May 15th, 2005, NYC: The First Day!

I can't say enough of how nervous and excited I was when I first set foot into that studio. I decided to walk from my apartment this morning, just so I could see more of Broadway and walk through the streets to satisfy my eyes. The city of course looked the same with yesterday when I first arrived, but I still felt there's still much more that I just want to look at. When I arrived at the studio, it was around 7:45, and I was 15 minutes early. The moment Gill saw me she greeted me with great joy and gave me a big warm, welcoming hug. Trevor also shook hands with me, and I was immediately introduced to a handsome young man on the side who was stretching on a barre dressed in a casual black T-shirt, sports pants, and black jazz slippers. He introduced himself as Darren Richards, and he's a professional ballet dancer who will be playing my favorite male character out of the entire show: Mistoffelees.

The two of us told each other a little about ourselves before the others arrived. As I studied him closely, I noticed that he's probably at least 2 inches shorter than me, and he weighs probably no more than 110 Lbs. He is actually very, very cute looking, with probably the most perfect figure a guy can have, and a face that looks just as young as he really is. He's only 23, and is already one of the principal dancers at the American Ballet Company. Just then, we looked to the door and saw two girls walking into the studio carrying bags that were even bigger than mine, both dressed in big loose sweat shirts over what I imagined would be leotards underneath, casual dancing shorts, black tights, and sneakers, and the shorter, younger girl also wore black leg warmers. He he, I do love leg warmers! They introduced themselves as Jessica and Cecilia, a.k.a. Victoria and Cassandra. Jessica is a very small thing about 5'3'' and looks almost like she's only 14. And when they heard that I'm Bombalurina, I swear, their eyes grew bigger than grapefruits. Yes, I know that the hardest thing to do since two months ago was convincing people that I am Bombalurina.

Which reminds me, that how it never got me what was going on in Gill's head when she picked me out of how many older, more experienced actresses to play the biggest female lead in such an important show, in this tour that means the world to RUG. Me being the youngest Bombalurina in history, and the first to play the role without any previous experience with the show. And through talking with Gill, I discovered that Jessica (the only person from the entire cast that's younger than me), who's a 19-year-old ballerina currently enrolled at Julliard, is the only one in this cast with a big role other than me who's never done the show before. All the other leads have been in it at some point in their lives. Cecilia had played Cassandra and was Dance Captain once in an UK tour, and Darren had played Mistoffelees on Broadway. Well, soon they got over my age joke, after I assured them over and over and even offered to show my ID to prove that I wasn't lying, and the four of us sat down in a circle on the floor with Gill and Trevor and chatted. I told them how I've decided to leave George Washington for a year in order to be in this show, and they told me about their schools, work experiences, stuff related to Cats, and so on. We talked a great deal about the upcoming big tour and the show in general, of course, and soon after more and more people started to arrive, and we had to all stand up to greet them and end our small conversation.

I got to meet our "cool" Rum Tum Tugger at last, a tall, and indeed very "cool" looking guy by the name of Shonn Anderson, who likes to be called Shonn. Well, he seems so the Tugger type to me! Jessica and Cecilia seemed very interested in him, and he seems is already good friends with Steve McKinley (Munkustrap). Everybody is already so friendly, and I was surprised to discover the big diversity in the group in no time. Shonn I could tell is from England due to the accent, and Steve is from Texas. Other than those of us who are all from different parts of the continental U. S., we have Jessica from Ireland, Pia from Hawaii, Ann from Mexico, Lea and Damien from Canada, and Cecilia from France. Kelli, our Grizabella, looks rather young for the role, and I honestly don't think she's that much older than Shonn. She's probably 30 to say the most. We talked together for a long time, just to get to know each other of course. Everybody shared his or her Cats experiences and stuff, making Jessica and I feel a bit left out. And I could tell from the looks on the faces of the other young actors who have relatively small roles that they were envious of our luck, landing leads with no more previous experiences than them. But we all like each other already, and I've noticed, that Jessica seemed couldn't stop stealing looks at Darren!

Gill got us all to sit on the floor in a big circle, and it started with Trevor making a speech. We started by introducing ourselves by saying our names and the role we play and what shows we've been in before and what schools we went to or are going to and so on. And darn, so many people from all these famous places! Julliard, American Ballet Academy, London Royal Ballet, so on… I could feel my face burn when I could only name high school and college shows that I've been in. Being one of the youngest and newest, I can't say I didn't feel a bit out of place.

We didn't do any real work today, except Trevor talked to us a great deal about our upcoming project, things that we'll be doing, the countries and cities that we'll be going to, and of course, expectations, as usual. He told us that Andrew would be with us the entire time when we're in Europe, and he will follow us as much as possible, but Gill will be with us everywhere for the whole year. After a few jokes, Gill got us to play games that are helpful to the show. She got us to all be cats, not the ones in the show, but real life cats, so we can all get the feelings in us started and get us into the mood. And I think we could all expect what would be coming. We, in no time, were down on all fours. Conny got onto the window, leaned herself against the glass, and started chasing a small bug that was flying up and down. Cecilia was arching her back and hissing at everyone. Jessica had her leg over her head in her "grooming", and Darren went around and started rubbing against everybody and purring as loud as he could make. Steve and Pia got into a serious paw fight where it got to the point of them being separated by Gill, and Damien came up to me and started batting at my head, which I happily returned and had a good time meowing.

