SHOWTIME AND THE SCHOOL MUSICAL

BY ROBINY JAMERSON

LAST YEAR, I TRIED OUT FOR OUR SCHOOL'S musical production of Bye Bye Birdie. I've always been interested in drama and I love singing, so you can imagine how excited I got when I was cast as Rosie Alvarez, one of the leading roles.

I spent many hours memorizing lines, music, and choreography during rehearsals. The rest of the cast was great, and we all grew very close. We had many ongoing jokes, and we all loved hanging out, even offstage. The laughter calmed me during practices, and by the time production week came around, I felt really comfortable acting, singing, and even dancing on stage.

But even with this confidence, it felt like there was an urgency about rehearsing during the last few days before showtime. In addition to last-minute line fixes and dance moves, it was discovered that the version I'd been singing of my song "Spanish Rose" didn't fit the version the pit band had learned. The vocal director quickly rearranged some verses and added new words the night before our first dress rehearsal, and I started studying them. Although the dress rehearsals went smoothly, I became very nervous about singing the song in front of an audience.