Vocal Rehearsals: The Second Week

Everything has been going very well at vocal rehearsals. Zach Spencer, our accompanist, is a tremendous asset, and I only wish we had enough money to have him there the whole time. He's a busy guy, but it's to Jerry's credit that he made the decision to go with him.

The cast is coming along very well. They all take vocal direction exceptionally openly, and Zach is patient and accommodating their requests. The whole cast is great, but I was especially delighted this evening with Sarah Vawter's rendition of Twelve Days Prior To Christmas and Amanda Hulme's Santa Ain't Comin' To Our House. Both were tentative about their singing voices during auditions, but I made great decisions on both counts. Amanda mentioned that she's been taking voice lessons, and it's paying off well. She's experimenting with both ends of the vocal spectrum (breathy head voice versus a talky nose/face voice). She'll wind up somewhere in the middle, which will be perfect. Sarah's still breathy, but she took direction tonight well when I told her to bridge it somewhere closer to her spoken voice, particularly on the part where she says, "Well, the bottom line was, the broad had disappeared!"

The kids are the tough part right now. Megan is the strongest singer. Her pitch and volume are good, and with practice will be great. Emily is hard to hear, but I believe I'll need to work with her to boost her volume and correct her pitch. Melanie seems pretty good, but she's reluctant to sing loudly. Jeffrey is good and loud, but an incorrect pitch sung in his ear by the person next to him distracts him from the proper notes. Louis has great pitch when he can hear himself, but when he can't get his first note, he's all over the place. We'll work closely with them on Saturday.

I started sewing the leopard vests on Sunday night, and stayed up until 2:00 AM doing so. I'm still paying for the lack of sleep today. Connie was short on lining for those, so I'll have to buy a yard and a half of more lining for them. They're cute, but it's a lot of work for a 30 second bit. Hey, it was my call, and I'd do a lot for a laugh. We'll see if it pays off...


- Sean