The Saturday after their music lesson together, Emma and Will arrived at the rehearsal space in downtown Lima where the rehearsals for the show would be held, the performance itself being at the Crouse Hall in almost a month's time where it would run for two weeks. Those who had made the cut for the principal roles, along with the six men and six women that made up the ensemble, all came on time much to the delight of the director, who was huddled in a corner with what looked to be the rest of the production team. Someone handed out scripts to everyone, each person's name on the front and their lines inside highlighted.
"Thanks again for the lessons," Emma said as she sat next to Will dressed in a pink T-shirt, black yoga pants and running shoes, "I found the video to be very helpful and I practiced as often as I could. I think I'm really getting better."
"Glad to hear that, Em," replied Will, picking a piece of fuzz off the New York Mets jersey he wore over gray cargo shorts with black skate shoes. "Keep it up, and by the time you rehearse that scene with the children you will be ready. By the way, did you ever stop and think that the Von Trapp family kind of reminds you of New Directions? The kids always keep telling me how you're like a mother figure to them, and Finn sort of sees me as a father."
"I was actually thinking that when I was driving home from our lesson," Emma said. "I'm more than likely Maria, you're the Captain after he's had his change of heart..."
"Rachel and Finn strike me as Liesl and Friedrich," Will added. "Quinn reminds me a bit of Louisa, Brittany has the childlike innocence of Gretl, Tina I think has the cuteness of Marta, Santana strikes me as having a bit of Brigitta's sauciness when she first meets Maria, and Kurt reminds me of..."
"Kurt!" they both replied at the same time, sending them into a fit of giggles. They often wondered how he got his name, and that was probably it. Finally, the director called everyone's attention, four men and two women lined up beside him. Another woman nearby was taking pictures.
"Good morning, and congratulations on earning a spot in the cast whether it's in a principal role or a member of the ensemble," the director said to enthusiastic applause. "We've got a lot of work to do over the next few weeks, but I promise you it's going to be worth it. Before we get started, there are a few people I would like to introduce to you – they're members of the creative team who will be working with me as well as you to make this production a successful one. The man standing next to me on my left is the assistant director, Michael Evans. Next to him is the musical director/conductor Brian Kelehan, he will also serve as pianist during rehearsals. Teresa Solomon is in charge of designing the costumes, after this rehearsal she wants you all to stay behind for a while so she can take measurements. She will be working in tandem with Kevin Pruitt, our set designer, so not only will you as cast members look great, the stage will look great too. Finally we have our stage managers Keith Allen and Desiree Heath, they will be running the show during dress rehearsals and performances when we move to Crouse Hall."
"Who's the lady taking pictures?" one of the ensemble members asked.
"That's Brianna Watson, who I hired as the production's still photographer," answered the director. "She's a professional photojournalist with the Lima News and other outlets in northwestern Ohio, she will be taking photos of the dress rehearsals as well as doing the cast head shots for the program. Now, let's get started with rehearsal."
The first thing the cast did was a full physical warm-up led by Alana Scott, the choreographer, to get themselves loose. After that, they were split into three groups: Alana taking the children and the ensemble to learn some dance steps, Paul the director taking a group including Will to do some script reading, and finally Brian took a small group including Emma to rehearse some of the songs from the first act. Once the group leaders were satisfied with their progress, the cast would reconvene and a scene would be rehearsed. All the while, Brianna was taking candid shots of the rehearsals.
"The hills are alive with the sound of music..." Emma sang as Brian played and the other people in their group watched. The iconic title song was Maria's first big number in the show and the audience's first impression of her character, so Emma did her best to put some of her own personality into the words. When she finished the song, the other group members applauded warmly.
"Emma, you have a very pure tone to your voice," said Brian as he critiqued her performance. "Remember to breathe every so often so you don't strain yourself when going for the sustained notes, other than that just give it everything you've got and go for it. That was really good for a first practice."
"Thank you," Emma replied shyly. She wondered if Will could give her any extra tips as she listened to the ladies playing the Mother Abbess and three of the nuns start practicing their first song.
After a break, the cast reconvened as promised. Emma and Will sat back down next to each other and told about how they did in their groups. Since Will had heard her sing a couple of times before after hearing what the musical director said, he agreed with the critique and added a few more things to help her improve.
"One of these days when we don't have full rehearsal," he suggested, "perhaps we could work on our own together. I bet we'd learn our lines a little faster."
"That sounds like a great idea," replied Emma. "Can we work at your place? It would be a better space to work because you've got a piano we can use to rehearse our songs." Will nodded in agreement.
"Makes me wonder if the glee kids will eventually find out," he mused. Emma nodded, and Paul the director spoke again.
"All right everyone," he said, "we are going to work on one of the major songs of the first act. Could I have Emma and the children up front, please?" A small box was placed on the floor with a guitar lying face up beside it, it could only mean one thing.
"Remember what you learned from the video," Will said as Emma got up to join the seven young actors playing the children with her script in her hand, "go get them!" She sat on the box as the kids sat on the floor facing her. The scene was as they were out and about in the city, Maria decides to teach the children how to sing. Emma quietly picked up the instrument and set it in her lap, remembering the starting chord from Will's video that she had played at least three times a day to completely get it right. A hush fell over the rest of the cast as the song started.
(Emma) Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with
A-B-C said Caitlyn, the little girl playing Gretl.
(Emma) When you sing you begin with do-re-mi
(Children) Do-re-mi
(Emma) Do-re-mi
The first three notes just happen to be
Do-re-mi
(Children) Do-re-mi
(Emma) Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti... "Let's see if I can make this easy." Now she started to play full on as the piano quietly joined her.
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do, oh oh oh...
The children shouted back the first parts of the first repeat while Emma sang them and put the instrument down a short beat later. Then they all sang it together as the kids went through the choreography that Alana had taught them earlier before going through the second repeat at full force.
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do
(Emma) Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
So-do!