I have survived!

It is important to say that at the beginning because Saturday I didn't think I was going to. Ditz, for all her faults, is normally one of my sunny, easy going ones, & was in an absolutely filthy mood. Who knows why. By the time Liddy & I rocked up to rehearsals Ditz had lost it & was simply walking off the stage with a face blacker than thunder & for dress rehearsal completely missed her cue. So not like Ditz. She said she wasn't well ~ & maybe she wasn't ~ but she was so vague it may all have been the nerves she swore black & blue she didn't have. I wasn't the only one worried.


Alison explained how the chappie who now owns the Ten Tenors was one of her very first pupils when she was just starting out & had been asking her to give him a warm up act for 2 years ! She had never felt her ensemble was up to the challenge until this year. Bottom line: Alison's reputation & credibility were going on the line with this performance! By Sunday's sound check some of the girls were in tears ~ according to Ditz & already made up that was a mascara nightmare! ~ & apparently Alison came close to reducing Ditz to like form threatening to throw anyone who blew their stuff out of the ensemble all together. Ditz was firmly in her firing line after Saturday. She's lucky it was Alison. After 5 kids I can give lessons in how to dismember a child 101!
Liddy & I had done a dry run Saturday (which still didn't stop me getting lost coming home, but hey, it was only getting there I was worried about). Sirromet, like most wineries I've ever been to, sits amongst undulating hills. The stage was huge, perched at the start of one hill, the audience arranged up the facing one. Liddy & I goggled at each other, each of us thinking of Ditz who is a small community island girl dealing with this. When I saw the crowd Sunday (after it was all thankfully over) it was even worse. Think rock concert size. It was a huge, huge crowd Sunday & there were paddocks & paddocks devoted just to parking. We were early ~ but thankfully so was everyone else & Ditz was happy enough to be abandoned.
While Ditz did her thing I took myself to the Mt Cotton Rainforest Gardens.

I managed to find a quiet secluded spot with a glorious view out over Moreton Bay & read happily for a couple of hours before hiking up to the top of the hill for the view & strolling around the gardens. About 1ish as I knew the ensemble was getting warmed up, ready to go, I threw up a quick prayer for Ditz.

I know the Disney Dazzle nearly as well as the kids & could time Ditz's cue to the minute. As soon as I knew she was all done I finally relaxed & prayer works wonders. I knew as soon as I saw Ditz that it had gone well. She was her usual bubbly self & Alison was thrilled with her. Apparrently she had the audience laughing & as every performer knows there's nothing that will lift you like knowing an audience likes you! She did really, really well but is now completely voiceless. There are compensations! If you know Ditz you understand completely!

The down side (if you can call it that); VM is likely to get more engagements at this level & each one will be an exercise in nerves & drama. Ditz is usually a perfect angel for Alison...but I get to take her other persona home! Edited to add we are getting huge amounts of positive feedback & how *professional* the kids were. Being professional is something they've had drilled into them so that's great too. Question: How do I get my whirly~girdy to stop spinning so I can survive her?