And now the storm breaks loose

With rehearsal last night, tech week has begun.

It went very well; everyone was right on their games. The acting was extremely sharp last night. I was particularly impressed with certain small reactions they had to each other-- Jared's momentary cringe at a painful thought, Kindness's frustration with his friend's stubbornness, Liz's sympathetic sadness, Plesser's struggling with his conflicted feelings... and so many other small expressions of grasping character and investment in the moment. I was so impressed, and so very proud. This is going to be a good freaking show!

This was also the first full dress rehearsal. They had played around a little in their pieces for test purposes, and I must have made Frances try on that dress ten million times, but they'd never been all together in full costume before. I was incredibly pleased to see how they looked as an ensemble. One trick to costume designing for the stage that I've always found it a bit tough to keep track of is that no one costume can be chosen in a vacuum-- one must always keep in mind how it will look up beside every other costume it will be up there with. Colors must not confuse or clash, no one element should draw undue attention, there may not be wide disparity in quality, fit, or style unless it's got a point. Costumes can have so much meaning that you can't let the little things slide. This time, though, I attended to it scrupulously, and if I may say so myself, I really think I nailed it.

Also, there was one other thing... let me see if I can phrase this in a way that is vague enough as to not spoil my intended effect for those who will be coming to see the show... I was also pleased to note that something I had worked very carefully to engineer so that the audience would notice its significance gradually despite it being present all along seemed to have come together in the way I wanted it to. Since I already know the intended effect I suppose I can't be sure, but I think it's not so obvious as to immediately jump out at everyone, but obvious enough that as the play goes on it will become clear.

Tonight will be our first night in the theater. We've mostly been practicing in a space designed to match the dimensions of the actual stage, so it shouldn't be too difficult a transition. This week will involve working the lights, the sound, and in full costume. I've got about eight thousand errands to run before then, but I'm psyched.

This is good. This is going to be a very good show.