Saturday night was spent saying goodbye to the wonderful cast of Beautiful in the Extreme and by Sunday afternoon I’d acquainted myself with my new housemates for the run of Civil War. There is a definite switch going from Hamlet and ‘Beautiful’, two very in depth plays, to a musical. It’s a change that is exciting.
The situation of going from show to show means there is no time for reflection. We took our final bow as a cast on Saturday night and ten minutes later we’d taken down half the set and broken out the piano for the Civil War rehearsals. It’s sad to see the people go that have been such a huge part of my life for 6 weeks. After putting two shows up in two weeks rehearsal periods you have no choice but to bond. It is truly saying goodbye to a family. The shared experiences are something that I will carry with me fir the rest of my life.
The change to a musical is definitely a different preparation process. The morning that was once quiet and sober is now filled with lip trills and vocal scales. The score is filled with high Cs and many different styles of music. The rehearsals are finding harmonies on top of our choreography. As a cast we already have so many laughs and get along really well.
It is also a huge honor to be doing a show about the Civil War in an area who’s history is so engrossed with it. The castmates and I have been watching the Ken Burns documentary and sure enough there is lots to talk about in terms of the Cumberland and old Clarksville. It will be a very fun four weeks to perform a subject matter that is one of the pivotal points of this country
