No Do Overs

Last night was Act3 Productions' opening night of Rent. The show went very well. This is my third show as a guitarist with Act3. I continue to be impressed that a community theater with mostly teenage singers and actors puts on such amazingly good performances. Act3 won several categories for their recent production of Once on This Island at the Metro Atlanta Theater Awards. This was the first time Act3 had been entered in these awards, and they cleaned house! Act3 Productions has only been existence for about a year and a half. To be putting on such quality performances and winning awards so quickly is impressive. I am grateful to have become Act3's guitarist. I feel like Act3 has a bright future, and I'm lucky to have gotten in on the ground floor.

One thing I love about live performance is the spontaneity. Even when you're in a situation where the show is blocked and the lines are memorized, there are glitches. When you are recording in the studio or filming a movie, you have the luxury of going through multiple takes until you get it right…not so with live performance. There are no do overs. Last night was a case in point, and it was also a perfect example of professionalism and quick thinking on the part of Act3 talented performers.

For one of the numbers, they decided to go with a pre-recorded track instead of the orchestra. (I have no idea why.) It was a solo number for the character "Angel." (Check out the YouTube clip from the movie version.) About a third of the way into the song, the recorded track cut out, and Angel was left singing a cappella. Literally not missing a beat, the other onstage characters started clapping and beat boxing, and then the orchestra joined in, improvising an accompaniment.

After the show, it was decided that the orchestra would be backing the singer, and we wouldn't use the recorded track again. (This was a perfect example of why live performers, mistakes and all, are superior to backing tracks.) Except for the keyboard, all the other parts are marked tacet (which means don't play), so today's assignment was to listen to the track at home and come up with a part to play. Tonight, we'll meet early to rehearse the number. I'm 100% sure that we'll sound great come showtime.

Once on This Island

In about a month, I'll be playing guitar in Once on This Island with Act3 Productions. I'm excited about this show! This will be my second show with Act3. I played All Shook Up with this company in February, and I was impressed at production level and depth of talent, so I'm really looking forward to playing Once on This Island.

The music is just plain fun, and it's a little different. I'm not sure if you can pigeonhole the music into a single genre. It has a lot of island rhythms with a touch of New Age. Most of the music has a very strong beat, which makes it deceptively difficult for the pit orchestra. While much of the music is written for dancing and sounds simple enough, the composer throws in some meter changes and asymmetrical phrasing to keep us on our toes.

While the guitar book for Once on This Island isn't nearly as frightening as the All Shook Up book, it's still a challenging part. I've been practicing the show music regularly so that I can hold up my end when we meet for our first orchestra rehearsal. If there are any high school and college students out there who are interested in playing shows, there's one main difference between playing school productions and playing professional productions. In school productions, you usually have a lot of rehearsals, and you can get away with learning the music during rehearsals. For a professional show, you have very few rehearsals – sometimes just one – so you need to learn your music before you even start the first rehearsal.

Here are a couple YouTube clips to give you a sense of Once on This Island's music.

Aside from the music, I like the story. This is not your typical Broadway musical with a fairy tale ending. It's suitable for family, but there are some serious elements that address race and class issues. If you're interested in learning more about the story, this Wikipedia article offers a good synopsis. Just don't read all the way down if you want to be surprised when you see the show!

Once on This Island is scheduled to play at Act3 Productions June 17-19 and 22-26, and I would love to see my Atlanta friends there. As far as I know, tickets are not yet on sale, but you'll want to check back at www.act3productions.org from time to time. Tickets for All Shook Up sold out quickly, and I expect the same will be true for this musical, too.