My First Show - The Music Man
I saw there were auditions at a community theatre and went. It was really that simple. I don’t know if I sang, but I am sure I danced. Honestly, the details of the day are rather vague in my memory. I was thrilled to get the show.
I loved the rehearsals. My dance partner was as excited as me. It was also the show where I met my best friend, Aidan. The cast was full of people who were doing the show for the right reasons - the fun of it. It was the perfect introduction to musical theatre.
We had a show one evening where there was a small audience. None of us really cared. We performed with the same energy (if not more) that night. The best and most hilarious part happened when we did the big production number “Shapoopee”(spell check). We hit our final pose with gusto! … only to hear silence and then a single hand slowly clapping. We all got off stage and couldn’t help but laugh. None of us were offended, we knew we had done our best. The audience wasn’t feeling it. So, we just laughed it off and continued to have a great time.
I learned a very valuable lesson during this show. I was eager to please everyone. We had a costume fitting. I saw a lot of people giving the costumer notes and I felt badly for her. I put on my dress which was totally big on me and said it fit perfectly. I didn’t want to give her anymore work. She didn’t seem to care, but I felt like I was being helpful to her. I forgot about me. I looked a lot heavier in the show. After the show, someone saw me in different clothes and complimented me on losing weight. I hadn’t lost a pound. It was the dress. I saw pictures later and saw how much larger it made me look. From then on, I vowed to always speak up if my costume didn’t fit, feel, or look right.
Overall, The Music Man was a great experience. It was the beginning of my musical theatre career and was the perfect way to get started.
