Working as a server for over a decade gave me a deep understanding of the service industry culture. After fifteen years and a move, I took a leap into a day job. Almost immediately I realized how many similarities and differences abound between the two different settings. I wrote the lyrics to the song “Stability,” my first foray into lyricism, by literally writing down exactly what I was doing during the day at my new job.
Interestingly, I quickly noticed a difference in stature and respect among my friends, family, and acquaintances. I was somehow a more important person for working a day job. Even though the work was far from what I really wanted to be doing, the world seemed to be validating me for attaining a more professional career. As time passed, my new employer also validated me as well with financial reward.
It took me three years to complete the first fully fleshed-out draft of Night & Day. The lyrics were rough, but the story was there. I used that first completed draft for my Jerome Fellowship Application in 2017. In their feedback, they stated that the libretto was a love letter to the service industry. It made me smile, but I was also concerned that it was too one-sided and that I still didn’t have an ending I was sold on. I needed to embrace the day job more, as well as the lessons I learned by working it. Around this time my husband, composer Dan Solovitz, jumped in to collaborate on the lyrics and also began composing the songs. I had written the story with the idea of it being a rock musical, and Dan pulled out all the stops to create eight songs as a demo pitch.
After sending to a producer friend in London, he read it and stated, “I like it! It’s a sweet story, but it’s not a topical play, so how are you going to get butts in the seat?”
As I did research trying to find something more topical I realized that my theme was indeed topical. There is nothing more topical to everyone than the various states of people’s happiness when it comes to their work and the daily grind. It seems these days that everyone’s looking to embrace the natural side of life. Whether it’s chasing dreams, discovering yourself or choosing a different path, Night & Day is about embracing life. Be true to you. I just needed to bring more prominence to my theme.
For the current draft four, I pushed the comparison harder between a night job and a day job, creating a parallel between the heroine, Lou, and her nemesis, Ms. Kuhl. I also decided to get real about what it’s like to be a female server and sprinkled in elements of real stories which provided the storyline for a new server, Hannah.
All of this is tied together by the fact (or maybe it’s just a hope for the future) that life isn’t about doing what the world tells you to do, but instead it’s about choosing yourself. Sometimes that’s scary, and may seem impossible, but life is short. Hence the closing number, “Take a Chance, Embrace the Dance.”
Night & Day © 2019 Nerissa N. Nordquist
Nerissa Nordquist 