Neverending Rehearsal

This morning began with me getting up, making my go-to potluck dish, Thai Chicken Salad for our 8 hour rehearsal today. You heard right...8 HOURS!!! It went pretty well, with some minor problems:

1.) We have 29 kids in the show. Some are nice and some are downright mouthy and don't listen. To help combat this, we have 3 wives that are primarily in charge of the children-myself, Michelle, and my mom. We also have "stage mothers" that are mothers of the children involved. They are different each day and have different discipline styles. Well, one today was fantastic. Chris knows how to be firm, but fair, and also won't take any lip from the tween crowd. The other mother, Jane, however, was a downright b***h (with a capital B)! She told the kids to shut up, which little ones especially consider a "swear word." Speaking of "swear words," another child told us moms that Jane also swore (took the Lord's name in vain). To me, that is unacceptable. I spoke to Chris (the other stage mom of the day) about it. I'm hopeful that next Thursday, when Jane is there next, it will be better. If not, I'll say something to her (even though she could squish me with her bare hand)!

2.) More about the kids-overall they are doing a great job, but like I said, not all of them want to listen. And, their parents were pulling them from rehearsal early (rehearsal was to be over at 5pm, but we were running about 10 minutes over). What are they gonna do during performances???

3.) I am SICK of most of the teenage wives/mothers not doing their jobs-not telling their children to be quiet backstage, not moving their set pieces, not hanging up their clothes-etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (sorry...inside joke from the play. You'll understand after you see it). For that matter, I am SICK of the teenage boys, too, sitting backstage, texting their girlfriends. We've worked too hard for this show to suck. Put your phone away, get off your a** and do your job!

4.) I guess what probably frustrates me the most is how we have so few "adults" in the show. There are 58 people in the cast-the biggest BCT has ever had. You wanna know how many adults over 21 there are??? 10! That's right-10! There are more behind the scenes-in the pit, directing, costuming and more, but 10 onstage. While I like teenagers (I was one once), I just think that they lack the direction and focus that the adults have. Plus, since there are so many of them, they feed off one another.

5.) My costumes! All the other wives have really cute costumes-Asian dresses, glittery pants, and fun wraps, but I (who will be the first to admit, is the biggest wife) got stuck with a mish mash of crap that is not cute and accentuates my flaws. Seriously...one of my costumes was a tank top, what looked like a sheer curtain, and a Velcro skirt (that seemed like something used for a strip trick-ala-"Take Back Your Mink" in "Guys and Dolls"). So, Mom and I (along with one of the production helpers, Sue) decided that we will come up with something different. Mom is making me a new wife outfit, while my grandma is making me a skirt for the beginning of Act II.

There are many things that I love and that are going well. For example, I absolutely love our director, Tory! He makes everything so fun and while he gets frustrated occasionally, he never yells or gets super angry. It's a nice balance between him and our blow his top music director, Mike (who's had his differences with me, but we're getting along now). Plus, Tory makes a point at every rehearsal to thank everyone for their dedication and hard work.

I love many of my castmates who take things seriously and are doing a great job-Lonnie, Becky, Molly, Mom, Steve, Michelle, Lauren and more!

And, despite my incessant complaining, I would love it if you would come and support the show! Showtimes are July 17, 18, 23,24, & 25 @ 7:30pm and July 19 @ 2pm. Tickets are available at Buffalo Books, downtown Buffalo! Hope you can make it!