Just before opening "Afterplay"

9/22/05 actually 9/23

Tired and tired and, oh, yeah, tired.

It’s two days before we open “Afterplay” and all the hard work is happening now. The joy of small theater – I get to be props person, production manager, stage manager this weekend and, oh, yeah, direct the thing.

But I’m really not complaining. It’s hard work, yes, but at the end of a long day like today, I come home to my purring furball (aka Twyla) and sit and contemplate how lucky I am to be complaining about directing. I’ve spent so many years focusing on getting my career going and now that it is, it’s really hard to bitch.

Yes, I’m tired but it’s because we worked really hard tonight, nailing down those moment-to-moment things. It’s been a challenge to work with Paul, the artistic director, on this just because it’s making sure my ego is kept in check so I can listen to what he’s saying and learn from it. And I’m glad I did that because I have found myself taking little nuggets of information away from each rehearsal that I hope will inform my growth as a director. And it’s been relatively painless, actually. Paul has been amazingly respectful and allows defers to me to make sure what he’s saying is within my vision. And the fact that he’s been at most of the rehearsals means he at least knows what my vision is and he’s been careful not to tread on that. I know it must be frustrating for the actors to be getting notes from both me and Paul (as “coach”) but I think it’s been a help in the long run because we had such a short rehearsal period.

But there were several little gems tonight that made me very excited about this show. Chairman, always consistent and intuition on two feet, found even more levels to Andrey tonight somehow. And I love the way he takes direction. Sops it up and soaks it in. Makes it look effortless. And Kristy is learning more to trust her own instinct and letting go of the lines more. She stayed later to work one on one with Paul and I and I’m glad she did as we found some lovely moments that we might have missed otherwise.

I can’t say it enough – I love this process. I cannot wait until tomorrow to see what else we can find before we do our preview. And I can’t wait to see where the show will be in three weeks as Chairman and Kristy settle into the show and then really start to let go and discover what’s underneath.

And I can’t wait for you all to see this show. If you’ve seen Chairman in other Ark shows, I can safely say you have never seen him like this. And Kristy is a delightful find and a gifted actress and the two complement each other beautifully.

So remember, Friday is preview (donation only) and Saturday is opening night with all the accompanying hoopla. I’m planning on vodka for the after-party (not drinking it myself but I’m more than happy to share it) and looking forward to the run.