Holy Cow! That Kid Can Dance! Billy Elliot at the Jube...

On Saturday Night we saw Billy Elliot at the Jubilee as part of the Broadway Across Canada series.  Although I have seen part of the movie I was not familiar with the musical so I was in for a bit of a treat in discovery.  They have been running commercials on TV for the past month so I was familiar with a few bars of one song but not much else musically.  It was a great night of theatre.  This is a show that is really about dance and it sure did that well from all in the cast with the lead, Billy Elliot, as a phenomenal stand-out.  There are four Billys with the tour.  We saw Ben Cook. I was floored at what this kid could do.  Not only was he an amazing dancer, but he was also a wonderful actor with a lovely singing voice. It blows me away that they have four of them! That one kid could do all that so well is amazing, but to have four! Wow!  There are other talented members in the cast, both young and old.  I particularly liked Sam Poon as Michael and Janet Dickinson as Mrs. Wilkinson. Now I do admit, there is not much of the music that has stayed with me, but it was tuneful and in places quite epic but it was the dancing I was watching and it was awesome!

A side note: I am better rested now as I caught a few more hours of sleep this afternoon to compensate for my sleepless night last night. I also spent an hour fiddling with the schedule and I feel less stressed about that.  I'm a problem solver and a people pleaser and both of those tend to make me more stressed at times as I take in the challenge of a musical.  The sheer size of the casts and structure of the shows often leads to major challenges with scheduling.  I am not sure everyone involved realizes that.

Living in the Theatre - Painting by Day, Directing by Night!

After all the build up for me in the rest of the season I am solidly up to my neck in Nine at Walterdale.  We are enjoying being spoiled by a set being mostly done much earlier than scheduled.  This has allowed us to do a lot of spacing in the actual theatre with all the architectural elements (except the poles - one comes in today and the other two should be in on the weekend).  It has been wonderful and has actually pushed us ahead of scheduled.  I am hoping this means I can give some nights off here and there.  That will only happen, however, if new conflicts from the cast stop rolling in.  It is hard to say 'no' because everyone has a (ahem) good excuse.  Anyhow, we are in good shape and that makes me happy.  Because of the strength of the cast, there are things I do not have to put a lot of time into (like character work) because they come with their homework done. I like that!

In the day times, since the set has been done, I have been leading the paint crew. I am technically second in command, but I can paint in the daytime and I prefer that happening so that I don't get kicked off the deck in the evenings. We are therefore, ahead of schedule when it comes to paint, too!  Yay!  I have had a nice gang of helpers to keep my company and make the work go so much faster! It does, however, make for long days and I have to watch how much of my time I schedule for the painting so that I do not stress myself out too much. 

As I have gotten older, I find that I cannot handle the long hours as well. I also have a hard time getting to sleep right away in the evenings as I come home wired from rehearsal so I have to watch that.  I need nap time I think.  In any case, I am delighted with how we are progressing!

Sick Kids and Late Rehearsals...

Gibson is quite ill. Bronchial infection. Not fun for him and a bit scary for me since I am rehearsing a musical that opens in a little under 2 weeks. I will be vigilant on my own health. So far I seem okay. The tiredness is the worst right now. He's not sleeping well so he is in with us so we can keep him propped up and react quickly to any nighttime needs like water, tissues, Tylenol. Hopefully the Antibiotics kick in and he starts feeling better soon. I have had to miss class to day to stay home with him. That's alright, I will get the notes form one of my buddies. I miss going out. Of course, I hear the roads are complete crap today, so maybe it was a good thing. I am hoping the two of us can have a little nap this afternoon and I won't feel so tired.

The show is coming along. We had a good run last night. Needs to be tighter, but it wasn't too bad. The set is gorgeous! And from what I have seen of the costumes it is going to look spectacular. Very, very exciting!

Crazy Days Make Me Want to Quit...

