Lessons Learned

I've been very fortunate over the last few years to teach a Master Class at Western Michigan University. I basically spend a lot of time talking to the acting students about my life and what it takes to be a "working actor", and I must say the experience is as beneficial and educational for me as it is (I hope!) for the students. I'm always delightfully surprised at the kind of questions the students come up with. This past spring, on my last visit, a student asked me, "What's the most important lesson you've learned in all your years as an actor?" I thought it was fantastic because, honestly, I'd never considered it. My gut response was that "even though I spend hours preparing for an audition, studying my lines and going over the beats (and in the case of a musical audition, learning music and singing the song and trying to understand the "gist" of the scene), and once I've walked in that door and done my best, when I exit, I try to leave it all (the prep, the anxiety, the hard work, the questioning "Did I do this right?" or "Did I do that right?") behind. I try to just walk away and move on to the next one, because otherwise I'd drive myself crazy. It's not easy to do and it's taken me many years to learn how to cope with this kind of situation, but it's probably the single most important lesson I've learned over the years. Did I mention it wasn't easy to do...?

With that in mind, I have to say that I was so frustrated with yesterday's rehearsal - and my work in it - that I couldn't even post. I had been looking forward to it, knowing full well that it would include a lot of notes from the previous day's run thru as well as review work. I knew we would run things again and again and again, not the least of which would be the infamous "Voulez-Vous" number, and I was not disappointed. What I was disappointed in was my lackluster ability, after trying somewhat strenuously to master a particular combination of the dance, to even perform it at the most elementary level. Now this kind of viewpoint is always subjective, as many of the people around me, including Janet and our Dance Captain assistant Ryan, said I was doing fine, learning in small but successful increments. But I was frustrated. I had practiced the routine over and over by myself, trying to understand the moves and get it "into my body" and felt fairly good about it. But when the moment came, repeatedly, I missed the opportunity and seemed to misstep one part or another. As my frustration level increased, so did my self-doubt, and that didn't help. Finally, we agreed to let it go for the day, but in my mind, the damage was done. We finished the day with further review of the rest of the show, but my psyche was stuck on "Voulez - Vous" and it was a tough night's sleep. Obviously I haven't mastered the art of practicing what I preach. I let my frustration of the day carry into my night - not a healthy thing to do.

As I said before, it's not easy, whether it's an audition or the work itself, to leave it at the door.

But what a difference 24 hours can make. Today was spent on the stage at the Winter Garden, and this time I was ready. I knew we were to begin with the "Dad's" arrival scene, and it was great to actually get on the stage and move around in the real space. As nice and comfortable as it feels in a rehearsal space, standing on a Broadway stage, with the width and breadth and depth of the surroundings, it fills the entire scene in a different way. I also made my own small adjustment by wearing my own cowboy boots and my own "Indiana" hat and believe it or not, something as small as that can make all the difference in the world. We ran the scene a few times, adjusting some of the spacing we had developed in rehearsal, and we got to sing more fully on the stage, which also helps to "fill out" the character. In the end it was a very successful morning, having run all the way through Beth's (Donna's) entrance singing the title song, "Mamma Mia". The end of the song is particularly fun for us three Dad's as we get to "rock out", singing about our surprise at Donna's general condition ("She's still got it!") and really letting loose for a few bars. It's a great moment!

After lunch, though, the real fun began as the entire, and this time I mean ENTIRE company got together (over 30 in all!) to sing through the show. And talk about exciting! Wow, what a thrill to hear all these young ensemble members sing the backups and harmonies. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can have your Patty Lupone's and your Bernadette Peter's and your Betty Buckley's and any other Broadway diva you can name - I'll take the chorus, the ensemble, the hardest working, most dedicated group of people working in the theater. They were amazing! Fantastic! They sounded terrific, and made all the rest of us principal actors sound terrific, too. We sang through the entire show, beginning to end, stopping and starting here and there to "clean up" a bit when harmonies were off or entrances and exits to songs were not clear, but the main point of the session was simply to hear each other for the first time. And it did not disappoint, let me tell you!

For the last few hours we began to review, again, some dance steps. I was fully prepared (and ready to rehearse again) my favorite "Voulez - Vous", but we ran out of time before we got to the most difficult part of the dance, so it'll have to wait for another day.

Tuesday, strangely, is our day off this week, so there will be nothing to post tomorrow. But Wednesday we start in fresh on the stage, where we'll be all week until we "Open", next Tuesday. Odd to say we "Open", since the show has been running for eight years, but for us it will be an "Opening", and I can tell you we're all looking forward to it with great anticipation.