Disney Marathon

These are great movies.  I just want to say a few things about them.

• They are frequently stereotyped as primarily for girls, but they are not only for girls.  There are at least as many male protagonists as there are female protagonists, and Walt Disney didn't even approve of the "Disney Princess" stereotype.
• They are frequently stereotyped as primarily for younger children, but this is not the case.  Just because a movie doesn't have swear words, violence, and sexual content, doesn't mean that it's only for children.  Anyone can be entertained.
• They are good movies to watch with friends, because everyone knows them.  You can easily keep a conversation going in the background with the movie going on.

I mean what I say.  A week or two ago, when J couldn't believe that he was actually being forced to watch Winnie the Pooh, he complained beforehand, but was cracking up laughing as he was watching it.  My dad was skeptical the first time he saw Tangled, but he loved the movie by the end.

So when KR proposed a Disney marathon, I was completely enthusiastic.  Although we only ended up going for six hours, and just me, KR, and MC, we had a good time.  We made it through four movies, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Winnie the Pooh, and Aladdin.  They all are completely different, even the two with the same songwriter team (which I love about Alan Menken).

I had a good time.  My dad though couldn't seem to understand that I love being around KR and MC.  As far as he was concerned, I was going to be the only high schooler, and the only guy there.  He even offered me to use him as an excuse if I ever wanted to leave earlier.  I thanked him, but I knew it wouldn't be necessary.  It wasn't.

For those of you who went to see Les Miserables today in the group that I was invited to go with, I'm sorry I couldn't make it.  It was between going to Les Miserables with a few people I didn't know, or didn't know very well, or doing the Disney Marathon with a few of my best friends.  I did have some really good friends at the movie, I just would have rather been doing what I was doing.

-NM

To My Readers:

December 25, 2012

To my Readers,

Merry Christmas!  I know it has been a chaotic time of year for all, as it is every year.  I could give you a detailed description of everything I did yesterday and today, but I'm going to pass for two reasons.  The first is that it would be extremely hard to write about.  The second is that it will likely be the same next year, and I can write about it then.

I would like to take this time to thank you, my faithful readers.  For quite a while, I was in doubt as whether or not to start this blog or not.  Between the time I knew it would take, as well as the common stereotype that such blogs may lead to an easy method of bullying, I wondered whether or not starting the blog was the right thing to do.

However, I can clearly see that it was well worth my while.  I have had nothing but compliments about the content of my posts.  I have avoided saying mean things about people, and have never found the need to.  It has become extremely fun for me to write as I'm sure as it is for you to read.

I would like to apologize at this time to everyone who I didn't get a Christmas present for.  I have never gotten presents for my friends in the past,  and every year I always feel really guilty by the end.  I barely even managed to get presents together for my family.  I hope you will excuse my manner, as much as I don't expect any presents from you.

There is only one thing I ask of two of my readers.  There are two people who anonymously are reading my blog.  The first is following mine, and is only known as "Another Generation Jump".  Their own blog does not make clear who this person is.  The second sent me an anonymous letter, which was handed to me last Friday after going through a series of hands.  The person giving it to me didn't know who sent it.

I only ask this.  I would like you to reveal yourselves to me, but if this is not possible, can you at least let me know if you are the same person?

In the meantime, I shall keep writing.  

Yours Truly,

NM

12/22/12

What a day!  Just so many things happened, and nothing bad at all.

I woke up around 8.  When I checked my e-mail, I found the results from my December SAT Subject Tests had come in.  My results were as follows:

Math Level 1: 800
Math Level 2: 800

I could hardly believe it.  I knew I had done well, but I would have never thought I had done that well. It was a great wake-up call.

Then, as had been arranged, I went up into town to meet KR and BF at B.  It wasn't about the food.  We were just hanging out.  We went all around town, and just hung out, for about three and a half hours.  This was a big deal for me in two aspects.  First, I didn't really keep in touch with anyone from the middle school show last year, and seriously regretted it.  This was a first step to improvement.  Second, I've never really hung around town with anyone all that much, even when I was in middle school.  We had so much fun, and I couldn't possibly name all the places we went, or all the things we talked about.

Then came the preparation for that evening.  We were having company over, and the anticipation had been high for a long time in our family.

