I can't remember what I've mentioned about this, but I'm filling in as "Kim McAfee" in a community-in-the-sticks theatre's production of Bye Bye Birdie because the original Kim had to travel to Minnesota to say good-bye to her grandmother and then wait for the funeral. While there are things I'd rather be doing than reciting inane lines and singing silly songs on a stage in front of an audience, I have to give the original Kim credit for having her priorities in order and for not letting an insignificant community theatre production interfere with saying goodbye to and honoring someone who was important in her life. I'm not sure she had much say in the matter, so I applaud the entire family's decision.
For the record, I was called into service not because of any reputation I have as a talented performer, but rather because I can memorize very quickly.
I had my second (and next-to-last) rehearsal tonight. Tomorrow night is final dress rehearsal. The role is not optimal for me vocally, as my chest voice extends only from roughly the G below middle C to the C above middle C. Because there's so much difference in the sound of my head and chest voices (no smooth transition whatsoever), I need to sing the entire thing in my little-girl voice, which is not very impressive. It doesn't sound like I'm trying to imitate Shirley Temple or anything that sickening. I just don't sound very mature. We're miked, so my voice will be strong enough. I'm not really a singer anyway. It's OK, though, as Kim McAfee is only supposed to be fifteen years old. I look the part, and in my little-girl voice I sound about right, too.
Bye Bye Birdie is not exactly one of my favorite musicals. Some of the songs are incredibly stupid. I understand the songs are supposed to be stupid because the character of Conrad Birdie is an idiot, and an important sub-plot of the play is how his handlers constanty struggle to hide from the public just how lacking he is in both morals and intelligence.
Before I share with you the movie version of what is probably the single most vapid song in the entire production and possibly in the entire universe, "Honestly Sincere," I'd like to announce that my God-daughter, Camille, is up to 4 lbs, 1 oz. The little girl is growing like a freaking weed.
I am not at all familiar with that show. Now I'm going to have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Camille is growing!
ir's very dated and before your time, but it is a snapshot of where America was in the early-to-mid sixties (more early than id, i suppose).
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should try yodeling. I have never tried it but I read that it comes when there is a jump from your chest voice to your head voice. With some people who practice it sounds really good. Listen to this young girl and the reactions from the judges.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00nfVc4FPI
It would be a nice challenge for you.
Even I was young when that was a hit. Never got excited by it, but my guess is you'll be fine. Besides, it's always good to have a fallback career if medicine doesn't work out. ;)
ReplyDeleteJono, hell will probably freeze over before anyone pays me to act. I'd be better off relying upon my knowledge of pharmaceauticals to freelance sales in that area except that jails scare me. My fallback career would probably be as a nanny or as a lab tech.
DeleteHere is what is great about the future. It is unknown! You know that I like sayings like "Stranger things have happened." There is a chance that a talent scout may be in the audience. After he hears you, he may try to convince you to sing and perform on Broadway. Then you will tell him the above.
DeleteThen he will explain that by not performing on Broadway, that makes you a bad person since you will be robbing many people (like a thief in the night) by not letting them hear and see you perform. Then you will have to explain to your father why you will be an actress on Broadway instead of a medical doctor.
Alexis, your vast intelligence gives you a great advantage in many things including performing. Natalie Portman is a very famous actress that is a Jewish American that was born in Israel. She graduated from Harvard U that is the hardest college to get into.
So what started her on this path is she was a pre-teen eating pizza in a pizza shop. A scout for models in the pizza place, convinced her to become a model as a pre-teen. Since she saw that she would make a lot of money as a model, she decided that she would like it better being an actress and the rest is history.
Also no medical doctors have become the POTUS (president of the United States) yet but actor Ronald Reagan did become the POTUS. Then Judge Alex would love to talk to you in person. Don't you think that you have enough intelligence to run the country and also have the morality to do it in great way.
Natalie Portman is non-fiction but I just saw Star Trek that is fictional. In the altered reality (that was changed by someone going back in time) James Tiberius Kirk never knew his father and had no interest in joining Starfleet. But Captain Pike did know his father.
DeleteHe said to James (Jim) that his tests showed that his intelligence is off the charts. If he is half the man that his father was, then Starfleet desperately needs him. His father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes and saved the lives of over 800 crewman before he died.
So Jim joined Starfleet Academy. But on an un-winable test Jim cheats and wins and is on trial for this. There is an emergency before the trial was over so Jim is on suspension but Dr. McCoy sneaks him on the ship by injecting him with a disease. Jim saves the day in the end.
As far as fiction and non-fiction before the Titanic sunk there was a fictional book written. Wikipedia says:
"The Wreck of the Titan" redirects here. Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan is an 1898 novella written by Morgan Robertson. The story features the ocean liner Titan, which sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. The Titan and its sinking have been noted to be very similar to the real-life passenger ship RMS Titanic, which sank fourteen years later. Following the wreck the novel was reissued with some changes, particularly in the ship's gross tonnage.[1]"