A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Louisiana...

I has a great evening last night. It was surreal some of the time, but I really enjoyed the show. The casting and choices were very different from the production that I was in, that I was able to see them uniquely and I could appreciate each for what they were. It is so very cool to see this show with a different but totally legitimate ensemble work, but work in ways different from how my show worked. It was also fun to sit outside the action and laugh at the things I couldn't before. The changes surprised and delighted me. It was well-paced and honest and that is what you need to do to bring that show to life.

A funny thing happened in the second act that totally caught me off guard. After the 3rd scene I suddenly went to the head space I was in while doing the show. I guess the patterns of dialogue and situation sent me back there and before the lights came up on the 4th scene I was crying and emotionally distraught. I am sure the people on either side of me couldn't figure out what was up because let's face it, we didn't even know that Shelby had died yet. For that entire scene I rode those familiar achy emotions from 3 years ago. After the show I was glad to get out and decompress a little because it was weird.

After the show we struck the set (very smooth and very quick) and headed to Chez Marsh for festivities. Usually I don't go to cast parties for shows I am not involved in but I felt right at home. It was nice to see the gang from Sky and others that I have worked with in the past. A really fun evening, and a very late night!

Sky's the Limit...

We finished up the 4 show run on Saturday night. Our audience was 9 people, only 4 of whom paid. On the Wednesday we had 5 people in the house. Opening and Friday we had between 20-30 people. It was a great show, with wonderful people to work with, but the lack of promotion by Horizon Players really disappointed me. I did what I could with Facebook and encouraging people I knew to come, but it was a challenge. Most of the students I know could not get out there. I was most disappointed that not all of the Board of Horizon Players came to see the show. The President of the Board never came out to a show. Disappointing.

Anyhow, we wrapped up the event at Elizabeth's lovely house in Stony Plain and we stumbled home at 4 AM. Good practice for the Casino I worked last night!

Redemption...

Although not perfect, I made it through tonight's run in much better shape than on Tuesday. Thankfully Elizabeth came in a little early to run lines with me. It helped, although it would have really helped if Lindsey had come in as well. I thought we had agreed to 6:30, but it was not firm so maybe something came up. I can let go of some of the angst because if I drop a line it doesn't make or break the scene or the show.

Tonight I sucked...

Ugh. Tonight I had a horrible rehearsal for Sky. It was supposed to be a sharing night with the other groups that had shows. Only one other group showed up at the beginning, so we waited a bit (read: wasted 1/2 an hour) then we watched each other's play. I sucked bad. I have only had 3 rehearsals and haven't had a lot of time on my own to work on the thing, but it was worse than I thought it would be. I was challenged by the task because I didn't feel we were ready to share it (rehearsal vs. performance) and I felt tense and unprepared so that didn't help. I had to give up the lines at certain points because the chronology of the lines within the scenes skipped around a bit and I can't really do much about that. When we finished, we struck and then one of the other groups showed up. I wanted to work and I was a little cranky about having to watch this group that didn't watch us, so I got out of it and a few of us went out and ran sections. The whole night felt so sloppy. Really, if I am going to drive out to Spruce Grove in January I want to work for the 3 hours. A three hour rehearsal for me is actually 4.5-5 hours when you count in travel time. I felt like only 50% of my time was used to some effect tonight. I am pretty sure I came off a little cranky, but I was pissed off by the wasted time and the lack of courtesy. The only way I am going to get these lines is through repetition and I am not getting it. I am also ticked at the other groups since it was made clear to us that we were doing this sharing thing, but there was no apology, no one seemed in charge and one group didn't even show up at all. Maybe if I understood the purpose of the whole thing I would be more understanding about it.

New Project - Sky

I am off to my first rehearsal for Sky this afternoon. My friend AM is directing. I specifically asked for the non-speaking role because I didn't want the added weight of learning lots of lines. I am quite comfortable creating a character in silence. This should be enough of a challenge without over-taxing me in this busy month. I am also working on prepping for The Last Five Years which I am directing. That show goes up in March so I have stacked a few things on top of each other. I have my writing desk back after lending it to Walterdale for the last show, so I have re-organized it and have been using it. It is like my own little 'room of my own' for writing and working. I am currently seeking ideas for the 24 hour playwriting competition that is coming up next weekend. Any suggestions?

Funny?... On New Years Day my brother's mother-in-law made a comment to me along the lines of "You still doing that drama stuff? I guess you need something to keep you busy." The suggestion is that as a SAHM I sit and eat bon-bons all day and this is just some little thing I do to occupy my time. As if. So glad she is not my mother-in-law.