Chuck came downstairs today and asked/announced, “Can I take the day off?” Amigo did almost the same thing an hour later. Why? you might ask. Day off from what? would be a good question, too.
Yesterday was the Big Spring Show for Amigo’s barbershop chorus. This Spring Show was bigger than most because, well, pandemic. This was the first actual Spring Show since 2019, so it was special. Important. Exciting. Insert any comparable adjective here, and it’ll fit just fine.
These guys, like many of us, suffered through massive cancellations in 2020. They had to cancel a show, cancel rehearsals, and lost a major fundraiser as well. Singing, you see, can be a super spreader event. A show in theater that seats 700 was out of the question. Eventually the directors consulted their college-age daughter who guided them in the process of Zoom rehearsals, which led to in person sectionals (masked), and finally in-person rehearsals.
You can read between the lines: this year’s spring show was a Big Deal. A really, really, Major Big Deal.
In a typical week, Amigo had rehearsals every Tuesday. Chuck usually drove him to rehearsal and stayed to help out if he was needed. The week leading up to the show was bigger and busier. Tuesday’s rehearsal was a tech rehearsal. Chuck, former broadcast engineer, always helped out with audio and microphone cues. In addition, the two actors who carried out the story line between songs couldn’t make it for tech rehearsal, so Chuck and Yours Truly played their parts. Fun, yes, but it was a late night and a tiring evening full of details.
The usual Friday night dress rehearsal included the regular actors, thank goodness. Chuck still helped the tech crew, but I was able to stay home and clean the kitchen (hahaha) and make fresh ice cream (yay!).
All things considered, by the time the show was done, all three of us were thrilled and happy and wiped out.
We were thrilled to be back into show mode, performing in person for an actual audience. We were happy to be perform and socialize with the rest of the chorus. We were happy to bring Petunia and Robin and even La Petite and her sweetheart to the concert. And after coordinating all of this and enjoying the show, we were tired. Very, very tired.
Really, folks, this is the best kind of wiped out tired there is. Covid19 isn’t gone yet, but numbers were low enough to allow a performance with audience. The emotional high from this day will be with us for a while. Meanwhile, I think we’ll all three take a day off.
