Just like that, 'The Musicians' is over and wow. Our final show has just finished and I'm sat at home with makeup running down my face after crying and with crazy, curly (and very sweaty) hair. Tonight's shows were mine and Dion's which is what I shall be evaluating.
Yesterday were Sophie and Kate's shows. They were fabulous and the audience seemed to love them. We were all on a high afterwards and I was just looking forward to getting on stage myself and showing the world my rendition of Alex.
Our first show was at 6pm and it's fair to say that I was over the moon. I didn't have too many nerves when approaching the 6pm show as I was more nervous for the 8pm one that all of my family were coming to.
The 6pm show
As you know by now, the show opens with me singing 'Pinball Wizard' at the top of my lungs with my broom. This was the part of the play that I was most nervous about but I was glad to get it out of the way first. I did struggle with the music at the beginning of the show and when I tried to press play on my earphones Pinball Wizard did not play! I did silently panic a little but I just disguised it by turning my back to the audience and pretending to clean so I could press play on my phone. I am very proud of my performance of Pinball Wizard and I'm so glad I got to perform it again and tackle my nerves. As soon as Dion came on stage we got straight into the swing of things and I must say, the audience's laughter was very much there and hearing people belly laugh to our performance was really encouraging. I feel like Dion and I nailed our little section when it's just us two and there were zero mistakes.
I was very aware throughout that we were performing on a thrust stage and that the audience at the sides of the stage needed to see as much as the people in front of us. In order to ensure this, I took note from every single rehearsal we had and cleaned with purpose. I started with downstage left then worked my way around all of the orchestra until I was downstage right. This ensured that everyone had something to look at during the whole of the play. After Dion and I's section, the orchestra came in and I did what I was told during rehearsals and tried to make myself as invisible as possible whilst also still having a kind of presence. To do this, I would sweep that floor behind the orchestra and clean on my hands and knees whilst still being in the light.
During our first rehearsal today I was rather worried. Energy seemed to be lacking during the orchestra part and I felt as though nobody was really putting any effort in, minus a few. I thought that because we had done two shows last night everyone felt as though they could just sail through it because it had been done before. This worried me because I felt as though it was unfair for Dion and I, we were so excited about performing tonight and when other peoples energy didn't match, it was disappointing to say the least. However, on stage this did not happen at all and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The 6pm show of Dion and I definitely generated the most laughs so far and I think everyone was feeding off this energy, making the pace perfect as well as all of the jokes landing.
One of the most difficult parts of the play for me was definitely the segments where I had to translate into Russian. I went into it knowing vaguely what I was going to say as I had been practicing the translation. However, I was worried that I would forget it due to nerves as that is what Sophie had done the night before when translating 'Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My tactic was to go into these pieces with high energy so that people would focus more on that than my attempt to speak Russian … and it worked! I generated many laughs during my translation and I also enjoyed myself more than anything. My favorite part was being able to let loose with the part when Alex explained what happened to the instruments. The audience were thoroughly enjoying this part which was evident through their laughter. I was in fact complimented on this sequence by an audience member after the show!
It was then time for the performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony number 4. I have explained previous that this is my favorite segment of the play as I feel as though everyone is in sync and we are all on each others wavelength. During tonight's performance of this piece I had to sit back and watch it unfold as Alex. This play has been an absolute dream for me to take part in. It has been a roller-coaster of emotions as I know this is the last piece we will ever all perform together. The Musicians has brought the whole class closer and we are all the best of friends to each other. During the Tchaikovsky section I was absolutely astonished by how beautiful it was to watch and think about all of these things. I have never felt pride like it in my life. This led to me crying during this section and I couldn't stop! I just watched each person in my class fully get lost to this piece and it was an astonishing thing to watch. Once it ended, I ran up to Dion (as Alex of course) and pulled her into a massive hug. The audience were jn complete silence. I think they had seen what I had saw too. We all led off and then prepared for the end of the show.
I was back on the stage no less 5 seconds later. During the segment where I have to sing Pinball Wizard with defeat, I had not stopped crying and had a big lump in my throat. If anything this just added to the performance and ending of the show. We finished with the acapella Pinball Wizard section then moved on to our bows.
This was my first time performing to an audience again since the beginning of COVID. I will remember the feeling of Dion and I being the last to bow and the audience applauding and encouraging us for the rest of my life. I was so unbelievably, immensely proud of our performance and I will look back on this show for the rest of my life.
After finishing the first show I had herds of people congratulating and cuddling me and I felt so pleased with myself. Kane called the show 'flawless' which just excited me for the next one more than anything. The only note I got from Kelly was to go even bigger on Pinball Wizard at the start of the play. I have missed the feeling of excitement you get after a show and it was lovely to end on such a high.
The 8pm show
The 8pm show. The last show we will ever perform together. I was so much more nervous for this show than the other because this show had a lot bigger of an audience than the 6pm one, and all of my family were watching this one. I have been running through and practicing lines with my little sister throughout the whole rehearsal process. She has been a big supporter to me during this journey and she was watching me tonight. Alongside my sister was; my mam and dad, my grandad and his girlfriend, my brother-in law and my boyfriend and his dad. The whole family had come to cheer me on.
There is not much different between this show and the last. I just feel like the 8pm show was that much more special because I had the people in my life who are most important sat in the audience.
This time I had no struggle with my music at the beginning of the show and I was less stressed about that. I took on Kelly's note and went even more crazy during Pinball Wizard. I must also note that everyone's volume was on point during the show and everyone's reactions were completely perfect. Once again, I cried during the show but disguised it by making it part of Alex.
It has been an absolute honour to be part of Musicians and it is a show I will cherish for the rest of my life. The friendships I have made during this process will be ones that will see me through a lifetime. I cannot put into words how much I will miss both college and my beautiful friends and teachers, so with that all that's left to say is, goodbye Musicians 2021!
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