It was a really fun day for me and for the other actors, but a really stressful day for Lisa, our tech guru for the production. We had sixty minutes to use the stage - during that time, we had to load-in our set, spike our set, focus our lights, program the light board for our show, run a cue to cue (which didn't exactly happen), set our props, and then load everything out. Sixty minutes was not enough time to do what we wanted and needed to do, but I think we left with a decent feel for where everything was and how everything was going to work this Saturday.
As for the actors and the fun day... we all drove up together with Gloria, the actress who plays David's mother in the piece, and who is really the main character. All of the action in Butterfly, for those of you who are unfamiliar, takes place in the mind of Ruby, David's mother and murderer. The three of us actors had a great time hanging out on our little road trip, having a fun lunch at the Macaroni Grille, and then road tripping back all in time for the theatre banquet held by the theatre who is producing Butterfly. It was a very good day.
I admit, however, that I am nervous out of my mind about Saturday.
Tomorrow night we have a dress/run of the show at the local college. My dresser, Debbie, will be there so that we can run the changes until we feel confident in how they're going to go. Instead of a nice, large, flat surface for my clothing, there is only enough room backstage at the Round House for a folding chair and a stool (for my few props). My biggest fears are that I will forget to set something before we begin or that my binding clips won't function correctly, or that I will be without one of my costume pieces, or that I will not have time to finish my final change. The changes have always been the biggest stressor in the piece for me. The last change being the most stressful - I have thirty seconds to change into dress pants with a belt, dress shoes, a dress shirt, and a tie. I hate buttons. I failed them in kindergarten. They are truly evil in my eyes. Moreso now.
I know that we have a good show. I'm trying not to let the pressure of this thing get to me, but I admit that even though I've been on stage for as long as I can remember - Mom and Dad claim age three - this is the first time I've been in a theatrical competition of any sort. The theatre feels we have a good chance of winning, which mounts even further pressure on us as we head up the road on Saturday.
I'm trying to just focus on myself, on David, on the acting and the presentation of the message and forget about the points deducted or added to our score as a result of every little thing we do. It's proving tougher than I thought.
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