We have our first public performance tonight! It’s a preview which means we still have the option of stopping the show if something goes terribly wrong. Which it won’t (as I knock on wood).
This week has been rewarding, tiring and filled with hard work. We’ve gone until 10:00 every night – which isn’t easy for the younger ones – and our crack technical and artistic staff then meet until about midnight and we all give our notes for the next day. This is everything from changing a light cue to making a costume adjustment to deciding to use a different prop. One of the many things I love about Lyric Arts is that they actually give you enough stage time to be able to consider and make these changes. Things look VERY different in the rehearsal room - and I’ve worked some places where we didn’t get the stage until two or three days before opening. That’s crazy-making for everyone – so THANK YOU, Lyric Arts!
And speaking of Lyric Arts – I’ve already talked about the great designers, and the wonderful cast – let’s talk a bit about our producers: Lyric Arts. I really, really like this theater – I like the building, I like Anoka, and most importantly, I like the people that run the company. They are incredibly hard-working, nice, funny, deeply caring, so smart they scare me, and they are devoted – DEVOTED – to creating quality theater and to theater education. I like that mission – a lot. I can think of few things more fulfilling than seeing a young person gain confidence and discipline by doing a show. Or working with an adult who knows (s)he wants to be on stage but hasn’t had much opportunity – and seeing that person blossom as he realizes he has talent. The experience of witnessing that life-changing (and I don’t use that word lightly) transformation has choked me up more than once. Theater can do that, people! That’s why YOU need to support Lyric Arts – come to their shows and give them a donation. They’re maybe not going to solve the world’s problems, but trust me, they are touching people’s lives and making a difference. Yeah!
OK – over and out – I need to go and WRITE A CHECK to Lyric Arts. Hoping you do the same!
BN