It was a ton of fun.  The guests started arriving around 5.  It wasn't just adults.  Also coming over were CM, NC, and JC.  Plus me, J, A, and V.  We just hung out and talked before dinner.  Though at dinner there was definitely plenty of conversation going.  Afterwards, the kids were all responsible for putting on a show.  V was asleep, but everyone else performed in some way, whether it was singing, playing piano, or a combination.  Mr. S even dropped by briefly to sing "O Holy Night".  Later, me and CM went to play some cards.  We played seven games of rummy.  I won three, and she won three.  After the deciding final game, we could hardly believe it when we added up the scores, and we had tied.  The last of the guests left around 11:00, and we went to bed shortly after.

Just so much good stuff happened yesterday.  I just had to share it with you.

-NM

KM

I've known her for a long time.  We met for the first time between 4th and 5th grade, during a production of The Wizard of Oz.  She was Dorothy, I was the Scarecrow.  After that, we saw each other again when the EE and OE orchestras combined for the concert, and we were in the sort of double quartet together.

Middle school we were good friends.  We talked, we did the shows together, and had a good time.  We were in a few classes together each year, and were glad the other was with us.  We didn't have a ton of memories, except the few we made with musical.

High school was when everything started to get really awkward.  Something happened freshman year, carrying into PAC the summer after, that changed our relationship for a while.  I won't say what it was over the internet, but a lot of people probably noticed.  We never talked about it, and still never have, but it still puts a damper on everything.

For a while, we would barely even talk to each other.  I don't blame either of us.  It was just too awkward.  But that's starting to change.  At first it was the point where conversation was possible, we just weren't real good friends.

Though now I think we've reached the point where I can call her my friend again.  We've started talking more, and I think we've both put freshman year aside.

Now, onto more about her as a person/actress.

She's talented.  She really is.  The problem is that she's quiet enough that you almost forget about her.  As we agreed last night, they're not picking shows with her in mind.  When the casting is being made, she's already working against prejudice.  Plus, she's forced to fit into a part that doesn't come natural to her.  She's just a hard type to cast.

But she's one of the nicest people ever.  I can't remember the last time I've heard her say something truly mean.  She's just really quiet.  She rarely speaks her opinion about anything, and you rarely know how she truly feels.  I compare her to Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice frequently, because it's such a good comparison.  Nice, but you don't really know whether she's happy or upset.

I hope it works out for her.  I believe there's a role waiting for her senior year at PAC at the very least, but I hope that next year at high school there's something to be had.

-NM

Middle School Winter Chorus Concert

Ah... the brief reunion.

I wish it would have been a few weeks after.  It would have been a lot more emotional, especially since I may not see a lot of these people for a long time.

As soon as I walked in, KR and KD ran up and each gave me a hug, and KR gave me another copy of the Christmas Card I lost.  BF and ES saw me and waved from their place on the risers.  As I was sitting down, I was getting texts right up to the start of the concert from them, trying to communicate.

The concert itself was really good.  A lot better than last year, and a lot better than anything we did when we were in middle school.  The solos were all great, especially CP's.  The problem is that the guys are at such a hard stage in their voices, that the pitch suffered.  The best number was probably "Santa Baby", which was only girls.  But it was good.

I don't think anyone I talked to afterwards truly appreciated how much of a goodbye this really was.  Last year, there were people I didn't see between the chorus concert and either the high school musical or PAC that I wished I would have gotten a chance to see at some point.  Hopefully that will change this year, but I still wished I could have said a goodbye.

Yes, I got hugs from most people.  KD, BF, KR, ZG (even though he wasn't singing), NB, among others.  I didn't see GC or DM afterwards, which was a shame because I really wanted to congratulate them on their solos.  But I didn't get the chance.

It's a shame.  I hope this wasn't it for too long of a time.

-NM

KD

Another good friend.  I wish I could have gotten a chance to work with her, but the tentacles weren't really in any of the numbers.

I really got to know her during the last few weeks of Little Mermaid.  We hung out in the normal spot, with a lot of other people, and we had a good time.  Though for some reason it always seemed to get back to how short she was.  She's actually not that short, she's just comparing herself to me and KR.  But I still gave her a few piggy back rides.  She liked that.

She couldn't seem to get over the fact that she looked ridiculous onstage.  The tentacle hair and makeup were crazy, but it was perfect for their characters.  Afterwards, she was at the cast party.  I hung out with her a little, just as much as anyone else, and I got her number at the end.

