Well this week I finished my musical.
I write that, with a sigh of relief, but at the same time, much gratitude and humility.
For those that are interested, I’ll tell you about it.
About 4 months ago, I was bored. I like being involved in lots of things, and to find myself without a project was terrible. I had just been given the assignment to do the “Pursuit of Excellence” program for my ward. I was excited about that, but I didn’t know where to go with it. My only thoughts so far, was that I should set a goal in each of the three areas that we would be setting goals in: Faith, Family, and Relief. I had set a goal for Faith and Family, but I didn’t know what I would do yet for Relief.
In my boredom that day, I decided to call my mother, just to talk. “I’m bored” I told her. She was surprised. She reminded me of a project that she had asked and was hoping I would do for her ward. I rolled my eyes. A musical? About Visiting Teaching? I thought of every cheesy skit I’d ever seen performed in various Relief Society wards I’d been in. I didn’t want to do it.
It was then, I thought of my goal in relief. This was something I could do for my mom, and for the sisters in her ward. I told her I’d think about it.
I tried to visualize how it could be done, picturing the Relief Society room, and the area I had to work with. No matter what, all I could think of was cheesy. I knew that if I tried to make too much happen in a short amount of time, it would just seem to unrealistic. Time needed to pass. I needed more room to work in.
I called my mom again. What kind of area are you thinking of having this performed in? I asked her. She told me the stage. She wanted costumes, sets, the works. That changed things. She was serious. Was I?
I started to think about how else I could do a real musical- on a stage. I’d never done that before, except for back in Young Women’s when I wrote a script (for my mom) called “Snow White and the Seven Values”. My mom had loved it. She has always been my biggest fan, but sometimes I don’t know if I can trust her judgement in my abilities.
I started having impressions and ideas. Lots of them. I started to write them down, and started to get a little excited about the idea. I talked to my mom. She was so happy. She knew I was getting inspired. After talking to her on the phone, I started writing, more ideas came, and then I stopped.
Previous to this, I had my experience writing a camp song. You might remember my post about it… Is it possible you’re NOT supposed to write a song? I had tried and tried to write that song, but everything seemed bent against it happening. Ultimately, I learned where my inspiration comes from, and that sometimes it’s NOT for me to write.
I remembered this experience, and was hesitant to start another project if it might turn out like the last. I got down on my knees and prayed to know if writing a musical was something He wanted me to do. It was. I had no doubts, and I had the wonderful feeling that Heavenly Father would help me to write it.
I’ve been surprised, how many songs I’d already written about Visiting Teaching, but I didn’t use any of them. I did however, have many songs that I had written previously (and not put on the site) that just didn’t quite fit anywhere. I didn’t know what I would ever do with them. I was amazed when they fit into my musical. I could see how the Lord had been preparing me to write this. Giving me songs and experiences I could use when this time came. I even had experiences that happened to me while I was writing it that gave me some more depth and understanding for the characters that I was writing for.
I won’t say that everyone’s going to love it. Some people will probably say it’s cheesy. It doesn’t matter anymore. I am so happy with it. I can’t deny the spirit I had helping me to write it. Every time I even had a few moments to sit and write, the time was productive.
I’m not sure yet how I’m going to share it with everyone, but I want to. I will. I want to wait until I see it performed. I might make some changes as we go along. The first read-through was last week, so it’s already starting to come to life.
Anyway, thanks for letting me share…