28 Days Later... Camp Rock style.

The show that took over my life this summer was Camp Rock, a musical based on the movies on Disney starring Demi Lovato (before she went to rehab) and the Jonas Brothers. At 23, I played Nate, the youngest brother of the fictional band Connect 3 (and, as such, was the only male in the entire cast who could legally drink. It was so weird). To keep things interesting (and probably barring me from a job with Disney for the rest of my life), I posted these statuses on Facebook as a running gag with the show (where characters, on their phones, would comment on what was to happen on certain days, starting with "Camp Rock: Day #"). Now, to stroll down memory lane:



Camp Rock: Day 1- Obligatory "Camp Rock Day Number" post has been posted. BRING IT ON, RUN.
And so begins a very, very long run that is to pay for my transportation to Brooklyn College. I was over it the second I said "Hi" to the musical director. 1 performance.
 
Camp Rock: Day 2- Today, we sweat our asses off/try not to have heat strokes in Heckscher Park. At least we won't be in a closet this time.
Heckscher Park is notorious for having productions in the roughest weather. It rained in the middle of the performance but the audience all stayed on. Even we sang in the rain. 2 performances.
 
Camp Rock: Day 3- I'm posting this now because I doubt I'll get a chance to later on. Our first double day a.k.a. Depending on the kindness of strangers (kidding) to give me a ride to locations.
The strangers were my friends. And, yes, they did give me rides to locations. 4 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 4- We're back indoors... for ONE show. JUST one today.
I believe this was our first Bellmore show. As you can tell, I was thrilled to be in air conditioning and doing just one show that day, what with performing at a BEACH the previous day. 5 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 5- Thanks to the sound guy, Camp Rock was closed FOREVER in this morning's performance.
Our usual sound guy was away so we had a temp. He didn't play Brown's voiceover where he announces that Camp Rock will continue next summer after all. 7 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 6- Is this week over yet?
This particular week was our first full week (excluding weekends) of Camp Rock shows. And I was getting quickly wiped out and frustrated. 8 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 7- THE WEEK IS OVER.
I was elated, especially since we had our best audience so far at Camp Anchor. 9 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 8- And it begins again. So here's Alyson Stoner bringing back some classic Missy Elliott moves at a Camp Rock concert.
Alyson Stoner played "Caitlyn" in the Camp Rock movies so the fact she used to be that little badass girl in those videos made the show slightly less unbearable. However, this particular location was indoors, with NO air conditioning. So there were puddles of sweat all over the stage, I dripped onto the floor too many times, and my clothes were drenched by the time it ended. Ugh... 10 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 9- 2 shows with a visit to Brooklyn College in between. My personal day from hell.
I had a follow up at BC between shows so I was all over the place that day. Didn't turn out to be that bad after all: I got to ride the double decker train to East Williston. 12 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 10- Double show at Wantagh saw me willingly throw myself into dirt, Carrie stepping on my hand by accident AND ME NOT NOTICING, crack induced songs (where the "Ride or Die, Bitch!" position was in full swing), and the near-mortifying mistake where I almost revealed my tattoo.
It's amazing that no one passed out at all during the day. And I think I was one of the few who managed to keep up with the band when they (most likely deliberately, as the other cast members gave them shit) during one particular speedy routine. We (the band and I) joked about it later while the other cast members, who I was distancing myself from more and more, bitched about it. 14 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 11- Dear YMCA, thank you for having air conditioning.
This had to be one of my favorite days. Before we started the show, the counselors were keeping the kids entertained by playing the Cha Cha Slide. We couldn't resist on the other side of the curtain. Along with a fun performance, we added a YMCA chant in lieu of our usual "CAMP ROCK!" 15 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 12- Nate sounded like he had an esophageal spasm during his song today.
Around this point, my throat was doing weird things to be during my big song, so it sounded like I was choking at some points. 16 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 13- If I managed to play 70 characters in Dora the Explorer AT THE SAME TIME, then triple performances of Camp Rock should be a piece of cake.
It was terrifying. We came close to cancelling the last show due to a horrendous storm that occurred at call time. By the time I got there, the storm was over and, as soon as I arrived at the performing space, everyone said I had brought the sunshine with me. 19 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 14- So out of it by the second show, I screwed up a line MAJORLY and tried to pass it off. It's supposed to start "Uncle Brown told me..."
What I said: "Axel Turner told me-- NO, Uncle Brown, not Axel... it's the heat today... ANYWAY, Uncle Brown told..." Smooooooth.
I was probably still reeling from the day before, and we had a double show once again, both outdoors in the blazing sun. At least I caught myself and made a "Carol Burnett" moment out of it. 21 performances. 