Yesterday, she texts me saying that she saw my blog, and that I'm a good writer.  Now, I really only write for this blog, but I thanked her.  She told me that she writes, and I asked to see some of it.  I had such a hard time talking her into showing me some of it.  She eventually agreed to send me some of her poems, and I was really impressed.

She strikes me as having some sort of inferiority complex.  But she has no reason to have one.  She's not actually all that short.  She writes beautifully.  Apparently, I'm one of the only people she's shown her work to.  She needs to get it out there.

Anyway, I was telling her how the only fiction I've really ever written was the short story I wrote for English last year.  She asked to see it, so I sent it to her.  I was interested as to what she would have to say, because I was pretty happy with it when I wrote it, and I never really showed it to anyone (comment if you want to see it though).  She was actually impressed.  That made me feel better.  Maybe I can write too.

After I looked at a few of her other works (which were all great), she came up with the idea of writing something together.  I was okay with that, and excited too.  We started a short story together.  Even though we were only communicating over Google Docs, we worked really well together.  Our writing styles are remarkably similar.  After about an hour of writing, it was getting late, and we both decided to break for the night.

She's one of the many people from Little Mermaid I'm going to miss.  It's a shame, that a lot of my friends aren't going to see me for so long, and she's one of them.

-NM

WDA Winter Dance Show

I know.  It's the day after Little Mermaid.  If it wasn't, A would have been in Little Mermaid.  Of course, I couldn't devote the time to rehearsals, or I would have been dancing in it.

I agreed to play a brief piano interlude a while ago to give the dancers more time to change for the finale.  I don't know why I agreed, but it turned out to be no big deal.

The show was really good.  I hadn't seen any of it in the studio, and didn't really know what to expect.  They repeated the opening number's concept from last year, except it alternated between groups of threes and solos, and it was still fantastic.  The KP and RE's contemporary duets were amazing.  What really impressed me about the first act though was NG's solo.  She really put the energy needed to do the number, which you never really see coming out of her normally.

The second act was all nutcracker.  What really sold this section were the two solos at the end.  When IW came out for the "Arabian", you knew it was going to be a good show.  And it was.  That number, considering her flexibility, was perfect for her.  And then was KL's solo: the "Sugarplum".  She was right on, and the piqué turns at the end were nailed perfectly.  Those two really were amazing.

I had to watch the third act from backstage, because of the piano solo.  From what I saw, it was good.  Except for "Holly and the Ivy" (which they've been doing for too long now), it was all the high-energy, tap and jazz numbers.  They were good.

Overall, what really sold this show were the solos and duets.  The group numbers, in general, all needed to be a little tighter, but the energy was where it needed to be.  I feel more rehearsals could have solved that problem.

I'm excited for the Spring Show.  I want people to come and see it this year.

-NM

The Little Mermaid

In the words of Rapunzel, "Best! Day! Ever!"

I arrived at 2.  The cast had already been prepping for the show for the past hour, and most were already ready.  By the time I got there, people were already being herded down into the chorus room.  I joined them.  I played some piano, but mostly just hung out.  The waiting period took forever.  Like last year, the cast was called way too early.  During this time, KR gave me a rose and a card.  I thanked her for it.  

I watched the first show with my dad and J.  It went really well, but the crowd didn't seem to get into it.  It was a very typical matinee crowd - mostly senior citizens and children who don't have quite the energy of teenagers and adults.  But it was still really good.  When the mersisters came out for Daughters of Triton, the crowd went crazy! They clearly weren't expecting the heelies, or had known about them and didn't expect them to be so good at them.  And then there were just a lot of lines that got laughs, mostly puns, that no one in the cast was really expecting.  They clearly liked it, but didn't show their like very well.

Dinner was crazy between the shows.  The food came late, and when it came is was simply a mad rush to get there.  And then there wasn't enough time to eat enough.  After that, I asked GZ the question I'd been waiting to ask her for a long time: "Are you planning on taking my job next year?"  She said she wanted to, and I am fine with that.  Just as long as I can be her assistant.  We then discussed whether or not I should pass the cape to her as well, to ceremonially pass the torch, but we decided against it.  It's going to be interesting next year.  

