Another Op'nin, Another Show

I have spent the bulk of my life in theatre. On the stage or behind the scenes, I've performed just about every duty known to the art. The only things I have not done are (1) costume a show, though I have been a dresser and (2) direct. As we worked through the most recent opening, it occurred to me that directing may not stay on that list very long. I doubt, however, that I will ever attempt to costume a show. Though I have costumed myself in more than a few.

Ghost Story opened this Tuesday to a receptive audience. It's not the best original script, not even close, and on paper it's downright -- well, let's not bite the hand that feeds me -- but on its feet in front of an audience it plays. Two speedy hours of mindless fun. It's an easy show to run, barring a bear of a set change in the first intermission, and the cast is likeable. In some ways, it's a nice to be back in the booth.

In other ways, though, it's a nightmare. Long hours and constant demands can get wearing. More than once I've likened the position to being a House Elf, but I made the comparison to a particular friend for the first time Friday night and was amused to find a sock on my chair when I arrived on Saturday.

If the Harry Potter reference is lost on you, well, give me the address of the rock you're living under and I'll send you a book.

For good or bad, the sock does not actually release me from my duties. This weekend will provide two days off -- Sunday and Monday -- before I return to work on Tuesday and run nightly shows through next Sunday's matinee, only to begin rehearsing another show the following day, returning to double-duty days on the 4th. No rest for the weary, they tell me. But at least this weekend will provide some much needed distraction.

On Sunday I will travel downtown for a preseason hockey game which pits Nashville against Carolina. On Monday I will meet a former cast-mate for drinks at Opry Mills.

From then on, in the middle of 90-hour weeks, I might look forward a day off on Sunday the 9th and the next after that on the 23rd. Of October. Almost exactly a month from this writing. I must be crazy.

When that show closes, I'm done. I do not plan to go into the Christmas season on this schedule. I have too many other things to do before the first of the year.

That's a list for another time. If I can find the time to write it.