When our usual rehearsal space in the Chorley Theatre Studio is unavailable, we are extremely grateful to be welcomed in by St. Laurence's Church, as we were tonight.
The bananas and mangoes returned to our warm-up, this time with a twist. Sitting next to someone banana-ing while you're mango-ing requires intense concentration faces. Luckily, we had a photographer visiting to capture it all. I have been informed by our dear MD that she was very impressed by how we managed to pull it off. Thanks, Katy!
It's easy to feel uplifted when singing music from Elf: The Musical (“There Is A Santa Claus”) and belting out Kelly Clarkson's “Underneath the Tree”, regardless of your personal feelings about singing festive songs in mid-October (which is a performing arts burden we all must bear). Even when things need to get technical, I will confess that sometimes I end up with an aching face from laughing so much. That's just how these sessions go. Especially when part of the chorus realises that in previous performances of a song we all thought we knew well, certain notes were accidentally made up rather than accurate to the sheet music... “Ding Dong Merrily on High” is apt in that you'll be leaving on a high mood-wise.
On the non-festive front, we tackled "Without Love" - a Hairspray hit that has all the hallmarks of becoming the next chorus earworm - and Elton John's Top 10 track "I'm Still Standing" had us bouncing on our toes, and humming as we left. It's getting chilly out; this writer is very glad of the warmth I always feel on my way home from rehearsal.
(My fellow chorus members might be rolling their eyes at the sappiness here, but it's still going to be true!)
Written by Aeryn Isherwood