BWW Blog: Viva La Vivid!

Hey! It's been a minute since I've written, but oh so much has happened in the last few weeks. From spring break adventures to being seen at my first (two!) Equity Chorus Calls and performances in between, March Madness is certainly underway. The biggest highlight of my March 2018, however, was performing at the 2018 Vivid Celebration, which celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Theatre Conservatory at my school. The event was a whirlwind to say the least, between learning how to tech in a 4,000 seat theatre (which was almost sold out ahhh!) and performing some of the most mature choreography I've ever learned.

The Vivid Celebration is a bi-annual fundraiser performance for both the Music and Theatre Conservatories at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. It is always performed in the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, home of the Joffrey Ballet and various dance companies that come through town. We had 3 days to get the show on its feet in the space after five weeks of rehearsal in our dance studios, and it was such a short amount of time that there was no time to be nervous. We had to work intelligently and be as independent as possible even though most of us have never performed in a theatre that large. I felt like a true professional, and it was the best hands-on experience for working in a real-world union theatre. Everything about it felt so normal, from entering through the stage door and signing in with the doorman, to having a dressing room with four other girls, and working with union stagehands to get into microphones. I didn't really feel the significance of the event or fully understand the caliber of the facility I was performing in until CCPA alumna Merle Dandridge was onstage the night of the show accepting the conservatory's inaugural Distinguished Artist Award.

From listening to Merle speak about how she was once one of us and to always be ready for new opportunities, to the beautiful moments when my cast and I were performing iconic musical numbers such as "Mein Herr" from Cabaret and "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity, the night was pretty special. While I have always considered myself a strong storyteller and performer, the energy in my performance was elevated that night, and I want to perform that way all the time from now on. I have never felt more comfortable performing mature choreography like that in Cabaret and Sweet Charity, making the evening overall a beautiful culmination and celebration of growth.

Merle Dandridge told us the next day in a talk-back session to "always lead with gratitude" and after this beautiful evening, I will always lead with gratitude for opportunities to perform. That could be last time I ever perform in a space like that, and I want to remember what that was like for as long as I can. I will use the memory of it to motivate myself to strive for a career performing in more theatres that size and make the career I dream of a reality.

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