little bit of faith I truly believe that we will all make it!

*HUG!*
Honey

I'm a Hug Person

Hello! Welcome to my new home!  

For the next few months and hopefully long after that I will be making this site my home away from home.  I will be writing about my life and all the journeys I embark on as an artist in New York City.  This is not a conventional blog, more so a conversation between my readers and I.  If you know me, you know I'm a person who loves to grab coffee or lunch and talk for hours on end.  In fact, if you ever want to grab coffee, let me know! I would never say "no" to an iced chai tea :-)

For those of you who don't know much about me feel free to look at my brief "About Me" section.  However, there is much more to me that you may not know about.  Like it says, my name is Honey Ribar and I am from Eagan, Minnesota.  I moved out to the Big Apple to attend school at NYU in Tisch's Cap21 Program for Musical Theater.  After three intense years of late nights, long essays, and hours of performance work, I have finally graduated a year early (earning my BFA in Drama) like I set out to do and am finishing my school work this summer.  

I have many career and personal goals set for my life, however I'll save those stories for a later time.  I am very blessed to have been brought up in the home I was raised in, with the family who raised me and the friends who supported me.  It was hard moving away from a house and town I grew up in for 18 years, but I knew that if I didn't step out of the box I wouldn't have the knowledge, friends and opportunities I have today.

I believe that a life without love is no life at all, so lets show some love! I always love hearing back from people! and I'm serious about grabbing lunch or coffee!

Talk to you all soon!

*HUG!*

Honey

(p.s. whenever I say goodbye, I hug... I'm a hug person)