The Pleasure of My 'Company'

So, I have been busy this Spring. I almost forgot I even tried to start a blog last year. What have I been doing, you ask?

I joined another community theatre musical production, of course! This will come as a surprise to anyone who knew me while I was in Disney's Beauty and the Beast in Reston last summer. I was mostly miserable the entire time. I cannot blame the production's long (May to September) rehearsal run or the ensemble role. I just wasn't ready to get back into theatre yet, having grown lazy since my theatrical college days. (It was easier then, you could just walk to rehearsal after class.)

I enjoyed this production, although it had ups and downs, and I could write quite a few stories. But for this blog entry, I'm going to focus on criticism. I've never really had other people write ABOUT me, not even in college dramatics. So, reading what certain Northern Virginia community theatre critics think about my performance makes quite an impression.

Michael J. Toscano, in his Washington Post review titled, "From Providence Players, 'Company' Worth Keeping," wrote the following:
"It's a musically challenging concept show with an ambiguous, bittersweet message. "Company" is a treasure, but it demands much from performers and audience alike...
...there are no cringe-producing moments...
...The lead, Robert [That's Me], spends much of the show as an enigma but engages fully for "Marry Me a Little," his high baritone notes evoking wistfulness as Bobby tries to figure out how to achieve fulfillment without commitment.
The Providence Players probably will iron out the kinks, but they will have to reach beyond their circle to bring in talented musical theater performers and directors for future shows. Their "Company" is, at least, enjoyable."

Laura and Mike, of Showbizradio.net, wrote:
"The main character is Robert [That's Me, Again]. Robert was an interesting role to play because, even though he is the central character, you really don’t learn that much about him. You meet a few of his girlfriends throughout the evening and you meet the other couples that are friends with Robert, but you never find out how, when, or where they met. Were they college friends? Did they meet at the gym? That would have been interesting to find out because some of the places they hang out at don’t seem to make sense. It felt a little forced. Robert had a nice singing voice. One problem unfortunately was when he would turn his head in certain directions, he would be too far away from the microphone and he would drop out. You could still tell he was singing, but it wasn’t as loud. He had a solo at the end of the show. He wasn’t real dynamic. He was just kind of planted in place. He did a little bit of back and forth going upstage and downstage. I would have had the number be a little more dynamic and soulful sounding...
...There were some technical problems with the sound during the show. It was most noticeable when singer would move their face away from the microphone. They would just drop out totally. It also seemed that the mikes were only turned on when there was someone singing. So you had different volume levels during the speaking versus the singing...
...So overall Company is an enjoyable production."

Ok. So, these two reviews are not glowing with compliments for my performance. I'd like to blame them for coming opening weekend, which is never THAT great for me, especially after a week of technical rehearsals immediately proceeding the opening weekend. But, hey, the show must go on, no? My high baritone notes evoking wistfulness? If he had any idea how much thought and effort I put into those high notes, he would have written a whole paragraph on it. And the showbizradio.net people, nice singing voice? Thank you. But are they saying they couldn't hear me at ALL without the microphone? I mean, I've almost NEVER been told that I could not be heard while SINGING. Maybe while speaking, because I may speak in my lower voice, but, singing? Oh well... wasn't real dynamic? Planted in place? Need a bit more soulful sounding?
Ok. I admit it. "Being Alive," the last song, isn't my favorite song to sing. My favorite in the show has always been "Marry Me a Little," and it has more dynamics in the song naturally. It's FASTER, even. And I would like to say, that by the last weekend, I had a lot more dynamism in the "Being Alive." At least, I tried. I even moved around a helluva lot more.

Oddly enough, I can only blame myself. I'm singing. I don't move around much while singing karaoke on stage, I didn't move around much in a musical either. (And, apparently, my director didn't mind, or didn't get me to do anything different) I admit it, for the first two weeks, I was much more concerned with singing and hitting the notes on key, in tone, with the right inflection, the appropriate timbre, etc. But, by the last weekend, I didn't care anymore and just went with the flow. I only wish I could have done that sooner, like opening night.

I'm not going to try to overanalyse this revelation/regret to learn why I'm not in a relationship yet. But, I have an inkling that it applies. I guess I'll have to be satisfied, for the time being, with the fact that, 100% (2 of 2) reviewers agree that my 'Company' is "enjoyable."