The End and Beginning

So, I'm sitting here sore, tired, and with a thick layer of hair-spray all over my body. I'm too tired to actually try to fix any of the afore mentioned ailments, so I decided to blog before I pass out. So, if this doesn't make sense or I pass out before I have a chance to finish, meh, too bad. I'm sure you'll be able to continue living your life.

I just wrapped up a 2 show run. Yup, that's right, only 2 shows, a Saturday evening and Sunday matinee. It was gone in a flash. I have never done such a short run in my entire life. Well, now I take that back, the operas I did at a vocal arts symposium were a one shot deal, but we learned them each in about 4 days, so they don't count. Now I'm older and my mind is not as absorbent as it once was so projects are much more time consuming. Anyway, we started rehearsals right in the beginning of August, and had 4 nights of rehearsal a week, which was a lot. It was fast and furious, but good that it was short so it didn't take all summer, and it was only for 2 shows.

When we finally got to the performances, it seemed like we needed to have like just one more final dress... too late, it was show-time. We had an amazing audience on Saturday which made everything go smoothly. I would say we all brought our A game, and it was fun and intense, and amazing. You could tell everyone was pumped, since the cast party raged on until 3 a.m. Today's performance was great for the first act, which consisted of a number of different Gilbert and Sullivan pieces. Then the second Act of Trial by Jury arrived. It arrived and skipped and bounced and went in all sorts of directions. Needless to say, it wasn't the performance to end on... But the end did come.

This weekend was the opening and closer of a great show. I wish that we had another weekend at least to really perform. There are things I would love to fix and there are moments that change with each audience, I just wish there were more performances, but there's not. It's 2 shows and done. Opening nights are always special, matinees will always be hard, and the last shows are always full of mixed feelings. This one was such a unique show to be a part of, that I am not ready for it to be done yet. The rehearsals yes, but the performances, no.

When doing a show, you meet a lot of really neat people and you start to form a strange symbiotic bond with them. You spend every night together for rehearsal, you go out after rehearsal and are just thrown into a daily relationship with them. It's easy, because you all have to be there for rehearsal, so, there's no plans to be made, no times to be set, it's pretty much a planned out, no effort relationship. Now that the show is over, you might never see some of these people again, and you definitely won't see them every night (although I am out of groceries, so I might stop by for dinner). So, as I said goodbye, I had my usual regrets of either not getting to know someone better, or realizing I didn't put forth the effort to make future plans with them. But now it's over and time to look ahead.

So, what's next? Oh yes, I'm starting the cycle all over again. Rehearsals have already started and my first one is tomorrow. Ai carrumba! What am I doing? But this next show, I anticipate will be all gravy. I have a small part, so I'm thinking a lot less rehearsal time and I have a trip planned for a week (which is good for the break, and the time to learn my stuff mid-rehearsal) and the show runs 3 weekends. Perfect, right? We'll see....

OK Say good night Gracie. Good night Gracie.