A Misrepresented Talent Dearth - Part 2

          So, with Ms. B being new and kids dropping out of choir left and right, I took it as my time to shine. I was still in my quartet, and I was a senior, so in what remained of our choral world, I was pretty popular. I took an immediate liking to Ms. B, even if I didn’t show it, and I was excited to actually learn music and some practical theory from her. Not to mention we were going to be doing a musical in the high school gym instead of the long performed Collage at the local community college.

          It was a completely new beginning for me musically and for our school’s music program. I enjoyed having Ms. B as a teacher greatly and I think that at times, she may have actually enjoyed having me as a student. The choral department suffered because of idiot high school kids not wanting to accept a change, but I think Ms. B was one of my favorite teachers throughout my school career. She decided that for our musical we would do Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of the Penzance.” I auditioned and won the part of the Major General. If you are not familiar with this musical or character, educate yourself. It’s fantastic. As the performance approached I slowly started to choke. I couldn’t remember lines. A whole verse to my second act song was erased form my memory. Ms. B and I had a bit of a confrontation, so she cut the second half to the song. During the performance the first night, I choked hard and forgot when to say my lines. The second night was better. My family was there for which night? You guessed it: the first.

          After this I knew that musical theater wasn’t in my future. Sure, I like to think I can act a bit, but memorizing a bunch of dialogue and trying to make it convincing is zero fun. I also decided that I wasn’t meant to be a classical singer. Sure, I could sing Ave Maria with the best tenors of my age in Western Kentucky, and I proved it, but I knew that wasn’t my path. Barbershop quartet? Not likely. It’s a lot of work and I can’t control anyone’s performance but mine. If I choke, I hate me, if someone else chokes, I hate them. Boyband? No way. Yes, they were all the rage in 2000, but I certainly didn’t have the looks or the attitude to pursue that route. For that period of my life after high school, I gave up on really doing much of anything with music again.