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December 7, 2006:

T MINUS ONE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it is T minus one. Yes, Virginia, it is T minus one. I don’t really know what that means, but I like the sound of it. T could stand for Thursday, which today is. But if it’s Thursday minus one then it would be Wednesday not Friday and if it’s Wednesday then it can’t be Friday, which it isn’t because it’s Thursday. I’ve lost my train of thought, and also my bus of thought. In fact, I’ve lost all thought and drool has started to come out of my mouth. Where was I? Oh, yes, it is T minus one. Tonight is our one and only preview performance, although I have no idea if there will be people in attendance – I’ve certainly asked for people to be in attendance, but we’ll have to see if that comes to fruition. Speaking of fruition, yesterday came to fruition. For example, I woke up and obviously came to fruition. After waking up, I packaged up a few more orders and managed to ship every single package, so that I am completely caught up, shipping-wise. That took quite a long time. I then did some errands and whatnot, then toddled off to LACC, where I sat with the tech people, finessing cues. Then, when the company arrived, we ran several scene shifts, and then it was time to begin. Rather than break it down bit by bit, I’ll just say that overall the show ran much smoother, and there were many less missed cues. However, the sound continues to be a problem, but our designer was there, and we had many conversations and she was constantly working and adjusting as we went along. By mid-show, the band sounded pretty good on certain numbers, and not so good on others. By the end of the evening, things were better, and after the run the band played through two more songs, just to let the sound folks work on the blends. Dear reader elmore has done a fantastic job on the show – it’s amazing how a good orchestrator can turn a band of five into a real cohesive unit. The cast mostly sounds fine, but there are too many times when mics are malfunctioning and I hope that’s being addressed. Some actors are still feeling their way through their roles and learning how to play the energy of the show and feel the internal pacing of individual scenes, while other actors are blossoming and blooming – by tomorrow, I hope everyone will be doing the latter. Alet, in full wig and regalia, really began to find what is working for her and she’s really beginning to run with it. She is one of the most amazing performers it’s ever been my pleasure to work with – my job with her is mostly getting her to be consistent and to lock in what’s great. Cason, one of my favorites, has been having what most actors go through in a long process like this – he’s second-guessing himself because there’s no audience and he’s not sure if he’s as funny as usual. Let me tell you, he’s funny. He’s beyond funny and last night he got right back to everything that works – watching Alet and him is just pure joy. Kevin is still trying to give me what I know is necessary for his role – it’s been a struggle, but slowly and surely we’re getting there. His biggest problem is truly letting go of rhythms and patterns that he set when learning the lines. We go over everything, and he has it, and then he subconsciously reverts to the old readings. I know he’ll come through just fine – he’s a total pro. Lauren, who plays his wife, is just wonderful – she just has it down. Newcomer Merrill is doing wonderfully. Several students are doing great jobs, and Egbert, who plays the title character, has really come into his own in the last week and it’s been so much fun watching him finally learn to take the stage, command, and play out. The costumes were better last night, and are really a good deal of fun. I’ve been thrilled with the sets since the get-go – the designer and I just really hit it off and have always been on exactly the same page. The scene changes were much smoother, with only a couple still giving problems. Lighting is still iffy a few times, but is getting better. There are a couple of weirdnesses that keep happening and I’m hoping that by this afternoon, those will all be worked out. But, for the first time, last night’s run began to feel like a show to me. I think having an audience will really help. All the tech students and our terrific stage manager are stepping up to the plate and really getting it together – this show is not just a piece of cake to run. There are a huge number of light and sound cues and set changes and they all happen one after another or even at the same time – and the show never lets up. And that is the report. After the show and notes, I was really hungry and a couple of us went over to Genghis Cohen and we had some lovelier than lovely foodstuffs.

Is that the longest paragraph ever? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because, after all, it’s T minus one.

Today, I have called the cast an hour early to run a couple of scenes and so I can reblock one thing early in act two. The show has already had its first cut – a little comic bit I felt wasn’t working at all. After that, we’ll run the couple of rough scene shifts, and then we’ll go through the act one and two light cues again, just to make sure they’re happening correctly. Then, at seven-fifteen we do our one and only preview. If any of our LA folks know people who’d like to come and be supportive and see the show for free, please let them know it’s cool to do so.

Then, tomorrow, there is no tomorrow – it’s opening night. But, for now, it’s T minus one and for tonight and tomorrow all excellent vibes and xylophones would be appreciated.

Now wait just a darned minute. Shouldn’t we all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons? Shouldn’t we all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks? Shouldn’t we all dance the Hora and the fox trot? We should, because today is the birthday of our very own dear reader Jane, whom I have known since 1964 or thereabouts. Hopefully, she’ll drop by to read all her good wishes. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader Jane. On the count of three – one, two, three: A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER JANE!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, do errands, sup, rehearse, and then attend our one and only preview. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton movies – either together or apart? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst T minus one marches on.

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