Student Blog: Swinging into a Show

If you’d told me that I’d learn an entire musical in two days, have one rehearsal, and then perform an entire weekend of shows, I definitely would not have believed you. 

But in April of this year, that’s exactly what I did. Something I honestly still can’t believe entirely. 

At the time, I was preparing to close a production of Legally Blonde at Tallahassee State College. In that production, I was playing Enid Hoopes and acted as dance captain for the show. As dance captain, I knew each of the tracks during the dance numbers to ensure I could help anyone review choreography. The rehearsals where I filled in for absences and did the “Whipped into Shape” choreography in between each of the defense team scenes were interesting to say the least. 

As someone who started my career in theatre as a dancer, I’ve grown accustomed to being assigned dance captain and learning all the dance tracks. What I wasn’t used to, however, was having to learn a whole track in two days and actually perform that track. 

As I closed Legally Blonde, another theatre in town reached out to me to ask if I would be able to perform in the final weekend of their production of The Producers. They needed someone to fill in as one of the Usherettes and ensemble dance tracks. 

After confirming with the Production Team that I was able to perform in each of the four final shows, we scheduled two rehearsals before the cast’s pickup rehearsal, which would serve as my put-in rehearsal. In between my classes and work schedule, I stopped by the theatre to pick up a copy of the script to prepare in advance. 

For the first rehearsal, I started with costume fittings. The costumer for the show had me try on each of the costumes that the track involved and would put pins in where alternations needed to be made. Once that was done, she left to get started on making the alterations while I met with the music director to start reviewing the music. 

To be fully honest, I wasn’t that familiar with the musical in advance of this. I knew what The Producers was about and, of course, the iconic “opening night... it’s opening night!” But the show wasn’t necessarily one I already had memorized. So, for the first music rehearsal, we went in order of the show so I could get familiar with the flow of the show and what that would look like for my track. I used my phone’s voice memos to record the vocal parts that I needed to memorize, especially since I was on the alto and second soprano lines and had a good number of harmonies to learn. 

After rehearsing music for a while, I went to learn some of the choreography. And here’s some full transparency: the choreographer was my mom. Does this make me Tallahassee’s Nepo Baby of Community Theatre? Possibly. But since I’ve worked with this theatre and the rest of the Production Team in the past (before my mom became a choreographer for the community theatre scene) I’d like to think that the answer is still up in the air. 

We started with learning the tap choreography, as that was arguably the most difficult choreography in the show. I’ve had years of experience with tap, so there was still a sense of familiarity with it. What there wasn’t any familiarity with though, was dancing with a walker.  

For those unaware, in The Producers, there’s a musical number called “Along Came Bialy”. One of the kickers of this number is that the entire ensemble is dressed as old ladies and dances with walkers for the entire number. Having to emulate the comedy of the song through physicality was a new and exciting experience, despite the difficulties that may’ve come with trying to dance with the walker. Thankfully, the Production Team allowed me to take the walker I would use home so I could practice on my own time. 

The next day, I had my second rehearsal. Much like the first, I reviewed the music of the show with our music director, with the new addition of some of the cast who offered to come in on their day off! We put harmonies together and reviewed the more difficult musical numbers in the show. After reviewing the music for about an hour, the other cast members went home as I moved on to rehearsing the choreography. By the end of the three hours, I felt ready for my put-in rehearsal. 

At the put in rehearsal, I was able to rehearse each of the costume changes in real time with the flow of the show. Thankfully, I only had one quick change that I had an assigned helper with. By the end of the put-in rehearsal, I felt ready for the performance. Thanks to the production being able to organize time to review material with me, and the cast being so welcoming to me as I learned my track in the show, I was able to successfully perform four shows that weekend. I performed on stage in ten numbers for each show and offstage as a pigeon puppeteer for two. That’s a new skill I can put on the resume. 

Overall, I’d say I enjoyed being a swing for the show. Being that it was my first time swinging in, it was a bit stressful. But as a performer who enjoys constant learning and trying new things, it was incredibly fulfilling. For those who are committed to giving audiences the best show possible, are organized and focused in the rehearsal process, and are not afraid of a challenge, I’d definitely recommend the experience of being a swing. It was certainly one that I’m grateful for having.