Edinburgh: Dress Rehearsals
Brooke Privett
It has been a fantastic day! We had the entire day free because tonight was the first dress rehearsal and filming night for the media. I did my entire souvenir shopping today, and I may need to pawn off some of my things in order to have some money!! Haha, just kidding! It’s funny, because the cashier will tell you your total cost and you’ll think “Ah, that’s not bad for all of this,” but then you convert it from pounds to dollars and you say, “Oh my…”
I got some really nice items from the Tattoo office and shop, including the Tattoo program (I’ll show you a picture of that page eventually, and by the way, the band has nicknamed me “Page 27”) and I even pre-ordered my DVD. The DVD’s won’t be ready until November due to editing purposes, which upsets me because I can’t wait for everyone to see the video. I also stopped into a few of the souvenir shops around Edinburgh and got a few things. I can’t wait for Mom to see one of the items I got her! She’s going to love it!
After the shopping, it was time for dinner, which was awesome spaghetti! We then suited up in our marching uniforms and loaded up the busses. You know you are important when you are part of a fleet of charter busses lined up in front of the castle. The sidewalks were lined with people watching the busses full of cast members pull into the esplanade. Yes, we are that important that they drop us off directly onto the surface where we perform!
We did two dress rehearsals: the first was in front of the kids from the different military academies around and the second was in front of 10,000 people who paid half price for tickets. These performances were also being filmed and recorded, so we needed to be perfect, and we were close to it. It rained during both performances! Our poor plumes for our hats are looking sad. Mr. Bernhardt is having Dr. Goeke express mail the extra plumes.
The first performance/rehearsal didn’t feel like a big deal to me, but I must admit the nerves sat in before the 2nd performance in front of 10,000 people and all of the cameras! I thought to myself “Here’s what you have been waiting for the last 6 years of your life Brooke! Don’t mess up!” We walked out onto the esplanade and the stands were packed with people in ponchos! Then I was just excited and couldn’t wait to play! They loved our first two songs, but then it was time for “Kansas City” which includes our “crunk” section (that’s where the whole band dances during a drum break.) The crowd went crazy! As soon as the words “Hit it!” were said they cheered and loved every minute of it, and I did too! When the song was over you would have thought that the Scots had just won the World Cup! It was such an amazing feeling to be loved that much by that amount of people. The best part of it is that I get to experience that feeling for 25 more nights!!!
Mr. Bernhardt was able to watch the entire show (we stay in a building for the duration of the show). He told us that something happened tonight that he was hoping; that we would be the band with the best response from the audience. You don’t understand what that means, especially when being compared with His Majesty the King’s Guard of Norway (they are absolutely fabulous!) I know it will be a while before I sleep tonight because we are all on a natural high! I think it is time to dance! Oh dear, my roommate just busted into our living room wearing one of the MP’s uniforms! (In the words of Ty Pendington) It’s gonna be a long night! Haha!