Second night in the theater

So last night we had our last tech rehearsal before the show.

By the time call time rolled around, I wasn't feeling so great. Around two o'clock I'd started to feel worse than just a really sore throat; my head was pounding and my whole body felt weak. I had a nice lunch with Jared, drove him to his appointment, and then went home to crash and eat Advil. Bernie stopped by and very sweetly brought me orange juice, and stayed with me for a bit while I dozed. After he left I slept some more for real, then took a shower. I felt a bit better after all this, though the Advil took forever to kick in and didn't totally kill my headache.

Rehearsal was a bit slow getting started. The men are all pretty easy to get ready, but getting the ladies into their hair, makeup, and in the Graces' case, costumes, is a pretty big production. I hope an hour and a half before showtime on Thursday and Friday is enough. This at least gave Bernie the time to mess with the sound, which was the only technical element left to incorporate. Jared very thoughtfully brought me soup and watched me like a hawk to make sure I ate it. There is also a dance element in the show, beautifully choreographed by Charlotte, that they took this opportunity to practice. We had hoped to do two runs, but given the time constraints and the need to also do photo call, we decided to only do one.

That one went well, though, with only one noticeable error, which they are now prepared do deal with should it ever arise again. Jared was so wonderful it made me ache. I was also kind of flattered that blendedchaitea*, who has seen the show several times now and said she was planning on getting going as soon as she saw everyone onstage, ended up sticking around for the full run. And she still laughed at all the jokes. The show is that good, people. :-) The sound elements ended up integrating beautifully, and now the tech is complete and looks very slick.

We did photo call after that, and I nabbed some really fantastic pictures. They will go up on Facebook soon, but I think not until the show is over. I don't want anything potentially spoiled before people actually see the play. :-) But trust me, there are some wonderful shots that do everyone involved justice.

Perhaps the most fantastic thing, though, is that everyone feels so good about this show. They're enthusiastic and proud to be part of it. The process was enjoyable, they felt respected, their hard work paid off. This was the sort of theater experience that actors hope to have. I'm incredibly pleased and proud to have been able to be part of that.

There will be no rehearsal tonight; two of my actors have other commitments, we're in pretty good shape, and I need a night to rest and heal. So I let everyone off. We open in tomorrow, so I hope the break energizes them.

We open tomorrow. I am very happy. I hope you'll come share it with me.