Before we left for lunch, Gill announced that from now on, and everyday starting tomorrow in our 6 weeks of rehearsal, everyday will begin at 8. Starting with warm-ups and Gill's choreography and dance training, and when we're all worked up, we'll be going over the scenes one by one and work on our singing with Trevor, and work up our acting with run-throughs and stuff in the afternoon. The day would end at 6:30, and the nights are ours. Since all of us know the show pretty much from front to back, and a few of the people who've never done it before actually know quite a lot of the routines already (like in my case, he he!), it would make things quite easy. Gill basically wouldn't even have to teach me the "Macavity" routine, all she'll need to do is correct and perfect my movements and get me into the right spots on the real stage. For that, I'm rather proud of myself! 

Well, Darren, Jessica, Cecilia, and me decided to get Italian for lunch. Gill directed us to a nice little Italian restaurant just a block from the studio, and she was right about it being a great place. We got a table next to a nice water fountain in the center, and eating while listening to the water is something that I can never get enough in my life! We ordered quite a few garlic breads, a ton of spaghetti, and had great conversations while our mouths were stuffed with food. It didn't take long for us to become friends. We've learned much about each other's backgrounds, and we've shared so much about her lives that we all thought we had talked too much.

"So, tell me, Melissa, how did you get to be with us?" Cecilia asked me.

"Well, um," I said, almost blushing. "Actually, I kinda think it was more of my luck. Gill happened to be visiting GW, and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Our musical group was doing some preparations for the upcoming Spring Stage Festival, and we were all getting show tunes together and stuff, and me and a friend of mine decided to do 'Macavity'. Gill just happened to walk by the studio when she heard the music, and of course, she had to stop and go take a look. It was just then when I was shaking my hips and doing Bombalurina's solo when she peeked her head in the door, and then, bang, after a couple of weeks, I'm here!"

Everybody laughed at our audition stories, especially mine. We each shared so many things regarding shows and our performing experiences, and had a heck of a good time laughing. Darren was very enthusiastic, and the entire time when he was talking, I couldn't help noticing Jessica. She seemed couldn't keep her eyes off of Darren now! Well, I have to admit, I'd be lying if I say that I don't feel somewhat attracted to Darren. I guess I have to make an excuse for myself saying that I just can't help it. Later, when we finished our chilling and chitchatting, lunch was also over. We went back to the studio and Gill did some little things, such as talking to us about the positions on stage and possible changes in certain places of the choreography. The day finished rather early, with everyone saying good-byes to each other, but Darren, Jessica, Cecilia, and I decided to hang out together for the night. I suggested going out for fast food to make it simple. Shonn, Steve, and Pia asked to join us, and of course, they were more than welcome. We ended up going to Arby's and took over 2 tables outside. There were people walking by us and, seeing us in our dance clothes, asking if we were NYC dancers having dinner from practice. Of course, we were proud to tell them that were members in the cast of the upcoming world tour of Cats, and many looked very impressed, and some asked us what parts we play and many wished us good luck. Wee, good start!

We didn't do much in the evening other than roaming around the streets and looking at stores here and there. Out of all of us, only Darren and Jessica have really been in NYC, and they somehow acted as tour guides. We passed by several really fancy places, and limousines were also everywhere. Broadway certainly looks prettier at night than during the day. I almost liked everything I saw! We didn't say good night until after 9, and Shonn offered to walk me to my apartment due to the fact that it was NYC and it was dark, and I was a young girl alone.

Well, on the way, the two of us talked a great deal, and got to know each other a lot more. I found out that Shonn was born and raised in London, and was a graduate from the University of London with a bachelor's degree in musical theater and also concentrating greatly on music and dancing. He told me more about his experiences with Cats on West End and touring w/ the UK tour, and how much he enjoyed doing this show. Other than Cats, he had also been in other big shows like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, and Mamma Mia, both on West End and on tours. I got rather envious of him having been in so many shows, when he was only 26. I told him about my first 2 years of college at GW, my double major in Forensic Science and Theatre, and we also discussed a bit about our families and stuff. Basically, our conversation was very much like the one between Darren Jessica, Cecilia, and me. Well, we got to my place no problem, and I thanked Shonn and the two of us said good night. Well, I have to admit, probably I'm already liking this guy… probably even more than Darren now…

Shonn is a very interesting person, too. He is very good-looking, but he doesn't really have the cute-ness and the sweet shyness that Darren possesses. Rather, what he has is more like a sense of confidence, maturity, and masculinity, and I think he certainly knows very well how to behave in front of girls. And well, doesn't mean he's too serious though. So far, I've found him very witty, and he had made me laugh several times already in one day. Well, certainly the two of us got to know each other quick, and I think we've already become friends, like me with Darren, Jessica, and Cecilia. Well, I guess when it comes to new friends, I certainly do have some luck!

And so, my first day is over. Big day, too! And wow, this is turning into one long entry. The real work hasn't even started, and already I have so much to say. Anyway, today was pretty exciting, and I'm feeling tired now. I'm really enjoying myself already, and according to Gill, the real work starts tomorrow morning, and I'm really, really looking forward to it and at the same time, feeling pretty nervous about it. I still can't believe it, I'm actually gonna start the working for Cats! I'm actually really gonna be in it! I'm so happy that I get to have this chance, not only will I get to be in the best show, but also get to see the world and get to know such great people! I am tired, but I'm actually too excited to sleep.

Anyway, I have to say good night now!

Mel