Week 5... Space Cadet!

So... If you haven't heard the term 'Space Cadet' before, let me clarify... I first heard it used (in this sense) by one of my very best friends from WAAPA, and it refers to a person who is more than a little bit vague in the head. In Week 5 of rehearsals, this was me. I can hear my friend's voice clearly in my head saying, “Oh, he's such a bloody space cadet!” And yes, I am. Call me Space Cadet Toby. Basically, I think that all the physical and mental exertion of the past several weeks had finally caught up with me and I was simply exhausted... and a little bit stupid. ALL the time.

This made things difficult in a few ways. One, it was nearly impossible to dance all day because it took 90% of my energy just to stay standing with my eyes open. Two, I found it a lot harder to pick up choreography because my brain was like big mushy stew of kick-ball-changes, pops and head snaps. And three, when I get tired I get really giggly. And giggling is highly counter-productive and annoying to all involved (except the giggler themself).

Anyhow, we were working on a really cool show in Week 5. Probably one of my favourites actually. It pays tribute (in Cruise Revue style) to a few different musical greats, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rat Pack and some good old disco Divas. Again, sounds nice and simple, but the amount of intricate choreography in this show is insane. There are a couple of occasions when we have to fit 4 counts of chorey into a one syllable word... So, for example, try and fit a clap, a point, a head flick and another clap all into the word “you.” Good luck lol... And what a coincidence that the week with the world's most fiddly, bitsy chorey is also the week that none of us have a properly functioning brain! Perfect.

So there was sooooo much to learn, plus these days we also have to squeeze in a couple of runs of our other shows during the week (so we don't forget how they go). The workload is getting pretty crazy. There are definitely moments where it feels like not a single extra step or lyric will fit into your brain. And that if you do learn anything new it will just push some older info out. Surely there must be a limit to how much one person can learn in a few weeks? It doesn't help that steps all start looking the same after you've learnt 60 or so dances... or they actually ARE the same and start on a different leg, or turn a different direction. It's a total mind-fuck.

One particular afternoon, I was so mentally exhausted that I could barely focus my eyes on the choreographer. It was almost impossible to retain anything she taught me, and I knew that she could see I was about to pass out. The overwhelming feeling of being swamped by information became so strong that, suddenly, most of us were on the verge of tears, for no particular reason. And of course then I felt stupid, because I'm meant to be a professional, and this is my job, so I should just suck it up and get on with the work. But when it comes down to it, I guess I'm only human and I'm allowed to have a bad day. Right? Haha I hope so...

Listen to me, whinge, whinge, blah, blah lol... Really it wasn't all that bad. I'm still having the best time ever! =)

And on the upside, my stamina must be improving, because we barely leave the stage in this show, and I didn't DIE after we did a show-run at the end of the week! Yay! My fellow singer/dancer and I have some very testing moments, going from hectic dance after hectic dance into our own songs, but it all seemed to go ok I think! Though, in all honesty, I did nearly faint at the end of the run... But like I said, I didn't die! I think I'm gonna be a machine by the end of this contract. An all singing, all dancing MACHINE! (The campest kind of machine there is lol)...

On another note, I bought a bow tie. And it is so cool =)