I've been very nervous...

Sex & Desperation opened on Thursday and we had two reviewers in the audience. I've found the first review online and when I read it, it brought a smile to my face (even though I got slightly dinged for a few things). I've been nervous leading up to the opening. Though the process has been relatively smooth, there were a few things (like starting the rehearsal process two weeks earlier) that I would have liked to do.

All in all I'm happy though. I was blessed with a very amazing (and drama-free) cast. I had four playwrights that laid their work out there and were very collaborative. I did learn a lot though through this process. Originally I thought 4 one acts wouldn't be any more difficult than a full-length that had a similar running time, boy was I wrong.

Each play provided it's own unique challenges; sometimes I saw things differently than the playwright, one of the shows demanded a lot of tablework to figure out what was going on, one of the shows uses each actor so scheduling around conflicts can be tricky, one of my actors has a thick accent so it took time to make sure we had the clarity we needed (though I think his accent adds a little something special to that piece).

It was a learning experience that I am very grateful for. I'm very excited to jump into next season's BPF submissions and start the process all over again as I am doing the BPF selection at Spots next summer.

Also, I'm about to start work on a generative piece using the text of the Spoon River Anthology called Graves in the Water. Look for it Halloween weekend at The Strand, free to all as a part of Free Fall Baltimore. :)

To Start Anew...

So last night was the first production meeting for Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill. I'm a big fan of Caryl (I talk like I've met her, though I have not) and think her work is amazing. She makes statements with her work.

It felt good to be back at the beginning of the process again. Though Watch only has one more weekend left in the run, jumping in on something else will help with the grieving period. What I mean is that when a show closes there is a sense of loss. Not sure what to do with your nights anymore, you are thrust back into normal life. It's been weird to come home every night after work and not have to race off to the theatre, but still good. It's nice to be able to sit at home and read a play. (or write a blog post...)

Anyways, working on this next show is really exciting. My director is an awesome guy and it's great to have a full production team. (Unlike the last two shows!) That means I can focus on stage managing and props. I think I may be a little on the over organized side, but I need to be when I start the show so that way if I slip up a little later on, I'm still ahead of the game.

I also started my position with the Baltimore Playwrights Festival as the rep for Spots. So far I've read one play and am really excited about it. It's the first one, but it engaged me. I don't think it's right for Spots' season, but definitely something I would love to work on in the future.

Anyways, not sure if there was a real point to this post except to say that I'm in a good place moving forward and excited for the next show!