Today I spent all day working with some high school students for a musical. When I say that I worked with them, I mean that I play piano and taught them their music. They literally just got assigned their roles last night, so today they are brand new to them.
There’s about twenty-five numbers in this play, and today we worked on six songs. Actually, that really isn’t that bad for a six hour rehearsal. I am going to be going back to work with them for four different days next week, where I am intending to go the distance, and teach them all their music!
The atmosphere at the theater is excited and energized. This is an extremely well-run theater program, with a wonderful director who operates from an educational vision that I can completely get behind. Her students are motivated, intelligent, and ready to go. I worked with them on a show last year, and it is an honor with be back. Working with this theater company, I am confident that everyone is going to be giving their best, and that the result will be highly satisfying.
That being said, a rehearsal like today can definitely be a long haul. I had to just buckle down. I walked into the building at 9am and didn’t leave until 3pm, playing for 5 1/2 hours of it. When I got out, the sunlight surprised me! That’s how long it had been. When I got home, I sat in our chair for about twenty minutes, just decompressing.
Despite a little bit of the fatigue factor, it really feels awesome to “the guy” who does this. I am so appreciative of my skills, and how my approach melds so well with this organization. I enjoy teaching music, helping shape a performance, and motivating students to aim for their best. Like I said, the quality of this program helps in that regard: it is awesome to work with a high quality program, because it just allows everything to operate at a higher level to begin with.
Then my job is to do my best to blow their minds, and raise the vibration even higher to the level of a life-changing experience where the beauty of music and theater elevates every single person!
All in all, in it’s very satisfying, and I feel gratified at the end of my long day. The workhorse has come out!