The rehearsals are amazing. I am the kind of person who loves anything to do with acting, staging and anything like that. Boy do I get my fill at Westben right now! Yesterday, I was at practice from 4:00-8:00. We practiced ‘Perennial Favourites’ from 4:00-5:30. It was hard and I messed up a lot, but it was so much fun! It’s true what the director said; “The funniest scenes take the most work.”  Anyone who thinks anyone can do a comedy routine, or get up and sing a funny song while doing a funny dance is dead wrong!  They don’t say ‘practice makes perfect’ for fun!!  It is going to look great when it’s all polished and ready.
The rest of the choir came at 6:00, and we went through almost every scene we do in the performance.  It’s so cool to finally see it all come together.  We made some mistakes, had some false starts, but over all, did really well. It was really neat to see how far we had come:-  from standing in a room, learning the music; to running on and off a stage, truly playing the part of Orphans in the garden. I am learning so much.  Comedy takes the most work ;  there are no small parts, only small actors and everyone needs to be paying attention to, and be engaged with whomever is speaking/singing at any given time. It adds to the magic of the whole thing.

Posted on May 19, 2010 at 12:58pm – Author: Mackenzie Cameron

Weekend rehearsals were awesome! On Saturday, kids, adults, Biggs, Snow, and others gathered in the barn for three hours of singing, staging, and fun. On a day when most other people were in their pools, on their boats, or collapsed in front of the TV trying to stay somewhat cool, we were in the barn, working hard. Things are always better when Robert and Gabrielle (aka. Norman Biggs and Virginia Snow) are there, and Saturday was no let down!  They are amazing and don’t slack off just because it’s “only practice.” That attitude is helping me keep my game up, even though it’s “only practice.”
No acting is necessary in the scene where Biggs chases the orphans out of the garden. He is so scary when he is fully playing the part (which is always) that we are tripping over each other to get away from him! On Sunday, the adult practice went longer than expected, so the kids were outside practicing in the sweltering heat. Marching, singing, sweating, and having fun! The director said he can “Finally see it coming together” which is really exciting!
Now we have one day of rest, and then we are back at it again on Tuesday.
I can’t wait for the shows!

Posted on May 30, 2010 at 9:02pm – Author: Mackenzie Cameron