Hey-o, squiders, happy Tuesday. (Except my back is killing me, aauuugh.) How are you?
I’m in the midst of pre-show jitters, because the musical I’ve been working on is this weekend!
(I did tell you about the musical, right? We’re doing Music Man.)
The pre-show jitters are bull, because my part is so ridiculously easy I could honestly do it in my sleep. Most of the songs are in unison, there’s very little dancing (on my part), I’ve got no lines. Easy peasy lemon squeeze-y.
I’ve found that nerves rarely listen to logic, however. If they did, I wouldn’t blow my auditions all the time.
(It’s really aggravating, because it doesn’t matter how much I practice my audition song beforehand. I could spend months on it–and have–and still manage to forget the words, or screw up the rhythm, or be horribly off tune. And I can tell I am, and yet can’t seem to do anything about it.)
(And yet, performing is fine. I have never screwed up a song during a performance, even if it’s a solo. Brains are stupid.)
I tell you this, because it does mean I may miss my Thursday update. Not on purpose. But because I may be exhausted. Tech week sucks, and rehearsal runs late because we do it after the normal workday. I’m not worried about the show itself–we’re in a really good place to be ready to open on Friday–but it’s just a lot of time.
And also because this show has really made me think about what I’m doing with this particular theater company. (I suspect I’ve said that before, about previous shows. I probably forget in between shows or something.)
But I am especially thinking because the company is trying to move in a new direction, one that I suspect will make it even harder to get anywhere than it already is, if not impossible.
I like this company because I adore the people who are in the cast, and it’s convenient (it’s based at my church, so it’s close and familiar), and because they tend to do large ensemble shows that allow lots of different people to participate. (Lots of potential new friends and old favorites.)
But I don’t like it because it almost always does musicals, which are not my preference or strong point (God, I would kill to do some Shakespeare). And I don’t like it because I have no opportunity to show off my training, so I’m always relegated to the ensemble. And I don’t like it because the same people always get the leads, and there’s no opportunities for other people to advance.
I should look at other local theater companies, and see what their rehearsal schedules are/where they operate out of. It may be that none are doable at the moment, and may not be until the small, mobile ones are more independent. Ah well. I had my chance to go into theater more seriously when I was younger and I chose to do other things, and you reap what you sow.
And, I mean, it is fun, most of the time. Not terribly high stress. And the people are lovely. I’d just like to actually get to do something now and then.
But hey! Show this weekend! Should be a great time. 🙂
What are you up to, squiders? Thoughts on community theater?
(ETA: After I posted this yesterday, I went to look around to see if there were other local alternatives, and I found one doing Macbeth in July! Hurray, Shakespeare! And I’ve done Macbeth–or the Scottish Play, as it’s often referred to, since legend says saying the name of the play in a theater is bad luck–before. I played Macduff. We gender-reversed the parts because, like many theater groups, we had a surplus of women and a handful of men. I got a sword. It was awesome. I kept Macbeth’s “head” for several years after the show and it took three tries to finally throw it out. Before that I’d throw it out and it would show back up, but it hasn’t again…that I know of.
Yeah, that show is definitely cursed.
But, alas, I don’t think I can do the show, if they’d even have me. Auditions are on a day I can’t do, and with the spouse’s ongoing medical needs, doing a show over the summer is a bad choice.)