At about 6:05 I went to buy roses.  I had a really hard time deciding whether or not to buy roses, because in my position there is a fine line between honoring friends and playing favorites.  I got roses for the following people (in no particular order): RD, MC, KR, ES, ZG, ES, BF, GC, JI, OB, KD, AL, and LW.  For all those who I didn't get a rose, I'm sorry.  They're expensive, and I could only get so many.  Anyway, I then went down to the chorus room and hung out some more.  KR kept saying how much she was going to miss me when the show was over, and we had a few very touching hugs, though I kept telling her to save it for the cast party.  Then came energy and the second show.

I watched this show with RG and AF (yes, she was there).  This one was phenomenal.  And the crowd was a lot more into this show than it was into the last show.  Despite what the cast says, this show was simply done a lot better.  This was everything I had ever hoped for.  Although a few moments were not quite as funny/unexpected, because part of the audience was seeing them for the second time, it was still fantastic.  There was so much more energy in the audience, and the cast, with any show, will feed off the audience's energy.  They loved it, and we got the standing ovation we were waiting for.

Right after the show I dashed back to my locker.  I took the cape out of my locker (I had stashed it the day before), and put it on.  I got hugs from all, though it was really crowded out in the house.  The audience was packed!  No one could leave until their costumes were returned, and I had arranged to get a ride with BF.  During this time, I received my rose from ES.  I never would have predicted that, and I realize I never got the chance to thank her for it.  ES, if you're reading this, I thank you for the rose.  As I was about to leave, AH tried to give me a job to do.  I left before he could give me any more work to do.  

One of the first things I did at the cast party was break to the mersisters what I hadn't told them about She's in Love's choreography.  Their reactions were not as dramatic as I expected.  BF couldn't believe it.  NB wasn't surprised.  DM couldn't hear me over the noise, and assumed I had told her off for her mistake in the evening show, but then told me that she had noticed.  I got out of NB and DM that they had both actually noticed, and had not said anything to me about it.  ES, MC, and AH had all figured it out as well.  How was BF the only one who didn't notice?

The cast party was awesome!  It was one of the only times ever where I could feel extremely happy and tired at the same time, and then realize I was just standing there, doing nothing, but feeling happy.  I spent time with all of my friends pretty equally, which was good.  There was food.  There was a little bowling.  There was footage of the shows from earlier that day.  There was usage of the dinglehoppers as dinglehoppers.  But most importantly there was friendship.  It was not a sad goodbye, as the high school cast party is, but it was a celebration of the success of the past few months.  

Though it did end with the goodbyes.  And I got goodbyes from a ton of people.  It wasn't hard on anyone else: they're all going to see each other in school.  I got KD and AL's numbers, and I already have a lot of other people's.  I'm going to see RD, RS, and ES around for sure.  KD and AL, who knows?  JI, MC, and KR I'll see at PAC, but hopefully I'll see them sometime before then.  BF I'll see on a weekly basis if phase 2 goes as planned, but if not I may not see her until next year.  

The actual goodbyes were harder this year.  I gave hugs to almost everyone.  First KD.  Then EW.  ES sort of said bye then walked out.  Then I lost track of the order.  I gave hugs to ER, JI, MC, KR, BF, and even GC.  I said proper goodbyes to all of them.  I thought about writing a post to finish my final goodbyes, but I feel I said what needed to be said in person.  I don't need to put them in this blog, unless you readers want them of course.

Just one last words: SS - I miss you.  I would have loved to have you here today.  I would have loved to have you here the entire time.  We never said a proper goodbye - we said so many final goodbyes the actual last time we saw each other we didn't take seriously.  Please come back and visit.

Looking back, this show was officially the most fun I've ever had doing a show.  I was nervous when the cast list was created, but I still had such a great time.  I gained so many good memories I can't even count them.  Hopefully the DVD will do it justice, though I still think I'm going to cringe every time OB says, "just use a little black magic to help out a few merfolk".  

-NM

Last Rehearsal

That was great!  Incredible!  There were a few technical things, but the dancing is exactly where it needs to be!  After the slight disappointment of Yesterday, today was everything I had hoped for!

The Latest Ratings:

"Human Stuff": 9.5
This number has come so far I can hardly put it into words.  It's going to be a great way to get the audience into the show early.

"Under the Sea": 9
Although the number has become a little stagnant, it became stagnant at a high level.  All my fears of collapse due to either time lost or the large-ensemble factor are not present, and it looks great!

"She's in Love": 9
Me posting about "The Curse" seemed to do the trick.  No worries now about injuries.  All the mersisters are really seeming to find their characters, and not just DM.  It looks great!

