“So long, fare thee well, Pip! Pip! Cheerio! We’ll be back soon.”
– Be Back Soon, Oliver!
And that’s a wrap!
On the 5th, 6th and 7th of December, our perseverance and hard work was put to test. Each evening was a new day and we were expected to perform at our very best. As the lead percussionist, it was quite nervous, especially on the opening night, regarding the musical given that I had many songs to accompany back to back and each had very different beats, different instruments and I was working under dim light conditions as wasn’t enough note stands for me to keep my book and I had to read my notes under Anouk’s, my co-percussionist, light. Furthermore, percussion is a sound that is hard to miss and I worried that any mistake I made would be very prominent. Of course, the center of the attention was the play itself but I didn’t want to annoy Ms. Duncan, the music director, any further than I already had.
As I mentioned earlier, the first day was the most strenuous; imagine it, the whole auditorium was filled with people and it was impossible to play any section softly. Despite all the practices, a part of me was uncertain, however, as the first piece loomed nearer and nearer, I managed to calm my nerves and perform as I would. Overall, the first and second halves went smoothly for all band members, me included and it was a true joy to go sneak out during the interval and eat alongside the audience members (as performers, we weren’t really allowed to). In terms of pre-planning and organization, all performers had come in nearly three hours before the performance to run through various sections so everyone knew what they had to do. The second day went relatively smoothly as well, however, it was evident that most of us had gotten tired of listening to the same songs on repeat and we still had one more day to go. And by the third night, which was the most extravagant night of them all as the whole set up was changed to accommodate for performing around dining tables, everyone was worn out.
If I’m being completely honest, performing for Oliver! taught me three fundamental things. The first being that sometimes the journey towards reaching a finale is more satisfying than the end goal itself which is very true about the secondary school musical for me. I say this because, by the second day itself, I was looking forward to getting the whole production over with. I found rehearsals and weekly practices much more interesting because I was continuously learning new skills as a percussionist but also as a student interested in the performing arts as a whole. Watching the stage directors, actors and teachers play their parts so precisely and efficiently was far more interesting than the final performance because I had already witnessed the greater intricacies and finer details that had been put into bringing forth this production. Secondly, I was reminded just how vital a skill it is to be perseverant. There were so many times during those three nights of the production where I didn’t find any motivation to continue on. By this point, I knew all the lines by heart, there was absolutely nothing new to look forward to. However, I held on because I strongly believe that giving up has a ripple effect and the negative energy from such thoughts overflow to others and it wouldn’t be fair on the audience nor any of the actors and directors were I to lose my determination when we were this close to finishing it. By the end, I was more satisfied with my determination rather than the play itself. And last but not least, I was once again reminded of how fun it is to try new things and to broaden your horizons of interest. Doing percussion may not seem significant by itself and it isn’t a role that required a lot of skill, however, this was still my first time playing any instrument other than the guitar in front of an audience so it did rejuvenate me.
On a final note, I’d like to give a huge thank you to everyone who came and supported the play, congratulations to the directors, actors, singers, dancers, technicians, and musicians for all their hard work and this may have been my first production, but it definitely was worth it!
