By the time this article publishes, I will have already performed on the Harbor Playhouse stage. Getting to this stage was a dance with my friends and a fight with myself.
I walked into Harbor Playhouse on a sunny September afternoon with two things in mind: the thought that I was out of my element auditioning for “A Christmas Carol,” but the conviction to still give it my all. My afternoon was spent watching many people give stellar performances, meanwhile I stayed worried about my chances about making it in the cast after all.
We were told that the cast would be getting calls as soon as that evening. That really spiked my nerves. Now anxious and worried, I soothed my worries by going out with some new friends for an evening, giving me a chance to relax.
Then the calls came. One by one, everyone around me would go around a corner and then come back, telling us what role they got. I was worried about getting a call a lot, which was amplified by my phone dying. Now what? I have no way of figuring out whether or not I made it. My night had been a veritable roller-coaster.
It wasn’t until I made it home that I saw a voicemail, saying that I had been cast. I accepted it without giving a second thought.
All of my worries had melted away after I learned that I had gotten into a cast. A wave of relief gave me a moment to catch my breath and take in this opportunity to take the next step.
That next step would come in the way of a read-through of the script, complete with many of the cast singing their parts from previous years. Little did I know that I was surrounded by veterans and people who knew each other already.
It was a rough first outing for myself, but ultimately, I made through. I might not have been in the best of spirits, worrying about how I could find a place within this large, interconnected web of people, but I did make it through the start.
I consider myself lucky to have already made a few friends from other productions, that way I could have an easier time meeting new people. I forgot one big step of that process early on: actually talking to other people.
When we started learning about singing, I had an opportunity to start talking and making some friends on my own. It would have been great if I had taken that opportunity, but instead I devoted myself to learning to sing my parts.
From the beginning of the singing though, I pulled hope from my cast. Hearing everything come together, how the singers’ voices blended and the pure volume we brought to the theater had me excited.
Afterwards, we got on the main stage and began working out the blocking. I was under the bright, hot lights of Harbor Playhouse and this was when I started getting familiar with the space.
I haven’t done much dancing in my time, but if it was anything like how I was dancing for this production, then I’m sold. It was fun, it was quick, and it was the time I finally broke out of my shell. Someone came up to me, and I start coming up to people as well. Little by little, I was talking to people.
First it was the cast, then it was the costume crew as well. There’s a small loft in the second floor of the theater, and it’s solely devoted to putting the costumes together. I went up there to try a few on for myself, and I found that an enjoyable experience. Despite my having smaller shoes to fill, I still must change costumes quite a few times.
From what I’ve heard of this production, I got in at a very fortunate time. The director already had a good track record, and he came in with the purpose of making this year’s installation of “A Christmas Carol” unlike any show before it. I’ve seen an incredible production filled with nothing but great people and even greater staging.
This year’s “A Christmas Carol” has been absolutely worth my time and I’m glad I had a chance to take part in such a wonderful production. We started performing the show on Nov. 29 and will keep going every weekend until Dec. 22. Here’s to a good December!
