As I mentioned before, after the run of the ten minute musical festival last year I found myself a bit frustrated with the lack of professionalism and caliber of performance, both from myself and those I worked with. If you'd have asked me then, I would have said I'd absolutely not do that festival again.
Fast forward one year and I was elated to have the director of the theatre help me move into my new apartment and eager to get back on stage, any stage, once again! This years festival opens the 19th of this month; I was given a dominant role in one of the shows about a month ago. Three weeks ago I auditioned for a director, who then quit before even holding a rehearsal and so the show was off. At that point I was bummed... Then it was on again! A week and a half or two weeks ago, I actually saw the script for the first time at our read-through. Two of the six roles still needed to be filled, so I took my roommate along to audition for it.
Though perfect for the role, my roommate couldn't fit it into his work schedule. At our second real rehearsal, this past Tuesday, another man auditioned and was instantly given the role, and the sixth small part was still open, as was the end of the show... The writer was still finishing things and we'd not actually gotten sheet music of the songs!
Wednesday they met for a music rehearsal, which I did not attend because my guy got into town that day and it was our anniversary. Then last night, as I peeled myself off of the couch, where he and I were watching movies, to go to a 9 p.m. rehearsal, I discovered two voicemails from the director. Three cast members had quit within 20 minutes of one another! One due to work and the other two were family and had to travel out of the country for a funeral! Now it is officially cut from the festival.
This time, I am relieved. My assumption is that the music rehearsal I'd missed the night before was probably a huge disaster! I knew what I was getting into, but I could see the look of "WTF?!" that I had had last year on the faces of my cast mates on Tuesday night.
At my last rehearsal our director, who again is a co-owner/director of the theatre, received a call from the director of another musical in the festival still looking to fill a small part. No surprise, in his voicemail to me with the "bad news" that my musical was cut, the director had "good news" that I could fill a role in another show. I am horrible at saying no to people and though I feel really guilty, I am proud of myself that in this case I did it! This musical festival opens in six days! The role was described as "lots of singing and dancing" and I do not dance! There's no way I was going to devote several hours of rehearsal to a tiny part in a thrown-together ten minute musical, while my guy's in town! Not to mention, I hadn't told work that I'd need to leave early on Thursdays and Fridays for the next four weeks to get to the performances! I hate to be a diva, but having one or two lines in a ten to fifteen minute show is simply not worth it...
I do feel very badly about it. I mean, when he helped me move, the thanks I was to give him was by being in the musical festival. I remember thinking (and probably writing) that it was a total win-win for me!
*sigh*
I don't think I've burnt a bridge, but I've definitely let someone down, which is often worse...
Fast forward one year and I was elated to have the director of the theatre help me move into my new apartment and eager to get back on stage, any stage, once again! This years festival opens the 19th of this month; I was given a dominant role in one of the shows about a month ago. Three weeks ago I auditioned for a director, who then quit before even holding a rehearsal and so the show was off. At that point I was bummed... Then it was on again! A week and a half or two weeks ago, I actually saw the script for the first time at our read-through. Two of the six roles still needed to be filled, so I took my roommate along to audition for it.
Though perfect for the role, my roommate couldn't fit it into his work schedule. At our second real rehearsal, this past Tuesday, another man auditioned and was instantly given the role, and the sixth small part was still open, as was the end of the show... The writer was still finishing things and we'd not actually gotten sheet music of the songs!
Wednesday they met for a music rehearsal, which I did not attend because my guy got into town that day and it was our anniversary. Then last night, as I peeled myself off of the couch, where he and I were watching movies, to go to a 9 p.m. rehearsal, I discovered two voicemails from the director. Three cast members had quit within 20 minutes of one another! One due to work and the other two were family and had to travel out of the country for a funeral! Now it is officially cut from the festival.
This time, I am relieved. My assumption is that the music rehearsal I'd missed the night before was probably a huge disaster! I knew what I was getting into, but I could see the look of "WTF?!" that I had had last year on the faces of my cast mates on Tuesday night.
At my last rehearsal our director, who again is a co-owner/director of the theatre, received a call from the director of another musical in the festival still looking to fill a small part. No surprise, in his voicemail to me with the "bad news" that my musical was cut, the director had "good news" that I could fill a role in another show. I am horrible at saying no to people and though I feel really guilty, I am proud of myself that in this case I did it! This musical festival opens in six days! The role was described as "lots of singing and dancing" and I do not dance! There's no way I was going to devote several hours of rehearsal to a tiny part in a thrown-together ten minute musical, while my guy's in town! Not to mention, I hadn't told work that I'd need to leave early on Thursdays and Fridays for the next four weeks to get to the performances! I hate to be a diva, but having one or two lines in a ten to fifteen minute show is simply not worth it...
I do feel very badly about it. I mean, when he helped me move, the thanks I was to give him was by being in the musical festival. I remember thinking (and probably writing) that it was a total win-win for me!
*sigh*
I don't think I've burnt a bridge, but I've definitely let someone down, which is often worse...
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