"Les Poissons": 9.8
WHERE WERE YOU TH?!?!? THAT WAS AWESOME!!! IF YOU HADN'T DONE THAT THING WITH THE MALLET YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A 10!

"One Step Closer": 9
No worries anymore.  It's not awkward, and they got it.

"Kiss the Girl": 9
No more chaos.  Seeing a ton of life.  They're not marking it.  The circle is clean.  The kicks are on time.  Just a few spacing issues, but it would be fine to someone who hasn't seen the number.  It's come so far.

As you can see, everything is drastically higher than my last "Update".  Seriously, if you haven't read that in a while/ever take a look at it.  I was happy then, and I'm ecstatic now.  It is now the show that I envisioned back in June, and rejoiced over August 29th, (See "Year in Review").

I'm really excited for tomorrow, if you can't tell.  I've been taking dates in relation to December 15th for weeks now.  As I told someone, "Everything revolves around Little Mermaid".

-NM

Holiday Chorus Concert 2012

Prologue: BF wants to come, but is unsure whether she can because she had dance afterwards that night.  I told her to come, and just leave early if she had to.  She replied saying that both she and ES would be there.  No mention of ES had been made previously.

The 6th Grade did a good job.  Considering that middle school chorus is normally highlighted by the people in the back talking to each other, there wasn't a lot of that this time.  They were really into it, and the guys were actually stronger than the girls.  Hopefully it will keep up throughout high school...

Then we came on.  The "Silent Night" got a really good reaction, and welt really well.   "Sanctus" and "Glad we be this Day" followed, and we executed them well, but I could tell we were starting to lose it with the audience.

The ensemble came on.  I was nervous.  A ton of people were not there at rehearsal this morning, and PH was not even there for the concert.  That left seven sopranos, seven altos, six baritones, and only four of us tenors.  Pressure's on me, CF, JR, and KD.  We did well.  Even on "What Child is This?", and Skatin with my Baby stole the show with LK and JR's solos.  The audience seemed to love it too, which was even better.

At that point, the audience was into it, as was Mr. B.  We got a lot of applause for each of the final four chorus numbers.  Then came "This Little Light of Mine".  The 6th grade chorus got back on the risers, and we got ready to sing.  It went superbly.  Considering how dead we were this morning, we were pretty into the singing.  The audience went into huge applause afterwards.  We did an encore, completely unplanned.

Afterward, everyone really liked the show.  KR and JI were both there, and both told me that the show was great.  Everyone I talked to in the show seemed to think it went really well.  Even though they had to leave early, BF gave me her classic response over text, and apparently ES really liked it too.  That settles it.  If ES was impressed, then it must have been one of the greatest chorus concerts ever.

-NM

Cell Phones (cont.)

So in my last post about this topic, I talked about how I never really texted that much.  That's starting to change.

My phone automatically deletes older texts as new ones come in.  It can hold about 600 texts total.  I judge my texting rate by how old the oldest text is in my inbox, or how long it took me to send/receive 600 texts.  That being said...

• At the end of PAC, my range was about 3 months
• In September, when I wrote "Cell Phones", the range was about a month and a half.
• Now, my last 600 texts have been sent over a period of 8 days.

That's pretty drastic.  I am now sending about 5 or 6 times more texts than I was at the start of the school year.  I have started to realize what texting can do.  For all the hype people make about how bad it is that our generation has turned to technology, I am here to present a few facts that I have learned these past few months.

1. Texting does not replace face to face contact, except when face to face contact is not possible anyway (I miss you MS).  It is used in addition to such.  In fact, it can be used to arrange face to face contact, as it did for me at light up night.
2. Texting allows one-on-one conversation.  When you think about it, how often do you really have a one-on-one conversation with people face to face, with absolutely no one else around?  How long did it last?
3. People say things in texts that they won't say in person.  Grown ups assume this is a bad thing, but in my experience it has not been.  Some of the nicest things I have ever been told were told to me over text.
4. There are very little interruptions with text conversation.  It is easier to return to a conversation after a brief break over text than it is when you talk in person.
5. People think about what they say more over texts.  People will put more thought into what they write than what they say out loud.  You can go back and edit what you are going to say before you say it.

It's interesting food for thought.  Granted, most of my texting is with BF and KR, but it's changing.

-NM

Faster, Under Intense Accelerandos Before Tumblers

Orchestra Concert.