Camp Rock: Day 15- According to the show's plot (with plenty of holes to drive a truck through), this should have ended yesterday.
In the script, the run of Camp Rock lasts fourteen days. But logic is for chumps. 23 performances

Camp Rock: Day 16- There's only one show. One FREAKIN' show. I don't know what to do with myself.
It was at CW Post. I think I was grateful once again that it was an indoor, FANCY theatre. 24 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 17 (?)- Pending if some numbnut does the rain dance or not.
Our venue that day was Eisenhower Park, where it's notorious for raining on days when we least expect it. Unlike other places, where the people stay or there's a rain date, this place doesn't do either of those things. Luckily, it didn't rain and I can finally say I performed here like some freakshow. 25 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 18- The unfortunate moment when, after trying to convince the stage manager to fill in for someone who isn't there, and that someone arrives, instead of cheers, they're greeted with "Damn it!"
One of the actors was running super late, and our stage manager, who pretty much knew the entire show at this point, was being pressured by the other cast members to do the part. However, the absentee finally arrives 15 minutes to curtain, to our dismay. 26 performances. 

Camp Rock: Day 19- Give me the strength to get through this run. Preferably without maiming anyone.
The other cast members were starting to really get on my nerves, especially one of the leads and the stage manager, who allows random chatter go on during MY mic check but not for others. At this point, I had isolated myself from everyone just so I didn't do anything irrational like murder them all or, worse, scream. 27 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 20- For some inexplicable reason, all the boys wore some form of a blue shirt. If all the girls had dressed in pink, we would have looked like we were from But I'm a Cheerleader.
It was kind of embarrassing. I tried to switch it up by wearing my red hoodie, but it was too much by the middle of the show so I took it off. Also, I was knocked for wearing long striped socks that I was going to roll down for the performance. I mean, I'm not THAT unprofessional. Just what was his beef with me? 29 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 21- After a day of vocal rest, it's time to get it back to Janis Joplin status.
Indeed it was. The vocal rest did make it strange to communicate with my talkative father, who probably was wondering why I wasn't speaking and wearing a scarf. However, my voice was at its strongest so it was all worth it. 31 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 22- The party's over but at least the show's in the evening for a change.
There was a four day break between shows, during which I drank as much as I could since I wanted to get some form of release. 32 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 23- Nate kind of became a krumper during "Tear it Down." The hard edge wore off when there was an awkward silence, followed by an equally awkward "YEAH!" by the group.
Following my dad's criticism (which is similar to someone giving their uninvited opinion) that we dance too "white" (because we clearly were not black), I tried to go a little hard and incorporated krumping into "Tear it Down". However, we had a different person playing Luke that day and, since he barely showed up to rehearsals, had no idea what the lyrics were, resulting in a awkward pause. 33 performances. 

Camp Rock: Day 24- There's some witty remark I could come up with but most of the ones I can think of are kind of crass. And I'd rather not deal some cryptic low blow. Not yet, anyway.
It was in the homestretch and I had to be very careful about what I said on Facebook and in public. But, really, I could barely take it anymore. 34 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 25- This could've been performed on Friday. And I could be drinking awesome water right now.
The original day was rained out. I think this day was the day where I had groupies in the audience. They called me hot. They were maybe 13 years old. I felt old. Also, awesome water is my term for "vodka". 35 performances.



Camp Rock: Day 26- THE PENULTIMATE SHOW. (Later on...) Uh, that turned out to be false! The show that was cancelled yesterday was rescheduled friday. So, instead, I'll leave the ad-lib I made today:
"Why look. It's Elvira and Hagrid."
 The day before, it was raining and we had received word that the venue that night closed the show as it was outdoors. Since there was no rain date on the schedule, we had assumed that we wouldn't be performing there. We were wrong. As for the ad-lib, the guys who played Jason and Barron would interrupt my song hiding behind a bush (I'm pretty sure they came on waaaaaaaaay too early) and would do random, stupid things during the song. This day, they wore a beard and a black wig. So I fired back. 36 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 27- Mkay, due to recent events, today's the ACTUAL penultimate show. At Brookhaven. Where I would have enjoyed getting silly and getting in a koala-hug giving mood after but no.
Pretty much my description for what I do when I'm drunk, sort of. It would've been nice to have ended it on this day, at this location, but the rained out venue took advantage on our extra rain date (which would have covered Brookhaven) had it rained and scheduled the show then. 37 performances.

Camp Rock: Day 28- The obligatory "Final Day" status. Which goes a little something like....
FINAL DAY. FINALLY. TONIGHT IT ENDS. (hysterical laughing and sobbing).
Could you tell I was relieved to be done with this? 38 performances.

So, there you have it. 28 days of Camp Rock, with 38 performances, which would result in performing this show for about 2 days straight. How I never want to do it again. Like that'll happen.