(I am learning to drum in a drum group, and a friend and I are the only ones learning a certain kind of drum. We’re a little lacklustre.)
Tutor: “Not good enough! Push yourselves! [My Name], [Friend], push yourselves!”
(My friend turns towards me and pushes me.)
Friend: “Done!”
Me: “He said push yourself, not push me…”
(I work as a technician in avionics and I’m currently the only woman in the shop. People frequently choose to listen to music while they work, but because the machines are so loud, we usually have to turn the volume all the way up, which means that anybody nearby can also hear it. I’m listening to the soundtrack to the musical ‘Wicked,’ and it’s just a few songs in when…)
Coworker: “Hey, [My Name]?”
Me: “Yes?”
Coworker: “How about we make a compromise.” *pause* “You can listen to ANYTHING but this.”
Me: *trying not to laugh* “Not a fan of musical theatre?”
Coworker: *shaking his head* “Nope.”
(I am on vacation with my family and in the eighth grade, wearing a Beatles T-shirt. As we are buying food for lunch at a grocery store, the cashier notices my shirt and starts quizzing me as he’s checking out our food.)
Cashier: “What was their original name?”
Me: “The Quarrymen.”
Cashier: “What’s Ringo’s real name?”
Me: “Richard Starkey.”
Cashier: “Who was the original drummer?”
Me: “Pete Best.”
Cashier: “Who was the original bassist?”
Me: “Stu Sutcliffe.”
Cashier: “Who was their manager?”
Me: “Brian Epstein.”
Cashier: “What label did they work under?”
Me: “Apple.”
Cashier: “Who was their sound manager?”
Me: “George Martin.”
Cashier: “Who died first?”
Me: “John.”
Cashier: “Who died second?”
Me: “George.”
(He seemed pretty happy to know I knew all those facts.)
This story is part of our Beatles roundup!
(During my senior year of high school, I volunteer to stay after school to help out the theater department by painting sets for their next production. I’m a very quiet, unassuming girl who is well known for sticking to myself and not talking much, and though I have no problems with the theater students, I only really have one friend in the group who knows me.)
Theater Student #1: “Okay, I’m tired of listening to [local radio station notorious for playing the same handful of pop songs every hour or so]. Why don’t we put on someone’s iPod or something?”
Theater Student #2: “Does anyone have anything with them?”
Friend: “[My Name] has a book of CDs in her backpack. Our art teacher lets us listen to them during class because we got sick of the radio, too.”
Theater Student #1: “Yeah, but what does [My Name] really listen to? She looks like a Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus kind of girl.”
(All of a sudden and with the best timing ever, my phone starts ringing. My ringtone is the song “Night Surgeon” from the hyper-violent musical film, “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” which I and many of the theater students are huge fans of, and no one realizes it’s coming from my phone until I answer it.)
Theater Student #1: “On second thought, I want to see these CDs now!”
This story is part of our Musical Theater Roundup!
Read the next Musical Theater Roundup story!
Read the Musical Theater Roundup!
(I overhear this after dropping my son off at cello lessons.)
Teacher: *to two children* “Violins are NOT weapons!”
