The hills fill my heart! My Sound of Music journey... so far.

Welcome back! Ahh! I can't believe its already September 1st- where did the summer go? That means senior year starts in 6 days- it also means 6 more days until my next Sound Of Music rehearsal! (It's a holiday long weekend in Canada).

I case you missed it in my last post, I'm starring as Maria in The Sound Of Music this fall/winter, and I wanted to talk a little bit about why this show is so important to me, and my journey with it so far, but to do that we're going to have to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start!).

I don't have a lot of memories from when I was super young, but one that distinctly stands out in my mind was the first time I was introduced to The Sound Of Music. I don't know how old I was, but I remember walking into my parents bedroom, where the iconic Julie Andrews movie happened to be playing on TV. It was the "So long, Farewell" scene and I remember just plunking myself down on the rug and staring up at the TV in awe. After watching the rest of the movie, I bombarded my parents, who aren't that into theatre, with questions about what I just watched. When they told me it was a stage production too, I knew immediately that I wanted to be apart of a performance of it one day. I was obsessed!

That Christmas my parents bought me the DVD and I watched that movie over, and over, and over again. Julie Andrews became my hero, and I idolized Charmain Carr, who played Liesl, and prayed that I would be just like her doing that dance with my own Rolf when I was sixteen going on seventeen (spoiler: be careful what you wish for, you may just have your heart broken!), and she became my very first dream role.

The songs in the show are childhood staples for me. I know every word by heart, and most of the movie script. I'm in love with the set, costumes, and characters. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SHOW IS MY AESTHETIC! If I'm being completely honest, I think that the reason why the show continues to be so successful decades after it came out, is because it relies on heartwarming nostalgia. Which definitely works for me!

I'm fortunate enough to live in Toronto which, although it isn't New York, is a pretty big theatre district, meaning lots of popular shows tour through the city. I was maybe 8 years old when CTV had this super cool show called How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Which worked basically like American Idol, but the winner got to play Maria in the international Sound Of Music tour. Naturally, I became obsessed with the show, and had my favourite contestants. It became a biweekly ritual to stay up past my bedtime to watch the show with my dad. When the winner came along, I entered a contest to win tickets to see the show. My parents, knowing the odds, were kind enough to bring the entire family to see the show- that starred the winning girl as Maria- and I was mesmerized. It was one of my first ever real shows I had ever seen and I wanted to watch it over and over again as I had with the movie. My wish came true to watch it again when I got a phone call saying I won the tickets! I was so grateful that I had the chance to see it again- this time with the runner-up Maria understudying! I knew then, sitting in one of those booster seats at t the Mirvish theatre, that I needed to be up on that stage!

As I continued to grow up, The Sound Of Music seemed to grow along with me. I began to understand the greater themes of WWII- that's the thing about the show, when you're young you can appreciate it for the children and fun music, and when you're older, you begin to really understand the story. I began to appreciate the novelty, and the innocence of the plot. Along with the hope it brought to audiences everywhere with its true storyline.

I continued to fantasize about the day I would play Liesl, and how I would be just like her when I turned sixteen. Come the time I turned sixteen last fall, I laughed at the thought of younger me imagining myself as Liesl. I was grateful I wasn't going to have to escape my country with my family! But fast forward six months and I found myself heartbroken by a tall, blonde, seventeen-going-on-eighteen boy, and with three tickets to see The Sound Of Music which had come back touring through Toronto. Again, I was once again, mesmerized in my seat- I felt like I was a little girl again! I had forgotten the love I had for the show. I cried during Climb Ev'ry Mountain, and my heart ached for Liesl when her's was broken by Rolf. I left the show with the same urge I had when I was younger, to get up on stage and play Liesl- especially now that I felt I could relate to her!

After the show, we stopped off at a restaurant to eat dinner. As I was waiting for my food, I was looking through my programme when my sister noticed an advertisement on the back for a professional youth theatre production of The Sound Of Music. She jokingly told me that I should audition for it as a nun- I loved to perform but I had never gotten a large role before. I didn't really think anything of it at first, but the next few days I couldn't get the thought of having my chance to play Liesl (while I was the perfect age) out of my head. So, just out of curiosity, I looked at the company online. They were huge. With three different locations, and over 200 performers, I knew that I would most likely end up with a small ensemble role. But when would I ever get the chance to perform in my favourite show again? Even if I was just a non-speaking ballroom dancer or nun, I would still enjoy my time just being apart of everything. I also noticed that rehearsals were going to start right around where the school year starts for me. That's when I realized this would be a perfect opportunity to make friends with people who are into theatre like me, and would help me get through the rough first friendless months of school (see my last post).

Then I noticed I had two problems. The first was the program had bloody expensive tuition due to the amount of professional coaches you work with, and there was no way my parents would want to pay that. The second was I had just missed the audition date- by two days! I knew it was too good to be true, and decided to just try and push the idea of me finally performing in a professional theatre away.

But I couldn't.

I was taking a first aid course for work, and I couldn't concentrate with all of the "what ifs" popping into my mind. What if my parents said yes? What if I could still audition before they do call backs? What if I actually got in? What if, what if what if! I'm a dreamer, and my head is always filled with so many possibilities. But this thought was like an annoying fly that wouldn't leave no matter how many times I tried to swat it away. I decided I was done with "what ifs"(well- not done with them, because I am still a dreamer) and I'd just try and email the studio manager. But first I called my dad and told him about the program, and why I thought it would be good for me in the friend department. He knows how much I love The Sound Of Music and I am so grateful he has always been so supportive with everything I have done. He told me it was worth a shot to email the studio manager, but I shouldn't get my hopes up.

