When I was a freshman, my mom, who is a music teacher, really wanted me to get involved in the musicals. During that year, NF put on a production of Hair. For weeks and weeks she pushed me to audition for a part, but the whole time I thought, "wow, if I do this, people are really going to make fun of me." I thought that being in the musical was a stupid and weird thing to do. I wasn't a big fan of them. Boy was I wrong. I finally just tried out so my mom would get of my case. I didn't make it into the show.
Like I said before, being in The Wizard of Oz was a great experience, and it was what really pushed me into trying out for this years production of Children of Eden. Auditions for this year's musical were way back in December. I practiced a lot for them. I used a CD almost daily, and when the time came I was really nervous. Things became even more stressful when Ms. B stopped playing all together in the middle of my audition, but Mr. Cobb from the back yelled, "keep going," so I had to do the rest of it a capella.
It was a very long week while waiting for the cast to be posted. The whole time I was really nervous. I hadn't been in a choir class or really sang for that matter since the fifth grade. But I made it, and I was thrilled. We began to practice immediately after winter break. The whole cast received books with the script and music, and we practiced twice a week in the choir room. For me personally, learning the music was tough. When playing clarinet, all I have to do is push down a button and blow and the right note comes out. With singing, you have to find the right pitch and sing your line. I never had the medley, so it was really tough for me to learn. Weeks went on and on, and we got better and better as a choir. By February break, it looked like all the pieces were beginning to come together. At this point, opening night was a month and a half away.When February break concluded, we all came back really excited to get moving on the show. We moved into the auditorium where we began to put the whole show together. Acting, singing, everything. All the hard work we had been putting into it was beginning to pay off. After double run through, we were in the home stretch. The show was a week away.
On the Monday following double run through, the costumes were in, and I have to say they were some of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. They made us all look like we had just either popped out of the desert or Iraq. I mean, my costume came with a turban. However, together we looked great, like a bunch of taxi drivers in training.
Thursday, March 26 was opening night, and all though I didn't get to see the show, I heard things went well. The whole weekend was an experience I will never forget for as long as I live, from each power circle to the cast party. I got to play an alligator and a chorus member. Looking back on high school, I'm not going to remember preparing for final exams or cramming for a math test, I'm going to remember the time I spent in Hunt Auditorium.During Children of Eden, I became closer with people I already knew, and friends with people I had never before seen in my life. All in all, the one thing I regret most about high school is not getting involved with theater earlier than I did. It feels like yesterday that I was taking off the tights from my alligator costume, but it has been about a week. This musical really made me understand a lot about my life at North Farmington. I am a senior this year, but it still made a dramatic change in my high school experience.
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