BWW Blog: Miguel Ochoa of GUYS AND DOLLS

And I'm at it again! As a full time middle school choir teacher, I find myself absolutely exhausted at the end of each school day. I drive home craving the comfort of my bed. I need a nap! And because of this exhaustion I always tell myself I will not commit to another production when I finish the one on which I'm currently working. But here I go again...off to rehearsal. I can't help it. I'm addicted. I'm addicted to community theater! The lights, the music, the choreography I stumble through at each rehearsal, it's addicting. You know exactly what I'm talking about, a feeling which can't be beat. I am currently in rehearsal for a production of Guys and Dolls at The Playhouse San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. This is the theater in which I performed in my first community theater production about 13 years ago and I'm back once again. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with director and choreographer Michelle Pietri. She is one of San Antonio's best and one of my favorite people with which to work. Her choreography is exciting, fun, and tough work. If nothing else, I'll lose a few pounds in the process!

One of my favorite things about working with Michelle in this show I discovered on our first night of rehearsal. All the guys playing crapshooters were called and as we trickled into the dance studio, we all began to realize many of us were most definitely not dancers. This is one of my favorite things about community theater. The actors are from every level of talent and we all grow together. Michelle used that first night of rehearsal to see what we were all capable of doing. "I want to see what you can do first and then I'll build the choreography around that," she said. And it's exactly what she did. Michelle isn't trying to turn all the guys in to first class dancers, but she is trying to make the production a first class show by accentuating the talents of each individual. And trust me, that night she was given more than enough to twerk with!

We have since begun learning choreography and music and blocking and all the parts which come together for a final production. The cast is slowly becoming a cohesive unit working with one another, even through the all day Saturday rehearsals with potluck lunches (my personal favorite part of the rehearsal process). Michelle is all about building relationships, making the cast family, and this is exactly what is happening. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing the good, bad, and the fierce of our production process to include some photos along the way! Stay tuned!

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