Theatrical Endeavors

It’s been a busy week here at the Funny Little Bungalow, and not just because yet another Prime Minister has decided to bail out.

Last Thursday, Legally Blonde – the (full-length) musical that Mini Seymour has been rehearsing for since February came to fruition. She did us proud and morphed into a Delta Nu sorority gal effortlessly – despite the building heatwave and a summer cold. It has been full-on, and after considering whether to continue early on, she saw it through and in the end, enjoyed it! Hooray!

At some point during the process, it was decided that I too needed to be involved. The directors needed some “mature” cast members, and as I had shown an interest in the past (and as I am nearly fifty and can therefore qualify as mature) they asked me to come along. OK, I thought, I’ll swing past, drop in, deliver a few lines and it’ll be easy peasy. A bit of fun. A nice outlet…

Well it was fun, yes. There were some great moments, and it felt good to be involved in a show again. But I have to say, it was tough! Musicals like that are so fast paced that if you blink, you miss your line. If you can’t get changed quickly enough, you ruin the scene and if you listen to someone else’s harmony too closely you sing all wrong. And if you arrive to the process several months late, you literally have no clue what the f@cking storyline is all about.

Indeed, I have seen the Legally Blonde film. I have even watched a junior production of it. But there is no room in the story for complacency – I cannot follow it unless I am concentratedly reading the script, and for weeks, I was clueless as to how it all comes together. Songs like Harvard Variations and Blood in the Water seemed so… incongruous until I really paid attention. Then I had to work out how my small but varied parts linked in to the story, in order to fully prepare for the role. It was an amateur production, of course, but I wanted to try my best.

This was was easier said than done. My stage presence was non-existent, I felt self-conscious and myself and my co-star (seventy five and nursing a bad leg) had issues with timing. It was a challenge. My parts were small – I played Elle’s mom, a Harvard professor and a district attorney. The latter two parts involved holding a clip board and so line learning became a whole lot easier as I was able to justifiably shuffle notes. I cheated! But by gosh, it took me a while to understand how and when to fit my handful of lines into songs in order not to let the rest of the cast down.

I was nervous! At one point, in advance of the final performance, I literally felt I could not go on. It was all too much. My nose was starting to run with Mini Seymour’s lurgy, and it was soooo hot. But Mini herself was stoically carrying on so I had to proceed. I reminded myself that I am a teacher and I can stand up in front of people. I gave myself a pep-talk. It may have been due to a lack of sleep the previous night, what with Boy Seymour’s prom-related 3am antics, but between the matinee and the evening show, I definitely questioned my life choices.

AmDram isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I am really grateful to our friends who came to watch despite not being fans of such things! They are good eggs. I am glad the show went well, with many tickets sold! I am not sure how much my small parts actually added to the show but it was certainly an experience! And another potential way to stave off dementia due to my impending old age.

As to whether Mini Seymour and I return to the boards – who knows!? But for now, I am glad it is done and I might even have time to do the washing again. Housework has been a little behind recently. And now – to navigate the heatwave and our school production of The Odyssey, an ambitious enterprise given that the pupils are 12, they are rehearsing at school on different sites and Homer is not an easy playwright to follow. At least I’m not actually in this one.

By gosh, is it the end of term yet?

Mini Seymour’s stage debut! Done.