Pippin!

About a month ago my high school drama department had their performance of the musical Pippin. It was my first time doing a musical and over the course of the five months we worked on it I learned many things. Some lessons I learned were musicals are very different from plays, that singing in front of people can be an extremely nerve racking thing, you must be very specific when requesting a role because you might be misinterpreted, that some people are born singers and others are not, that lots of people are in the drama department for social reasons and not because they like to act and lastly that singing while jumping and dancing is very very difficult. I must admit I did not particularly enjoy doing the musical this year, not that I didn't have fun, because I did, but overall it was a very stressful, difficult, and sometimes tedious five months. Besides many of the people in drama were rather, to be very harsh, arrogant, judgmental and not welcoming. But I am making everything seem gloomy, I must fix that. There were many good times as well as bad. The show it self was proof of that. It was such a thrill to be inside the tent they put up, under the colored lights singing your heart out. I had a fairly small speaking part but I made the best of it by playing many little parts and having fun with my characters.
like we would actually be able to pull it off. See you mustOnce everyone had their costumes and make up I began to feel understand that the week before our play we were supposed to work in the tent but there were so many problems that that was not always possible. The costumes were not done until the day before the show, the lights weren't working, the heater wouldn't turn on, people were sick, and we ran out of time. I guess you could say our dress rehearsal was opening night.
Our four shows got better with each one. Friday night was good, Saturday matinee better and Saturday night amazing. Sunday matinee was great as well, but to be honest, Saturday night was the best. It had a wonderful cast and huge amounts of energy. Everyone seemed like they were having lots of fun.
I really loved the stage we had to perform on because you could sit backstage and watch your favorite parts while you waited to go on. I found there were some scenes that I would watch every show because I loved them so much. But my favorite part was being wheeled on stage in a chart of fake body parts as the character of the decapitated head. That scene was really fun and although it was quite short I enjoyed it very much. I especially loved doing a posh British accent.
Everyone did wonderfully, my friend My was phenomenal as the grandma Berthe. She gave her character a special flare and life. She has a wonderful voice as well which only made the scene even better. Ventana who played the queen, Fastrada, was also very good. She acted perfectly sweet and evil at the same time. I remember the first time she practiced her scene she had this catlike strut which became her trademark. I thought Tiffany who played one of the leading players was wonderful and Sean, who played Catherine, was lovely as well. I thought Dusty, who played Pippin, did a great job but I think it would have been better if he had taken the character a little farther.
In all everyone was wonderful and the show turned out extremely well. Part of me is sad that it's over and another part is happy because of how much work the whole project was.
Now you may wonder, was it really worth it? Was it worth all the hardships for four short shows? I'd say yes, even though it was extremely grueling, I was proud to be a part of it. We all worked as hard and I think it really showed. I know many people were pleasantly surprised when they came to see the show. Some even said it was better than the professional one playing at the Mark Taper. I think we all came together and made magic on that stage and it became apparent. I still can hardly believe we did it. I have many pleasant memories and I'm so happy I joined the musical and was apart of it all.
"We've got magic to do, just for you."

Halloween

The idea of Halloween has always been more fun then the actual day itself. I used to have a ton of fun on Halloween night. I'd go to the schools Halloween night which was a series of skits at the end of each we would receive a little treat. I always enjoyed it. Lately though I haven't been having the best Halloween. At school some of the high schoolers were putting together the skits for the Halloween night and they needed volunteers. I played Sleeping Beauty in one skit and My and Ventana were in skits as well. It was extremely fun except for the fact that the dress I was wearing was extremely tight and it was a little hard to breath. I got to lie down on this bed they made for me, and let my mind drift. It was really relaxing. Then when I felt someone sit down next to me I ran over my lines. I awoke when someone kissed my forehead then handed out chocolate kisses to the little kids. I only had a couple lines so it wasn't hard to remember them. I think the hardest part was trying not to laugh while I was asleep. Dusty, who played the prince, is the funniest person I know and more then once I had to restrain myself from laughing. In all, it was really fun and I wouldn't mind doing it again next year.
Next Ventana, My and I went trick or treating. We were dressed as Little Bo Peep and her sheep. The only problem was by the time we left school it was around 9:30 and no one was out. We went back to her house and talked and played games.
I had a great night, I wonder what next year has in store for me.

Beach Day

Well, the school year has started once again. It seems as though I never left for summer, but only a two week break. Of course, things are different, but it mostly feels the same. One big change is obvious, I'm not in ninth grade anymore, and thus their are new ninth graders running about. Plus last years twelfth grade is gone. It feels nice to be in tenth grade, one feels more self-confident. Though the first day I didn't feel much different.

I arrived at school with Ventana at 8:00. There were only a few people there, which I found strange, that is until I found out I wasn't supposed to be there until 10:00. We were two whole hours early. My and my other friends were there, so it wasn't to much of a disaster. In fact time past at a fairly good speed and soon the whole high school was filling into the eurythmy room to pick electives. Then it was off to the beach. I'll be honest, beach day isn't my favorite. There are some fun times, but overall I don't really enjoy it. I talked with friends, stood in the water (which was a little to cold for my liking) and attempted to build a sand castle with Armand. The castle crumpled after the first wave hit it. Only thing I can be sure of, it was good to see everyone again. As I looked around and saw everyones faces I realized how much I missed these people. From Claudia, with her noise in some strange book, to all my friends in other classes. What made my day though was when I heard a roar and turned to see Dusty (a friend of mine in twelfth grade) emerge from the ocean covered in seaweed so as he looked like a giant sea monster. Everyone was laughing and as he came across the sand I could hear one of the teachers say "throw him back in!" Those are the things I missed most over the summer, the weird, funny, unexpected moments.

In all the year has been going good. There has been only problem I've encountered. There are 41 people (pretty much half the high school) who want to be in the musical, but there can only be thirty at the most. Tomorrow we are having a big meeting about it, but I'm still rather worried about whether or not I'll get in.

I'm excited for more fun adventures in school, and I'm eagerly awaiting tomorrow.


The first picture is thanks to Claudia.