December 10, 2007

• has it truly been that long?

  Mulan auditions are today. I find myself excited for that simple little fact; not because it has anything to do with me, but because sharing that experience with someone has plunged me into a world of memories from one year ago. As I love to do, I hit the button on my Xanga that catapults me one year into the past. This is my post from roughly a year ago (give or take a week and a half).

  Thursday, November 30, 2006

  Just when you think you're sick of a song, you hear it in a totally different environment, and... it's just amazing. Maybe this thing is going to work. I guess I had to convince myself it's truly going to happen... and after hours and hours of work, I'm seeing it. And it's making everything easier.

  So why does this have any relevance? The song I am referring to in this post is "A Whole New World," the title track from Disney's Aladdin. We've all heard it a million times, and to be honest, I never really cared for it. Too many half-talented pop artists have combined to perform obnoxious and overzealous versions of the song for me to ever take a liking to it. Yet, one year ago, I found myself in the position of having to hear that very song, day in and day out, for hours at a time. As I like to say, it truly was irony kicking me in the butt. I was in the midst of an extremely frustrating time with Aladdin. I felt like I didn't have the talent, skill or resolve to accomplish the tasks I was charged with. I felt like I was just a puppet, with my strings being pulled in opposite directions by those who had more power and influence then myself.

  However, there was this one day. There was nothing elaborate or fancy about this day; as a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, the only thing that stood out about that day was the high level of stress under which I was operating. Harvard was just days away, there had been some rather nasty rumors circling; one of which had my name attached to it, and I was struggling with the personal battle that I fought my entire senior year. I arrived to practice unprepared, and was forced to adapt quickly, as my co-director decided not to come that day. So I decided that we were going to focus on the song I figured would occupy time, without requiring me to contribute in any intelligent fashion: A Whole New World. My cast warmed up their voices for a few minutes, and then we proceeded to work on the song.

  A few trials later, we had our blocking prepared and our voices ready. It was right about this time that the transformation occurred. This group of people, who were probably feeling overworked, irritated, and frustrated at having to listen to a geeky senior with no real theatre experience, did something that no one expected. They produced the most spectacular sound I think I have ever heard. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't loud, and it was only somewhat polished. But it gave me hope. It warmed me inside; it allowed me to forget everything that was so troubling or intimidating during those days, and just plunge myself into an experience that I hadn't anticipated.

  In the end, everything I stated previously was true. I was a puppet, being controlled. For all those who may think that I believe otherwise, I promise you, I understand how things really worked. Mrs. Minor got her money; that was all she cared about. Mr. Reams got to control everything and make people feel bad at the same time, and Emily Reams got to exert her ever-present power. I know full well that I didn't really make that show; I wasn't a favorite, and thus would never have been allowed the privileges and powers that certain other individuals have access to. But in the end, something amazing came out of it. For those months; those incredibly stressful and often tear-inducing months, I was allowed to be a part of something I probably won't ever experience again. It was a community event. It was something that lifted my spirits during a time where I had no direction. It just gave me something to care about. Did I really direct the show? Some might say yes, some might say no. From my experience, it was somewhere in the middle. As they always do, the powers that be over at that school had the final word on everything, regardless of how much it may have stepped on my throat. But that's not the point. The point relates back to that day at the end of November, when I had a smile on my face so large, there was nothing that could have taken it away. It was the experience of seeing hard work come to fruition.

  So, as Mulan begins its own journey, I hope every day that it enjoys the success of Aladdin. I hope and pray that it outperforms Aladdin, outdraws Aladdin, and becomes the strongest and most successful student directed show in the history of Bowie High. Aside from the obvious reasons that cause me to pull for its success, I want that same experience from Aladdin to be repeated. In those simple moments, from the cast party to the back-stage antics, to every moment that occurred on-stage, I want the student producers of Mulan to experience what I did.  I hope that the adults over at the high school shut up and step aside, as they seem incapable of doing. I just want to see something extraordinary.

  It really all comes down to those inexplicable moments of joy. Without those, I don't know if Aladdin could have happened for me.

  • 2:48 PM
  • 1 Comment