The Musical

I have so much to catch up on… sigh. Life gets crazy. I can’t fill you in on everything in this post, but I am so excited to tell you about this. I recently auditioned for a musical.

Our Stake (church group) is putting on a show. The musical is an original script riddled with beautiful and inspiring well-known songs. As soon as it was announced I was determined to be in it. Jess wanted to be involved in the show as well. Ben’s schedule is so hectic that we figured it best for him not to audition.

Okay… here’s the deal. When Ben works he’s often gone from before the sun rises to ten at night. Even if he were to have a shorter shift, we couldn’t guarantee that he’d be back on time for an evening rehearsal. Basically, if Ben has plans in the evening, he can’t pick up a shift for the day. When we get cast as background the casting agent says something to the effect of “Are you available to work on ‘Show Name,’ without time restrictions, on Friday (02/01/2019) in Burbank?” If you say “Yes” they can give you any call time and you are expected to be on set until you are wrapped. No “only I need to be done by 3” or “I’ll be back in ten minutes.” Nope. Once you’re there, you’re stuck. Half the time you don’t know your call time until you have committed to be there. So basically, if Ben was cast in the show he’d have to take off work to do it. And with mandatory rehearsals and two weeks of tech/dress rehearsals we figured he’d better not.

I scheduled my audition for Saturday. Thursday night rolled around and I realized I would be working during the audition time. I took a day job that turned into a four day job. I’m not complaining about it… but I wasn’t planning on working during auditions. So… I got the kids to bed, then spur of the moment decided to attend the Thursday night auditions instead. I asked my mom if she’d keep an ear out for the kids, I threw on some clean clothes, ran a brush through my “housecleaner hair” and I took off. I had not focused very much on prepping for an audition. It should have been a focus… but I also thought I had until Saturday and I had been working quite a lot that week. It’s not like I can practice my belting while being “quiet on the set.” That being said, I had run through a couple of karaoke songs that week on my phone a few times while on my drive to work. I keep a few songs ready… just in case.

I got to auditions with my make-up bag in one hand and my phone in the other. Yeah… a whole day had gone by again without my actor’s mask. I quickly remedied that. Thankfully they allowed me to squeeze in for an audition.

I waited a bit, then went in to audition. I was so flustered. I mean, I had just rushed over spur of the moment practicing my audition piece on the drive.

The directors were so sweet. I did my best and by the end of the audition I felt like it had gone very well. They had also requested to have my hubby audition. I explained our situation and basically said that if Ben gets a role, then I wouldn’t be able to. It would make providing for our family a bit too difficult.

With that out there… Ben auditioned anyway. He took my Saturday time slot. And of course they loved him. He’s amazing. So… what would they decide?

Jess sang “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen for her audition. She was a bit nervous so we told her to relax and sing like she was in the living room singing with her sisters. She practiced for Ben and I a few times before I headed out to work and they headed to auditions.

Ben told me later that at first during the audition Jess seemed very nervous. So Ben stopped watching her so she would stop looking over at him for comfort. As soon as he did, Jess really started to sing and emote and give it all she had. The directors loved her sweet performance. So much that one of the directors was wiping away tears. Happy tears folks. No wise cracks. 😉

A week later the cast list was posted. I was given an amazing solo! Jess also was able to land a small solo. I’m so proud of her! We are both so excited!!!

I am so honored to be a part of a musical production again! I’m excited to have my turn this time. 🙂 Thanks to those lovely directors who have decided to let me perform in this inspiring musical.

And before you all worry about Ben… don’t. He’s planning to audition for many professional theaters in the next few months. He has a lifetime of performing ahead of him. I’m so proud of all he does for our family. I’m excited to see him cheering for me, as I’ve done so many times for him. I’m blessed to know that we’re each other’s eternal cheerleaders.