Well you may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer

Throughout much of my high school and community college career, I was heavily involved in musical theatre (In case you're wondering, I spell the building "theater" and the art form "theatre", though these spellings are interchangeable) and I've spent many hours of my life whiling away the time between company or chorus appearances in a variety of "green rooms".  From Gilbert & Sullivan to Andrew Lloyd Weber to The Who, my performances have run the stylistic gamut.  While I have never had a leading role, I have played some principal characters, namely Schroeder in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Marcellus in The Music Man, and the soloist for "We Beseech Thee" in Godspell.

Me as Schroeder in Eureka College's You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

For a span of about 5 or 6 years, musical theatre was my life.  Upon graduating high school, my dream was to go to college to learn how to write musicals.  I even contemplated majoring in musical theatre, until I heard of the "triple threat"; singing, acting, and dancing (one that I'm mediocre at, one that I'm inexperienced with, and one that I'm terrible at, respectively).

Every summer from my Sophomore year in high school through my Sophomore year in college was dedicated to the stage. Then I started working at summer camp, and my summer's passion was shifted in a much different direction.  This shift, over the years, spread into the music I listened to as well, and eventually, I came to the sad realization that musical theatre is hokey.  With few rare exceptions, I lost interest in the genre; even most of the shows that I consider to be better examples, I find schlocky; Rent, Chess, Phantom of the Opera (and don't get me started with Cats).

While it was the music that initially drew me in to musical theatre, it was the lyrics and the cheesy dialog that turned me off.   I think there are still some great shows out there.  Jesus Christ Superstar, for example, which just has an exceptional score and started as a concept album, not a musical; Pippin, which breaks down the fourth wall, and is in a way a parody of musical theatre, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is about musicians.

2002 Cast of Peoria Players Youth Production of Godspell (That's me with the guitar)

While I am not really into musical theatre any more, after a ten year hiatus from the stage, I am rehearsing for a production of Godspell, which is a re-telling of the parables from the book of Matthew.  Godspell is performed by a small ensemble cast, where each parable is acted out as a mini-play.  I found out several months ago that the show was being directed by the same director I was under when I did a youth production of the show in 2002 and music directed by someone I went to college with.  For months I thought about auditioning, because it was such a good experience, when I was in college.  When it came to the week before auditions, I still wasn't sure, but my wife encouraged me to go for it, knowing it would be a pretty big time commitment.

Needless to say, I was feeling pretty rusty after the ten years since my last audition, so I wasn't super confident about being cast in the show.  For my audition, I sang (and accompanied myself on guitar) "Leave" by Glen Hansard from the film Once, that has been recently made into a musical, so it fit with the unwritten rule of singing show tunes for auditions.  After everyone sang, we learned a dance number and performed it as a group.  Let me rephrase that, everyone else learned a dance number, while I pretended to have learned it and just kind of moved around in the back line.  (I am a terrible dancer.)  Finally, we took some time to read from the script, in which we were encouraged to do one of my specialties...use voices.

Knowing that I'm as good at dancing as the Cubs are at winning the World Series (as a Cubs fan, I can make that joke), I still left the audition feeling fairly confident, as the last time I did this show, my ability to play musical instruments was utilized during many of the dance numbers.  So about 24 hours later, I was notified that I was requested for a callback audition.  Callbacks are when the directors bring you back in for a second audition to have another look at you and have you try some more readings and songs from the show to see if you fit what they're looking for.

Many incredibly talented people were at the callback audition, so afterward I left not feeling nearly as confident as I had the night of my first audition.  Later on, however, I found out that I had been cast in the show.  And not only had I been cast, but I am essentially playing the same part that I did when I performed the show in college (really, I play myself, but I have the same solo that I did in college).  This means that I have not worsened with age.  At the very worst, I have remained stagnant!

We have been rehearsing for about 6 weeks now, and we have a very talented cast with some beautiful voices, some great dancers, and some really funny actors.  I've realized some things about myself in the process. While I probably have the best overall understanding of music, music theory, chord structure, and even sight reading, I also probably have the weakest voice.  This is like having the words of a poet with the voice of a mime; it can be very disheartening.  I was thinking that after my weight loss and my new-found athleticism with running, I might be able to be a better dancer than I was when I was younger...nope, I'm still a terrible dancer.  As far as acting goes, it's still too early in the process to be able to tell where I stand; I would like to try a serious play (non-musical) someday.

I've also found that doing this show is taking a ton of time.  With rehearsals (at least) 5 nights a week, I am spending more time on this play than I did for the entirety of marathon training.  I miss spending that time with my wife and daughter, and I also miss dedicating time to my music.  While I enjoy this show quite a bit, it is a big time commitment, and I will likely be very selective should I do more shows in the future.  Despite the amount of time it takes, however, it is a great experience, and I'm glad I decided to audition and can't wait to go into production.

If you would like to see the show, it runs March 15 through March 24, 2013, with tickets going on sale March 4.  More information can be found at Peoria Players Theatre.


Side story regarding my dance skills:
We were learning the choreography for a new dance last night, and I was standing in the front row.  As the director/choreographer walked past me organizing the people in the front, she said, "You know better, move on back."  So I walked back to the second row.  Then as she passed me there, she said, "Uh-uh, back row."  I couldn't help but laugh, and neither could those who heard.  I have no shame in being a bad dancer; in fact, I think it's kind of funny.

The Great Brewmaster's Kingdom

It was about a year ago now that I brewed my first batch of beer.  For Christmas, I had received a home brewing supply kit, and I spent a few weeks reading about the brewing process and contemplating what I wanted to start with.  Then on a bitterly frigid January Sunday, I spent a couple hours outside, making my first batch of American style pale ale over an outdoor propane grill.

 

 

 

After the couple hour process of boiling water, steeping grains, and adding the right mixture of hops at the right time, I cooled my brew (which is called wort in this stage) and pitched (added) the yeast.  This is the moment where fermentation begins, and the wort begins its transformation to beer.  The yeast takes the sugar from the grains and changes it into alcohol and CO2; this process takes several days.  After fermentation is complete, you let your beer age to improve the clarity and the flavor. It then ages longer when you bottle it.

 

Though the winemaking process is a bit different than the beer brewing process, they share several of the same steps, including fermentation and aging for taste.  When Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine at a wedding banquet, he was able to take a process that takes several weeks and perform it instantly.  Not only did he change the water into wine, but he changed water into “the choice wine”. It was so good that the banquet master said to the groom, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”  

 

Jesus’ first miracle may seem to hold less importance than some of his later ones, but essentially they’re all the same.  Jesus transforms one thing into another.  He transforms water into wine, sickness into health, blindness into sight, possession into freedom, death into life.  And he is still doing this today as he transforms doubt into faith, fear into empathy, hate into love, and sin into shalom. But like fermentation, this is taking time.  When the Great Brewmaster’s kingdom comes to earth in fullness, all the transformations will be complete, and we will say as the master of the banquet did, “You have saved the best ‘til now.”