Yesterday was a roller coaster ride. So much up and down stuff that it is almost strange to think about it because it feels like a week was packed into the one day. The day started okay, got crappy, got wonderful again, then a rehash of the earlier crap, then pretty good, then grumpy, then some good news, then an out of left field thing that made me go WTF? I wish I could give details, but I can't... so sorry. I can about some of the good stuff. The wonderfulness was the rehearsals for Threepenny. It all of a sudden felt like a show yesterday. Which is weird, because we were missing some key players, but with the people who were away I KNOW they are solid and I could envision them during the run. But for me, it came together. I hope the Director is as happy. We still have a little ways to go, but we have 2 weeks until an audience. It was a nice comfort zone.

Anyhow, days like yesterday some times make me want to say 'to heck with it!' but wise advise from friends prevailed. I cannot live without it and really most of the issues were not really the theatre (although there was plenty of drama). I have taken my deep breaths. Hope I can sleep better tonight. Last night my brain buzzed until 4 in the morning with all the crap from the day.

Interesting talk with my seat buddies in Drama class today. I asked what their favorite shows (best for them - taking into consideration what they personally like and want to see) over the last 2 years were. One said Eurydice and the other sadi The Drowsy Chaperone. I would put both in my top 10, but they were very different. What was your favorite show that you saw over the last two years and why? I am curious what individual people like (as opposed to the masses).

Fabulous Rehearsal Last Night... Now if I Could Just Sleep...

We had a great rehearsal last night for Best Little Whorehouse. It was a stumble of Act Two and it was really in pretty good shape. There were a couple bumps but we are still 3 weeks out from Opening so those will get cleaner as we keep working. Then we taught the Aggie Song/Dance to our two new Aggies. I am so happy we solved that problem. Injuries scare me. The last thing I want is for an actor to get injured, but we needed the bodies for the dance. The 2 new guys picked it up fast and we have another hour tonight to clean it and again we have 3 weeks to Opening.

Now if only I could sleep. I have screwed up my sleep pattern because my brain isn't shutting off when I get home. I am either buzzing with thoughts of the Whorehouse or of LOST - sometimes both. Two nights ago I dreamt I was directing a hybrid LOST/Whorehouse travelling show (don't ask for details, but Matthew Fox was delightful to work with and Terry O'Quinn was a bit of a diva)... Anyhow, I couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM and then I was dead this morning. I have to get it to shift back and soon. It is not convenient.

So Much For Sleeping In...

I always hope that there will be peace downstairs and that I might possibly get to sleep in on Saturdays, but no matter what, the minute that Mark leaves the house I hear the thump thump thump of Oliver running up the stairs to crawl in with me to snuggle. He's a snuggler and has always been, but it's kind of annoying when I am trying to sleep. Besides that, he's an eight year old who is the size of a 10-11 year old and he is all arms and legs so it is a far cry from snuggling with him when he was 3! Also, Mark didn't get them breakfast before they left so hunger was a shrill complaint that forced me out of bed and down to the kitchen. Apparently Mark thought Oliver was on top of getting them breakfast, but Oliver thought he just had to get the bowls and spoons out so there was a communication gap. Ah ga ga glug gulp...

So, in November, this might not bother me so much, but today when I still feel like crap and I have been out late 4 of 5 nights and I have been up early 4 out of 5 days, I really needed it. Tomorrow I need a wee sleep-in and then I do a marathon paced day (rehearsal #1 at 11 a.m.; rehearsal #2 at 2 p.m.; Casino at 9:45 p.m. until 3:45 a.m.). Maybe I can get a nap between Rehearsal #2 and the Casino. Cross your fingers!

This week continues with a crazy schedule. Some time before Thursday I need to write a 6 page paper (the Prof reduced the length from 12 pages - whew!). I may compromise on the quality just to get the quantity done, luckily I am not mark dependent, and I took this course to become a better playwright, not a better essay writer). I also have 2 nights of rehearsal for Sweeney, one for the AGM, then the Open House at Walterdale on Saturday followed by the AGM that night. I have stuff to do as both Secretary and AD for the AGM and as AD and Director for the Open House. I will survive! I swear!