LGMC's First Fifteen

Today has a certain idyllic quality to it. There is a sense of release, of a weight being lifted. It’s a long weekend (for me at least) so there is not the rush to get things done.

We slept until 10am and then shambled our way up to Café Rouge for brunch. As we walked home an hour or so later, spring was definitely in the air; the sun was out and the trees are coming alive again with blossom and new leaf. I have to say though, that I think the self-indulgence was deserved for once; we put a lot of effort into a very good show last night.

Yesterday was a long one. It also started with a pleasant brunch at Café Rouge, but that one was with Rosie & the parents. As soon as it was over though, I was on the Tube up to the venue with a bag full of costume and sandwiches. We actually did two ‘runs’ of the show in the afternoon, although not so much singing; Firstly there was the tech-run, where we are basically just props on stage for the lighting guys to illuminate. There are the sound checks for the comperes and soloists. There are entrances and exits, sightlines so we can all see the conductor and a dozen other little things that we have to endure before we go on. It’s an awful lot of waiting around.

The second run was the musical polishing which was more interesting, but still involved lots of standing about.

Eventually the show itself rolls around and it all went superbly. I was fairly relaxed going into it but by the end of the first number, I was trembling with the adrenalin (although some of that could have been the exertions of the choreography!) I’d worried that there was an awful lot of talk in between numbers, but people seemed to enjoy it – especially as we inevitably manage to weave a certain amount of humour in too. (In the section about Chorus statistics the quote ‘If you laid all the Baritones end-to-end… no one would think it unusual’ was my personal favourite!)

The feedback was very positive. I was particularly pleased by Tom C from work, who was most enthusiastic; more entertaining than the last one he saw (You’ll Do For Now) which had a more serious theme.

For all the positive feedback though, I felt rather hollow last night after the show was over. We’d done a good job; given the audience a good time, but it was just another show. After four months hard work it was not even anti-climactic, rather it just didn’t really register. It felt routine. It was a strange feeling.

Anyway, on a lighter note, in all the boredom of hanging around yesterday, I put my cameraphone to good use capturing the moment(s) for my photoblog. Click here to see the results.