Coming to an End

This Thursday, Guys & Dolls, the last show in Directapalooza '07/'08 goes up. There will not be another Directapalooza unless the only thing I'm working on will be shows. Next season I do only two shows -- Nunsense (probably) in the early fall for the college (Can you believe they've never done it before?) and A Christmas Carol in the winter for Four County Players. That's it.

But for now, Guys & Dolls ... It will go up. It will not be the show that I wanted it to be. It will be by the seat of its pants. It may not have a complete run before it goes up. It may run way too long. It may, it may, it may, it may ... but it will go up.

Because there were few other people to do so, I have put my hand more to this show than to any other shows that I can remember. I have designed sets (and have had those designs improved ... and made more complicated). I have sketched costume designs. I have painted the floor. I have taken hammer to nail to adorn set pieces -- all of this on top of directing. I'm just glad that early on when we were having problems finding people to cast the show with that I resisted the suggestion that I play a part.

I am past tired, past exhausted, past numb. I have progressed ... on to high school.

In my junior year in high school I was living in Brussels Belgium, going to an international school there, and taking an advanced program called the International Baccalaureate. Think of it as the AP for an entire six course load. (My English teacher was a college professor from the States who had followed his wife over to do a one or two year stint. I remember him saying once, "This is ridiculous. College students don't work this hard."

All I did was work, eat, sleep, show up where I was supposed to (most of the time) and snatch leisure moments. I've always wondered if I could manage that level of work again. Be careful what you wish for ...

The initial overlap of this show with In the Blood and Am I Black Enough, Yet? was a Perfect Storm of bad timing. Add onto that the time and energy demands of this show and everything else in my life has suffered. I've been teaching off of last year's notes at the college. I've worked less hours at the wineshop (thus making less money). I haven't seen non-theater people in what feels like half a year.

The thing is, it's a really good piece and a really good cast and the few people in the crew are really good as well. I just wish I could've given them a better show. Don't get me wrong, it'll be okay. It won't be bad. There are many, many wonderful moments. It's just I fear that as an overall show it will be lacking in terms of the pace and the scene transitions ... which means it's lacking in the things that I am directly responsible for.

Oh well, got to print out last year's notes for class.

Oh My Guys & Dolls!

Oh my God! Guys & Dolls is such a phenomenal vampire suck-hole of my time! I feel like I'm making cameo appearances in the rest of my life. Almost all I do is be in rehearsal and work on the show outside of rehearsal. Not since All's Well That Ends Well have I done a show this large with so few people.

We've never had a costume designer. I started asking around for one last summer, and I never found one. Three or four (or five) different people have stepped forward (some members of the cast) to take on groups of costumes. ("I'll take the Mission Band." "I'll take the crapshooters.") I still don't know if we have all the people covered. I don't think anyone really knows as there's no single person centrally in charge of it all. And I refuse to be that person. I can't that take on ... I won't take that on. I just don't have the mental space to do so.

No set designer as well, meaning no person to own that task. I came up with the initial design. It was changed in construction (to save money, I assume), and then one of the cast members, thank goodness, is an architect who couldn't curb her compulsion for tinkering, and she's been behind its development. She's almost painted the whole goddamned set single-handed. We're doing Guys & Dolls with 4 8x8x2 moveable platforms, three tables, six chairs, four benches, a mirror frame, and a tiki bar. That's it. And I'll be surprised if all that comes about. I wasn't around for all the set build days, slacker that I am, but I've only ever seen the artistic director, his wife, our master carpenter (Sid), and our producer ... oh, and our compulsive, tinkering architect (God love her!). Last week Sid bragged to me about their set for The Odd Couple and how they made it look like a real apartment. "With whom?!?" I thought. I saw the set for their last show. It was pretty nice. Maybe they do better with unit sets (single sets that serve for the entire show, like if the show takes place in one room.)

We have a prop person, (Yea!) a producer whose been beating the bushes for people, a kick-ass choreographer, a kick-ass musical director, and a cast of 22 people. Oh ... and me. There. That's what you get to put on a major musical with some 30 characters, 17 major songs, 10 locations, and 16 scene changes. [Sigh]

Never again. Never again. Of course, I don't know how to prevent it yet. I swear I ask if there's support and people say, "Oh yeah, we got support." Maybe I should carry a polygraph with me ... or a fortune teller.

May 8th. By hook or by crook, this show goes up May 8th. I've coined a new phrase for myself for this show -- I'm in "Grandpappy Mode" -- yeah, I've got some performance anxiety, but I'll be happy if I can just get it up.

A Different Review

Here's another review of Am I Black Enough, Yet? that is of a slightly different tone than the Washington Post review.

DC Theatre Scene