Just One More Rehearsal. . .

I am exhausted! Three dress rehearsals down and just one more to go. Then The Little College on a Hill opens. (The flyer for the production can be found here.)

So far, the dress rehearsals have gone fairly well. All the props, video and special effects have been incorporated. We have gotten through a couple of the more action oriented scenes without having anyone fall off the stage. Last night I triggered the "smoke machine" (dry ice and water in a steel drum on the back of a wagon I'm hidden behind when the scene opens) and it seemed to work as planned. The lighting changes are now well set and coordinated. Hopefully, the last costume adjustments have been made.

The only problem, it seems to me, is that we still have not had the entire cast of 35 for any of the rehearsals and may not until opening night. One cast member has been sick this week and we all want her strong and well for opening night.

Tonight, our rehearsal will be done before an audience of about 80 high school drama students. It really helps to have some folks out front before opening night to get a sense of what lines will get reactions. As much as this helps, every performance is different. Every audience has its own personality and, no matter how focused the actors are, each performance is affected by the way the audience responds.

So, I will try to get a bit of rest before tonight's final rehearsal. AND. . .I will make sure that I get some relaxation time before tomorrow night's opening performance. To any of my fellow cast members who might see this, BREAK A LEG!