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Published: October 24th 2010
New York City, as you may well know, is quite the temptress. All week long she has been beckoning me into her parlour to enjoy her wares and I have resisted to be the best of my ability so that I could practice and rehearse and study for the big Saturday performance.
I am so glad that I resisted her temptations because the day was definitely a roaring success! Despite my fragile nerves and sweaty palms, I stood before my classmates and belted (look out Ethel Merman!!!) the song, "Make Them Hear You" to my classmates! I sang it with conviction and emotion and for some reason, immersed myself into the role of the character singing the song. It felt very powerful to see them watching me so attentively and when I finished, they burst into loud, cheering applause! Our teacher, who has a critical ear and a sharp tongue to match, said I was "fabulous". I will grab that compliment considering he was going to be singing himself at the Met later that evening, and remember that with rehearsal, tenacity and self-confidence, you can accomplish what you set out to achieve. It was really quite thrilling for me to
say the least.
Later, in the evening, our scene performance from "The Importance of Being Earnest" was next on the roster. All day, I kept reading my lines over and over. I was so overcome with stage fright that one of my classmates reminded me, that a little fear is good and that more importantly, I should go out there and have fun and think of the evening as a "celebration of talents". Suddenly, ten washroom trips later, it was time for our scene and I am thrilled to announce, that it was flawless! Every time we rehearsed, I messed up the lines or made mistakes in the blocking. Suddenly, on the stage, with lights aglow, I was able to actually enjoy being the character and playing with the lines. My partner, Mahesh and I "duelled" on the stage and had so much fun throwing barbs at each other that it seemed odd when the scene was over. The teacher's only comment was that it was excellent and had no further comment or criticism to make, which we knew was a compliment in itself, considering his vast expertise and range of stage accomplishments.
Naturally, we all went out
for drinks after the evening, waiting for the reviews, to celebrate our success, to celebrate our newly found friendships and to revel in the fact that we have achieved so much in a relatively short time. Tomorrow evening is our last class, another evening of performances. I have no stage fright simply because my partner has been AWOL for the entire week and I am not even sure if I will have the opportunity to perform. I will not let it discourage me however because overall, it is the experience itself that is important and not just the final product.
Next destination...BROADWAY!!!
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ken
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reviews
The Star has added a New York Times section to their Sunday paper and the Reviews I read were .....Excellent!!! .. quality performance... real stage presence , sang with heart and soul.. destined for greatness...didn't want it to end...another new talent on the horizon.. sang with real gusto [ like Ethel would] Congratulations.. so glad everything is working out so well. Ken PS. If your stage career doesn't blossom they way you would like you should certianly consider writing.. you have such a beautiful flow to your narrative and your words so vivid, descriptive and written with such emotion. I really enjoy the read. Maybe we can collaborate on your/our first novel. Won't retirement be fun. Ciao, Ken