…cue the Grieg.

Last night’s rehearsal wasn’t all that bad. I told a friend in email this morning that at least it didn’t make me want to jump off the nearest bridge. Could the morning be breaking?

I go through this every year. There’s a definite order of things. First, teach the music. That’s fun. The singers are learning new stuff, and they immediately decide what they really dig, and which songs are not their favorites — but the learning is kind of fun. You know, like a discovery thing.

Then choreography rehearsals start, and some of the happy-happy falls away — especially for the kids who are not natural dancers (and they outnumber those who are). Frustration takes over almost immediately; they can’t do a fa-lap, the time step is out of the question, they can’t get the kicks high enough. I keep telling them that it’s a lot to learn at one time, and that they will get it eventually. It’s a long wait.

Next step: putting the stuff onstage with the singing and choreo. Train wreck. Lots of hair-pulling, and a small number of frustrated comments from the piano. All given in love, of course.

Penultimate phase: things actually look like they might someday, possibly, with an insane amount of luck, come together. That’s where we are right now, 24 days till opening.

We might make it.

FO

That’s what they called it at the bobsled/luge track. I understand it was given that name by gold medalist Steve Holcomb, who observed that athletes usually made it around Curve 13 with success only 50 percent of the time. (Guy has a great personal story to tell, also — you should read it.)

Speaking of Canada, it was their goal to “Own the Podium.” While they didn’t do that exactly, they did shine. They ended up with more gold medals than anyone else, which is cool for a host country to claim. Kind of bummed the US gave it up to them in hockey, but that’s sport for ya. Note to Apolo Ohno: holding up seven fingers after your race makes your fellow competitors wish you’d take a header into the wall, not to mention it just reinforces the stereotype of Americans being arrogant jerks. A little integrity and humility, please, for the sake of your country…

But enough of that. Back to me.

I have a 50/50 curve of my own coming up, only unsuccessfully navigating it is not an option. Why are we so demanding of ourselves? Is it our upbringing, as was alluded to in yesterday’s yammering? Fear of failure? Truth be told, it’s not *my* 50/50 as much as it is my students’. But as they say, the captain always goes down with the ship. If they miss some mark, I will bear it.

Still, as with the bobsled athletes, dedicated training has to pay off at some point. I have told my students on several occasions that they are living my vicarious dream: to be onstage again. My hope is that they see that for many of them, the opportunity they enjoy right now is temporary, as none of them will be musical theater majors, and almost all will not perform in musicals past high school. So, making the most of it while they have it is crucial.

And that realization will hopefully help them through the 50/50 curves.

Photo credit: Getty Images

I read this morning that Michael Douglas’s son, Cameron, is blaming his many problems on the lousy job his dad did bringing him up. Folks need to be careful with that kind of accusation.

Everyone reading this can think of a person or persons who had a sucky upbringing, but still managed to avoid becoming felons. They somehow side-stepped selling crystal meth, using cocaine and heroin, beating their spouses and children, or squandering what many would call a life of extraordinary financial privilege. I know many people like this, as a matter of fact.

The cynics among us would say that Cameron’s lawyers are just trying to get him the easiest sentence possible, which amounts to basically doing their jobs as defense attorneys. But in doing so, it always seems to come back to the perp being portrayed as a victim. It’s a pervasive, almost inescapable concept in American courts. Why? Because it works.

If I had a dime every time I heard/saw that a student’s parent called in or visited the school principal in order to force the administration to rescind a punishment — even though the child was clearly guilty — I could retire tomorrow. Conversely, if I had a dime every time I heard someone my age or close to it say, “If I got in trouble at school, it was worse when I got home,” I could have retired a year ago.

When did everything change? As a teacher, I see it every day: people going to astonishing lengths to avoid personal responsibility or extra work (or work at all). I’m not so naïve as to think it never happened in my childhood, or that I never tried it myself. But in my day, it was usually confined to student machinations. Now it’s the parents who are doing all the wheeling and dealing, while the kid stands behind them, basically going “Neener, you can’t touch me because my dad’s here.”

I know there are still parents out there who teach their children about accountability. It just seems that the parents who don’t are the ones getting all the press — and as we all know, the squeaky wheel, the constant dripping of water against a rock…

So did Michael Douglas make his son sell drugs? Is felonious behavior directly related to crappy parenting? I say no. Not in most cases, anyway. The triumph of the human spirit over adversity is a scenario played out millions of times all over the world every day. Does its apparent breakdown in certain individuals equal entitlement to not paying the consequences of one’s actions?

Hmmm. The Fink thinks. What say you, fiends?

Photo credit: Wireimage.com

“Some Things Simply Must Be Seen to Be Believed” Division:

Russian singers from the 60s — awesome. Russian singers lip-synching a vocalise on Soviet television, complete with gorgeous set tricked out in week-old mustard-colored backdrop and tattered fence-like apparatus — incomparable.

Watch it twice. It’s Finkday, after all. Treat yourself.

How’d that happen?

Seems like last week when I started this little labor of love. Once in awhile, someone will mention a subject I’ve written about here, and I won’t remember having done it. One day, I will revisit some early stuff and peruse the silliness.

But for now, I say a huge thank you to all my Finkville family for coming back every day or so to read, even if you don’t comment (and you know I wish you would). Many interesting conversations have taken place here over the last two years — I look forward to a few more, as long as I still have stuff to talk about.

And I will.

Gracias por todos,

RF