I’ve never really considered myself a “good” theatre person. I honestly don’t know many musicals or plays other than the ones I was in or had to read about in school. I knew bits and pieces of musicals here and there and was familiar with certain songs but overall I was pretty clueless.
When I heard about Metropolis doing A Chorus Line, I HAD to be in it because I love to dance. All I knew about A Chorus Line was that it was a dance show and the opening number song. I didn’t know that’s where “Dance Ten Looks Three” or “At The Ballet” or “What I Did For Love” were all in this show. I always feel so behind or out of the loop.
However, one thing I always appreciate about not knowing, is that I get to experience shows for the first time. I didn’t come in knowing the jokes or knowing my character or feeling like I knew all about the show. So I did my research. I watched the documentary, I read the book and I watched the movie and watched whatever clips I could find on YouTube. With this show in particular, it really hit home.
Being an actor is not easy. I felt a lot of connections to Mark because like him, I too felt like I am just breaking into this business. I’m hopeful but still naive in so many ways. Even weeks into our run, I’m still discovering new things about my character and other people’s characters. When you’re on stage for basically the entire show, it’s hard to see the same show twice. Every time we get a chance to go backstage, we’ll always talk about some new thing we did, some funny thing we saw someone else do that we’ll later find out they’ve been doing for weeks or we’ll have a new moment where we just see someone new, connect with them in a different way or at a different time. I think you have to go into this show that way. You can’t go in knowing that you’re going to get cast or that you’re not going to get cast. You can’t go in knowing where the jokes are or exactly how you’re going to react. Every performance has to be fresh and vulnerable which is scary.
Luckily, I have the most amazing and supportive cast. This would be an extremely hard show to do if you didn’t have that safe environment created by the cast and team to be vulnerable, to try new things and to feel safe to fail or cry or mess up choreography. I am so thankful for this show. It’s allowed me to be vulnerable and reminded me just how scary this career is but how brave I am to pursue it. It’s also reminded me every performer is doing their best. We have to be there for each other.
Yes, in a way we’re competition. We’re all competing for the same roles but more importantly, we can walk into this competition together. Every night, when Zach chooses his 4 girls and 4 guys, I am grateful that I am one of the chosen but it never ceases to also give me a pinch of sadness for my other fellow actors who did not make the cut.
A Chorus Line teaches empathy and we all need to be reminded of this in this business and in this life filled with so much hate, negativity, fear and violence. That’s why I do theatre. I do not need to know every lyric to every musical. I just need to know the lessons they teach me. What’s the point of being a “good theatre person” if you’re not a good person and carrying along those lessons out in the real world? Yes, as Cassie says, I need a job. However, our job is more than what we do onstage, but rather what we do offstage that counts.
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