IT'S HAPPENING

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
2011
Village Theatre
Playing Pontius Pilate
I'm on stage and think
It's happening
That thing all performers fear
Going up on your lines
Not knowing what comes next
Sometimes, on stage, you can take a pause
Other times the music goes on and there is no respite
No moment to collect your thoughts
Bumped up against it once or twice before
But this time
It was HAPPENING!
Lyrics lost
Setup
Pontius Pilate is conflicted to pass judgment
The music is fast
and Pilate is by himself
Not physically
The entire stage is filled...watching
They can't help
They are all there
But they can't...help
and
IT'S HAPPENING!!!!
I don't know what to say
The music is plays
The moment comes
I DO know my subtext
The WHY
So, I think
I'm Pontius Pilate
In charge of this place I don't want to be
They want to kill this
Religious hippy
Petulant wacko
But do I need to kill him?
That's just too much
Don't want to do it
So I open my mouth
"This man is Jesus!
  He is your leader!
  You mumble mumble mumble want me to KILL him?"
I turn up stage and mumble some more then turn back around and shout
"I REFUSE THIS!!!!!!!!"
and with that THE HAPPENING had Happened
We get back on track
The stage is filled with actors
Biting their cheeks
Dropping their heads
and the show goes on

MADRIGAL WEDDING

UW 1990

In madrigal choir

Two young singers fell in love

Kind of a nice environment for that 

Music

Harmonies

Turns out they wanted a quartet to perform

at their wedding

We were seated up front

Where the choir would sit on Sunday

Dressed all nice

There was a drum set out front

It had a skull and cross bones on it

in a church

That's odd

Shrug my shoulders

I'm just there to sing my madrigal song

We sing it

It's nice

The acoustics in the church are lovely

We sit back down

In front of everyone

"Next, will be a procession performed on the drums by the brother of the groom."

What's that going to be I wonder?

A young man

Decked out in Tuxedo

sits down 

in front of the skull and cross bones

takes a breath

and

Lays out a huge heavy metal drum solo

Bakoom bakoom bakoom BAKOOM

splash splash SPLASH

Diga Diga SLAM

It goes on for a while

then he steps up, lifts his sticks and walks away

SILENCE

I start to feel that feeling

You know the one

Where you know you are not supposed to laugh

but

it wells and you have to laugh

The people in the pews

are stone cold tight lipped

Sitting up front

My shoulders start to shake

I can't hold it back

My shoulders quiver more

I'm sitting tight

next to my quartet

and my shaking

gets them shaking

and I burst out loud

BAHA

That too echoes

We gather ourselves

It was a very nice ceremony

but I think I'd prefer not to sit in front again
Drum solo WAS tight though