Four days in

What a completely unsettling feeling.

I just came back from watching the new Hunger Games movie with three of my castmates (#4 left to visit family upcountry), and I was just struck with the oddest sensation when the movie finished. I had a sudden flash of realization that I had just watched an American movie while sitting between a girl from Texas and a boy from Northern England, in a theater in Great Britain. And that I would be leaving the cinema and taking a cab home--which I will pay for in money that is symbolized by this wacky-looking symbol: £ --and going to sleep in a beautiful flat that will only be my home for the next 46 days. It was a weird duality of having a certain level of familiarity (American friends, American movie) suddenly have the rug pulled out from under it by my simple existence in England.
This is not by any means to say that I am unhappy here--on the contrary, I'm really amused by the whole adjustment process so far--but I guess I was just thrown for a loop by the sudden realization that I am not in my native country, and the reason for my not being there is totally bizarre and slightly unreal.

Anyway, enough of that.

We've just wrapped up our first week of rehearsals, and I'm feeling very confident about this cast. We are all hard workers, talented, and professional, and we know when to focus and when to laugh. And laugh we did...
We had our first "self-learn" day, which is a BRILLIANT thing put in place by the BK formula. Once a week, each cast gets a day at the studio to just solidify everything we've learned that week, go over old material, hash out harmonies, plunk out parts, and really dig deep into our shows to nail everything down. It has really been an onslaught of information since we began, having learned the vocals of almost two shows in only three days. When we get back on Monday, we'll have two more vocal days to finish learning the second show and dive into the third, before we start putting the first show on its feet. Which is to say, by end of business on Wednesday, we'll have learned the music for three shows and have learned the choreography for one. Which is fabulous, considering we have five full production shows and two smaller shows to learn entirely before we get on the ship on January 10th, with only 39 days of rehearsal (well, 35, now). Quite a tall order, but from what I've experienced so far, I know the cast can handle it, and I have full confidence in the skills of our musical directors and choreographers. I really get a sense of family and cohesiveness at BK, and not only toward ourselves, but within the staff itself. It's so refreshing to be somewhere where everyone seems to be on the same page, and care about the well-being of everyone involved. I've been so pleased with the process thus far. And I know it will get more and more intense, and that I'll probably be ripping my hair out in a week, but I think it will be from sensory overload, and not from internal politics and attitude problems.

...WHICH IS SAYING A LOT, considering this industry!! Amiright??

So, tomorrow is our first day off, and I plan to be completely lazy and indulgent and only vaguely consider changing out of my pajamas. It's going to be fantastic.