Always Chorus

Hey Folks!

Let`s take a trip down memory lane and learn about middle/high school Maggie. Boy was she a hot mess, and trust me she still is (hence the title of this blog), anyways younger Maggie had big dreams, that were really more like wishes. These included being a famous singer (that dream died a little later than it probably should have), and desperately wanting to be the lead in something. Enter, THEATRE! I`ve always had a love for musical theater from a young age, and that love continues to grow everyday, and so when given the chance to star in a musical I JUMPED at that opportunity.

My eighth grade year my school put on a production of Suessical Jr. I went through the audition process just like everyone else, I chose to sing Tomorrow from Annie (we are not surprised by that at all), and I got cast as a Jungle Creature, which at that point in my life was perfect, because I really just wanted to experience the magic. The wish to have a speaking role kind of just grew from there as I watched from the background a person`s ability to become someone or something else. The beauty and art of acting folks.

The next year we were doing a production of Into the Woods Jr. I took this as my chance to finally get a speaking role, it was my last year in middle school and so I had seniority, which definitely helped. The auditions came around again and I went through the process and was originally cast as Snow White/chorus. I was thrilled to have a name this time but I admit I was a little disappointed with chorus again. During rehearsals the drama teacher decided to switch characters around and I was recast as Sleeping Beauty which didn`t change my role requirements at all just a different name and costume. As we got closer to the performance and costuming a bunch of things happened. First of all, I didn`t really enjoy my costume. In my naive and (a bit) selfish eyes it looked like a rip off of Glinda from The Wizard of Oz (1939), definitely NOT Sleeping Beauty. So, I took it among myself to find a different costume. The drama teacher and the choreographers didn`t like that too much (rightfully so) , so I wore the costume anyways.

Then, my tenth grade year, my first year in high school and still chasing the pipe dream of a speaking role. My high school was doing a production of The Sound of Music, one of my absolute favorite musicals and. I went in feeling confident, I sang Tomorrow from Annie again because I was going after one of the Von Trapp children and left feeling like I definitely had a chance. Then low and behold, the cast list went up and I got cut. My whole tenth grade world came CRASHING down. I remember calling my mom and crying tears of anger, disappointment, and overall blindsidedness. Like a very rational tenth grade girl, in response I boycotted the musical, and left my musical theater dreams behind.

I ended up switching schools the next year and decided against auditioning for my new school`s musical because I was still disheartened by the blow from the previous year, but also I didn`t know that many people and I was not about to fall on my face in front of complete strangers. I also was dealing with a lot of personal stuff and therefore isolating myself.

All of that changed senior year. I took my first drama class fall semester and I was feeling humble, but had a new set of skills I hadn`t exercised completely yet, and I got to know the drama teacher a little better. We were doing a production of Grease and I couldn`t skip that opportunity. I worked tirelessly on my song and monologue and was feeling really confident. I ditched Annie and instead sang a song from La La Land. I felt pretty good about my audition and even made it through to callbacks. As we began the cold reads I was flying through all of Patty`s lines and finally felt confident on a stage. I was anxiously awaiting the cast list to go up and when it finally did I was blindsided again. I was cast as part of the Cheerleading chorus. My senior year and I was Chorus again. I was bitter about it for a little bit and ranted to anyone who would listen. Eventually, I let it go and had a lot of fun and got really close with a lot of the cast members.

I still look back on all of my experiences with musical theater and smile, because at the end of the day it was always a fun time, but I still have glimpses of the pipe dream as to what it would have been like to have had a speaking role at least once.

But for now, we reminisce on my always chorus moments, and are grateful for the path that led me to my true calling which is fighting for social justice and radical change in the lives of people on the margins.

Thank you dear reader for listening to my rambles, and I hope to continue to create a safe space to escape for a bit.

Best,

Maggie