This morning’s rehearsal was full of excitement! We ran the entire show in order with very few stops. We ended our run with enough time left over to rehearse some of the pieces once or twice more. This proved to be very valuable, since we needed to make some adjustments with the curtains, and having the extra rehearsal gave the women more confidence in their material. We departed on a positive note, to come back together that evening. We arrived back at the space and did some solid warm ups for focus, relaxation and a feeling of ensemble. A few of the women gave pep talks. Although nervous, everyone was focused and ready to go.
The performance went very well! The audience was receptive and encouraging to all of the performers. While not all of the pieces went exactly as planned – a couple even had to stop and start over – none of the participants let it ruin the experience for them or the audience. When tripping up on their lines, a few of them laughed, which made the audience laugh, and, interestingly, those of them who obviously were overcoming a challenge in getting through their pieces got some of the biggest applause. Those in the audience weren’t expecting perfection and didn’t care when they didn’t get it – they were thoroughly impressed by the effort of those on stage and applauded that effort even went things got a little messy.
The commitment of the women to their pieces and to the program shone through any mistakes they made. The growth they’ve experienced is a wonder to behold.
Following the performance, we had a talk back. People in the audience asked questions regarding memorization, what it took to get them to understand the content, what the program was like, and so on. The participants also had the opportunity to say anything they felt the audience should know about the program. I was very happy that every one of the participants volunteered to speak at some point, either answering a question or volunteering information.
Everyone left feeling good and eager to come to class on Tuesday to reflect on the process thus far and determine how we are going to move forward. I am so glad that they’ve had this success. They worked very hard for it, and they deserved it.