Now In Rehearsal

After the 3 day weekend it was back to the daily routine around here today. For Paula that meant going back to work for a short but busy week. What makes it worse is it's the week the close out the last month's books. I didn't expect her home before 8 PM tonight. I was surprised when she got home a little earlier than that.

My day was spent working on things around the house, doing some grocery shopping, laundry, making dinner, and preparing to teach vacation bible school at our church next week.

I spent a part of my weekend finishing the script for my June 9 performance at the local library. The punchlines have been placed and the gags chosen so now it's time to start rehearsing.

I gathered my props, set up the practice area, and prepared my puppet. Then I spent an hour slowly going over the script for the first time. I plan on rehearsing the act 2 times a day for the next 2 weeks. That will give me time to memorize and revise until I'm well prepared. This is really the earliest I've ever started practicing for a performance. I know that's nothing to brag about. If I want to get better I have to do a lot more practicing.

The reason this rehearsal period is special is because it's the first time I am able to rehearse in my designated practice area. It took me a couple of months to clean up the room that we use mostly for storage and where we keep the dog's crates. I moved and rearranged things so that area in front of the wall mirror would be open enabling me to use it for practice.

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal when you read it. But it's a big step forward for me. Having a special area will help me get in the habit of practicing and I will gain confidence in my performance as a ventriloquist. Now I have that area and I'm using it.

My first rehearsal wasn't that great and the routine is going to need some fine tuning but I've taken that first step on the road toward being a better performer. According to all successful ventriloquists the key to a good performance is practice, practice, practice.

That's what I'll be doing from now until June 9.