Well, dear readers, tonight we resume performances of Levi and to that end we had us a pick-up rehearsal yesterday at five. It only lasted about ninety minutes all told – we ran all the songs, the staging on the big numbers, all the set changes, and I gave a few notes based on the first week’s performances. It was really nice to see my beautiful cast again and to hear all that wonderful music. We have a decent-sized house for tonight, but I’m hoping we get another ten or twenty people in – that happened a lot during the first week – lots of folks just showing up at the box-office, so hopefully that will happen this week, too.
Prior to that, I’d gotten over eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, and had a flurry of telephonic calls, mostly about Levi. We’re going to be videotaping the final three performances, but it’s for promotional use only, to help us get the word out to other regional theaters. The author of the book is paying for that and I’m really happy we’re doing it. So, yesterday I booked the crew and got all those details sorted out. I picked up one package, a screener of something called Detroit, which sounds like more Oscar-bait moviemaking to me and it’s long, too, at two hours and twenty minutes. Not sure I need to see it, but maybe at some point once we’re past the Kritzerland show.
Then I moseyed on over to the House of Pies and had two broasted chicken breasts, a small salad, and a piece of cornbread. It was very yummilicious. Then I went to LACC and we had us our pick-up rehearsal.
After that, I stopped at Ralph’s and got a few things – some diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale, some snack stuff, one frozen dinner that looked interesting to me, some crackers, saved fourteen dollars by using my new Ralph’s card, and then came home, put everything away, and then I played music, answered more e-mails, and took a hot shower.
Over the past few days whilst in bed I’ve been thinking about what new book I might like to write – as I said, I have a Hofstetter book idea that I’ve had for two years, but I had so much fun writing Thrill Ride this year because it was a different kind of book for me, that my mind keeps going to new things. So, something, some little morsel of an idea had planted itself and based on something someone said to me the other day, I began to think about that idea in earnest and what it would actually be. It’s a theme I’ve been interested in for as long as I can remember, in the same way time travel has always interested in me, which of course finally resulted in Thrill Ride. So, Monday night I thought of an opening sentence and I kept ruminating on it and where it would lead me and what the character would be that inspired the sentence. And last night as I was sitting here listening to music I went to a document called New Book Idea, which I thought was the Thrill Ride document, where I’d begun to make notes – but it wasn’t. What it was was an idea I’d had at the same time as Thrill Ride – and this is the beauty part that’s quite unbelievable: It’s the very idea I’ve been thinking about, complete with a title I like – isn’t that weird? So, I just sat here like so much fish and wrote the first page of what may just become my new novel, unless some other idea appeals to me soon. This one would require a good deal of thought and I’m going to make notes now about all the stuff I would want to cover, and the timeline for it all and how it would be structured. We shall see.
Today, I shall attend to details pertaining the Levi taping, I shall hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll grab a bite to eat somewhere near LACC, and get to the theater around six-thirty or so. Then we do our performance of Levi.
Tomorrow we play a matinee, then we have a brief Kritzerland rehearsal an hour later. Friday we have our second Kritzerland rehearsal, finally with everyone in attendance – that happens around one and will finish by three-thirty. I’ll probably get to the theater around six to talk to the video folks and make sure they’re all set up properly. Then we play the show at eight. Saturday we have our stumble-through at twelve-thirty, then several of us have to leave instantly at one-forty for our matinee at three. Depending on how I feel, I’ll either meet Sami and her mom for a bite to eat before the show, or I may just get a snack so we can go out after the show. I don’t know any way to take this cast out for a meal – it’s twenty-four people – but we’ll see how it all feels that day. Then Sunday we have our sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, attend to Levi details, hopefully pick up packages, eat, and see the first of our final five performances. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a fun pick-up rehearsal and more than happy to maybe have the idea for what may be my new novel.