Med Revue

Ever since orientation, I made up my mind that I wanted to be in the MedRevue. I wanted an acting role, and singing too! I wanted to shine like a star and be under the spot light. But when the time came for the audition, I was terrified.

The weeks leading up to the audition were oscillating feeling between confidence and regret, regretting that I put my name down to audition! I prepared an excerpt from How I met your Mother (Marshal Erikson’s burger speech), and the song Hallelujah. I sang and rehearsed in every night in the shower, until the big day came.

That Thursday afternoon, I sat in the auditorium with 20 other students ready to audition. I listed to audition after audition and I was deeply impressed with each student. They were all so talented! I heard my name being called and I walked to the front. I took a deep breath and let my practice do the rest of the work.

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Weeks later, I received an email. I was cast as Paracetamol in the show Cecal Weapon 2: Rise of Salmonella.  What did this mean? Was this a big or small role? Either way, I was ecstatic! I was going to be in the MedRevue!

Paracetamol was a small character in the show, but as we rehearsed week after week on Thursday nights, I found the opportunity to participate in different roles. My stage time increased and I put my heart into becoming the best Paracetamol there ever was!

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Before we knew it, May 7^th  (opening night) was around the corner. We barely just went through each scene once, and now we were expected to pull off the whole show! We began full day rehearsals with run through after run through. No time for med school, and lectures/pracs became a secondary priority. The week before production was all about getting our lines and cues right.

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I still remember the night when I peaked behind the curtain at the audience walking in. It was amazing, and awe had once again struck my heart. I’m really here! I’m really in med school as a med student doing the MedRevue! I would never have dreamt this to be true even one year ago!

Yet here I was, on the stage, and ready to perform. The lights dimmed, and the show began.

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I remember the moment before my debut scene. The line was spoken and it was my turn to walk on stage. My heart was palpable and possibly beating at a rate of 180. I felt dizzy, yet bravely walked from behind the curtain and into the light.

The moment I heard the audience laugh at my lines, I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins. This is what it’s all about! All this hard work rehearsing night after night was all for this! It was all worth it!

I learnt that deep down, I’m an attention seeker, and I’ve finally found gotten my filling.

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Weeks fly by like they are seconds when you are in med school. The production week had ended and we were packing away our gear from the theatre. I felt a sense on sadness as we said farewells to all the fellow actors and actresses. We came from all different year groups of the med school, and through the grueling rehearsals that created a decent production out of nothing, the experience has made us beyond friends. We were comrades.

Now the show has finished, and we were going back to our med school lives. Med Revue was no longer top priority and the lectures/assignments replaced it’s importance.

It’s sad to hear that there were previous students who had participated in the med revue and found the time commitment too heavy. It’s sad to hear that there are people who didn’t enjoy the experience. For me, I knew from the moment I was under that spotlight, I want to do this for the next 4 years.