For two weeks, Alexandra, one of our amazing Overtures students, made daily note of her experiences here at Overtures. Here's her final entry!
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| Signature Associate Artistic Director Matt Gardiner with the Overtures class of 2013. |
Fourteen days ago, seventeen eager young artists stepped
into the ARK at Signature Theatre for a first taste of what would be two
exhausting and inspiring weeks. We recognized great talent in each other’s
first few notes and were stunned by the grace and ease (and the drive to for
that grace and ease) in the first dance class. We became fast friends and even
stronger supporters, pushing each other to demand and achieve more. We learned
from the best and were sponges to every suggestion, opinion, technique session,
choreography phrase, posturing realignment, words of advice and encouragement.
Our final showcase this morning in front of a nearly full
house in the MAX was the perfect Overtures capstone. Full of big, belted
ballads, fast-footed choreography, and captivating performances, our company
held nothing back. I couldn’t help but smile (and even start to tear up a
little) knowing how hard we worked and how far we each had come. That
troublesome double pirouette was not quite so scary. That lyric suddenly had so
much more meaning than ever before. Those high notes were spot on. It was our
closing number, “Song of Purple Summer” that truly gave me chills. There was a
moment as we stepped downstage together that I could distinctly hear everyone
in harmony - and I do not mean only musically. We were listening so intently to
each other, our breaths in sync, our harmonies blending beautifully. It
certainly had a least a few people in the audience reaching for their Kleenex.
It seems strange be writing this final blog entry in the
middle of the afternoon instead of at 11 PM after a long day singing and
dancing in the ARK and Zickler. It seems incomprehensible that tomorrow we will
not all return to perform one last time together in the MAX. As I pour over my
notes and listen to the recordings I took from work sessions and group music
rehearsals, I am encouraged to think that it will not be long before we all see
each other again – probably going together to support a fellow company member
in their next show!
I cannot say enough was a true privilege it has been to
learn from and work with such an amazing group of master artists, fellow
company members, our intrepid education director and interns, and everyone in
the Signature family. Their passion, determination, work ethic, love for
musical theater and for our 2013 Overtures company has made these past two
weeks an incomparable experience and one I doubt we will soon forget wherever
our careers take us next.
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