I Was an Eighth Grade Chorus Bunny

There were about 10 of us who had a little song and dance number in The Velveteen Rabbit. We thought it was ridiculous that we should have to be at every rehearsal when we already knew our number and we were hardly on stage at all, so I volunteered to approach Mr. Marvey about us wee bunnies having Friday night's rehearsal off. He was not receptive to my suggestion. "Maybe the rest of them might be able to take the night off, but YOU have a long way to go before you are at their level." Yup. That's what he said to me. It may not be an exact quote, (and Mr. Marvey isn't his exact name) but that is the gist of it. And that is one of my great fears...that I have somehow convinced myself I am phenomenal at something when all the while the powers that be are convulsing internally at my inadequacy.

I have waited too long to write. There is so much to talk about.

The Adult Rehearsal:
We had a rehearsal last week where only three of the adults were called (and one child, but she disappeared suddenly...I'm not sure where she vanished to). We were to start really thinking about and discussing the relationships between us. And that scared me a little. As the director was talking, I found myself daydreaming about what I would blog that night when I got home. My tentative title for the post was "Acting is Hard." I was secretly hoping that she would just tell us what our relationships were...but she likes to let us think and create and develop on our own. It's like she gave us birth and is willing to let us grow up into whatever we will become. If we get out of control, I have no doubt she will reign us in, but I have to say it is pretty impressive that she is willing to give us such freedom with the characters she created. I also have to say that it is really an interesting experience to find oneself in a 17 year or so marriage to someone they have never known before. It's ACTING! But it's hard. And it's wonderful. The relationships are starting to develop and become more and more natural as we all spend time together and get more comfortable with each other.

The Stumble Through:
Last Thursday we had our first rehearsal since the Read Through where the entire cast was there. We were going to stumble through the entire play for the first time. When we were getting into our places on stage, my first day of school butterflies started misbehaving. I was very nervous and felt suddenly very unprepared. It didn't help when Husband walked on stage for his first line with NO SCRIPT. Neighbor and I made our incompetent selves feel better during the break by harassing Husband mercilessly for losing his script. He had it with him for the last scene. I think he was just trying to make us feel better. Why do we do that? Why do we try to make people feel guilty for being successful and responsible? It isn't very nice. I think seeing that Husband had already managed to memorize his part was actually incredibly motivating, because at the next rehearsal, Neighbor and I were both (pretty much) off our scripts, too.