Whew. Okay.
Hi again.
It's good that I didn't blog the last two weeks. For one thing, I was really, really, really tired. Almost all the time. Up until earlier this week, when Alice opened, and I wasn't trying to get to work right at 8:30 a.m. any more. (You wouldn't think changing my ETA from 8:30 to 9:00 would make that much of a difference, but it totally has!) For another thing, well, things were just really taking a pretty sharp downturn when I shut the blog down last week. I knew this was going to be a rough month, and it certainly lived up to expectations. After the overnight in the emergency room with Robbie (once again, he's fine), things across the board just got worse. Work became uncannily stressful and, at times, downright discouraging. I spent a lot of time wavering between glum, fatigued, and just plain angry.
Would have made for some crappy blogging, and a couple of you would just have worried about me, and that wouldn't have done at all ;-)
Now, there were definitely pockets of joy in that time. It's not like I was depressed. My folks came down for an awesome visit last weekend and gave Kim and I a much-needed night out. Rehearsals for Alice were always a bright spot, and I think we did a lot of great work during that time, which was energizing. Then, there were my once-a-week dinners with my wife and child between rehearsals. Those were nice. But on the whole, not a "good" time.
So, Alice Now! opened Wednesday morning. We had final dress rehearsal and preview performance Tuesday afternoon and evening, and between the cast sat in the courtyard with our dinners and enjoyed one of the most beautiful days we'll see all year. That was a really good day. I'm pleased with the show. It faced some really interesting difficulties throughout the process, from script changes to rehearsal limitations to actors' illness to my getting pulled out of rehearsals occasionally for meetings with the boss. On top of that, it was a musical adaptation of a fairly disjointed story in the first place, so we were already a bit short on rehearsal time. Also, our production department was set back a couple of weeks due to late casting (another something that was out of my hands), so we were adding pieces all the way up to the preview performance. Lots to contend with. But I'm really pleased with the work my cast (and everybody else who touched this production) did, and I think we've got a solid show, especially considering the hand we were dealt this time around.
About halfway through the week, the most stressful of the circumstances that were making evening rehearsals so stressful started to improve. That cast finally got a chance to run the show a few times and work to find their own continuity, and I think they've put together a very solid show. It's hard to be objective after watching something every night for the past five weeks, but I think the reactions from our two preview audiences justify my claim. I'm thrilled that this team is going to have such a solid run.
I don't think I'll volunteer for this sort of workload again. Directing one show in the morning and assistant directing w/ the boss at night definitely took a lot out of me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I pray to God that I was helpful and effective in both roles, though, and I have learned a lot from the experience. I'm actually already a little sad that I don't have another directing project lined up. It seems like I need a weekend to recover, and then I can get back with it. That's probably not true, but that's what it feels like. Opening nights energize me.
Bah. I need to be a writer again for awhile. And a husband/father/friend. And that means dinner out this evening, a night at home with my son on Wednesday, Outgehangen at the first opportunity.
I'll provide some more opening night details for Little Foxes tomorrow. This has been a crazy journey, and I'm probably better for having done it. I appreciate all the prayer and comments and other support I've received over the past month. Those of you who know my family well know that work schedules weren't the only burdens we've been bearing lately. This has been a good exercise in remembering that God is faithful.
So those of you whose lives I kind of dropped out of to some degree, it looks like I'm back. Gimme a call sometime.
Oh, and I know you all missed my NHL playoff preview in my absence. Don't worry, I made my predictions. (One is already completely wrong, but who knew the Flyers would bounce the Devils so quickly with Boucher in net and without two of their top forwards? I mean really??) I sent them to Sherri so there would be recorded proof that I made them before the playoffs started. I'll let you know what they were before round 2 starts. Because I know you missed my playoff hockey coverage.
I think that covers most everything. Expect a new RNGOTM soon. Enjoy your weekend. It's beautiful outside, so go for a walk or something.
