Godspell

About three weeks ago, Jeff Overstreet (the organist/choir director at Mebane Presbyterian Church) accosts me in the church hallway with "You're just the person I was looking for."

I have the feeling of deja vu all over again.

"Are you busy the last weekend of March?"

"Why?" I respond, suspiciously.

"The Mebane Acting Company is doing 'Godspell', and we need a drummer. Are you interested?"

What do I know about Godspell? I've heard of it, but that's about it. I don't know any of the music, nor do I know the plot, other than I assume it has something to do with God. Do I want to do it? Sure, why not? I haven't played in about a year, but I know it'll probably fun. So with the boss's OK, I agree to do it.

So three nights before the show opens, I (along with Luis Rodriguez, the guitarist, and Jeff Hatley, the bassist) attend our first practice; a technical/dress rehearsal. I'd never met Luis or Jeff H., but I could tell from the first song that this was going to rock. These guys could play! What a nice change it was to be playing with semi-pros.

That first rehearsal was the most together I'd seen one that far in advance of opening night. The actors could act. The singers could sing, and the band, despite basically sight-reading the music, could've faked our way through the show that night if we had to.

So Tuesday and Wednesday were more technical/dress rehearsals, each progressively better than the last. The cast ranged in age from young high school kids up to middle aged theater veterans, and all of them really knew their stuff. We were performing in a church's fellowship hall that could seat about 120. As an added bonus for me, their praise band had a decent drumset in the room, so I didn't have to bring so much as sticks to rehearsal. It's always a hassle performing at high school auditoriums because that means carting all my gear in and out every night due to my lack of confidence in the security of those places.

Thursday was opening night, and the show was well received by the 100 or so $5 patrons. Friday night was sold out at 120+ people. Saturday night Jennifer, Tristan, and Zoe attended. I took the kids backstage with me so they could see more of what's really involved in the theater business.

I got a couple of less-than-good shots of the cast warming up.
Matt played "Matt"


Wayne played "Jesus"


Katie played "Katie," and the aforementioned Jeff Overstreet played the piano.

Tristan was in charge of the triangle.

Trianglist Hosted on Zooomr

Here's Luis warming up.

Luis Rodriguez Hosted on Zooomr

In retrospect, I'm really disappointed in the photos I took. The young female members of the cast were far more photogenic then the pictures of the dudes posted here, and everyone would've enjoyed looking at them more, plus with all the practices, I could've gotten some shots of the actual show that couldn't have been done during the performance. I blame my lack of proper photo equipment (partially), and will use that as an excuse to accelerate the timeline of my intended "nice camera" purchase.

The line outside the hall was a long one.

Theatre at Hawfields Hosted on Zooomr

Tristan and Zoe found a friend to wait with.

PreShow Hosted on Zooomr

The show went great, and was a TON of fun. It usually works that way. By the time you're comfortable enough with the music to really have fun with the improvisation and ad-libbing. . . the show's over. Everyone enjoyed it, especially the kids. One of the girls sang right to Zoe at one point. After the show, Zoe made a point of seeking out two of the girls and meeting them. I'm afraid she may have caught the acting bug just by getting to close to someone who already had it.

Next show. . . . who knows, but I hear The Mebane Acting Company is doing a children's musical called "The Nifty Fifties" in the fall. . . .