Ghosts and Girls

"Ghosts and Girls: The Legend of Morning Glory" was a great show. For those who missed it, it was a collaboration of storytelling, music and dance. It was something of a love story, but then since Brenda was telling it, it was so much more. Mark played bass and sho, Christopher gave everyone goosebumps on shakuhachi, KK danced, and Maze Daiko were on percussion. I don't even know where to begin. It was really wonderful to work with such great people. Brenda and Mark and KK are such pros at this, and it was magical to watch their process and the way the show developed and unfolded like the petals of, well, a morning glory. We had two great shows. Nothing went obviously wrong, and I thought all our performances were solid. It was a good mix of the different genres and I think people appreciated it. Everyone worked really hard week in and week out, but now that it's over it didn't seem that hard. Maybe because we worked so well together and because everyone put in so much effort to put together a really great show.

Part of the neat thing about this experience was that this was my first time I've performed in a theater that was set up just for us. I mean, yes, I've performed in theaters before, but usually it's a mad dash to move the taiko onstage, perform, and then just as madly, pack them up and get out. But this time we had the luxury of having a dressing room, and our own lighting person and stage manager and all those wonderful staff people who make sure everything goes smoothly.

And because I'm such an amateur, I got the greatest kick out of the dressing room. This is a huge step up from having to change behind someone's minivan. There were couches and a fridge and food everywhere and TWO bathrooms and mirrors and cabinet, and best of all: a jiffy steamer! I'd never used a jiffy steamer before, but if you ever come across one you have to give it a try! They're magic! I ended up steaming everyone's costumes. Of course I'm someone whose idea of relaxation is ironing all my clothes for the upcoming week.I didn't have a lot of time to take pictures. Plus there was a photographer there who was taking pictures of everything. I was trying to practice my kanki solo but it was hard because he was standing there for like 5 minutes snapping away. Here are a few shots I managed to get:

Crissy and KK rehearsing their dance

Preset for the show

Bachi station

View from stage right

Group photo

Here are a few lessons I learned:

1) There's a lot of hurry up and wait. I don't mind, since that's when all the interesting tech stuff happens. It's also the time you use to squeeze in all the other things you meant to do. Crissy and I cranked the shime again. She's really good at explaining and teaching things, and she was showing me great technique, like how to not hurt your back and when to pull. She and I snuck out during one of those waiting times to crank, and half way through Janet and Elaine came out, thinking they were sneaking out to crank shime. Ha ha, we beat them to it.

2) Never ask a child how old they think you are. It's not good for your ego. They will say things like, "forty-five!" (I am not anywhere near that, just FYI).

3) Learn to improvise and be cool. There was a moment where I had to run onstage and frantically push my drum around to simulate a particularly intense part of the story, but Brenda wasn't quite there yet, so I was kind of swirling around in circles all by myself, kind of stalling until she figured out what the heck I was doing up there. Janet said she felt horrible for me, but the director said it worked. I was on-cue, just for the record.

4) Your first lessons are your most important. Waaaaaaaaay back, when I was still playing with E-ville and Janet was guest-teaching us, she gave this little speech about composing solos. The gist of it was write it, set it, and then no matter what you think of your solo, PROJECT it. I've had my Kanki solo set for a couple years now, but I think for these shows, I've really embraced the projecting part. The first night it was really good, but the second show was my best Kanki solo ever, I think.

I feel very lucky to have been a part of this. I feel lucky to be able to work with all the great members of Maze every week. I feel lucky to have the privilege of making music and all that learning. I look forward to more of it. But today I need a nap. And maybe a giant bowl of noodles. And maybe the dumb Sunday afternoon movie on TV.

We do it all again on May 31st at RCW. Hope to see you there!