Wallitner Weekly 30

Hello everyone!

A lot of productive things happened this past MONTH

So sorry for the delay. This past month has been incredibly busy. I was going to write this and send it out on Monday, but right as I was about to finish it, my power went out and I lost all of my progress. But we are back!

Lets see… since the last time we spoke, halloween happened. That was loads of fun. We had a little get together with some friends and played board games. Then my birthday happened on the 4th. That was great too. But that day was super busy because I got a job at a theater!

I was added to the call list of audio techs/stagehands at the local theater and from the 1st to the 13th I was working on the broadway tour of hairspray. I worked from 8 am to 11pm everyday except the last day I worked from 8 am until 530 am because after the show we had to load out all of the set pieces and things so they could do the show again in San Diego!

I have never worked backstage at a professional theater before, and these people were PROS. One of the cast members is Toneisha Harris who was the runner up on the voice last year. It was amazing to be in the same room as these people, let alone be the person who tested their mics and handed them their props. Everyone was so nice and so GOOD.

But of course working six consecutive fifteen hour shifts for two weeks in a row, I failed to write the Wallitner Weekly’s.

My birthday was the 4th, so we had been working for a few days by then, and one of the cast members birthday was the 5th. So they all sang us happy birthday. Broadway tour singers sing happy birthday really well.

While I was working at the theater I was thinking a lot about this song of hope that I am writing. The deadline is getting ever closer. It took quite a bit of time, but I think I know what I want the next section to be. So far the choir has been singing mostly together, so I wanted to change the texture up a little with a solo. I think for the words I am going to write a poem about the stars.

See, stars shine in the darkness, but they are really small from our perspective because they’re so far away. It might be a little on the nose for me to say that the stars are… socially distanced…

My idea is that although the night is dark, and the stars are far apart, they still shine bright enough to light up the sky. So just like as individuals we feel small, and far apart, together we can shine through the darkness.

Thats the idea anyway…

I’ve got lots of plans for next week too!

Since I am not working at the theater again until the 28th, I will be doing my best to finish this song of hope in the next week or so. The sooner I have it done, the sooner I can send it to the director, and the sooner her can tell me if he hates it or not.

But I also bought an Xbox Series S and the new Halo and Battlefield games came out this week, so… Resting and Relaxing is its own form of productivity.

Some people don’t like to see behind the curtain.

I am so happy to be working at this theater. To be around like minded people again. To be learning so much about the world of theater. To see how the magic happens.

Some people don’t like to see behind the curtain though. I run into that a lot when I tell people that I write music. They couldn’t stand the idea of knowing how music works, because then they couldn’t listen to it without analyzing every little detail about it. Which… yeah… I do that sometimes.

There is a quote on the wall where all of the audio gear is that says something along the lines of “Some people say it is disillusioning to know what goes on behind the curtain. I think the real magic is being trusted with the truth.” That resonated with me unlike any quote I had ever read. It could very well have been the sleep deprivation that made me so easily moved by two sentences, but nevertheless its a good quote.

I love knowing how stuff works. It’s like knowing Santa, but not just at Christmas time.

There was another quote next to that one that said, “Anyone can push boxes. What we are paying for is trust and experience.” I thought about that one a lot as I glued “Ultra Clutch Hairspray” Labels to cans of… magic. I also thought both of those quotes as I put dots on lines and called it music this past week.

Its really hard for me to not minimize what I do. It comes and goes in phases. I put dots on lines for money, but I also make music. I put a limited amount of syllables in a line, but I also write poems. When I feel good about something I write it feels amazing, and when I hate what I write it feels awful. And sometimes, like with this song of hope, I learn to hate something I once really liked. But imposter syndrome aside, I love being able to make something magical. Even if that means I know how the magic happens.

Its been a long time since I’ve done this, so I have another story for you…

Last night when I went to bed. (Several hours after my fiancee) I pulled back the covers and heard the squeaking of a little mouse toy on a sick. See, cats are cruel. They spend all day sleeping and being independent, but the moment YOU want to sleep, they want attention. To remedy this, my fiancee sleeps next to a squeaky little mouse toy on a stick. When the cat wants attention, she rolls over and it squeaks and then the cat plays with it and she can go back to sleep. This works purrrfectly until I finally come to bed. Because there is only room for me OR the squeaky toy. And I will not be giving up my bed to a mouse. So I toss the toy onto the floor. But now… The cat has found it and she brings it back up to the bed so that I will play with her.

Annoying as it was, it did give me an idea for a poem about a sleeping person, a playful cat, and a squeaky little mouse toy.

I don’t have a life lesson for this long Wallitner Weekly, or maybe there is a lesson behind the curtain. The world may never know.