From the depths…

…my voice shall rise and cry out, behold, tech week is over!

This means, of course, that we open tomorrow night.

That’s fine.  We’ve already had two audiences, and the show is in good shape.  Tomorrow is the official opening, but tonight was a preview, and Kiss Me, Kate was there on Tuesday.  Sadly, that was our first dress, and as a result it was not nearly as good as any of our other rehearsals, but they knew that and were very forgiving.  Various people, including both Robbie and Paul, told me afterwards that they really enjoyed it and that I did nice work.  I’ve managed to talk to Robbie quite a bit this week, of which I am proud 🙂  Dance Lab was on Wednesday, so we talked some before that.  I asked him his middle name, which is John.  I knew it started with a J, but I’m glad to know the actual name.  The interesting thing about this week as regards Robbie, though, is that I’ve actually talked more with Paul.  I got a ride home from Darcy after the rehearsal on Tuesday, and she was driving Paul too, so we talked then, and it sort of started a pattern.  I am reminded that, before I knew Robbie, it was Paul who had my attention.  Robbie is much more interesting, but Paul is so much easier to talk to.  As I put it to Chrissy, I’ll not rule out Paul, but it’s still all about Robbie.

They were elected Acting Rep for next year.  As a unit.  It was adorable, they wrote a parody of the song from Mary Poppins where the kids are advertising themselves, and sang it in perfect unison.  When they attempt to do anything in perfect unison, it’s a little scary.  I watch them in their show through the monitor window when I’m not onstage in my show, and while I can tell them apart without trouble after having gotten used to their costumes…they are very alike.

My show, for any who missed this vital information, is called Freedom of the City.  It is by Brian Friel, an Irish dramatist who also wrote such great plays as Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa.  It’s a really good play, and it’s just about polar opposite to Kiss Me, Kate, so it’s fun to run at the same time as them.

As to casting for next semester, things are still up in the air for Lend Me a Tenor, but I’m auditioning for Brendan’s production of Charlotte’s Web on Saturday, and I’ll audition for Anna’s play, too.  I almost won’t mind if I don’t get Robbie’s show, if I can still do Anna’s.  I’m really excited about Anna’s play.

Today in Marie’s class, I sang “Come To Your Senses” from Tick, Tick…BOOM.  It went considerably better than anticipated.  In fact, I expected it to suck, but instead I got such comments as “I’ve never heard you sing with such a rich tone” and “What a great song in your voice.”  So that was good.  In terms of acting…I sang it about Geoff.  It’s a song about I’ve finally dropped my defenses and you raise yours in response, I love you and I know you love me so stop protecting yourself and take this risk with me.  Because I really am over Geoff, I didn’t expect to be able to connect to it very well — I thought about using Robbie instead, but that’s not the situation with Robbie, and it’s so bang-on the situation with Geoff a couple of months ago that I just thought I’d go for it.  And I found myself crying in the second verse.  I was a little amazed.  And then I was watching him through the monitor tonight and thought, wow, we really could have had something.  And this time, I was not the one who blew it.

I’m so busy right now it’s incredible.  Yesterday I was moving non-stop from 7:30 in the morning until 1:30 at night, and today I skipped my first class because I needed the sleep so desperately (apparently the teacher missed me and asked after me by name, which is cool because it’s a lecture class, even though it is at the theatre), and I was down in the building from 10:30 until 11:30 without leaving once.  I brought two meals with me and ate them both on brief breaks between classes.  My playwriting class had an extra meeting today with Geri’s 320 class and they did cold readings of our scripts.  I had someone I didn’t know read Harry, who wasn’t right for it, Tremaine read Dominic very well, and Cait D— was so perfect as Chessy that she requested to keep the monologue she read and use it in future.  She also asked that I send her a copy of the script when I finish it.  It went over fairly well, I think.  The class was a lot of fun, any way round.

Practicing for evals is taking up all spare time that I have.  I really shouldn’t be writing, I should be showering and heading to bed, tomorrow is another endless day.  Along with all my classes, I have eval rehearsal with Alice, our accompanist, and then with Adam, my scene partner.  And then, well, then we open.  (Another op’nin’, another show…  How many times have I heard that song in the last week?  Way too many.)  And then this weekend, on Saturday, there’s the Young Actors’ show, Brendan’s auditions, eval rehearsal, and my own show.  Sunday is Young Actors’, then our matinee, then eval rehearsal for scenes and then songs.  And Monday is classes and MT and dance evals.  Tuesday is classes, but not Marie’s, we’re finished with that — it is our Development of Theatre final, but we’ll manage that just fine — and Wednesday is scene evals.  And Thursday I’m going to the mall with Andrea before we both have shows that night, because I will be done with everything but Juries, and who really cares about Juries anyway.  I think mine is on Saturday morning…my parents and my Big, Lisa, get in on Friday, but that’s so far in the future that I won’t think about it now.

I was looking forward to the weekend and thinking about how it would be such a rest.  Well, it won’t be.  Not at all.  But I can rest after evals.  I just need to adjust my thinking…the weekend starts one week from today, not two days from now.  If I can just get through evals…  Ha, if I can get through evals, with Passover and the show and finals and things being due and my room such a mess that I can hardly stand to look at it because I want to straighten it so badly, if I can get through all that, I can do anything.

–Stephanie