A Musical Month

So, I told you I auditioned for a show in February (see this previous post for details)… well, these past few weeks were the actual performances! I can’t tell you how amazing it was to be in a musical again. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been on the stage.

I love theatre. And not just for the lights and costumes, or the audience reacting to what is being presented, but for the friendships I make. It’s always an amazing experience.

There were a number of little things that made this show a little extra special. For example, as I was going to rehearsals, I was surprised to hear how many of the roles were filled by actors who had personal experiences relating to their role. One woman put such feeling into her scene on a nightly basis that she literally couldn’t hold back tears; I assumed she was just a moving, convincing actress. I later learned that it was because it mimicked her own trials. It was the same with several others.

The one thing that dampened my excitement a bit was that Jess and I were doing the show without Ben; we had decided that it would be impossible for us both to be in the show together. We talked it through… several times. But we couldn’t just ignore our responsibilities; every day he would have taken to rehearse would be a day he couldn’t take an acting job. One of us had to have our days free to take twelve or fourteen hour long shifts. I tried coming up with ways we could do it, so did Ben, but it didn’t seem possible to make it work. So, that was that. We tried.

After I started rehearsals, heard the amazing music, and saw a few of the scenes, I fell in love with it, and asked Ben again if he could just make it work to be in two numbers: the opening and closing scenes. Again, we decided that we couldn’t sacrifice the time away from work. Although one of his goals this year was being in theatre, we were planning on that being professional theatre. At least that way he’d be getting paid and could justify the time away from working on film sets.

So I continued to go to rehearsals, and Ben focused on getting jobs. I met a bunch of fun new people I hadn’t seen before, got to better know several people that I already knew, and formed wonderful friendships.

Then, as we were approaching full-run throughs and dress/tech week, we received an unexpected call. Somebody had dropped from the show and needed to be replaced. They’d wanted to ask Ben first, but they knew our situation, and knew that we would have a hard time both being in the show… so the director had asked a few people if they could step in, and had been turned down each time. So, with limited options, they were hoping we could make it work in spite of the obstacles. Ben said he’d have to talk with me about it, and then get back to them as soon as possible.

Have to talk to me… ha! As soon as I heard what was going on, I was so excited! I’d wanted so badly to find a good enough excuse for Ben to be in the show, and here it was! They needed him! I was all for it. Within fifteen minutes of getting the call, he called the director and told her he’d be delighted to.

Because we had limited time and such a large cast (over 200 people total), we were only able to practice each scene a couple times before run throughs. Ben, however, had his first practice during the first run through! And, like with everything else Ben decides to do, he was amazing. He memorized the script quickly and was able to jump in and do the scene like a professional (thank goodness, because… he is).

The main message of the show was about the power of simple acts of kindness. When you do one good thing, that act of kindness leads to another, which leads to another, and so on. Ben was playing the part of a mailman who is touched by the kind act of an elderly woman who thanks him (with a plate of cookies) for delivering her mail over the years. Then, in his next scene, the mailman is heading to his rec league softball game. As he’s approaching the ball field, he overhears that the opposing team is in a predicament; they do not have enough players to play and will have to forfeit the game. The mailman’s team has plenty of players and alternates, so he volunteers to play for the opposing team (a team that is known for losing every game) so that they all can play softball together.

As I was thinking again about how the casting seemed so inspired, I realized how Ben was also perfectly cast. He was the mailman. He jumped in when he saw a need he could fill. He didn’t let them forfeit, didn’t wait for someone else to volunteer, or try to pressure someone else to jump in and do the right thing. He decided to make the personal sacrifice to do the right thing, and I’m so happy that he did.

And as much as we thought it was impossible to be in the show, it turned out it wasn’t. There are times as an actor when there are so many jobs and auditions that it’s hard to keep up with everything. And then there are “dead zones,” when all the work seems to stop. It’s one of the hardest parts about being an actor. Well, as luck would have it, a dead zone happened right around the time that Ben was asked to be in the show, so Ben didn’t end up missing much. Plus, I was able to land a background job on a Coke commercial (commercials pay really well) which helped. Even better, Ben was able to meet a man that needed help writing and editing a book; Ben got the job, and he has been doing that as well on his own schedule. So you see… it all worked out. When you do what God would have you do- in this case, being in an inspiring musical-, He will help you to make it work.

Of course, it wasn’t without its challenges… we had to bring all the children with us to every rehearsal, which meant packing dinner and bringing toys, snacks, and a pack and play five nights a week for almost a month. Then, during opening weekend of the show, Adrie came down with croup, and ended up in the hospital for three days because of it (she’s fine now, no worries).

Saturday morning she just had a slight runny nose, but by evening she had a severe, barking cough. We had to quarantine her in her own “dressing room” so she wouldn’t infect the entire cast. And it kept getting worse; by the closing number, her breathing was getting labored. We almost didn’t make it onto the stage for the closing number because of it. We were blessed to have such an amazing cast and crew that was willing to help us with her last second.

Fortunately, we made it through the Saturday performances before she needed to go to the hospital, and we had friends who served as angels for us all week. One even drove from the next city over to pick our kids up from school for us so that Ben could stay in the hospital with Adrie while I worked the commercial job. And by the time the show reopened later that week, she’d recovered enough to be home with us.

With all the craziness going on, I felt like I had a different experience than I’ve ever had during a show. I didn’t get to interact with the adults as much as I would have liked, because I was mostly watching my own children when I wasn’t on the stage (Ben and I would take turns watching them while the other was performing, since our scenes didn’t overlap except for the opening and closing numbers).

But I loved having my children around, and showing them that they were my top priority. I loved seeing them singing the songs- Winnie actually belted out my song along with me from the audience during one performance. It was difficult to keep in character for that one. I wanted so badly to invite my little soloist onto the stage. I thought my heart would burst with pride. I don’t often get to be in shows, especially with the whole family. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.