Monday, April 22, 2013

Sound of Music

I have been involved with two school productions of the musical The Sound of Music. And both were magical.

The first was when I was in 8th grade. My school was K-8, and the 7th and 8th graders always perform a musical in the spring. I had not participated in 7th grade, so I figured I'd give it a go in 8th. And I landed a part in the nuns chorus. Which basically meant- I wasn't on stage often. But being involved in the musical was the perfect decision.

We had rehearsal often, but what I really remember is the actual week leading up to and the weekend the musical happened. Dress rehearsals were hilarious. A lot of my friends in my class had bigger roles than I did and were called to stage more often. So I hung out with the rest of the nuns chorus- and the guys who played the nazi's. A lot of the girls were in 7th grade, and I called them my "sevies".  We stood together at rehearsals  and off stage laughed hard in the cafeteria, waiting to be called out on stage again. We played a LOT of cards. Spoons, Go Fish, BS, Poker...you name it, we played it. And laughed hysterically the whole time. I mean, tears running down our faces from laughing so hard.

It was also in this production where I met Alex, one of my very best friends. He was a Nazi in the musical and in our group of friends that would play cards. He cracked me up. We didn't become super close, but we definatley shared some laughs and happy memories.

On the final night of our play, we had an after party at Chuck E Cheese. And I stayed with my "Sevies" during this party, running around the place like we were little children.

Those few months distracted me from the realities of leaving my elementary school and moving on to high school. They bonded me with amazing people and gave me plenty of laughs. Plus, I got to wear a habit and sing in Latin. What could be better?

I'll tell you what was even better- the second time The Sound of Music came into my life.

This time, I was a junior in high school and signed up to do stage crew for the spring musical. For several months, I spent four-five hours every Saturday in the auditorium of my high school, building and painting. There were about 15 of us on crew. I looked up to the seniors and learned a whole heck of a lot from them. At the end of each Saturday, we were exhausted. Sore bones and muscles, hands swollen from hammering, and paint covering our clothes. But we had a blast.

Pretty soon we were in the auditorium not just on Saturday's, but after school, to finish the set and practice set changes while the actors rehearsed  It was around this time Alex came back into my life. He was a sophomore at UofD, our brother school, and had a role in The Sound of Music. We started hanging out at rehearsals and soon we were pretty much inseparable.

I also met another best friend of mine during this time- Alicia. In early March, as musical rehearsals were picking up speed, Alex and I went to Soph Semi, a dance at Mercy. We had a really fun time, but I mostly remember meeting Alicia. She was running around the gym with a bunch of balloons. I poked Alex and said "I don't know who that is, but I want to be friends with her". Turned out, Alex knew her from past theatre stuff. So he took me over to meet her and I knew instantly we were going to be best friends.

A few days later, we went out for a "crew lunch"- stage crew, lights crew, makeup and costume crew all went to Ruby Tuesday. I ended up at a table with Alicia, who was on makeup crew. She said something hilarious, and I'll never forget my friend Heather looking up at me and saying "Megan, I think you've met your match".

And I did. Alicia and I had this instant bond that I had never really had with anyone else before. Suddenly she was the person  I was going to for everything. We hung out at rehearsals with Alex and we laughed all the time. I could talk to her about God, my family, my future. I had never had a friend like her before.

The weekend of the musical was one of the most fun, exhausting weekends I can ever remember having.  On the first night, Alicia gave Alex and I each a little poster that said "you're my favorite". Then we discovered she had given that to both of us, and we harassed her about it forever   Alex and I would dance on the side of the stage to "Sixteen Going on Seventeen". Us Stage Crew girls would whisper and giggle throughout the performances. Alicia and I were always goofing around. But we were also working nonstop. Remembering our cues, helping the actors backstage, changing scenes. It was nuts.

After our final performance, we said goodbye to the seniors and had a cast party in our cafeteria. I was very sad that Alicia was going to be graduating. It didn't seem fair that someone who had so quickly become my best friend was going to be leaving in just a few months. I  did take comfort in knowing that I had Alex.

The day after we closed the curtains on Sound Of Music, stage crew met after school to strike the set. What took months of building and painting took just a few hours to tear down. It was morbid, in a way, to just throw away all of those memories.

I didn't participate in stage crew for the musical my senior year. It was my last chance to recreate those memories, and I stood back. I blamed it on time, I was busy with student council and campus ministry. But secretly, it was because I knew nothing would be as good as Sound of Music, and I didn't want to be disappointed. I don't regret it. I have memories of Sound of Music to look back on.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to be involved in both of these productions. It brought me to my two best friends. To this day, when I hear a song from Sound of Music or catch it on TV, I think of Alex and Alicia. And yes, I am still friends with them. I always will be.

12 comments:

orneryswife said... Add Reply

My junior year in high school our choir did the Mikado. I was in the chorus, only because I failed to bring my English grade up to a B and my guardian told me I could not have a speaking part unless I did so. I had auditioned and received one of the three main roles, but had to turn it down. It was a lot of fun, though. Thanks for bringing back the memories and sharing yours!
tm

Kate @ Another Clean Slate said... Add Reply

I did the Sound of Music in high school too! I was a stage hand! It was so much fun and the show actually was pretty impressive.

Deanna said... Add Reply

Who could not bond over a magical production like The Sound of Music? This is a wonderful memory.

Thank you for the award, hun. It may take me a bit to acknowledge it in a post, but I will.

Keep on remembering!

Bethe77 said... Add Reply

Megan what fun! I love the stage and I did drama when I was in school myself. I did some musical but never sang I would have cleared the house. Oh would love to see photos of you in the habit. I bet you looked so cute! One of the musicals I did was Mary Poppins we actual had to write Disney to get permission and were the first to ever do on stage. It was a blast. Love reading your memories.
Blessings for an awesome day and great week.
Beth

Susan Gourley/Kelley said... Add Reply

Lots of my best friends in high school did the musicals and I was always a little envious of all the fun they had.
The Sound of Music is one of my favorites.

Tracy Moore said... Add Reply

You have the coolest stories! It's always a pleasure to read your memories...the way you write makes it easy to imagine it all.

Jocelyn Rish said... Add Reply

What magical memories. Thank your for sharing them. I never did any shows, but I still love The Sound of Music anyway.

Hope you’re having fun with the A to Z challenge,
Jocelyn

Unknown said... Add Reply

I loved being on the props crew for my junior high production of The Music Man. Still to this day I love that play, so many amazing memories. I'm extremely glad I participated in the extracurricular activity (I didn't do many throughout junior high and high school, silly me).

Rob-bear said... Add Reply

What a wonderful way to make friends, during The Sound of Music.

In high school and after, I was involved in theatre, both on-stage and behind. I actually preferred building sets, taping audio, and arranging lights.

Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting

Dee @ A Deecoded Life said... Add Reply

It's so amazing how you took one look at Alicia and knew she was the one. Well soulmates don't have to be lovers, I always say. I have a soulmate-friend as well. But unlike you, I didn't immediately know it. I can be dense like that, haha.

Fun read, as always! Made me wish I hadn't been so shy and nerdy back then and had participated in theater. We also had a Sound of Music production in elementary.

<>Deecoded<>

Shari said... Add Reply

I love this! I never participated in any of our school musicals, but I always admired the dedication from everyone who did. It looked like such an incredible bonding experience! :)

Samantha May said... Add Reply

I love The Sound of Music!!

I was in three school musicals. I did "Hello, Dolly" "Beauty and the Beast" and "Bye, Bye Birdie!"

I tell you, that was probably my favorite part of high school :)