This is the scene on my couch every other weekend. Giddy young actors sitting in the round, discussing our play. It's the first time I'm not directing in a long while. I'm producing this one, and I'm very much enjoying the new perspective. I do lots of the logistical stuff, and I'm not the 'last word' like I usually am. A very nice change, I have to say. The director and composer drive up from NYC every other weekend, and we run intense rehearsals for about 7 hours a day, Saturday and Sunday. Then everyone returns to their regular lives, until another 14 days have passed. It's a very strange, drawn out rehearsal schedule, I must admit, but it's working for us. It's the only way this particular Director -- whom we love -- could be a part of it. Where there's a 'Will', there's a way. (Pun intended.) The play is Much Ado About Nothing, which is honestly not one of my favorites, but it's growing on me. It doesn't hurt that the cast is stellar and a joy to be with. The play doesn't go up until the very end of May.
So the Director and I have committed to doing this as a fundraiser for Anya. She's going to need either a decent wheelchair or some kind of prosthetic soon enough. It's still unclear if her foot is salvageable. I get the feeling that the surgeon was on the fence himself about it. I am no doctor, but I have seen the golfball-sized hole where her ankle used to be. If she hasn't walked by now, my guess is a prosthetic is going to be her best answer long term. Anyway, I really have no idea since I'm not there, its all conjecture. but I do know she doesn't have the funds for anything coming her way, and that's where this play comes in. I'm hopeful we'll be able to raise at least $1500 in ticket sales. That will go a long way towards helping her -- foot or no foot.
The actors are a mix of young and older (the youngest being 12 and the oldest being about 32.) We have rehearsed in my home until recently to save on rental costs. We've recently moved into a theatre space that a local church is renting us at what we can afford...nearly nada. I'll try to take photos during next weekend's rehearsal so you can get a better idea of what's going on.
I have to say that this particular project is helping to keep me sane during this awful period of unemployment. It's the closest thing to doing my actual job. No monetary pay, but the 'job satisfaction' rating is through the roof. I'm scraping by right now, anyway, with some childcare and editing jobs. I've also managed to set aside a whole room full of things to either sell on ebay or at a giant yardsale, once the weather gets better. And I remain hopeful that my business will see a turnaround. Twenty-two years of praise for our school programs is certainly worth something. I just need to sit tight and wait for this storm to pass.
As Shakespeare says,
'How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?'
That rehearsal schedule works for me. Let me know when you're ready to cast the next one!!!
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I had a wonderful time playing Hero in that show. I am not generally a fan of these odd settings for Shakespeare, but in that show it was set in Mexico circa 1840 or so, with the mechanicals as a bunch of cowboy types; the main families as Spanish aristocrats. It worked SO well. Have fun! I can imagine what a blessed break it is for you.
ReplyDeleteI was Hero in an odd setting, too, Annie! We did it set right after the Civil War in the South. Everyone was in Confederate uniforms except Don Jon, who was in a Yankee uniform. It made it veeery clear to the (Southern) audience immediately why he was so reviled. And, as the accent is closer to what Shakespeare actually spoke than an P accent, it flowed nicely.
ReplyDeleteDid Beatrice at Oxford for my sword fighting exam. Very fun!