The local Ice Cream Social is coming up soon, a big
fundraiser for the Art Center. As part of that event we will be singing,
hopefully to the enjoyment of those who come. The performance is what all of
the practice and preparation lead up to, and yet it is really just the tip of
the iceberg, that tiny fraction sticking out of the water that everyone can
see. It is what happens underneath the water, in the rehearsals – that is where
the real stories live. But, I sometimes wish the audience only knew a few of the insider
stories that occur during practices.
There is laughter, silly faces, and some awful notes that
occur during practice. It is where we can laugh at our mistakes and correct
them. There is joy and effort, support and trust as we know through a gesture
or look to change the range of harmony, repeat a line or switch the lead. Three dogs roam
around at the same time, sitting on feet and “singing” along with enthusiasm. Lyrics
become more familiar and details like clean word endings become the focus of
attention. Songs chosen because of lyrics actually gain small stories of their
own from how they are arranged, changed and finalized.
All of these little rabbit trails occur, and pop into my
mind as I face the audience later. They only really get to see such a tiny part
of the whole.
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