Windsong R&D - February

Well, well, well, if it isn't another very delayed post from me. It is now June, and I am only just getting around to posting about our February R&D for Windsong: a musical fable. Luckily, Windsong and other things have kept me too busy to write since then! But here is the long-delayed inside scoop:

Windsong 2025 Cast and Band

-I taught music whilst our lovely MD Lauren was on holiday with her family. It is a strange thing to teach your own music; it makes you feel insecure. If a singer doesn't 'get' the song right away, I feel as if it is my fault, the fault of the writing, and that I need to change something. But often enough, the singer just needs time, and they come in the next day and smash it out of the park. Luckily, this was our case with Windsong. If you are a writer/MD, let this be your sign: don't change the music until you've given your actors a minute to digest the material! If it's still a problem then, absolutely take a look at it and see if there's anything you as a writer can accommodate.

-Speaking of actors, ours were immensely talented! I loved working with this bunch; with our Villagers returning from September and a whole new cast of leads, we had a lot of great talent and thought bouncing around the room.

-We had Lauren back for week two, and we also had Leo and Samantha (guitar and violin, respectively) in the entire week - if I can implore producers of anything, it is: get the band in early! This made for such a wonderful process, having the band in every day to learn the show with us. They were SO musical, and we were able to achieve a level of nuance that I don't think could have been done in a one-day band call, no matter the talent level. Some things just take time, and this was such a good investment (Thanks, Conor and Carrie!!!!!).

-All was going well until Wednesday, when our Rory came in with no voice. Uh-oh. I filled in in the morning for her, no problem. And then again in the afternoon...by the time I was singing/acting the entire Thursday run-through though, we were worried. Friday morning was the day of the sharings. After a call with the actor, it was confirmed I would be performing in my own industry sharing as the main protagonist. Yikes. Cue an emergency 9am meeting in the coffee shop with Allison: Let's remind Annabelle how to act for the first time in nearly seven years (I finished my MT Performance undergrad in 2019 but really wasn't acting beyond 2018, having become the school's resident MD by accident). The meeting involved me writing notes in my script: "Angry here" "Shout it, even if you don't feel like it" "Bigger face here" etc etc etc.

-My agent shows up to the afternoon sharing. "So, um, you're going to see a different side to my skill set than you expected..." My bosses from West End shows are there. My best friends are there. I have told exactly zero people that I'm going to perform the sharings, because I am shitting myself (excuse my French). I see their perplexed faces as I walk in with the cast and take my place behind a music stand. Alex next to me has to literally stop my leg from shaking.

-Of course, Rory has the first line in the entire play. And away we go! Somehow we made it to the end; I think I black out for a good portion of it. But it is...delightful. It was exhilarating, to stand there with such a gracious bunch of actors who welcomed me in, no questions asked. They are all at the top of their game, and they stood with me and treated me as one of them, not the imposter I was. And let's be honest, Rory IS me, in so many ways, so she's not exactly a stretch. (I would have had a harder time pulling of Sam I think...). But February 28th 2025 was one of the best days of my life. Top five, for sure.

-I thought I would vlog/blog the entire week - here's the ENTIRETY of my footage from the eight days:

-If you want any more info about Windsong, well, there are more (delayed) blog posts coming soon, or you can send me an email on my contact page to get the latest draft!

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