the last few spitfires

So we finished our run of Spitfire Grill this weekend, performing only three shows instead of our anticipated four. But those three shows were great ones. I nailed my song each and every night, and there were a few discoveries that I made over the weekend. I had the notes of my song completely in my range, but the rhythm was giving me trouble. When I spoke to the musical director about kicking up the tempo a little faster, that made all the difference in the world. Also, since the lyric for my high part was simply "Oh," it took me a while to figure out what that section of the song meant. So once I did, the song made perfect sense. An an acting lesson, I had to understand the song before I could sing it properly. Once I tapped into the emotional arc of the song and actually lived in the moment of the musical, the performance just came out of me. There was one moment when I played the idea of being unable to speak, and that my only solution was to sing. Very effective.

I had friends and family in the audiences on Saturday and Sunday, which was a thrill for me. There were people who have seen me in other plays, and they could offer compliments and observations based on past performances. And on Sunday, a friend from Pella windows came to see me. It was the first time that someone from my "day" job has come to see me in my "real" job. He and his wife had a really great date up to see my show, and he also sent me a very complimentary email about the performance. Maybe he'll even post a comment or two up here, as he's a regular contributor to the blog.