Drama Mama

Friends always help each other out when they need it. Well, good friends do anyway. James, is not just a good friend though, he is my best friend, and I am so thankful that I have such an amazing best friend. We are so different in that he is the biggest overachiever I know and I am such a procrastinator, but we are both so much the same and we have been brought together by our love for music and theater.
As I previously mentioned, James and I both love theater. We have been involved in almost every show together since the start of high school (I did not do One Acts my freshman year for whatever reason). One thing about theater, however, is it is a big undertaking. There is a lot more to it than many people like to think. It starts out with a ton of speculation about what show we will be doing next. Then, once we know the show, we start trying to cast everyone who we know will be auditioning, and of course, casting ourselves in our dream role. Now, it’s time to audition and the pressure is on. We hope and wonder if we will be good enough for the role we want. Of course this whole process less nerve racking for the boys, since there is generally so few of them, they almost always get a good part. Then, the waiting, and waiting, and waiting, more waiting, and even more waiting than that, until the cast list is posted. Most of the time everyone who didn’t get a lead is disappointed. It happens to everyone at one point or another though. Fast forward to the first week of rehearsal and make sure you don’t forget your pencil because there is no way you’re going to remember all of those stage notes! We learn our blocking and then it is just a matter of learning our lines. No matter how many times we run them, they just never seem to stick in our brains. Not to mention remembering our queues for the lines. As soon as our scripts are out of our hands, we are immediately handed our props. You always have to remember which props you will need for each scene and you have to keep track of it. Never, under any circumstance, are you supposed to touch another actor’s props, however. Then comes the dreaded hell week and then it is nothing but stress from here on out. The show always seems to come together though.
Senior year for drama held a lot of promise for James and I. The first show this year was A Christmas Carol. It was hard doing the fall show because it was the same time as Cross Country, but we hated missing one or the other so we balanced them as best as possible. I just wanted the Ghost of Christmas Past, which thankfully, was the role I got. James, however, didn’t want a big role since we were literally running back and forth between Cross Country and drama. Although, when he was asked if he would take on the role of Scrooge, of course he said yes. He needed a lot of help with all of his lines, and I was more than happy to help. We ran lines all the time. We would call after school, right before rehearsal, even in the car on the way to Vermont. It was quite the process, but eventually he got them all down and he made an amazing Scrooge, which made a wonderful last first show for us Seniors.
Before we had our performances for A Christmas Carol, we had our auditions for our current musical, The Secret Garden. I got a character named Dickon, a boy who is wild, happy, and care free. I had such a hard time with this. Not only did I not get the role I wanted, but I was also playing a boy for my last musical in high school. Our director explained why I was given that role and I understood why, but I still wasn’t overly happy. As time and rehearsals went on, I grew to love this care free boy that I got to play. I just have such a hard time being care free. I am a very self-conscious person, very much the opposite of care free. I am constantly worried about being judge by my peers and teachers. This is where James stepped in to help me. He helped me with my songs, that I just couldn’t seem to get down and he helped really get me into character for the shows. I am still getting the hang of it, but I think that I have certainly come a long way with this role. I couldn’t have done it without James’ help.
The next thing that we have coming up for theater is the One Act competition. I decided I wanted to write our play. I was having such a hard time developing my characters and my ideas. James was always there when I needed to talk through a writer’s block or just to give me ideas in general. I know he always wants to see me succeed and I am so thankful for that. He reads over my work, and like the perfectionist he is, he always corrects my spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes. Somebody has to!
I am so appreciative of my awesome best friend. Out of all the people he could be friends with, I am really glad that it is me. We help each other out all the time. Whether it is just some simple advice or an actual big problem, although the big problems are usually something stupid that I have done to be honest. We are also always there for each other, I know that he will forever have my back and he knows that I will have his. I will always be thankful for the most amazing best friend any girl could have ever ask for.