Day 1 down. My body hurts a little. And it's not like I really do anything strenuous in this show. Yesterday was one of those long day rehearsals, adding lights and sound and the band- who, by the by, sound so freakin' amazing it's not even funny.
One by one people straggled in, the girls carrying multiple bags of clothing, make-up, etc. I stopped to look at our memorial brick wall and saw Auntie Ched's name right away. Just above Samantha's. B was surprised to see I bought him a brick for his cousin. And I just stopped to look at the names. I read the other names printed on there, recognizing many similar last names as those in the cast.
Mo, Laura, Laura, and I got our costumes all organized. It's not very costume-heavy, but there a lot of little articles of clothing we take on and off for specific scenes. The cast was called to gather onstage and take note of where lights had been hung and where set pieces were placed. The set is not as scary to me anymore. Each day she gets a little more friendly. I pulled B aside to quickly run through our songs and blocking and then we all filed into stage left to get our mics! Oh man. I think this part was the most exciting for me. Mandy put my "Britney mic" on and I was quick to notice that my mic stem was brown and not beige. HOW AWESOME IS THAT. I asked Laura to snap a pic for me since I wanted to treasure the moment of wearing my first Britney mic ever. :)
And as the last few people were getting their mics put on, the band started playing "RENT." And everybody screamed and cheered and jumped up and down. The rest of us ran onstage to join everyone else and started singing. And it was great. When the song was over we all clapped and cheered.
Then, the most familiar chords were played on the piano. The chords my sister and I grew up playing for our Mom on the piano in our living room. Back then, I didn't know how much they would mean to me now, and I stopped to think about how my Mom and sister would feel when they would hear those chords this Saturday- at the beginning of Act II. The stage got quiet and we all started, "525, 600 minutes..." And I looked over at Tia while she sang her solo; her eyes were closed like she was saying a prayer. A prayer that she wanted everyone to hear. And it was so beautiful.
Next, we were called to our line. Our Seasons of Love line. It's amazing how such an insignificant shape can have such an important meaning in shows. Like in "A Chorus Line." Doing that show was so special and so empowering. Just standing there in one straight line next to my cast members feeling the same energy and nerves and adreline. And now, again, years later, I am standing in a line again next to a new cast. And at that moment in the show, we are all standing together, doing the same thing, singing the same song to one audience. I don't know what the audience will be thinking or feeling, but maybe they'll be able to see at least a little of how much that song means to me and the rest of us.
Mandy and Karen went down our line, placing tape in front of us and writing our names. I start to say to Mandy, "It's with an I-N," but as I look down, I see she has written "K-Ro" on my tape. And my heart got a little warmer :)
Our run was one of those start and stop ones where periodically we would be halted so lights or sound could be adjusted. But it wasn't as painful as other runs like that I have experienced in the past. Some of us chose to wear costumes, and some didn't. I couldn't really tell who was wearing them and who wasn't due to the fact that a lot of it is all our own clothes. After Light My Candle, which went a tad smoother than before except that THIS time the darn candle wouldn't light, I ran to the dressing room to quickly change for Out Tonight. In my haste to get dressed and review my lyrics, they ended up stopping for at least 20 minutes and I sat in the dressing room by myself, silently panicking about getting the number right for once. When I heard the beginning of "Life Support" I snuck backstage, took my coat off and hung it on the railing. And then the drums began and the guitar and I just thought "SCREW IT." And I walked out and was as sexy as I could be. And I could hear my cast cheering and whistling me on. And I thought " YEAH BITCHES!" But then, "STOPPPPPP. STOP." Damn. lol. We had to started over. They were adjusting lights or something and Matt had thought someone had told him to stop the band. So I walked offstage. "Get it back get it back" was what everyone was saying. So I started the song again and suddenly realized I had missed the first 16 counts already! "Holy Sh**!" I thought and ran on. The band was FLYING. And the rest was a blur. I rushed from one spot to another and thought "OMG I'm Gonna Die." I didn't breathe and my mind spun and I couldn't feel my tongue. And then in 5 seconds it was over. And I thought I would pass out.
I received many compliments as I walked off stage and hoped that I could remember what I did. And then Tina showed me the video she took. And my adreline stopped and I was not as happy as I thought I was with the number. Of course I had to watch myself and of course I nit-picked at every little movement. I tried not to think about it for the rest of the night and as it got later and later, we got more punchy and goofy as we finished the show and reviewed some numbers.
The night ended and we were released. I can't say how happy I was to remove "Eoz-jsa" from my head. I love the girl, but damn she hurts. And itches! But I must say she did a very good job yesterday staying out of my face and not trying to steal the light. :) I still am not comfortable with the show, but hopefully that will change before dun dun DUN Thursday. It was a long day, but I loved where I was and who I was with.
Things That Suck:
1. The fact that I have to shave every day this week
2. My posture
3. The amount of mints and gum I am consuming
Things That are Awesome:
1. The band
2. My Britney mic
3. The staff and cast
4. Fishnets
5. Grape Gatorade
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