Hairspray Reminiscences--5--The Truth about Music Rehearsals

I am a compulsive blurter. This is a bad habit that I struggle with daily. Or sometimes hourly. But it does come from a good place in me, the part that is also compulsively truthful. So, in this blog, my commitment is to be honest, but as kind as possible. That said, there will be times when my commitment to honesty may ruffle a few feathers. I will preface that possible feather ruffling with an apology and a preemptive request for forgiveness.

Here they are now: I am sorry. Please forgive me.

Such a huge lead in to my latest blog about "Hairspray". But here's the deal. For the most part, the music rehearsals completely sucked. Why, you may ask? I'm just going to list the reasons.

1. Our music director was not at all prepared to teach songs to teenagers. I am pretty sure she wasn't prepared to teach to a big group, period, though I've heard she is kickin' good one-on-one. But the teenagers were bored. I was bored and I'm way past teenager.
2. She came to one rehearsal not knowing that particular song. I held myself back from having a huge fit. She said, "I guess I should have learned this song before I came tonight." I'm not making this up. Those were her exact words.
3. She doesn't know how to play the piano, so she'd plunk on the keys and hit the wrong keys. Then say, "I'm sorry," or, "Ooops." A lot. We counted every night and marked these on our scores. In a three-hour period, she topped 30 times every single night. I admit, the counting kept us occupied.
4. She said several times, "Come on, you know how to read notes." I wanted to stand up (by this time I was really annoyed) and ask, "Hands up if you really can read notes." I bet there was one in ten that really could read notes. For the most part, the kids in the cast were there for fun and had little to no talent.
5. She was very particular about us all learning our parts, which is good. But she didn't really identify when she was asking a certain group to sing. I kept hoping she'd say, "Okay, Altos, ready--go!" I missed my cues half the time.

In her defense, she was asked to do this gig at the last minute and under the circumstances, she must have done something right, because the music in the performances was great. But it's a good thing I'm writing this part of my blog in retrospective because in real time, I was going cuckoo. I don't think I would have been at all kind in real time. (Am I being kind now? One wonders.)
     
      6.  One of the cast members brought her toddler to the rehearsals. I'm not really sure how I kept my temper and my sanity with that kid and his neglectful mother (and more about her later...). Mad at the mother, freaked out because that kid ran all over, up and down stairs, on set pieces, OUTSIDE near the very busy road the school is on. The kid was bored, and worse, ignored. Yes, she had an infant to take care of (yes, there were TWO kids at each musical rehearsal. It was absolutely miserable, for the poor kid, but for all of us in the rehearsal.) and her husband worked nights. But let's face it. Maybe you save your community theater experience until a more opportune time, like when you have appropriate child care, perhaps? I will go so far as to say that I'm not sure I could go through this again. More to come about the infant in the dressing room during performances in an upcoming blog.
      7. I wasn't always told when I was supposed to be there every time I needed to be at certain times. What songs was I supposed to sing anyway? Prudy isn't in a lot of scenes and because I didn't have my script, and somewhere along the line, I couldn't read for myself what songs I needed to learn. I hate to admit it, but I never really learned some of the songs perfectly. I faked "You Can't Stop the Beat" until closing night.

I am not sure if all music rehearsals are such misery. When (hoping!) I am in more musicals, I will find out. If they are, I will always be dieting and running, because the only way I'll get through those rehearsals will be with copious amounts of Diet Pepsi and Peanut M&Ms.


Keep playing! (Even when you don't think you can one eensy minute more.)