May 16th, 2005: The work begins

I woke up on time, fortunately. But I have to say, when I got out of bed, I was a little sluggish. I was more tired than I thought from last night…

So, jumped into the shower, came out and did my hair, and changed into my dancing clothes fast. It was a fresh morning, not too warm, not too cold. I decided to jog to the studio to wake myself up, and that actually felt good! I was totally awake when I walked in, and I was surprised to see that I was the first one there other than Gill.

She asked me how I slept last night, and of course we sort of discussed about our agenda for the day and so on. Darren walked in as we were talking, wearing the same thing that he wore yesterday. Pia and Steve also arrived, laughing as they entered. I was happy to see Jessica when she came in, but my mouth was wide open when she took off her sweat shirt. God, I swear! If she has 90 lb. of flesh on her I'd call it good! I asked her, and she admitted of having had eating disorder before her audition to Julliard, and all the dancing she does while in Julliard and the constant pressure of dieting doesn't allow her to gain the lost weight back. I joked with her saying that I could probably fit her inside me and still not get fat.

So, at last, the entire cast has arrived. Gill talked to us briefly about the choreography and possible changes in certain areas, and announced that we were beginning. We started off with some stretching on the barres and some simple warm ups, and then Gill briefly introduced some of the movements that she wanted us to get down today. Of course, we would start off with the 1st scene, and good thing that the studio was big enough to fit probably 50 people. Gill put us into spots and moved us here and there, and Pia, of course, was going to be the first on stage. One by one Gill showed us our movements as we made our entrances, and the very beginning really wasn't hard, for all of us got what to do right away. But when we started our first group dancing after we've all said our first lines, it got a bit messy. That was when Gill had to speak louder and demonstrate to each one of us more. Well, of course, those who've been in the show before made it much easier for Gill, and good thing she's a woman with more than enough patience. She told us to not to worry about the singing at the moment, but perfect the movements first. Trevor, on the side, said that none of us would have a problem with the singing, and almost all of us pretty much know the score word by word anyway. For that, I felt very fortunate.

And when it got to the pyramid routine, it really got a bit messy. The "pyramid" was composed of bleachers which were apparently put together in a haste, and as Gill called for us to go on there, half of us were shaking and falling if not all. Well, we had a good time giggling, but that kind of got Gill irritated because we couldn't even stand still on those cheap bleachers. Finally we got the pyramid down, and following the music, did our lip syncs and continued our concentration on the routine. Oh, gosh, I was really having a good time, although after a few times of reorganizing and re-running, I was already sweating from my head to my feet. The dancing, indeed, was much more tiring than what it always looked, and I was still trying to convince myself that I was actually doing it myself, not merely watching from a distance! As I danced with the others, I could just feel my heart thumping with joy, and it wasn't hard at all for me to forget about everything while I stretched out my limbs with those great moves. I could hear the music and feel my body moving along with it, and that was all I cared!

The next routine is a rather long one, and we had to follow closely to the beats and hit our spots quick one group after another. Finally we were able to keep track of our places, and sooner than I had expected, we got down the entire "Jellicle songs for Jellicle Cats" routine. After some perfection were made, it was also almost lunch time. Wow, time sure passes by so fast when you're busy! I felt I haven't been this involved in something in years! And I just can't say enough good things about everybody's dancing! Each person has his or her unique style, and each one of them is worth praising. Jessica is soft and gentle, Darren is puerile yet steady and graceful, Caroline is perky and energetic (she really is everything Rumpelteazer), Pia is so passionate and regal, Rebecca is so elegant with very adolescent moves, Steve very virile, strong, and angular, Cecilia so spaghetti supple and slinky, Julie so sweet and mother-like, Tom funny and almost clownish, and Shonn moves sexy and electrifying. As for me? I don't know. I'm very… Melissa! Gill herself is such an incredible dancer, and she moves with great agility and liveliness despite of her age. And the way she instructs and choreographs really made me more than impressed!

Ok, we were all worn out, and it was lunch time. All of us laughed and started chatting about how exciting this is getting already, and we each complimented about each other's dancing. Jessica, Cecilia, Darren, Pia, Steve, Shonn, and I all decided to go out for tacos, and of course, good Mexican restaurants are not hard to find. I was more than happy to get out of my soaked jazz shoes and put on sandals, and Trevor announced that after lunch, we'll do some singing and staging, and we'll also be measured for costumes before the day ends. Woo, I'm excited!

Well, lunch was cool. We talked a lot about the show, a lot about the dancing, and a lot about our characters. Shonn was very active, and Steve and Pia looked closer than they were yesterday. Jessica, as usual, was rather quiet, while Cecilia found it hard to close her lips. We were much amused by her comments, as usual, and lunch went by rather fast. When we returned to the studio after lunch, we were introduced to our set and costume designer, the famous John Napier, whom many have already met, and some many times. He showed us sketches of the costumes, the basic set designs, and had brought assistants to measure us and so on. He he, already I can't wait to see my beautiful costume!

After that, Trevor gathered us together and we went over the songs. It was quite fun to sing them all together and hear each other. Everybody is a good singer, and we enjoyed every bit that we sang. After that, we went back to Gill and worked on "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" again, and were pretty much good with the part before the pyramid. All of us can basically somehow run down with the routine, and Gill just told us that we'll have a plenty of time to work on it, and that we were doing good so far on the 1st day, and we've gotten as much done as she had expected.

Well, I was pretty much danced out. Gill kept saying that my move in "were you Whittington's friend" wasn't "sexy" enough, and I ended up going over it probably 10 times until Gill was finally satisfied. Gee, everything has to be so perfect to the last bit to Gill! And then she wasn't too happy with Darren's jump in "the Pied Piper's assistant", saying that he needs to appear on stage the second I make my pose at the end of my line instead of waiting until starting his line. Well, guess the two of us became the torture victims of the day…

So, at last, 6:30 has come, and though we weren't all that excited about leaving, we were all too tired to want to do much more. Yeah, I can tell that we've all had a great day, and I invited our wonderful gang of 6 to my apartment to have a small hang-out. We went to a video store and rented Cats, which each of has seen no less than 30 times, and when we got to my apartment we ordered pizza. We chatted and socialized until almost 11, and Jessica asked if she could stay over night because her roommate was out and she was afraid to stay in her apartment alone. Of course I was more than happy to agree. Shonn was the last one to walk out, and before he left I allowed him to give me a hug good night!

And you know what's funny? Just as I was writing this entry, Jessica, very timidly and shyly, confessed that she's sort of having a thing for Darren. Aw, isn't that sweet? I just hugged her and said it's more than ok to do so, for I can't deny that I'm also sort of having something… maybe… for Shonn, and I really like Darren, too, though of course, I didn't tell her that. Oh, sweet little Jessica… she's only a year younger than me, but I truly feel that I can be her big sister. I know that since she entered Julliard, she's always been alone in NY, and she doesn't get to go home very often because her family is in Oregon. She told me that she doesn't really have many people whom she can be close to around her, and that her roommate often likes to leave her behind. Aww, I feel so bad for her. I just took out my extra blanket and told her that she can sleep on my bed, though she warned me about her tending to toss and turn. I just said that I do the same thing. Also, I'm very happy that I've already become her trusting friend!

Anyway, it's late, and we're all falling asleep. The 1st day was so much fun, and I'm hoping that everyday will be so! Tomorrow, probably much work will be coming up!

Mel