Spring break-ish

"You go on break, we go to work" - the words of Stephen, our director of theatre and director of RENT. Each day this spring break, we are running eight-hour days in rehearsals. You name it, we're doing it (as long as it's from Act I): choreography, blocking, music, acting, random dance parties and snack breaks, we're on it! As long and as stressful as this week has been at times, I think we are all having a blast. I know I am!

"Nicole, this is a great pose! Get a picture of this!" - Dee Anne, the world's cutest choreographer

Let's be honest, as a stage manager, eight-hour days are more like ten-hours, but we're still having a great time. My ASM Jarrett and I have been doing some serious bonding...and some serious paperwork! This week has seen a lot of excel spreadsheets and fittings to schedule, as well as constantly tweaking our rehearsal schedule. It's getting kind of exhausting!

I am so proud of our kids though, they are working so hard and having so much fun, which is really nice to see. Especially some of my senior babies. A few years ago they were spending their breaks huddled in the corner on their phones, and now they're practicing tangoes and helping the younger ones together. It's really awesome to see.

I can see a change in myself too. Though my cast might not see this as clearly as I do, but I'm a lot more patient than I was when I first became a SM. I also am a lot more forgiving of my own mistakes. Not to the extent that I allow myself to make mistakes or that I'm okay with them, but I only get mad at myself for a few seconds and then I just fix it. There have definitely been a few mistakes on my part. But I'm still learning. Even though this is my last show and a pretty big goal of mine is leaving the cast in a good spot to move on as professionals, I have been reminded multiple times that I'm not done learning, and I'm very grateful for this experience.

We've had a lot of great moments in rehearsal this week. For one thing (and this will come as a surprise to NO ONE I'm sure), as RENT is my favorite musical, or rather, the musical that really got me into musicals, I have had a hard time stopping myself from singing along in rehearsals. Whenever I do manage to abstain, it's usually because I'm crying. The music of RENT is so beautiful to me, and to be working on this show as my last one at Xavier is very special. I cry at almost every group number, but "Support Group" and "Seasons of Love" are especially difficult for me. I'm just such a proud momma.

The moments that we have in rehearsal that we don't get a lot of - when I'm goofing around WITH the cast - are what I would imagine parents or teachers feel like while hanging out at college bars. When I do get the chance, I always try to snap a pic of our silly moments, as much as they might be annoyed by it. Griff, especially, has made it his priority to avoid all photos of himself. But I will get him!!!

A group of theatre kids in their natural habitat.