To Dream the Impossible Dream...

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

This, and other songs, keep going through my mind, and often coming out as a whistle. That's what happens when you play the same music over and over again.

You see, I am in "La Mancha" mode. I'm playing in the "orchestra" for this musical which opens on Friday. (I say "orchestra" with quotes because it is very small: just one each of flute, clarinet, trumpet, horn, trombone, drums, piano.) And I'll be doing it 10 more times, so it will only get worse-- the music on the brain thing, not the orchestra! Hopefully we will get better each time!

It's a great musical, very clever with its play within a play plot. The theatre we are playing in is called the Renaissance Theatre. It's an old historical building that has been redone into an arts building. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies and interesting rooms. It's a small theatre, with an open stage on one end of a large room. The bathroom is right next to the stage. When I first showed up and someone was showing me around, she pointed out the bathroom, and said "it is right next to the stage, so no flushing during a performance!"

The orchestra is hidden right behind the stage. In most productions the orchestra is hidden, because it's all supposed to be in Don Quixote's/Cervantes mind anyway. It makes for hard communications between the cast and the conductor, but Dave is doing a great job. You really have to pay attention to be able to conduct a musical, so you don't miss any cues. We have a monitor, but the camera contrast is not very good, so it looks like there are white ghosts on the stage. The orchestra members are a hoot, so I'm sure this will be a fun experience for me. Not boring at all!!! I will probably be tired of the play by the end, but not the people I'm working with.