Aladdin

I performed in my first musical (Aladdin Jr.)!!! I was blessed with a main character role! Omar; one of Aladdin's "devoted and penniless pals".

It was a spectacular experience. I want to share some things I learned:

1. Good practices yield good performances
2. Add your own spin to life
3. Wearing makeup is okay...ish. Except wearing mascara. Which is unbearable. hehe
4. Take your worries to God
5. Be okay with making mistakes. Don't be okay with no effort.
6. Don't overthink it
7. Ensemble matters more than ego
8. Commit fully or don't commit at all
9. Be ready to "go with the flow" and "improvise"
10. If you're worried you don't know what you're doing, help that motivate you to improve
11. Don't get too stressed about unknowns
12. Be the guy who is confident and caring
13. Only worry about what's inside your control
14. Get a pep talk from your mom
15. Don't be heedless; don't be humorless. Find the middle of the two.

A little journal entry:

I was so stressed after the first dress rehearsal; it felt like nothing was going right, I was messing up lines and dancing, and I basically forgot the songs. But instead of hindering me, I think that startling feeling propelled me to practice really hard the last few days before the show. And the show was fantastic!!! It was so great. We were all mouthing “A Whole New World”, and “These Palace Walls” to each other backstage.

My time onstage felt confident, fun, and funny. There was an unmatched energy in the rehearsals leading up to the show that you can only feel after so much has gone into something, and the climax is almost there!

The Aladdin performance and the days leading up to it were a crazy rush, but a fun rush. I learned about quick-changes, dress rehearsals, makeup 😒, and everything that goes with performing on-stage! I also had so much fun…maybe too much fun…with the cast!

I think musical theater just might be something I continue.