aMAIDSing

For those of you that didn't know, there was a cabaret show this past Sunday in the HUB called MasquerAIDS!

What a beautiful poster!

If you're not familiar with the term cabaret, it's pretty much just a concert of songs and dances on a stage without a set plot. I was lucky enough to be in the orchestra for this particular event.

In explanation, MasquerAIDS is an annual concert put on by the Penn State Thespians where all donations benefit the Centre County AIDS Resource. As one of the oldest clubs on campus, this is Thespian's 120th anniversary, and to honor that achievement,  the MasquerAIDS songs and dances were taken from the club's prolific past productions and possible future productions, which led to an awesome setlist and an wide variety of genres for the songs. It was interesting time to play in the orchestra considering Broadway songs are always in keys with tons of sharps and flats (not fun for musicians) and given the range of the music itself. I mean, the songs went from A Chorus Line's "What I Did For Love", to "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago, to "Heaven On Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar! (Just listen to this song, it's one of my favorite Broadway songs ever!)

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this production, and part of MAIDS's charm is that fact that nothing falls into place until show day. Parts of songs were cut, measures were missing, orchestra and vocalists were choosing two different tempos, and in at least one case, an entire song was rewritten and distributed on the day of the show! Although this may sound like I'm complaining, I definitely am not, and I wouldn't change any part of this process for the world. I truly believe that learning to roll with the punches and last minute changes makes you a better musician, performer, and person in general.

Anyway, show day began with a noon call time at the HUB for the orchestra (the vocalists and dancers were there even earlier to warm up!) and a hunt for a stool, 9 music stands, and a melodica.

Otherwise known as a mouth-piano (not really, but it is a real instrument!)

The plan for rehearsal was to get 2 runthroughs of the show down before our break for supper at 4... which did not happen. We got to run every song down at least once, but between some technical difficulties and getting songs to gel, we weren't able to run the entire show straight through. But it was okay! Things were falling into place and we were ready.

The cabaret kicked off at 7:30 pm on Sunday, and we had a really good turn out considering it's a niche audience and a strange night for a concert! The show ran smoothly, and I'm pretty sure our executive director Jerrod might have cried a few times just from sheer pride and emotion.

 All in all this was an incredible night. Even though you may have missed it, mark your calendars for next year's rendition! The Centre County AIDS Resource is also always accepting donations, and their website can be found here.

In the end, I'd give this experience 7 sharps out of 7

Pictures courtesy of:
Penn State Thespians
Thomann