The Night Before The Night Before

Affections of May, Scarborough Theatre Guild's latest production, opens on Thursday (January 12, 2012).  I have been been directing and will continue to (for a mere number of hours) direct the show until notes are done on the dress rehearsal run.  I kept meaning to blog this process and I didn't.  Perhaps the energy spent on directing is the same spent on writing.  I didn't have it in me.  

So, so.  We are at The Night Before The Night Before.  That means tomorrow is Dress Rehearsal and we open the next day.  My mood?  Sanguine and terrified.

Sanguine has become, for whatever reason, my new favourite woird.  It speaks to my general approach to life -- that I enter the fray with a smile and ruddy cheeks, happy to ride out the highs and the lows in pursuit of our shared goals and, hopefully, have a good time on the way.  Happily, sanguine has been the mood of this rehearsal period.  We have worked hard but have laughed all the way.  Some days, I laughed so hard, my tummy hurt.  I will miss this mob.

Terrified?  Yes, it so doesn't sound like me.  But anytime one jumps off a cliff it's terrifying.  Oh, and envigorating.  Ah, the tummy flip flops as one falls, the rush of the air in one's ears, the anticipation of the splash, the immersion in deep, warm, coral-coloured water, the subsequent reach for air and sunlight. Fun.  And terrifying.  There ya go.  I feel this terror at the beginning of a rehearsal process and at the end.

Really, my job is as a Director is mostly done at this stage.  I have put certain wheels in motion, have tried to help and inspire, feed the minds of these excellent actors, and I just hope, now, that the outcome will entertain.  At the end of the day, I want our audience to be drawn into the story the actors are telling and have a great night at the theatre.

Weird, though, that jumping off a cliff is such a solitary leap.  It would be fun to have company but, really, a director`s life is something like an author`s life.  It is solitary.  And, yet, shared with so many.  My audience goes for the leap with me when those lights go down.

So, I dare you to take my hand.  Come one.  Let`s jump together.