Is The Word

Apologies to all whom have been missing out on my posts. I have been very busy, and haven't found the time to post. There are new developments in my life, and I thought I would take a moment to tell you what's happening.

I have been cast as the drummer for the local production of the Broadway musical Grease. Performances won't happen until mid-November, but there are plenty of preparations to be made in the meantime. I have received a copy of the music and met the fellow players. I am already busy preparing for the rehearsals by learning the songs, watching the movie, etc. I have also been spending a great deal of my time rebuilding by drumset form scratch to accommodate all the necessary equipment I will need for this production. My drums are going to look awesome under those stage lights!

For all of you who know me, and are interested in catching the show, I suggest you contact me closer to mid-October, as then I should know all the details on the 5 W's (as well as the how much tickets cost).

There are some challenges to musical theatre that aren't prevalent in normal stage-band situations. Many musicals have complicated arrangements, where the drummer has to play a myriad of styles and percussive instruments. Many of the songs require the musicians to follow cues from the actors, be it either dialogue or choreography. Even though the music is heavily structured, often the players have to improvise on a song in order to accommodate delays in the performance, dialogue or even set changes.

Even though I am not particularly fond of many of the songs featured in said musical, I must admit that performing in musical theatre is an absolute blast. Last summer, I was cast as an actor and musician in the Broadway musical I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it Out on The Road. I hadn't had that much fun in what seemed like years. I knew that I would not pass up another opportunity to play in Musical Theatre again. Who knows? Somebody's bound to do another production of Rocky Horror sometime in the future. Now that would be something!

Sure, musical showtunes are corny. So what?