A Night at the Movies was the culmination of my first season with the Pinkies, and so I was continually reminded I was “popping my Pinkie cherry”. Prior to joining the choir, I had never been to a Pinkies concert. Although I had performed in choirs for many years in Sydney, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I be nervous? Would it be a professional appearance? Would the concert ‘come together’ on the night?
Any uncertainty I had was soon eased upon arriving at the venue. As I walked from the Underground station to the venue, there was the most glorious parade of Pinkies carrying the most sensational array of hat boxes, suit bags, suitcases full of makeup, the obligatory feather boas and of course the absolutely necessary glitter that is required for such a concert.
There had been many months of rehearsals leading into the big day. There had been a lot of blood sweat and tears – and literally tears from all of us on different occasions trying as we tried to memorise repertoire and choralography (aka choreography for choirs).
The afternoon of the show was spent in a full technical rehearsal. It went something like this… Start a song. Stop midway. Move to the right. Readjust lighting levels. Have a sip of water. Start the song again. Stop again. We’d moved too far to the right. Shuffle the left. No the other left. No no. Keep going. Have a sip of water. Have a chat amongst ourselves. Fix the balance between the band and the choir. Have another chat. Okay start again. Repeat. Next song. Repeat the process. Have another sip of water.
I was soon starting to realise any apprehension I had about the concert had been far too premature. What was quickly unfurling was an A-Grade professional performance of the highest calibre – choir, bigband, piano, solos, movement, lighting, videos, audience interaction, emotion. There was an apparent degree of pre-performance preparation and thought put in by a very talented team of Pinkies. We were scheduled to deliver a fun-filled and spectacular evening. Continue reading “Stepping into the limelight for the first time!”