Geometric Dances went well.  The triangle addition to the Triangle Dance not only made it more interesting for the audience, but for us as well, as our triangle player was consistently either 2 measures ahead or 2 measures behind.  Fantasia on Greensleeves was uneventful.  No better or worse than we had done in rehearsal.

Then came Five Ukrainians in a Bell Tower, or FUIABT for short.  It began with Mr. N giving a long discourse on the background of the piece.  Then it started.  Just a little fast.  But we kept rushing.  And rushing.  And rushing.  I kept thinking, "how have we not collapsed yet?" And then it ended.  We were playing the piece double time, and it sounded awesome.  When the applause began, we started laughing.  Mr. N even said something to the audience about how fast it was.

Dance of the Tumblers went well.  As Mr. N predicted, it took longer to get ready than it did to play the piece.  Then the orchestra sat down to watch the band, still not believing FUIABT.

The band blew us out of the water.  We are just too small.  The music they did was just so much more interesting to listen to than ours.  Granted, they could have used a little work on balance, and bringing out the melody when it kept moving.  But overall, it was the fact that they had so many more people than we did.  Our orchestra from two years ago may have stood a chance, but we're literally half that size now.

After the concert, me, SG, SK, and others wrote the final adaptation of the acronym FUIABT.  I think it fits.

Now, "Bring on the Baby!"

-NM

Definition: Best Friends

This has come up a lot lately, at least internally.  I need to put my interpretation out there.

• "Best Friend" should never be used in the singular, only in the plural.  "One of my best friends" is acceptable.  No one should ever have to select one friend, because it is practically impossible to do that without offending someone else.  
• Best friends should be people you can go to when you need them.  Everybody feels lonely sometimes.  Actually, everybody feels lonely a lot.  Best friends should be able to bring people out of their loneliness and return them to the world of light.
• Best friends should be equals.  No one should be the dominate force behind the relationship, controlling what the other says and does.  Also, nothing should be awkward about their relationship.  Even if it appears that way to others, it should not appear that way to them.
• Best friends should communicate, despite whatever separates them.  It can be difficult, but all of them should be willing to partake the measures.  Even if they are the sort of people who don't talk, they should talk with each other.
• Best friends should want to see each other.  Even if they are remaining in touch via text, phone, or even any sort of video chat, real, live, conversation should be a goal.  
• Best friends should have a good time together.  When they part for the night, they should have loved their experience, wanting to do it again.  

This makes sense, does it not?

This next clause is not part of my definition, but something I think one should strive for, and something I have struggled with.

• Best friends should be mutually best friends.  These are the people that are there when you need them, their equals, the people they communicate with, the people they want to see, the people who they have a good time with.  No one should have to know, or even question, that these people don't feel the same way about them.

-NM

Revelation of the Blog to KR

I mentioned to KR last night via text that I had a blog, but it was late at night.  I pretty much gave her a good search keyword, and went to bed.  When I woke up, I found that I had seven new messages from her, which made my day before it even began.

Timestamped 10:52:

• "AWWWWW you are so sweet! I just read an article... about myself! I love it! I freaking love you! You are such a good friend!"

The following 6 messages came timestamped around 11:43:

• I hope it's not too late at night to say that I'm glad I have had a positive impact on your life! And before I thought I was just an afterthought of yours.
• [N], you really have a way of making people feel special and I love you for that. You are as I said before my inspiration and one of the
• people I lo
• ve being close to and you have made my year. My life.  And I hope when you go to collage you keep in touch with me. You are talented and fun and wonderful. 
• And I don't know why people in high school don't see that. They are blind to true kindness, sweetness and pure love. An
• d I've said enough. txt me tomorrow. Love, [K] :)

I feel we have actually both made each other's day.

Click to view the post in question

-NM

Note: The text messages were corrected for grammatical accuracy.  I hope you'll understand.

Costumes

Today was the big reveal.  We are renting costumes for Little Mermaid, and with a week before the show, they have finally arrived.

I give them a mixed review.  There are some really pretty costumes.  The Ariel, Ursula, and Sebastian are all perfect.  All of the humans (Eric, Grimsby, Carlotta, etc.) are well done, and not overdone.  GC brought in her wig today, and it is gorgeous.  There are some really good costumes, and are going to look great onstage.

