Going in for the opposite side!

    Have you ever been on a roller coaster that gives you that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach? That’s the average feeling I get daily as a swing in a musical production. I may be a little dramatic, but seriously, being a swing this semester for Hello, Dolly! is one of the craziest, most fun, yet nerve-wracking things I have ever done. If you aren’t familiar with theater, a swing is an understudy for multiple parts of the show. For Hello, Dolly!, I am the female-identifying swing for all of the ensemble characters.

    The reason this role is tricky in any show is that a swing has to learn all the choreography the ensemble members do, as well as the other small parts they may have that are individualized to their character, the spots they are in for each song and the partners they dance with for each song. There is a lot to cover, and it’s stressful because you want to ensure you know what to do if you have to step in at any point during rehearsal or performance.

    Overall, my experience has been good. I was never treated as less than anyone else in the cast for being a swing, and I did end up going in to cover people a few times in rehearsal, which allowed me to practice the choreography in a smaller space representative of the stage. The whole experience has been a challenge, but it has been a good educational opportunity, so I’m glad to have been given the chance to push myself.

    That being said, last week’s rehearsal was insane! As I mentioned in a previous blog, I was sick two weekends ago and couldn’t attend class on Monday. I felt fine Tuesday but was still physically recovering, so I decided to take it easy during rehearsal and focus more on taking notes, since I felt good about the choreography and spacing. However, Matt (one of the male ensemble members) felt sick, and Ryan (the male ensemble swing) was also sick. When I got to rehearsal, my director asked if I thought I could do Matt’s part for the run-through of the show. Since most of the choreography is the same for males and females with slight differences, I agreed, not wanting to throw off others during the run-through.

    In the show, there are two dances that are male-oriented, meaning the females aren’t in those songs. I did have to learn the choreography because there is one female in those dances, but Matt is one of the best dancers in the show and is, therefore, given specific parts to make the show more exciting. The run-through was fine; since I had never run his track before, I made several spacing mistakes, but I’m proud of how I got through it. I knew it would be a good challenge for me, but my plan to take it easy went right out the window.

    As a dancer, I can’t help but give 100 percent all the time when performing. Since I was sick, this made me feel horrible Tuesday night and Wednesday because my body was still tired from being sick. On Wednesday, I had to go in for Jackson (another male ensemble member) in rehearsal, who was sick, and Ryan was still not feeling well. This meant that for most of last week, I wasn’t doing well, even though my sickness had technically passed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I was pushed to the best of my abilities, but I wish I had been feeling 100 percent before being placed in that position.

    Overall, rehearsal was a great experience last week, and I’m proud of myself for doing what was needed of me, even though I wasn’t feeling my best!