I’ve been waiting to make a post about how our shows went because I didn’t want to write in a state of exhaustion. The show ran from March 1st-March 4th. Words cannot even begin to describe how incredible the experience was for me.
On opening night, I was excited. I had complete confidence in my cast members and in myself. When the overture began, my eyes teared up. Seriously. I sought out every single cast member and wished them luck. If I knew them well I gave them a hug, which is huge for me because I am not a touchy-feely kind of person. The ensemble all had to enter from the house, so we all exited to take our positions as the overture ended. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared myself for my high school theater debut. It was, in a word, miraculous. Everything went right that day- the timing, the energy, everything. I managed to draw laughs from the crowd- an impressive feat considering how monotonous they were. And when the curtain closed, the cast began to cheer. We had done it.
Friday night … yeah, things didn’t go as well. Reno missed an entrance because of a quick change gone wrong but our Evelyn covered well. During Anything Goes, our conductor completely flubbed up the tempo, so our tap dancers began the number shakily. However, we redeemed ourselves in the second act with Blow Gabriel Blow.
Saturday night, we were completely sold out. It was incredible. The entire cast was eager to redeem ourselves from our below par performance the previous night and damn, did we ever! That night, every improv we tried out worked wonderfully, the audience laughed at all of the right moments, and every song was full of energy and executed to perfection. And on a personal level, my crush gave me a hug backstage and during bows, tapped me on the shoulder and told me I had been amazing. I wanted to kiss him on the cheek- but I’m too rational for that. Anyways, I cannot even begin to describe the magic that occured that night. After that show, our Reno hosted a cast party. My first high school party. I had a blast being a wallflower with my crush … until this other girl started dancing up on him. But whatever. I was far too happy to seriously mind.
Sunday afternoon was our matinee and our final show. Before the show, we gathered for a prayer circle with all of the seniors in the center. There, Reno made the most beautiful speech that brought us all to tears. However, I think that the breaking point for everyone, even the sailors, was when our Evelyn started to cry. That show went wonderfully. There were plenty of tears flowing backstage, and besides having my mic pack falling out every time I went onstage, everything went perfectly for me.
Now that the show is over, I have an entirely new image of myself. I was a freshman who got a decent role. I learned so much and made so many new friends. I got to feel dizzy after breathing liquid latex while my mustache was made. I got to feel giddy after borderline romantic moments with my crush. But most of all, I got to close my eyes and relish the applause of friends, families, teachers, and yes, critics.
And now I get to go through it all over again. Midsummer Night’s Dream, here I come.
