Musical Summer

I realize that during my blog hiatus that I failed to record anything about our involvement in Syracuse City's musical productions this year or last year for that matter. I wouldn't say that I'm really into theatre at all. I typically don't seek out opportunities to perform even though I enjoy acting and singing, and the pace of life with small kids, full-time job, freelance projects, church callings, and marathon training doesn't really lend itself to adding more to the schedule. Regardless, I've got a small bucket list of roles that I'd make adjustments for. Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man was one of them. Last year, the stars aligned, and I got my chance. After vacillating on whether to audition or not I was convinced by my wife to do it when the opportunity came round May of 2011. 'There is no question that you should be Harold Hill,' she said. With her encouragement and support I set forward to make it happen and not look back. There are a few things that I remember about the timing of that audition. It was less that a month after I had unexplainably fainted in front of a church audience at a special Easter fireside. I was singing a solo number, a song I didn't want to sing, in a program I wasn't excited about, and what do you know, a poor attitude in a forum like that just might cause one to faint. It got me out of singing the second half of the song I guess. Anyhow, the fact that happened to me while performing weighed on my brain, and still does from time to time while singing in front of others. The reasoning behind it is a separate post all together. Second, I had a busy schedule coming up with the Tabernacle Choir. Would the production staff feel like I'd be able to make the show work with my busy schedule? None of them knew me from Adam. How could I convince them that I was the one for the role? Last of all, my marathon training schedule that year had me running 21 miles that morning of the audition. Would I be able to put together a strong audition with the post run fatigue? Time would tell. The audition was a day before my birthday. I sang 'The Impossible Dream' from Man of LaMancha. I couldn't sense anything from the production staff during or after my song that was overly positive or out of the ordinary. I figured I'd find out what my fate was the following week with the rest of the cast. I was finished and back home by 11:30am that morning. It was about an hour after I got home that I got a call from the Liz Christensen the director of the show. She had a question about my Tab choir schedule that she needed to clarify. Whatever I said was to her satisfaction because the next thing she said was, 'We'd like you to be Harold Hill.' I nearly forgot to say yes. I figured the smile on my face would translate through the phone lines. What a great birthday present. It was nice after a few years of not having been in a play of any kind to once again be memorizing, rehearsing, and meeting new people. I was working in SLC at the time and savored my 40 minute commute to rehearse my lines. It was fulfilling to commit to memory the immortal lines I'd heard since childhood coming from the mouth of Robert Preston. Over the rehearsal period any reservation I'd had about the type of show we'd end up with evaporated through getting to know the directors and other cast members. What a privilege it was just to be a part of something so much bigger than all of us individually. My counterpart, Marian Paroo, was played by a gal in the community named Mariah. She was a pleasure to work with and a wonderful person. If I've had to answer any question more than any other about this play it would have to be about kissing this woman who wasn't my wife. I knew it wasn't an issue between Becky and I since we'd talked about that likelihood prior to auditioning. In all honesty, it all played out much like it did in High School when put in the same position. Once in character, it seemed like a most natural, normal, and necessary component in propelling the story and the romance along in the play. The most awkward and maddening part of it all was the very first time we rehearsed this kissing scene. We'd gear up and read lines leading up to the kiss and each time be cut off right before to hear some notes from our director. I will say however, Liz knew what she was doing. When it was time for us to actually rehearse the kiss, she told us we'd be running through to that point, what we should be trying to accomplish, how long to make this loving exchange, and what she wanted to audience to feel. We ran through a few times and got comfortable with the direction given. I was the only male in the room if I remember right. 3 women at the director's table, and one standing next to me on the makeshift footbridge we'd created for rehearsal's sake. I could have easily felt embarrassed or outnumbered, but I didn't. I knew we were playing the scene out well when we'd hear the 3 ladies swoon in front of us. It was really a non-issue till we had an actual audience and all of my neighbors and friends wanted to ask me all about it. Everyone commented on the length of the lip locking, and asked what Becky thought of it all. The funniest feedback that I got was from some coworkers. 'That's our Ryan,' they said in a somewhat jealous tone. I still don't know what that was supposed to mean. All I know is that the whole role felt awesome. I loved it. I loved selling this boy's band to River City and to the whole audience for that matter. There really is nothing quite like singing with a live orchestra at a good clip convincing a small town of the trouble they are unaware of in their town. I loved convincing a group of community members, my actual community, that I was the right choice for this role and that despite my schedule I could put this together in a seemingly effortless way. I owe a ton to my wife for letting me leave her home with the kids alone that much more. She says it was all worth it to see me perform. It is hard work being a stay-at-home-mom, so for me there is almost no higher compliment than that.

Front Page, above the fold

 Welllll, you got trouble my friends...

 76 Trombones

 There were bells on a hill

 With Marian and Winthrop

Maaaaaaarian. Madame Libraaaaaaarian.

Fast forward one year. To my surprise, my darling wife came home around her birthday just recently and announced that she had auditioned for this year's musical of 'Into the Woods' on a whim. It seemed like I'd be the support person at home this year. Oh if it were that easy. Within weeks she and some folks I'd gotten to know doing the Music Man had convinced me that my help was needed in this new production and almost as soon as I'd auditioned I had two roles given to me. The wolf and Prince Charming. While many things are the same in this current experience, many things are different. I was not at all familiar with this story as I've been in other things I've done. With that being said, I must admit that I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters of this musical and the layers of messaging crafted into this production so masterfully by Steven Sondheim. It is also very different participating in this show with our family dynamic right now. The wife and I are in the actual show (she's the Baker's wife), and two of our children are participating in the children's pre-show musical review. That leaves us with two other small children at home to be taken care of. Needless to say, we've been in the need of several babysitters. It's a good thing we live in an area where we have some good ones along with family close by to help out. We couldn't do this otherwise. Once again this year I've got a kissing scene. The big difference is that this year I get to kiss my wife. The only catch is that she doesn't play the role of my wife in the play. It is a saucy rendezvous for us in the woods. We perform the show to the public on August 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the auditorium at Syracuse High School. Everyone who is anyone will be there. You should come too.