Dude.....it's the hard knock life.

When I was 9 years old, I auditioned for Annie.  I just knew that I was going to get the role of that cute little red head with a red dress that I always thought was a few centimeters too short for a nine year old to be wearing.  But the point is, I knew I had it in the bag.
I wore a red sweatshirt with a big black stripe, my cool jean/cargo pants (did I mention I was still in the phase where I thought I was a boy?), and was still rocking my bowl cut. I auditioned with the heartbreaking opening number, "Maybe", complete with hand motions and a dramatic hand extension at the end of the song.  Duh.  I thought I was a star.  It was a done deal.
Two weeks later, I got a call from the director saying that I had received a part as an orphan. I was to report to rehearsal two days later in order to find out my role and have my first reading.  The day came, and I arrived at the theater 30 minutes ahead of time (because I wanted to stop at Krystal to get mini burgers on the way) along with my fellow castmates Sallie Anna Barton, Kay Addison, and my stage dad. I got out of the suburban, this time in my brown corduroy overalls, and walked up to the call board, fully expecting to look at the words that I had always dreamed of seeing:

TAYLOR RANDALL.................................................................ANNIE

And what I actually saw was:

TAYLOR RANDALL................................................................MOLLY

Needless to say, I was devastated.  Molly was NOT Annie.  Molly did NOT get to wear the red curly wig.  Molly did NOT get to sing "Tomorrow" to a drooling Golden Retriever that refused to stay onstage and sometimes peed on the props. Molly was the shrimpy orphan who cried all the time because she had bad dreams.  Molly was the orphan that Annie sang to......that Annie sang MY AUDITION song to!  How dare they?!?!?  Not to mention that I was a foot taller and probably 40 pounds heavier than Annie.
However, because we lived an hour away from the theater and my father forced me to go into the rehearsal, I accepted the part....reluctantly.  I sat in front of three girls that already knew each other before the show had started.  And let me once again remind you that I had a bowl cut.....and brown corduroy overalls.  I was not the coolest cucumber in the group.  I was intimidated and was wanting to be a cool girl too.
But at that rehearsal, those girls behind me came up and started a sweet little convo (which turned out to be three friends I still hold dear to me today, Lauren Cann, Leah Gagnon, and Emily Grice), and we four became instant friends....that sometimes got on the moms that volunteered to work backstage's nerves.  And although I was initially very angry that I was cast as Molly, I realized that I got to sing "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" and I had more time to sit offstage and eat Butterfingers while playing Crazy 8s.  It could not have been more perfect.  It was an experience I'll always remember....and it turned out to be a great one.

The moral of the story is this:  After attending a great labor day BBQ hosted by our new adopted family Jim and Carla Gambrell this weekend, I had to go back to my first full week of work.  The day began as hectic as ever and once again, we had 9000 middle schoolers wanting to rent instruments.  People are not always patient and nice....and people want their instruments....and they want them fast. I was overwhelmed and frustrated. And for a good while, I had a bit of what I like to call a "badditude". But just like Annie, I know this experience will get better and it will turn out to be one that I love. It's just a bowl cut away from singing showtunes and loving what I do.

And for now, at least it's good to know that I'm not this girl.

Love,
Taylor