Why Musicals Are Magical

Theater came up twice today in my life, so it got me thinking.

Ever since my uncle, mom, and grandma took me to see Peter Pan on Broadway for my 10th birthday, I have been absolutely enamored with musicals. I think it's pretty safe to say they changed my whole personality and my life in general. I've been to way too many shows (actually, I don't think that's possible) - and I have all the programs, like my grandma does for all her shows. Between Broadway, Plays in the Park in Edison, NJ, school productions, Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse, even the National Theater in Prague, Czech Republic, I've been to a lot... and I'm beyond grateful for those experiences :)

When I was in eighth grade, I tried out and performed in my first one - Into the Woods (Junior!). I was Jack's Mom (always wanted to play that part again in the "grown up" crazy everyone-dies version). The theater bug bit, and I did no less than fifteen shows through my sophomore year of college, including How to Succeed..., State Fair, Annie, Get Your Gun, Little Shop of Horrors, Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof... and I was even nominated for a Freddy Award (P.S. you can see me in the logo for Most Valuable Players, the movie, on that link - I'm on the top left, dressed in blue and orange!!) I got to perform at the Freddy's, too. That was so exciting for me. I directed a one-act play in high school, and I've participated in my college's 24 hour show writing-practicing-performing event called Wired. I've assistant stage-managed and house managed.

Even though I've stopped performing/working backstage for now, I'm just as enamored with shows - and I love nothing more than watching them. My favorite shows to watch are the following:

1. Les Miserables/Ragtime (tie for first)

2. Phantom of the Opera

3. Wicked

4. Kiss Me, Kate

5. 1776

And I know there's more. I just really felt like writing about theater tonight - especially because my uncle is seeing Les Mis at the Kennedy Center as we speak (and I'm supersupersuper jealous, see the above list of favorite shows to see). My friend Melissa and I were discussing which plays might be at Plays in the Park this summer - we can't wait for that, either.

Now... Broadway music... that's another story for another post :)

Be nice to the telemarketers

- especially the ones from your alma mater :) Just saying. We're not REALLY telemarketers - we're your COLLEGE! Well, see, after working in this position for a long time (this is my 5th full semester) - you develop opinions about these things.

I really love my job. It's given me more confidence than I EVER thought I could have on the phone; I used to get nervous calling anyone, really. Now it's a walk in the park. No problem. I love working - I have friends there, we play games, we have fun, I make good money, I play sudoku, there's food in a closet just for us (the college likes to keep us happy :) ). I get told by very nice alumni that I'm good at what I do, and I love hearing some of their stories from the days they were here (like when Route 31 was Route 69 and they actually had to change it because of the two colleges nearby/sign theft... use your imagination), and about how certain academic buildings used to be dorms, and how girls/boys were separated. I really love talking to people - even the ones who aren't as interested in sharing or learning about the updates.

However, all of us have had bad nights. Nights where people will yell at us, hang up, belittle us, etc. Some examples come to mind, but one happened tonight. First, I should explain: We call Sunday night- Thursday night, 6:30 until 9pm, and on Sunday afternoons from 2-4:45pm. I called an alum tonight at 8:40 pm, almost the end of the shift:

Me: Hi, my name is Jessica, and I'm a student calling from ___(my college)____. May I please speak with ___(person's name)___?

Lady: *big sigh* Let me just start by saying, how do you have the NERVE to call ANYONE after 8PM?!?

Me: Oh, I'm sorry, we usually call between 6:30 and 9 so -

And she just hung up. Like, come on. I understand I may have caught you at a bad time, or that you've been getting calls from us (to which I say, just pick up the phone and we'll stop calling you!), or maybe you were busy, or you have kids that were going to sleep. I'm sorry about that. I really am. Several callers have been yelled at over the years for calling "too late." That's fine. But do you really have to act like that? If she'd have let me finish, I would have told her we could call her during the day instead, and hopefully end on a good note. But no.

So, I ask you, please be nice to your college/the telemarketers. I'm calling you because it's my job, and the least you can do is be polite back to me.