So I sent an email, explaining how I didn't find out about the auditions until they had past, and the manager emailed me back within minutes saying I could book a private audition (I love working with her, she's always so kind, organized, and is always punctual with emails). So I booked it! I was so excited and learned the material right away!

I decided that I was going to audition for Liesl (because duh, dream role) and Elsa because, if I'm

being completely honest, I think she has amazing costumes and would be a fun role to play. I never considered auditioning for a lead role because of my lack of success in the past. I knew I would be lucky if I got into the program to play a nun!

For the primary audition, all I had to do was sing an excerpt from My Favourite Things. Now let me tell you, I have never really explored my singing voice before. I know I'm not the best singer and after my Defying Gravity incident at school two years ago (that embarrassing story is for another time!) I hadn't sung in public- or really at all. Now this is going to make me sound insane, but I live in a pretty rural area, so to practice my singing, I pulled an actual Maria and went to these open hills and into a private forest to sing- as loud as I could, where no one could hear me.

Now, I've never had any vocal training really ever, at all. So I didn't really understand how to tune into my head voice and decided to just belt the whole song lower than it was. Don't do that- that's a bad mistake!

In Ontario, there's a graduated driver's licensing system, so even though I'm sixteen, I still can't drive by myself, so I got my mom to drive me down there. It was far, and the entire way she kept reminding me that even if I got in, I'd have to figure out away to get down into the heart of the city for rehearsals. I got to my audition super early. It was at this office in Toronto, so I just sat in the parking lot sort of freaking out for a few minutes, before I went into the audition room and met the executive directors. They were both super nice! As I sang, my legs were literally shaking I was so nervous- I didn't want to screw this up. After I was done, the main director smiled at me and asked me to try and tune into my head voice to sing it. All I could think was "Shit, I messed up!", but I did. They both thanked me and asked me if I had any questions. I sat with them, and turned what was meant to be a five minute primary audition into a 20 minute conversation about theatre.

The next day I got a phone call from the studio manager, telling me that they were going to offer me a callback for Liesl, and to my surprise, Maria! I was so excited, and with two days, I practiced all the audition material. I was shocked that they gave me a callback at all, never the less for my dream role and the lead! I suddenly began to question my ability, because the directors obviously saw something in me that I never had before.

Now, this is where it gets all sappy and I tell you to believe in yourself- but its true! While practicing for my callback, I began to push my vocals a lot. Maria's part in My Favourite Things (in the actual musical, not the movie) is a lot higher and harder than I expected it to be. All of this time I had convinced myself I was a completely incapable singer, just because of some rude cast members and petty directors while I was in a high school play (another story for another time). But once I started actually believing in myself, with albiet super shaky and careful vocals. I realized I could actually somewhat push my mezzo into a soprano range.

That's when I started questioning what role I wanted. From the beginning, I had always wanted to play Liesl, but now that I saw what I was capable of. I began to sort of want the more challenging role. I had never played a lead, never mind anything really important to the plot. I was always an ensemble member with one or two lines. Don't get me wrong- the ensemble is still important but it was time for me to have a chance to step away from it. Again, I knew that I would be lucky if I even made the cast as an ensemble member, so I decided to try and stick to the dream role that I've had since the beginning, and go for Liesl.

Now, I love the song Sixteen Going On Seventeen with all my heart- its a childhood staple for me. It

has the cutest dance, and was my favourite part of the show for me when I was younger. However, its a really simple (but adorable) song to sing, and suddenly I had this urge to keep trying to push my vocal range a bit, and if I was going to do it with any role, it was going to be Maria. The strongest female singers in the show have to be Mother Abbess and Elsa, and Maria has a mostly comfortable vocal range for me, with a few high parts in songs as the exception that I could use to expand my vocal range.

So the day of my callback came, and I was ready with My Favourite Things, Sixteen Going On Seventeen, and a scene. All day I had been working directing The Wizard Of Oz at a summer camp (spoiler: it was a disaster, but again, a story for another time) with a group of young children and I had almost lost my voice. Working there all summer ruined my voice most days, but was just enough to pay for the theatre program!

When I went into the callback I was super nervous and they asked me to start with Maria, and an audible "Oh no!" came from me. I thought I said it in my head, but I didn't! They asked me why I said that, and I told them it was just because I was loosing my voice and it was more challenging than Liesl.

For the most part, the singing and the read through for Maria went fine. Then came Sixteen Going On Seventeen. The song I had deemed to be too easy for me went HORRIBLE! I started singing and then halfway through the song, I lost my voice! I couldn't believe it. I felt so awful, and I guess the directors noticed, because as I left the room they called out to me: "We're really considering you for Maria. Best of luck!". Which really helped because I thought me loosing my voice during Liesl's song really killed my chances at all.

The next day after work I saw I had a missed call and a voicemail from the studio manager. I was so nervous I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room. I opened the voicemail, and it was the studio manager asking me to call her back because they had a role to offer me!

I dialed the number and it took me five minutes before I actually had the courage to hit the call button. Those what ifs suddenly began to flood my mind again! She answered the phone and told me that she was excited to offer me the role of Maria! She gave me all the details and emailed me the script and score to have memorized before rehearsals. I held in most of my excitement until she hung up, and then I began to freak out.

Like I said, I had never gotten a big role before, so for me to land a lead after years of trying made me super excited. This show is already so big for me, and the process has already helped me so much.

The Sound Of Music is always going to be near and dear to my heart, and now that I have my chance to tell this family's story, I'm going to embrace it just as Maria would- with all my heart! One of my biggest dreams that I've had since I was little has already begun to come true, and I can't wait for what this show has to offer!

Rosalie <3

(Ps. Tune in for my Sound Of Music update to hear about my first rehearsals and cast- including about the hot Captain Von Trapp!)