Posted by Anthony on July 08, 2002 at 11:01:35:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Rehearsal Horror Stories posted by 2ba on July 07, 2002 at 23:54:07:
I think Ike has a point, though. Professionalism is as important in the music industry as musicality. Dealing with curveballs like those that Joe mentioned is just another part of playing broadway shows. My steadiest gig is with the local playhouse.. we just finished 16 shows of a Broadway revival of "Gypsy"- a play hardly worth reviving, and with music more difficult than relevant. If we played the same cuts two nights in a row, we were lucky. We were told on opening night that 2 of the acts would be transposed down a 4th, for the singers(they were kids), and another act would be transposed down a fifth- we remembered, but this singers didn't.
...if you ask me, that's all a part of playing in a pit. Auto mechanics don't bitch when they get grease under their fingernails, I don't understand why musicians like to bitch about every little curveball that gets thrown at them. No, it's not fun to play with an (_!_) conductor(as Joe put it), and yes, it's often unfair... but a certain amount of professionalism is still required. Yes, professionalism.. even if you're not dependant on the gig, and have an "actual" job to go back to, you still have an employee-boss relationship with your conductor. The fact that you're self-employed outside of the pit orchestra doesn't give you the right to act less-than-professional inside the pit orchestra-- even if the conductor/boss is less than professional. What could POSSIBLY be the benefit of increasing the number of (_!_) in the ensemble?
just my two cents...
Anthony