one week out

every show is different. This one has had it's share of challenges, to be sure. It's a good show, but it's been a challenging one. It's the shortest rehearsal process I've worked through, and although only a 45 minute play, it's one of the more difficult scripts I've written. That means that we've only had half the time to do as much comprehension and character work that we would need normally. Combine that with scheduling conflicts and last minute emergencies, and it's been a stressful ride.

Life at WestEd has been crazy as well, which makes for a very exhausted Dan at the end of the day. Weekdays and nights have been grueling, when it comes down to it, although the weekends have been utter delight.

I went out with Eden Tosh to see "Debbie Does Dallas: the Musical" last Friday, and ran into a new friend from Consumating.com on the way. This was only odd because I had invited this friend to join us, and she hadn't responded, but ended up being at the same restaurant we wandered into, totally by accident. There's that small world thing again. The show it self was ribald and absolutely hilarious. Mindy Lym had told me it was hysterical, and her assessment wasn't off by a jot.

The next day I took a train to Santa Cruz, which had numerous delays which resulted in my little 2 hour jaunt turning into a 4 hour one. Sofia Ahmad is peforming the Shakespeare Festival down there, and it was a good excuse to visit Santa Cruz and see a dear friend. Sadly, because of the delays, we didn't get much time before King Lear to chat. She picked me up and we went right to the festival grounds where I was forced to make do with the insanely overpriced salads that they had on sale there.

$13 for a caeser salad with a few strips of cold chicken. Airports dont charge that much (I think).

Lear was a solid and enjoyable production, but nothing that blew me away. The evening show, "As You Like It" was more than I could have dreamed, however. Absolutely brilliant in every capacity, it was a joy from start to finish. Making it even better, John Atwood was there, with his posse, and I got treated to a picnic dinner and some wonderful wine to go with the show. Better and better, it was. I even got a ride back to Oakland in the wee hours of the morning, saving me the potential hassle of Amtrak. (I wish I hadn't bought those tickets in advance, though.)

I was going to go to John Filgas' memorial show on Sunday but completely failed due to calendar confusion. I was convinced that it was at 7pm, and checked my email to confirm the address around 5:40, and learned that it had started at 5:30. By the time I got there, it would have been over. I do feel pretty horrible about that, but John was very much in my heart and my thoughts all that day.

As for this week, it's been work, work, work and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. We open in a week, and I think that it'll be a big hit. But for now, it's work all week, and then see shows and friends all weekend.

There are worse lives.