On Call for Rehearsal
“Alright, have a seat everyone! Let’s get started.”
The hum of conversation in the CMR (short for Cast Meeting Room) subsided as everyone found a chair and focused their attention on the front of the room. We opened our scores to the first page of music. Sopranos sat on the right side of the room with the tenors behind them. On the other side sat the altos and basses.
Our music director, Eric, went the keyboard. “Let’s warm up.” He played a few scales and we sang along, getting our voices ready for the coming rehearsal. We did the normal warm ups. Up and down the scales, changing keys, singing nonsense words and working to annunciate our vowels and consonants.
After a minute or two Eric’s playing changed. “Seeking You as a precious jewel,” he called out, cuing us for the coming song.
Everyone’s voices swelled as we sang out the familiar words.
Seeking You as a precious jewel. Lord to give up I’d be a fool. You are my all in all.
I looked around the room and smiled. It sounded absolutely beautiful. I joined in and let the words wash over me.
Jesus. Lamb of God. Worthy is Your Name. Jesus! Lamb of God! Worthy is Your Name!
I think the memory of that very first vocal warm up will always be one of my favorites of my time here. To hear the voices join in immediately, to hear the melody swell and harmonies begin as the key changed….it was breathtaking. Every day last week was the same during vocal time. A few regular warmups followed by a praise song.
The full cast gathered in the CMR, ready for our first music rehearsal.
Those spontaneous worship services couldn't have been more wonderful. What an amazing place to work.
But vocal time wasn't the only thing we did last week. Nope. Not by a long shot.
Although Monday, January 30 was our official first rehearsal, the day consisted mostly of an informational meeting. We heard from our incredible Stage Management Team (and oh my goodness I don’t know how they stay sane with all of the logistics they organize!) We also heard from our director, Wally Calderon, and met the rest of cast. There are 45 professional actors besides us students, totaling as a cast of 57. There quite a bit of information to cover when you’re working with that many people, so the meeting lasted pretty much all day.
Tuesday the work on the show really began. But we didn’t start at the theatre. With such a large operation, it doesn’t make sense to learn choreography on stage. It takes too long and the Tech Crews need the auditorium to do their preparations for the show run. So Stage Management rented a ballroom at a nearby restaurant called Fireside. When we arrived on Tuesday morning there was tape all over the floor to mimic spacing on the stage. We spent a few hours there each day, learning the movements for the big dance numbers.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been in rehearsal as a performer, so I had such a great time getting back into the swing of things. I've especially enjoyed learning choreography. Seeing everyone moving in unison to the music, and being the midst of that, is one my favorite things about theatre.
The rehearsal schedule is immaculate. I’m amazed that everything runs as smoothly as it does. But I suppose that once a theatre has been around for 40+ years they figure out what works! It’s the perfect blend of staying on top of things but being flexible. That flexibility means that we don’t actually know what we’ll be working on until the night before we do it. A detailed schedule is emailed out the afternoon or evening before. Any day we may be called in for a full eight hours, or just for an hour or two.
Most of the time the Conservatory students have been there the full time, from 10am-6pm, with a nice lunch break. One day my roommates and I were only called for an hour, but I’m getting the impression that won’t be a normal thing. Mostly we’re there, ready for whatever the director needs us to do.
Nick, Blair and Gabbi enjoying lunch in the 3rd floor break room.
Classes are on hold as we focus solely on getting the show up and running. And I’m so glad. With our schedule as it is it would be nearly impossible to work a class in. Even if we could I doubt we’d retain much. Learning all the material for the show is amazingly fun, but it's also exhausting. Ellie snapped this pic of me when we got home Saturday evening around 7:00. Our first full week of rehearsals was complete and I was just a wee bit tired.
We’re moving through the show super fast, but it’s really exciting to begin to see a flow within the scenes and dance numbers.
As we move forward toward opening night, I ask for your prayers. God is going to work thorugh this show in the hearts and lives of thousands of audience members. So as we continue in our rehearsal process, please pray for unity between everyone involved. Please pray that we will all have energy and stamina to learn our roles and to do them with excellence.
And lastly, there are several of us with injuries that are making life just a bit more difficult. Last fall I got shin splints and they haven’t fully healed. All of the dancing hasn’t exactly made them worse, but they’re definitely not better. I'm doing all I can to keep from re-injuring them and I would greatly appreciate it if you could join me in prayer that God would see fit to heal. And I’m not the only one with pains. Twisted knees, aching backs, tired feet. A stomach bug and cough have been making their way around the cast as well. Still, we've been able to get a lot done and understudies, swings and backups have been amazing as they've covered for anyone who needed it.
Despite adversity, we've had a really successful time thus far. But there's loads more work to be done, and we'll be giving our all to get this show up and running by March 11!
