Hello Internet world, I’m back!
First of all, I want to thank you if you are reading this and have been following along with my journey of learning and becoming Juliette. And a GIGANTIC thank you if you were able to make it to see Romeo and Juliet with Lawrence Opera Theatre! I feel so blessed to have been able to perform for an audience and work with the beautiful, fun, and energetic group of people that came together to bring the show to life.
So. I gave myself a nice hearty and well-deserved break! I knew I would need a solid amount of down time after performances, but to be perfectly honest, it’s taken much more time than I expected. It’s been about two weeks since we finished our performances of Romeo and Juliet with LOT and I’m finally feeling a normal amount of energy, and mental and emotional stamina to return back to my desk, start gathering my thoughts and putting them into words!
I think a large amount of this is because of Covid. It had been so long since I’ve been around that many people, and I am a Highly Sensitive and introverted person so it took a lot of energy to be around so many people for such a concentrated and saturated period of time. We staged the entire show in eight days! EIGHT days for a FIVE act opera, ha! It was quite a sprint, but the entire cast and team worked so hard and we really pulled together a beautiful production.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a freaking blast. It felt slightly terrifying at first, but then super freeing to sing on a stage again with live accompaniment and other humans in the room. To hear other singers and watch their acting; seeing them devote their energy to those moments on stage was so exciting, and honestly validating as a singer and artist. It felt so nice to know that everyone was excited to be there and have the opportunity to sing and perform!
If you know me personally, you know I tend to be passionate, emotional and oftentimes reactive rather than responsive in situations. It’s a blessing and a curse. 🙂
I planned to only take a one-week break after the performance to rest, reset, and reflect — but life doesn’t always go the way you plan– and I really felt that I needed more time to reflect in order to respond rather than react to the rehearsal experience and performances. Immediately after the performance, I’m running high off the adrenaline and excitement, and simultaneously exhausted, emotional and experiencing the post-show blues. There’s almost a whip-lash effect of having such a short rehearsal/performance experience; it all happened so fast and then it’s just suddenly over.
I’m glad that I gave myself the space to recover from that whip-lash; To really feel both the highs and lows and let my mind and body sit with those feelings. I think the time and space gave me the ability to respond honestly and logically to my thoughts and feelings about the show and my performance. Because I have given myself the time and room to rest and notice how I feel, the lessons I have learned through this experience have been able to settle and really sink in.
A few items that will be covered in my “Post Performance” Series:
- “Je veux vivre” AFTER — video of the live performance and my reflection, self critique, compare/contrast with the BEFORE video
- Poison aria – video and reflection/critique
- Rehearsal process/experience
- The Audience effect
- Father/daughter relationship (Juliette/Capulet)
- And more! 🙂