
Hello from the Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville, Tennessee! We're about to enter our second performance week of The Music Man, and it has already been a wonderful whirlwind experience. Although our opening night went incredibly well, my second performance was unfortunately tainted by the news that my family's dog (who we've all been quite literally obsessed with since the day she came home) passed away suddenly Friday night. This was the first experience that I have had of dealing with a family tragedy during performances, and I can only hope that it's not something I have to go through again. I considered myself a very focused performer but I am so fortunate to have such incredible cast members who were able to pull me through Saturday's show. Luckily we still have a month left of performances to more than make up for one night of lackluster.
This has been an extremely nostalgic and exciting process for me as I'm exploring the character of Marian Paroo for the third time. I first encountered this show when I was thirteen, doing a Jr. production at my middle school and have been in love ever since. I remember relating very easily to Marian even at that age, being a super dorky bookworm who wasn't necessarily the most popular girl in the class (although I'm sure that Marian never had to deal with a face full of braces). I was lucky enough to find her once again during my senior year of high school, where I grasped just a little bit more about this incredibly strong, independent, and love-filled woman. I liked to think that I understood her pretty well at eighteen but as I'm delving into this script for the third time, I'm constantly surprised and thrilled by all the things that I was maybe too young to see before. I am so excited to be able to work and grow with her for six more weeks.
My experience at the Roxy so far has been nothing but positive! The theater is a little old so my nose gets a bit stuffy every time I walk in, but it more than makes up for it in charm. The cast is made up of out-of-town actors, local actors, and children from the town who participate in the Roxy's awesome summer theater programs. Our show is led by TOM THAYER, who has been the managing director of the Roxy since it began in 1983, and it's been an absolute pleasure to bring his vision of "color" coming to River City to life. Our cast housing is an absolutely gorgeous condo with plenty of space (a luxury for those of us from NYC), a well-stocked kitchen, and a short walk to the theater. It feels a little bit like summer camp, since I'm sleeping on the top bunk (something I haven't experienced since band camp) and sharing a room with two other girls, but since everyone is so respectful of each other's privacy we haven't had any conflicts whatsoever. We only perform Wednesday-Saturday, leaving us plenty of time to go to the pool (where I've already gotten a pretty heinous sunburn), the movies, explore Clarksville, and just veg out. I feel so fortunate to be here being paid to do what I love and to be meeting and collaborating with so many other artists!
This has been an extremely nostalgic and exciting process for me as I'm exploring the character of Marian Paroo for the third time. I first encountered this show when I was thirteen, doing a Jr. production at my middle school and have been in love ever since. I remember relating very easily to Marian even at that age, being a super dorky bookworm who wasn't necessarily the most popular girl in the class (although I'm sure that Marian never had to deal with a face full of braces). I was lucky enough to find her once again during my senior year of high school, where I grasped just a little bit more about this incredibly strong, independent, and love-filled woman. I liked to think that I understood her pretty well at eighteen but as I'm delving into this script for the third time, I'm constantly surprised and thrilled by all the things that I was maybe too young to see before. I am so excited to be able to work and grow with her for six more weeks.
My experience at the Roxy so far has been nothing but positive! The theater is a little old so my nose gets a bit stuffy every time I walk in, but it more than makes up for it in charm. The cast is made up of out-of-town actors, local actors, and children from the town who participate in the Roxy's awesome summer theater programs. Our show is led by TOM THAYER, who has been the managing director of the Roxy since it began in 1983, and it's been an absolute pleasure to bring his vision of "color" coming to River City to life. Our cast housing is an absolutely gorgeous condo with plenty of space (a luxury for those of us from NYC), a well-stocked kitchen, and a short walk to the theater. It feels a little bit like summer camp, since I'm sleeping on the top bunk (something I haven't experienced since band camp) and sharing a room with two other girls, but since everyone is so respectful of each other's privacy we haven't had any conflicts whatsoever. We only perform Wednesday-Saturday, leaving us plenty of time to go to the pool (where I've already gotten a pretty heinous sunburn), the movies, explore Clarksville, and just veg out. I feel so fortunate to be here being paid to do what I love and to be meeting and collaborating with so many other artists!