Curtain Up on The Sound of Music

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the fact I am in a musical – The Sound of Music to be precise. Remember, I ended up auditioning whilst playing Dad’s Taxi, taking Lydia and Delilah to the audition. Well, the time has passed very quickly indeed and tonight, after many hours rehearsing, Pickering Musical Society will present The Sound of Music at the Kirk Theatre.

It’s a very special year for Pickering Musical Society as it’s their 100th anniversary. But also it’s the 60th anniversary of Rogers & Hammerstein’s final collaboration which sees Maria, the wannabe nun, fall in love with a widowed former Austrian naval captain and his seven children while she is sent to his home to be their governess.

An enjoyable experience

As someone who has never done anything more than booze-fuelled karaoke, this is definitely something out of my comfort zone. But, I’ve really enjoyed the experience so far – although as yet we have performed the show to a paying audience.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that the schedule has been tough on us as a family though. With rehearsals falling on the nights Helen works it has been difficult to juggle things. Throw into the mix the fact that the girls have maintained their dance classes around this as far as possible and you might get the idea that rehearsal nights have been hectic.

It’s a sad fact that Pickering Musical Society is a little light on male performers. Aside from the children, there are only 6 men in the production, and I’m the second youngest of those at 39! But the chaps I share a dressing room with are great and it’s always a good laugh in there too.

Switching on the inner-performer

What I’ve enjoyed most of all is being behind the scenes and able to watch Lydia and Delilah enjoy what they do. Lydia has grown in confidence over the past four months of rehearsal and Delilah has proven to me once again how she can just switch on her inner-performer at any time. There were times in early rehearsals where I thought Delilah was being a bit too laid back and not taking it seriously. But wow! Once we had the stage set, light on and especially costumes and microphones she has switched on 100%.

My role as Herr Zeller, the Nazi Gauleiter (aka the bad guy), doesn’t sing and my total stage time is only a fraction of the length of the show. But, I’ve enjoyed being the bad guy as it’s quite enjoyable to play being a nasty b*****d! It seems that I too can switch on my inner-performer as well; either that or I am really a nasty b*****d!

Opening night nerves

I quickly got over the nerves of being on stage. But, up until this point, there’s only ever been a very small number of people in the auditorium watching proceedings. Will I feel different knowing there’s up to two-hundred people who’ve paid to come and watch the show?

I don’t feel too nervous right now. That will change – for sure. I always tell the girls that nerves are a sign that you care about what you’re doing and that they’re a good thing. I have a feeling I will be telling myself this a lot tonight, especialyl knowing Helen, Grace and Verity will be watching.

Tickets are still available

It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional actor or a rank amateur like me, you want to be playing to a decent audience. Fortunately, tickets sales for this show have done well, but there are tickets remaining for every performance.

We run from tonight (21st May) until Saturday 25th May at the Kirk Theatre in Pickering. On that last day, there is a 2.30pm performance as well as the 7.30pm show.

Tickets are priced from £12 and there’s also a family ticket available too.

Head over to kirktheatre.co.uk/events/sound-music to book your tickets now.

If you’re coming along, please let me know. And remember, this isn’t panto so no booing the bad guy!

Thanks for reading

Dave

Header image source: www.facebook.com/TheKirkTheatre