Road to Opening Week 4: Matt Armet on 11 Weeks to A CHORUS LINE at Stratford

11 Weeks until Opening Night

"But if today were the day you had to stop dancing, how would you feel?" It's the heavy question asked by the director, Zach, close to the end of the show. We've touched on everything else in the show so far and today was the day we finally got to tackle this scene. It's a day of rehearsal that I've been looking forward to in some ways and so not looking forward to in others.

The scene leading into "What I Did For Love" is one of the topics that hits closest to home for all of us (in a show where 99% percent of the show hits close to home.) We started rehearsal today sitting in a circle, discussing this scene and how we, ourselves, feel about this subject. Injuring ourselves, growing too old to dance anymore or choosing to leave the business are things that every dancer thinks about. It's a topic we rarely ever want to discuss with our closest friends, let alone in public. Dancing defines us. Since we were kids, our entire lives have been devoted to what we do: dance.

Every day we wonder how long our bodies will cooperate to keep us doing what we love. We are constantly aware of the time limit on our careers. As a group, we found that it's not about having one show be better or a step up from the next, it's about being in love with the journey. Dance is not about the final product. When we look back on being a part of this production of A Chorus Line, we won't remember the night we had a "perfect show," we'll remember the love, the tears and the laughter on the way to the 95 performances we will have done this season. I thank my lucky stars every day that I get to be a part of this production.

Now, on to the super fun part of this week. Last Monday, Donna asked us all to come to our onstage rehearsal wearing our best 1970s outfits. We all raided our closets and thrift shops in town, and came up with what you see in this week's photo.

"Quote of the Week"

This week the quote goes, once again, to our wonderful director/choreographer Donna Feore: "If you stay too long at the fair, you're going to have sex with a carnie." No context is really going to help with that one. Just enjoy it for what it is. LOL!

As a bonus this week, I want to share an amazing dance video that was created and filmed at the end of last season by two incredible friends of mine and members of our cast, Matt Alfano (Mike) and Jason Sermonia (Tom). I highly recommend that you treat yourself and click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH9TGSa0dqI&feature=youtu.be