Well, dear readers, I had another VERY long and exhausting day, doing the light cues for act two – slow going and of course we’re doing them sans actors, which is pretty much impossible. At four, I ordered mac-and-cheese from The Federal, where they do it very well. But not yesterday – it was bland and flavorless, and the theater had no salt to perk it up. I ate it – it wasn’t that big a portion, but what a disappointment. We had our run-through with light-over and Richard Allen on piano and some of it went very well and we need to clean up a few things. Some of the lighting looks good, some we have to fix, and we’ll do all that at our cue-to-cue today. There are just a handful of lighting effects I want, and only one of them actually worked correctly, but now that we’ll have our actors, we’ll be able to fix it with them, and then we’re putting glow tape on the floor, so they know exactly where they’re standing for those critical light cues. Of course, we’re still missing one of the main visual components of the show – the projections. I thought our gal would be with us last night, but nope. Hopefully today, because not only does she have to get it working, she has to do the script cues and then train the fellow who’ll actually be operating for the show. The wrestling scene went very well, actually. So, do send some of those most excellent vibes and xylophones that we get through the tech and dress rehearsals, sitzprobe, previews, and then our opening weekend. And no more damn drama. I thought yesterday we might just have no drama, but I got an e-mail when I got up that was really irritating and I responded, well, strongly – about the show’s budget, of course. And now, I am sitting here like so much tired fish, listening to the last of the Handel CDs from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which will be followed by a large number Haydn CDs. As you know, I’ve been hidin’ from Haydn for decades, but maybe this excellent ensemble will make me like the music, oh, yes, maybe this excellent ensemble will make me like the music.
Yesterday, I could not fall asleep. I was in bed by two and then just tossed and turned, thinking about the show and what needs to be done to get it where I need it to be. I got up at five-thirty, then went back to bed an hour later and slept until eleven, so five-and-a-half hours of sleep, not nearly enough for the likes of me. Once up, I answered e-mails, sent a no-nonsense response to the irritating e-mail, and then I got ready for the long day. I got to the theater at three and spent the next three-and-a-half hours on the light cues for act two. Then our cast arrived. Before we began, glow tape had to be put on all the risers and platforms so that no one would get hurt. Then we began. The show ran exactly two hours with a ten-minute break, although we didn’t do one sketch because it’s two people and one won’t be with us until today. The new songs are really working well. I’m still playing with the end of one number, but having already re-staged it, it’s working much better now. Once we get the lighting issues smoothed out, that will look fine and then the projections make it all of a piece.
Today, I’ll be up by noon at the latest, and then I’ll relax, send out the notes I took last night to our cast, then I’ll head over to the theater around two o’clock. At three, we begin our cue-to-cue and that can’t last past six-thirty at the very latest. Then we’ll have an hour food break, then at seven or seven-thirty (depending on when we break), we’ll begin another full run-through. We’ll have the final two missing actors back and hopefully they’ll not have forgotten everything we’ve done. After that, I’ll come directly home.
Tomorrow is off and other than send whatever notes I have, I’ll just relax, which I really need to do. Monday is our stizprobe and after it’s done I’ll run anything that needs running. Tuesday is our one and only final dress rehearsal with all components. Then on Wednesday we play our first preview, on Thursday we play our second preview, and then we open and play our first weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by noon at the latest, relax, send out notes, then we have our cue-to-cue, a meal break, and then we do a full run-through, after which we’ll run any problem things. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your Oscar predictions? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping that we get the projections up and running so I don’t have to ask wherefore art thou, projections?