Sometimes life throws you one that you can’t explain.
I’ve been making music all my life and have performed as a singer and instrumentalist with many professional ensembles in many different genres — from tuba to bluegrass banjo, from medieval chant to a cappella hiphop, and lots in between.
About four months ago, I got an email announcing auditions for Big River at Contra Costa Civic Theatre. I’ve performed a significant amount of opera and concert music, toured with my band in a program composed entirely of Broadway hits, and taken lots of classes in improv, but I had never acted in a Broadway musical before. Though I tend to be a coward about trying new things, I decided to audition on a whim. I wasn’t very confident about getting a role.
Then, something inexplicable began to unfold. Strangely, I did get a role – three in the same show, in fact – but what ensued was far stranger. As rehearsals progressed, I found myself surrounded by a group of over 30 strangers who quickly coalesced into a loving, caring, supportive, loyal, genuine, compassionate family, of which I am a grateful member. And since the show opened, every performance has felt like a joyous homecoming.
Apart from being members of the same cast, there are very few universal common denominators among us: pre-teens and retirees, male and female, gay and straight, liberals and conservatives, Americans and others, staunchly atheistic and devoutly religious. Yet in the presence of this new family, offstage or on, I consistently feel uplifted, inspired, protected, loved, and safe. And when a weekend of shows ends and the week begins to progress, I am quickly gripped by a palpable sense of absence and loss that increases as the week wears on. And many others in the group have said the same.
I don’t know what will happen when the show closes, in just a week and a half. It’s scary to think about it. But no matter what happens, I will never forget this magic, nor cease to be humbled by it, and I will always be grateful to every single member of the Big River family that made me a part of it.
I love you all.