Clearing

Well, the last three weeks have been ... filled with pressure. The final phase of In the Blood has coincided with the beginning phases of Guys & Dolls. On top of that Am I Black Enough Yet? faced one last reading and neared production and we ended the first quarter of this semester at the college. The wineshop, of course, chugged along.

The weekend before last were auditions for Guys & Dolls. At this point we're almost all cast. We've covered all the roles and are only waiting for two people to weigh in on whether or not they accept. I've called all the people I did not cast, three of whom were quite disappointed, one who outright yelled at me ... lovely.

This weekend started Tech Week for In the Blood. We had just gotten to the place where we were running the show in rehearsals. Now we're adding in all the technical elements -- sound and light cues. Tonight we add in costumes. It's a harrowing process. Sound, lights, and costumes are such integral parts of shows, yet frequently they are thrown in at the last minute. Everybody involved seems loathe to build more rehearsal time for them into schedules. Part of it is that community theater doesn't have enough person power in terms of tech to move in an accelerated pace ... or maybe they're so used to Tech Week stress that it's easier to suffer through what's habituated than to rethink their established structure.

Either way, it's a time of deep breaths and counts to ten before dealing with the next problem.

The preceding two or three weeks have been heavy with my own play. Each night, I've returned to my dingy, desperately in need of cleaning, apartment after rehearsal to find numerous emails from the director and dramaturge in DC suggesting cuts and citing problems for scenes that they have been rehearsing. Usually in this process, the playwright would be available for rehearsals so that the director could invite her or him to come see the problems they're encountering. With me in a different town and working on two different shows simultaneously that has not been possible. And thus ... the emails -- not the best way of doing things. A couple weeks ago, there was a reading of the play in Roanoke. I went down to see it and met cast members I had not met before. They gleefully came to me, shook my hand, told me how great it was to finally meet me and how much they loved the piece. I was shocked. From being on this end of email after email of suggested changes I was imagining them sitting up in DC, grudgingly working the show script, grumbling to themselves about what a piece of crap it was, and building the next litany of changes for the turkey they were saddled with. I had to realize, in reality it was just a few pieces we've been circling around. Felt like more, though.

This was the crunch time ... but it's clearing. This past week was Spring Break for the college so I had no classes. G & D is cast and starting into music and dance rehearsals that I don't necessarily have to be at. AIBEY races towards opening next week, so they can't afford to have me changing things. For better or worse, the script they've got is the script they've got. Blood takes up most of my attention now. We open Thursday. Things will come together or they won't. I imagine that they will. We know what we're doing. It's just a lot of components that have to be integrated and last minute problems that have to be solved. Let's just hope that adding the costumes goes smoothly.

I knew these weeks would be the tough time ... like a sailor charting course through rough seas of some kind. But the skies are clearing and easier sailing is ahead. I tire of being on the water, though. I've got one more leg to go in my journey, and I'm already looking forward to coming into dock and spending some time on dry land.

(You know, I'm really liking this metaphor. I find it apt.)