September Writing Challenge - Prompt #2:
Theatre
For this prompt, I originally used "Theater/re" so I could have the freedom to use it for "theater" (movies/cinema) or "theatre" (plays/drama). I decided to officially go with "theatre," but I have two different posts I want to write about "theatre," so I might go ahead and use it twice! Or maybe even three times because I might also decide to go the "theater" route at some point this month. Look at me going wild over here!
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When Nicky was in junior high, he went to the auditions for the school musical and ended up not trying out. We had very little information about the tryouts, and when he got there, he found out that he was supposed to audition with a partner. He didn't have anyone to audition with and felt really uncomfortable and scared, so he didn't do it. This was a sad mom moment for me. When Nicky called me and said, "Can you come pick me up, I'm not going to try out!" I was so devastated. At that time, Nicky had no friends at school, and it broke my heart to see him so vulnerable. He was trying to put himself out there and get involved in something, and it didn't work out. He never ended up doing any theatre in junior high even though he wanted to.
In 9th grade, he tried out for the high school musical, which happened to be Addams Family. It was a little easier because he had friends trying out, and the high school theatre teacher was a lot more informative about auditions. He really had to put himself out there, though, because he needed to sing a one-minute solo for auditions, and he had never sang like that before. He went with "Master of the House" from Les Mis and ended up getting cast into the ensemble as a "lost soul." He enjoyed doing the musical but didn't know if it was something he wanted to continue doing. He wasn't sure if the after-school time commitment was his thing, and it interfered with the golf team.
In 10th grade, fueled by FOMO, Nicky decided to do the musical again - this time it was Cinderella. There was an optional set of choreography he could learn via video for the audition process. Nicky decided he wanted to put in the extra work to learn the additional choreography, so he asked Daisy to help him. They stayed up late learning the dance (which Nicky had a hard time doing in our house because he's so huge, and we have light fixtures and low ceilings that get in the way). When the cast list came out, Nicky was thrilled to be cast as a knight. He felt like he got a special part because he was willing to put in the extra work.
Nicky loved being a knight, and when we saw him perform, we were shocked. We didn't know he had that in him. We learned so much about our son when we saw what he did on stage!
Later that year he had the lead role in his theatre class's production of Everyone Gets Eaten by Sharks.
Nicky also did a scene with his friend Addie from A Woman of no Importance for a district theatre competition and ended up medaling at State (watching Addie's joy when they medaled was so fun! It meant a lot to her! Nicky didn't care so much other than for Addie's sake).
At that point, Nicky decided to try out for the competitive theatre group (known as the "Play Productions" team, or "PlayPro" for short). He was chosen for the team and did that for 11th grade and is doing it again for his senior year (though, when I first asked him if he wanted to do PlayPro he said no because he didn't want to do any Shakespeare or classic theatre) (he still really doesn't like Shakespeare or classic theatre, but he does it to be a good sport).
In 11th grade, Nicky was cast as Winward, one of the seahorses in The Little Mermaid alongside one of his best friends, Clayson. They had a great time and were so funny on stage together, as always!
At the end of last school year, they announced that the musical for this year would be The Music Man. Naturally, we all started thinking about who would play all the roles in the performance. Addie was a shoe-in for Marian, and Addie's mom, Laurel started suggesting that Nicky would be a great Harold Hill. My reaction was, "Nah, Nicky doesn't really sing. Nicky is a side-kick, not a leading man. There are other boys who want it more." (Nicky had the same thoughts). But as time went on, I started to realize that Nicky really could be Harold Hill. In fact, there isn't a more perfect leading role for Nicky. He has the look and the personality... and he has always been really intrigued by conmen (Frank Abagnale is his hero, much to my dismay). It's just that darn singing...
I ended up asking Nicky if he had any interest in going for Harold Hill, and he said yes, but he didn't think he could really pull it off. He genuinely thought a couple of his friends would make great Harold Hills, and he didn't want to take that opportunity from them. Over time, he became more familiar with the character and the story of The Music Man. One day he asked, "Mom, is Harold Hill a conman?" and I said, "Yes." And at that moment we decided that Nicky at least needed to try. We found a voice coach and put him in voice lessons. Nicky listened to (and sang) the songs all summer. Laurel and I turned into weird theatre moms, dreaming about the possibility of Nicky and Addie (who happen to be best friends - platonically) playing Harold and Marian and having to kiss.
Auditions were the second week of school. Nicky sang "Supercalifragilisticexpialicidious." We decided that would be a good "patter" song to showcase a similar style to Harold Hill (though I wanted Nicky to sing "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?" from Only Murders in the Building). After the first audition, Nicky came home feeling completely defeated. I don't know what happened (he never really told me), but he was really upset. I felt really bad. But he got called back for Harold Hill, and that's what we were hoping for (he also got called back for the Mayor but not for Marcellus. Marcellus would have been his second choice for a role because he loves the Shipoopi song).
Nicky's voice coach was so kind and reached out and offered a lesson the night before callbacks, so Nicky was able to get in a few minutes of extra training. Then Nicky and Addie got together to rehearse a bit so they could be ready. This was good because they were able to confront some of their discomfort with the romance (Laurel and I kept joking that they should just make out and get it over with. They don't think we're funny).
The day of callbacks, Nicky was super nervous and spent all day pooping his guts out (we are nervous poopers in this family). Then when he showed up to the actual callbacks, he said he felt incredibly calm and happy and supported and loved by friends and teachers. He was ready to get it done and sincerely enjoyed being there.
Then we waited...
That Saturday afternoon, the list was released, and Nicky and Addie were cast as Harold and Marian. My mom heart soared.
At the time of the cast release, Nicky was backpacking in the Uintas with Scotty and had no cell service, so we all knew that he and Addie got the parts, but Nicky didn't know. He ended up hiking to the top of a mountain to find cell phone service. He called me, and I was able to tell him the good news. Here are a few screen shots from when Nicky got the news:
"Mom, is the cast list out?"
(Seriously makes me cry).
I am amazed to see the growth from that first junior high audition mishap to now. I have to give some credit to Laurel for initially suggesting that Nicky could play Harold Hill. I don't know that it would have crossed our minds - Nicky was never seeking a lead role. I don't know if the theatre teacher had Nicky in mind - who knows, maybe he was always a contender. But it was really special to watch Nicky work for this over the past several months and have it happen. As an added bonus, Daisy is in the ensemble, so we get to enjoy watching two of our children perform together.
Now they are in the thick of rehearsals, and we hear The Music Man pumping through every speaker in our home and car constantly. It's always playing on the TV, and every person in this house walks around singing, "Marrrrrrrrrrrian.... Madame librarrrrrrrrrian!" (And yes, we are sick of it already).
This opportunity for Nicky makes me weepy. I'm just so stinkin' proud of him. I love that he worked hard for something and it paid off. I can't wait to see him on stage!
(Also kind of weirded out that I'll have to watch him kiss a girl. That's something I'm not yet privy to).
I love this! So stinkin cool. I want to come to the show... I'm not just saying that... Please tell me when it is!!!
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