But it's clear that the company didn't spend as much time with the ensemble.  The biggest complaints were those by the mersisters.  Their tails are not nearly as elaborate as Ariel's, and we are going to have to make our own tops entirely.  The sea chorus are very cartooney.  This is clearly an allusion to the movie, and is probably better than the broadway version, but they're going to hard to work with.  The cast doesn't like them.

And Flounder's the worst.  It is not a stage costume, it is barely a halloween costume.  If I were directing the show, I would forget about that costume and completely redesign it.  If only there were time.

We knew from the beginning that part of this show's success was going to be based on how the costumes turned out.  This doesn't exceed or fall short of my expectations.  Just maybe those of the cast.

Thursdays

It's a wonder I got any sleep last night.

It's always the same way.  Thursdays are my crazy days.  And it'll be that way the entire year, for when Little Mermaid's over, it's just going to be replaced with rehearsals for the high school show.

Take today for example...

After school I had Little Mermaid rehearsal.  Went well, and was a success, but I couldn't really get any homework done while they were setting light cues, and putting mics on and stuff because there were too many people in the house.  During the run through, not only did I have to take notes, but between the dance numbers it was too dark to see.

The problem was rehearsal ended at 5:00, and I had to go straight from rehearsal to dance.  I ate dinner in the car, and took all my school stuff with me.  I was half hoping that they would just rehearse for the winter show, which I'm not in, but they didn't.  And I can't really do homework during class.

But right away, at 7:45, was acting class.  No travel was necessary, but there was no break either.  And we made masks.  It was plaster mask construction.  It's necessary, as to prepare for the mask work that we're going to do later this year, but I already had one from two years ago.  I spent the time from 7:45 to 9:30 cutting strips of plaster for masks, and the set up and clean up associated with such.

With the half hour ride home, I arrived home at 10:00 for the first time since I left for school that morning, and no homework already completed.  As for homework, I had to...

• Do an online AP Physics test
• Homework for AP BC Calculus
• Final preparations for the debate in US History tomorrow (which involved little work by the rest of the group)
• Coming up with a "goal statement" for Health. (Which I didn't do)
• Working on my French dialogue (Which I didn't do either)

This is typical Thursdays, and I doubt it's going to change.  Even when Little Mermaid ends, it's only going to be replaced by rehearsals for the high school show.

-NM

Response to a Few Quotes 12/1/12

I spent a lot of tonight texting KR and BF.  Yes, KR is allowed to text guys now.

I'll start with KR.  I'm telling her that if she wants to do some more intense dancing, she should talk to her dance teacher.  She responds with this:

"Thank you.  You're a big help and a big inspiration"

I tell her that I'm not actually that great a dancer, and that I never get the feeling of inspiration when I'm in high school, when she gives me another heartbreaking text:

"High schoolers can be mean... I look up to you :) and compared to me you're a dance god."

To be honest, I'm not.  The world of musical theater dance is not the same as the world of dance, and in the world of dance I stand no chance.  And among the world of musical theater dance there's the world of musical theater dance for guys.  So maybe I'm a god in the world of musical theater dance for guys, but I'm not that high up in the world of dance.  But this was pleasant to hear.  KR has witnessed the normal world of dance.

On to BF...

She asks me if I had a good time at Light Up Night.  I say yes, and thank her for dragging me out.  She gives me this:

"Light Up Night is the perfect excuse for me to get a bunch of my best friends together so you were not allowed to skip out!"

Wait, am I actually in someone's group of best friends?  Granted, I am far from her number one best friend, but this is a start.  I'm getting somewhere.  And to think it's someone who I met a little more than a year ago and only see a few months out of the year.  But that's okay.  To be honest, she's one of my best friends too.  As we established before, high schoolers can be mean.

I told her thanks, when she followed up her quote from "Response to a Quote 11/14/12".

"Time for you to realize what you are worth!"

Reflection

I don't get this in high school.  Between Light Up Night last night and this tonight, I'm becoming more and more convinced I was born three years too early.  How am I going to let it go when Little Mermaid's over?  We'll have to get together sometime.  But it's not just these two.  The entire cast makes me feel more welcome than I ever feel in high school.  How am I going to live without them until next year?  What if GZ wants to take my job as choreographer?

This is why I came back for a second year.  I feel happier among the cast of the middle school musical than I feel with anyone else.  I seriously have friends with these people.  I can't question it any longer.

-NM

Note: The contents of the quotes have been slightly edited for spelling and grammatical accuracy.