I finished directing my first play Bearclaw on May 21, so that can account for some of the absence. What can I say about Bearclaw that hasn't already been said? It was my first production, my 'baby', where I placed so much of my energy into. When I wasn't thinking about Bearclaw, it was still roaming in the back of my head gnawing on my medula, scratching it's back on my spine. It was an empty black hole that sucked the life, the time and the energy outta me. I loved it. In fact I thrived on it. It put the pep in my step and made me more aware of who I am as a person, what I can and can't do. Folks, I can direct! I can friggin' orchestrate a team of people and create stuff. Blows my mind.
I won't say that Bearclaw wasn't without some hitches, but they were minor and always seemed to work out in the end. It was like the production had a little, mischievous elf that teased and tricked us, but ended up sewing a whole new set of shoes overnight (if you catch my drift; mixed two analogies into one incomprehensible sentence, yeay!).
A couple of hiccups encountered during the production:
1) We couldn't cast the 'right' Peter Sr. The first week and a half of rehearsals we had 3 out of 4 of our cast, but we were still missing the principal element, our Peter Sr. and we were starting to get worried. Then a fateful encounter in an Improv workshop set the gears into motion and we landed a talented, funny, witty and wise Peter Sr. We were now Ready To Go and worry and fret about a different part of the production: set construction.
2) When the set construction came about, we decided to do TWO different set stages, as the set of Keep Me was going to use a different type of layout than Bearclaw's. I was lucky to be working with a team of creative ladies who came to the brilliant idea of putting the stages on wheels, thus we were able to provide vibrant set changes that we changed during intermission. Putting the damn stages ON wheeled platform turned out to be a labor intensive project that had to be revised not once, not twice, but three different times which meant that we were sans set for a week or so. The set builder was a little bit stubborn and had to be persuaded and nagged a couple of times. He finally produced a beautiful, if slightly imperfect set that wobbled if you slammed a door too hard (which happens more than a couple of times during Bearclaw).
3) Set furniture was also a growing concern as the right hospital bed was nowhere to be found and a source of constant worry and doubt. The fearful aversion at having to settle for furniture that is not what you had in mind was a constant stream of thought.... the Make Do. Thankfully, one of the producers was able to procure an old school hospital bed that was so heavy and big it couldn't even fit in the small 1960's elevator of the building and had to be disassembled and carried down three flights of stairs. Needless to say I tipped the movers $5 dollars each as it just so happened to be one of the hottest days of the year and they did the move at noon, pobrecitos! Now the problem is that the owner of the hospital seems to not want it back. We call and call, but he never gives us a date and says he has to check on stuff. Anyone interested in an old hospital bed? Might sell it for scrap metal!
4) We had NO electricity 24 hours before Opening Night. Some mysterious light issue struck the theater, but none of the other buildings around the theater were affected and they actually had electricity. Took 24 hours to repair which made us have to postpone Opening Night by one week. On the other hand, we did put on a candle light performance of Keep Me and Bearclaw at The Guild, which was not only romantic and breath taking, but was also incredibly moving to see so much passion and effort go into a production in front of my very eyes. We pulled through, but the light didn't. The shows had to be postponed a week and a mild level of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder set in the cast and crew. I left encouraging voicemails on people's cellphones and escaped into the country to give my mind a break. The time was used, wisely, as a moment to perfect everything, which we strived to do.
5) We had walkie talky issues the first three nights of the show, which had me turning my walkie talky on right before a scene ended/started to coordinate the stage instructions until the batteries gave out on me, which had me finally resorting to communicating via cellphones, plugging or unplugging a blue stand light, wild gesticulation, cursing, whispering, hoping and finally, praying to God. Everything worked out well, but we saw room for improvement (namely, CHARGE YOUR RADIOS ALWAYS).
6) The lights went out right at the beginning of curtain call, but thanks to some quick thinking, we were able to do it with nothing but flash lights and then we lined the hallway with votive candles we had used the week previously week for our Press Junket in the Dark (which btw, should become a tradition! How cool would it be for every show at The Guild to have a candle light show for the press where a preview of the show is preformed?! Intimate and beautiful) so that the audience could see where they were walking. The lights ended up coming back within 5 minutes, still made for a memorable curtain call.
Now that I think about it, these hiccups were all minor but in the moment they seemed like such mountains to be scaled. There were a few more (there are ALWAYS more in community theater, btw), but now I forget or they are proven once and for all to be minor as I can't even recollect them.
