Notes on Technique is a step inside the rehearsal room while directing Fate & Rebellion at the Waikato Conservatorium of Music (Handel’s Semele, Bizet’s Carmen, Weber’s Der Freischütz, Bernstein’s Candide; Sept 19–20, 2025). Within tight time and fiscal frames, I work to renew my craft: nurturing and challenging singers at the edge of their learning, standing close enough to read the truth in their eyes. We pursue action over emotion—playing intent and objective so that feeling arises honestly, not performed.