After “Yeomen” is picked for its words and music
The people try out by the dozens
There are all of eight Coles who audition for roles
Along with two of their cousins
It is all hit or miss as you sing one for Chris
Then read lines again and again
And it soon becomes clear to each volunteer
That you don’t want to follow Thane
You can try any part, you can sing, act, and dance
You can stop and re-start, but in this circumstance
You certainly should not follow ThaneWith rehearsals begun we
prodigiously run
Through each song, dance and patter amusing
But three different sites, during days and nights
Make rehearsal schedules confusing
We get in a groove as we try to improve
When we practice in groups and in pairs
But as we perspire there’s one skill we acquire
We all learn how to move chairs
At the starts and the ends of rehearsal each night
With the help of our friends we put the hall right
We really learn how to move chairs
We practice quartets, with both young ‘uns and vets
And the dialog’s read and re-read
But we’re scarcely experts when we wield our halberts
So Bob Gladish gets hit in the head
As we practice Point’s antic, the stage gets more frantic,
When townspeople form their array
But the choreographing, like the weather in spring
Is different from day to day
The words are the same, and the music we sing
There’s no one to blame, but the choreographing
Changes from day to day
We have no regret as we load in the set
For its grandeur has all of us reeling
The Merylls’ front hall, the main curtain “wall”
And a tower reaching up to the ceiling
The techies add light, not too dim or too bright
Though the mikes’ sound is harder to gauge
But the pit is so low, if you have vertigo
You’re better off staying upstage
You can march near the edge; it’s no problem at all
But you might want to hedge: if you think that you’ll fall
It’s safer to stay way upstage
Now we open the show, and we start to get glow-
ing reviews that enhance BAct’s fame
There is Phoebe’s beguiling, and Wilfred’s smiling
Doleful Meryll and conniving Dame
Elsie sings like a dream, and Jack Point is a scream
The “Leftenant” and ensemble too
While Fairfax’s desire is to set hearts on fire
But not on the barbeque!
Yes, there’s one rule we heed, as we finish our turn
It’s that men may bleed, and men may burn,
But not on a barbeque! |
