Now you have to know that my music-reading ability is very limited: I played the recorder during assembly at school when I was eight years old. If I could pick up the recorder today, with the notes I had then, I could probably still do a fair to middling job. But this score?

To me, it looks like a mash of blobs with bits bouncing off them. I don’t know if I have to follow the top line or the middle one, or the bottom one, and then when I seem to find my place, it changes on me.  I can feel the tears welling up just thinking about that rehearsal.

But then I remember musicals past, and realize I’ve had this same experience with each and every one of them — the confusion washing over me like a hot flash, fear bubbling in my colon and then the “what have I got myself into” serenade bouncing around in my brain.

I just had the second music rehearsal, and I’m happy to say the tears didn’t well this time. People were actually expressing their confusion and laughing about it, making jokes and helping each other out.  There’s camaraderie in the theater that’s very refreshing — we have to support each other in order to make it work. That’s one of the great things that draws me back.

And our music director, Lena Duncan, is a patient soul, bless her heart. Her mantra: “Repetition is your friend. Let’s do it again!”

And we will. No doubt about that.

I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

– Monica Jones

You can also follow Monica and all things TLT at www.tltinfo.org.  9 to 5: The Musical makes its way to the Tryon Fine Arts Center stage Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3. Box office opens Feb. 15.

– article submitted by Elvin Clark