The ABCs of Shawnigan: D is for “Dress Rehearsal”

D is for “Dress Rehearsal”

 

Few things move me more than the marriage of good music to brilliant lyrics. It’s a matrimony that stirs within something akin to what I imagine a religious awakening might feel like: a shimmer at a cellular level as the soul syncs with the universe for a glimmering, timeless moment.   

 

Taylor Swift’s music might have that effect on some, while for others it might be the Tenors or the Beatles. For me, it’s the Tragically Hip, our very own Canadian rock band. The Hip’s lead singer Gord Downie wrote profound poems and set them to soul-stirring tunes. He offers so many quote-worthy lines, but the one that keeps surfacing for me is that this is “no dress rehearsal—this is our life.”  At the beginning of a new year, I find myself doubling down on the meaning behind Downie’s impactful lyrics in the Hip’s song “Ahead by a Century.”   

 

Life doesn’t only happen once you get all your lines, blocking, costumes and props just right with the spotlight beaming down on your made-up face while you strike a choreographed pose at centre stage. No, real life is much more of an improv gig. The director isn’t external but internal, and as such, it is within one’s control to elicit a worthy performance. As for critics? Yes, they exist in both theatres, the literal and the metaphorical. They always do, and while some will offer helpful constructive feedback, others will not. The challenge is to recognize the difference. Just one of many challenges on the set of Real Life.   

 

As Shawnigan Lake School is only four weeks away from the opening night of this year’s musical, Grease, the cast and crew are only days away from their real dress rehearsal (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?). What has been within their control up till now is all the dedication – individually and collectively – to delivering an outstanding show. What is out of their control is, well, we won’t know until the moment it happens, and yet why would one even speculate on such potential doom? Because that’s life (not to mention, that’s what makes headlines).

  

“And that’s where the hornet stung me,” says Downie, and his response: “Tonight, we smoke them out.” So when unscripted doom enters stage left, you might actually be able to conquer it. One thing that may not stand out at first glance in this empowering message is the simple little word “we.” Such a small word, but in it lies the key to living a successful life where hornets sting and dress rehearsals don’t exist. The key in “we” is that I am not alone. When Downie says, “You tilted my hand,” the image of Michelangelo’s famous fresco “The Creation of Adam” comes to mind, where two hands stretch across the heavens and fingers almost touch: connection. If we reach out, a hand will respond and extend in our direction. Especially in a life where there are no dress rehearsals, we are wise to enlist in the support of others. 

 

As we usher in a new year, I suspect some of us will be “listening to our thoughts / with illusions of someday / cast in a golden light,” Downie’s poetic way of giving a nod to our dreams and ambitions. This is typically a time of year when we recalibrate our behaviours to lead to more positive outcomes in the realm(s) of health, career, hobbies, finance, relationships, or what have you. May 2024 empower you to enlist the support you need to “smoke out the hornets” and may you bask in your own “golden light.” And through honest reflection and positive intention, may we one day be “ahead by a century.”

 

“Ahead by a Century” 

By the Tragically Hip

 

First thing we’d climb a tree

And maybe then we’d talk

Or sit silently

And listen to our thoughts

With illusions of someday

Cast in a golden light

No dress rehearsal

This is our life

 

And that’s where the hornet stung me

And I had a feverish dream

With revenge and doubt

Tonight, we smoke them out

 

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

 

Stare in the morning shroud

And then the day began

I tilted your cloud

You tilted my hand

Rain falls in real time

And rain fell through the night

No dress rehearsal, this is our life

 

But that’s when the hornet stung me

And I had a serious dream

With revenge and doubt

Tonight, we smoked them out

 

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

 

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

You are ahead by a century

And disappointing you is gettin’ me down