When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high,
and don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky,
and the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain,
though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,
and you’ll never walk alone…….
You’ll never walk alone.
from Carousel, by Rogers and Hammerstein
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In a month, I’ll let you in on why I’ve posted this song’s lyrics.
For now, here are the Madison Scouts as they close with it.
“These notes are so high, we’re all going to need a truss.” Words like those from Kevin Corrington would keep me in stitches during choir rehearsals, any time we opened a song for the first time and spotted unbelievably high tenor parts.
Now, the tenor section in “An Evening in December” will always be one great man short as Kevin has passed on from this temporary Earthly life to his eternal life with Jesus.
Today, Kevin’s family, friends, and coworkers gathered at First Covenant Church to celebrate his life and recall just some of the memories that he brought to each of us.
We learned not only of his talent on the gridiron that earned him Keep reading →
How do we survive ten full-cast run-throughs, back-to-back-to-back shows Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon? Ten performances, two weeks in a row?!
What survival tips do the veterans have for the first-time AEID (An Evening in December) cast member?
I brainstormed all the tips and tricks that I have picked up over the years from other veteran cast members, and from John’s notes to the cast. That’s my mindmap on the left. Go ahead and click on the thumbnail to see a full size image.
And the top ten tips are:
1. Name that Tune
Play your practice CD all the time. Memorize lyrics early. (Lisa and I have been known to wear out several CDs…apiece…each season.)
2. Make it a Date
Double-check family and work schedules, block off your calendars, double-check rehearsals, full-cast run-throughs and dress rehearsals. Plan vacations AROUND AEID.
3. “Consider Yourself Invited”
(Yep, I couldn’t resist stealing a song title from AEID 2007.) Invite friends and coworkers early. Get tickets early. The 10,000 seats sell out surprisingly quickly, especially the matinees that are popular with the older crowd and the youngest crowd.
Lisa and I uploaded a hundred or so of our photos in a Picasa web album. If you’re looking for a photo from an actual show, you’re out of luck; we were on stage almost all of the time. And, we dare not shoot anything on stage, for fear of causing a flash that might distract the audience or jeopardize the safety of a dancer (even though someone in one of the audiences actually fired off several flashes during a show).
But you’ll get a good feel for what goes on during dress rehearsals, backstage during a show, in the “First N-O-E-L” minivan, and at cast parties.
I’ve been a DCI fanatic since I saw a video of the Santa Clara Vanguard in ‘73. I’ve witnessed some great live performances and was one of the lucky ones in the stands at DCI World Championships in Birmingham ‘80 and Pasadena ‘07. Milt, my bro, marched in Freelancers and is one hecka lower brass horn instructor with the World Champion Mandarins. Name a song and he and his best friend Bret can identify the corps that included it in their repertoires. Milt named his first-born, Madison!
So, what are the top ten ways experiencing AEID is like experiencing DCI?
drum line
hundreds of pieces of percussion equipment and props (rain sticks, gourds, and amazing stick work) in “Sing We Now”
John Williams’ “Cadillac of the Skies” in our repertoire, performed by Cadets ‘02 and ‘01, the Academy ‘02, Freelancers ‘89, and others
plenty of fluids and chow “backstage” to feed the cast and crew
With more than a hundred audition time slots over and done, John has cast an incredible troupe of actors to bring to life the characters in this year’s fresh, new script.
I’m not going to give you any plot spoilers on this site until well after the two weeks of performances, so you can continue reading. With that assurance, let’s see what’s in store and who is playing whom in the 2007 production. Keep reading →
