When I was a kid, my dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up varied. I wanted to be a dancer, a singer, an actor, an artist and an executive assistant (I was a weird kid), among other things. The actor thing stuck with me for a while.
In high school, I chose theater as one of my electives. I kinda sucked at it. I was horribly shy and painfully insecure. I was actually a halfway decent actress, but getting on stage in front of people brought out all of my worst fears and my nerves would take over. I'd shake uncontrollably and forget my lines. It didn't help that the theater department was very clique-y. And I wasn't one of them.
So I abandoned my dreams of being a famous actress and followed other paths. Fast forward twenty-something years and you'll find a girl who has since done some film/TV acting, loves singing in front of an audience and is confident in her abilities. But there was still one challenge that scared the crap out of me: musicals.
I knew I could sing and act, but dancing was definitely not in my wheelhouse. I hadn't given it much thought until my boyfriend ran sound for a local show. Helping him haul gear - being in the theater - resurrected my ambition. Gathering every ounce of courage I could muster, I auditioned for "Memphis the Musical".
And I didn't make it.
Oh well. Maybe next time.
Then, fate stepped in.
One of the actors didn't work out. They had an opening that suited me. It was offered and I accepted. I was overjoyed. And terrified. In the end, I worked my ass off and portrayed three different characters. I had several lines, sang with the ensemble, danced in the finale (it wasn't pretty, but I did it!) and even made and applied some makeup effects for the show. Not bad for my first musical!
I am so proud of myself and glad I went for it. I'm now preparing to audition for the Hunchback musical and I can't wait. Maybe I'll even tremble less during my singing and stumble less during the dancing. :)
