Hangin Tough

This week is tough. During rehearsals I constantly feel like I'm driving down a dark, winding, country road at 50 mph with one headlight. All of my energy seems to be going straight to my brain, energy needed to sort through all of the information that has been stuffed in between my ears since I arrived in Missoula. With so much of my focus going to figuring out what to do next and how to do it, my physical energy lags behind and unfortunately, that means less of my energy gets transfered to the kids. I know this will change next week and the week after, but I still feel slightly disappointed that I can't give these kids 100% because it's my first week. Although, I guess I am giving 100% for this week, it's just that 100% for another week may be greater. At least this week I'm working with wonderful kids and a wonderful contact in a wonderful place. By the time I have trouble kids or less than ideal situations, I should have this show snugly under my belt. I am less tired today than I was yesterday, though. That's good.

Today I worked with the Pumpkins who are 5-7 years old. They are tough. You let the pace of rehearsal slip and they'll jump all over it with "I'm tired" or "I'm bored." My favorite was one girl, Savannah, asking, "Why are you so weird?" Funny kid. Things went well, but I know I can give them more once I know what I'm doing. And have I mentioned that they are absolutely adorable. If any of you guys ever get to see a show, you'll see why.

We were blessed today to be treated to dinner by our contacts at the Pioneer Mill, an old nineteenth century mill on the Sandusky River that was converted into a restaurant. A free meal and some new company goes a long way. Following dinner I had a good talk with Robyn, our trainer, and made a good dent in the book I'm reading, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." It was definitely the good part in the book, a few misty eyes here, a chuckle there, poignant moments throughout, and a healthy dose of happiness and tenderness to balance out the roughness of the job. That was three -ness words in a row.

I'm still not convinced that putting on a musical in a week works. It's already surprising what these kids have accomplished, but I don't think I'll be a true believer until I see it this weekend.