I got lucky.

Over two weeks since my last post but that doesn't mean things haven't happened. Final edits have come and gone. Our challenge right now is making sure our actors are off book. They no longer have scripts in hand and they're last day (ahem...my last day too) to call line is on Saturday. That means our first dress is Sunday. Everything is moving so fast.

On this day next week, we open. (I guess, technically, we're doing a preview on Wednesday so it's like we open Wednesday...but officially, this day next week, WE OPEN.)

The last two weeks have been a bit rocky, to be honest. With everyone so busy the commitment hasn't always been 100% from anyone, which is entirely understandable. Winter quarter is awful that way. Especially considering that in the last two weeks Iceman has opened and closed, midterms have come and gone, we're about to head into dead week and finals week, and our tech is in two days. I can't believe we haven't gone off the deep end at this point. We are starting to see amazing work from our actors. Some of them are very committed and some, I just can't tell. But I've been very lucky - I have an amazing director to work with. She's hit all these challenges with stride all while having to deal with a playwright.

I think the edits turned out pretty well. Originally, I thought they were probably going to be much more extensive but I find that the dialogue at least, was in pretty good shape. What really needed tweaking were certain plot points to better clarify the themes of the shows. I think in many ways, the themes could still be clearer but I think I need an audience to help me figure out where those places are. Seeing these plays in production just makes me hope that part or all of them will be produced again one day.

My major obstacle before the show opens is the solo piece. I knew when we proposed the show that this was going to be the biggest challenge for me (after being a silent partner playwright, that is). It is hard to step outside of yourself as a writer to become an actor, especially on something that you wrote yourself. That, however, is not my biggest challenge. My biggest challenge is overcoming some fear and blocks that I have from previous events in theatre over the past couple of years. I'm trying to be comfortable as an actor again, and I'm finding it really difficult. As I mentioned before, I have an amazing director and we're working really hard to create a character that is different from "Samantha," so hopefully that will alleviate some of the pressure. I have faith in my work; I'm just hoping I can get it to the caliber I want it to be by preview.

We're at the point in the process where it feels like it isn't going to happen. But it is. No matter the obstacles we come across (and trust me, there have been plenty so far), we're going to make it. Whew. We're going to make it