POST post Opening Night Post: Gathering Wood| Drawing Water

After that title the word "post" has lost all meaning. Post, post, post...POst, P-O-S-T...What is a "post" anyway?

So since we've been really busy lately we haven't had time to write about the latest project we've been working on. (Isn't that just like a selfish project? Hogging all our time, keeping us from precious moments of blogging?) It's the first of three artistic projects that we're planning for this year at Pacific Theatre. For those we haven't told much about the apprenticeships our time is basically divided between:

PART 1 (drum roll please...seriously... give it a go...maybe it'll make this next part more dramatic... and maybe if we can get it dramatic enough maybe it could even BE our fourth project...only you can help us!) Working in the Box Office and House Managing!

PART 2: ( okay now we need some more drums and possible even some light cymbal...you know the kind, with those little brushes instead of sticks) Acting in some of PT's mainstage shows!

And finally ladies and gentleman PART 3: (alright here we're going to need everyone lightly clapping their hands on their knees, three people will be on slide whistle and then finally one person (you all can rock, paper scissors for this one) will be giving us some short bursts on a tuba): PERFORMING ARTISTIC PROJECTS OF OUR OWN CREATION!

(Crowd goes wild)

Anyway, I'll tell you more about the last two projects as they unfold, but this first one was a collection of 4 plays all by women playwrights. For all the Calvin peeps it was basically like a Lab Bills, except Jacqui and I performed all of the pieces. We called the whole night Gathering Wood|Drawing Water. (We took the name from essential tasks often performed by women...) and we still have two more nights of performances.

It was fun but it really took awhile to put together, we kept saying things like "If only we were JUST acting in this it'd be so much easier." Or "If only we JUST had to do the sound design." OR "the poster design" OR "the directing...or props..or costumes"... Basically we didn't really realize what an undertaking it would be doing everything ourselves. But by last night everything was in place, all cues were written, each props was in place, we were ready to go on and we even had a good sized audience.

And then we did it. I know every actor basically says it when ever they finally have their first performance but there really is something so different about having an audience for the first time. They laughed in parts we didn't expect and didn't laugh in parts we thought they would. It's just so fresh when a whole group of people is actually responding (or not responding depending on the moment) There's just a whole different energy to the thing. And boy did it ever go fast. In rehearsal we had time to sort of pause and take a leisurely moment to gather ourselves before moving into the next play or the next character, but last night things just seemed to fly by, one play swiftly changing into the next.

All in all it went well though. People said some very nice things afterward and we tucked ourselves into bed with a warm/tired feeling of accomplishment.

We've got one more tonight and then one after that on Saturday and then we're all done. Saturday is actually closing night for The Elephant Man as well so I'll really be DONE come Monday morning with only box office shifts to keep me busy (well until we start work on our next project...which is going to take LOTS of work )

So please, if you remember lift up some prayers for us as we finish our final push towards Monday : )