The Show Must Go On.

a song to set the scene // thank you and goodnight by the angels

The universe did not want us to put on this show.

At least, that’s what it felt like.

It all started a little over two years ago.

If you’ll recall, two years ago was 2020.

We had just started rehearsals for The Marvelous Wonderettes.

Things were going good, great even.

But about two weeks into practice, we were shut down by the novel coronavirus.

And everything came to a halt.

Dining in at restaurants became a thing of the past.

Travel restrictions became increasingly strict.

All concerts, shows, basketball games, and social events were cancelled.

And for awhile, the way of life involved just… staying home.

So the show was put on hold.

We ceased practicing our four part harmonies, we stopped studying lines, and two whole years went by before we were able to dust off the old scripts and work on getting the show back up on its feet.

Getting reacquainted with my character, Betty Jean, I realized that it hadn’t only been two years since I started work on this show, but it had been ten years since I had done theatre at all, of any kind.

Ten years!

Wow.

So, I was a little wobbly on the legs.

Lines themselves came surprisingly easy. Studying over my morning bowl of cereal, most of my little quips conveniently came after Cindy Lou spoke, so line memorization got done first.

Choreography was choppy but: practice makes perfect!

Singing, on the other hand, was the biggest challenge. With over 28 songs from the 1950’s and ‘60’s, I very quickly discovered that The Marvelous Wonderettes was the most vocally challenging show I had ever worked on.

So, between work, work, and work, I was now memorizing harmonies for 28 different songs.

On the outisde, the show might’ve looked like an addional burden. Late nights choreographing musical numbers to classics like Lollipop and Mr. Sandman, practicing lines in bed with my gem, and finding D notes instead of G notes was, indeed, additional work.

But in reality, working on the show was one of the few releases from my stressful life. It was a break, something to look forward to.

As opening week was coming around the corner, and just as I was starting to feel confident about finally getting this show up on the stage after two whole years, I ironically tested positive for Covid.

Oh how the the universe did not want us to put on this show.

Well, we put it on anyway.

(upon full recovery from the ‘rona)

And it was a hit.

We sold out every night.

We made the audience laugh. We made the audience cry. We even compelled them to sing along to the classics we were performing.

And all that hard work, all those obstacles, and all those years waiting to perform this show was worth it.

I mean, it always is.

Because despite what the universe might’ve thrown our way, theatre prevailed.

And the show did go on.

The cycle.

a song to set the scene // it’s all right by jon batiste

You know what they say: when it rains, it pours.

But, if you live in Alaska, it’s more like: when it’s May, it snows.

And it certainly snowed.

See that’s where it all began, on this snowy day in May.

Our just turning green grass was being pelted with a spring snowstorm.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing getting pelted.

Caught in this furious flurry, I found myself in a situation in which I was the target of somewhat unhinged behavior.

Numb to the cold and oblivious to the weather, I stood outside opposite an acquaintance and held my ground as she spat profane language at me like the flakes flurrying past.

I was left shocked and shook.

As if that wasn’t bad enough.

My work load suddenly became larger. On the heels of an already exhausting few weeks, I found myself becoming even more stressed and burnt out. As a result, my defenses broke down and in waltzed sickness.

Fighting fatigue, I chugged ahead nonetheless.

Because that’s what you do.

But then…

I lost my taste.

And then…

I tested positive for Covid.

Of course I tested positive for Covid.

Oh, and did I mention that this all came to a head during the opening week of my show?

Yeah.

All I could think was: when it’s May, it snows. And when it snows, it dumps.

And boy did it dump on me.

Forced to quarantine and battling the worst case of Covid I’ve had so far, I was suddenly obligated to finally pause.

Remember my last post?

Well now I get a whole week to slow down and catch up.

And I had no choice in the matter.

*oh darn

After the initial horror of being out sick during the opening week of my show, I finally just accepted the opportunity and embraced the time off wholly.

I slept in.

I cleaned my house.

I binged way too many true crime murder documentaries.

I mowed my lawn for the first time this year and I didn’t have to work a single day (praise hallelujah).

And the world just kept on spinning.

As it does.

After fully recovering from the ‘rona (though, does one ever fully recover from the ‘rona?), we wound up having a very successful opening weekend.

All that stress for naught.

And all of a sudden, I had unearthed myself from all the snow that had dumped on me.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

All the work stress, the fatigue, the parking lot cuss outs had all but melted away.

Just like that, my bad things come in threes had come to an end and I felt ready to face the next snowstorm, for I knew there would be more.

And then, like a red cherry on top, I got my period.

Let the next “cycle” continue.