growth

I'm now in Cape Cod, working on my show. It opens on Friday.

It's amazing just how quickly one's reality changes. I spent Friday on the bus (EIGHT hours), mostly listening to podcasts and trying hard to knit. (it was less than successful; I spent three hours trying to knit the 10 rows of ribbing to finish my beret and will have to redo it again when I have the right needle.)

Saturday was a quick immersion into life here: a run thru of the play in the morning followed by meetings with the prop mistress and the production team. In the evening I went to the final performance of the previous play, which was very good. And then I went to the tiny closing party and met the actors and director, finding myself on a road trip to Provincetown to get pizza at 1am.

Theater folks are unusually friendly and outgoing, which makes for quick friendships and an inclusive environment, perfect for someone like me who deep down considers herself shy.

Today, with the previous set struck from the stage, the crew started loading my set in. I always find this part an uneasy transition. At this level I'm not expected to help, I'd probably be in the way most of the time, but I should also be around to answer questions and notice things I want changed before things get too permanent.
Years ago, when I did props and was on the other side of this relationship, I remember being impressed by a designer who wanted to leave the theater and go furniture shopping with me. Now that I'm a designer, I can see why he wanted to flee. It's rather stressful to see your work realized, especially when it's at a point where major changes can't be made. (That's why I build a model before I submit drawings, to avoid mistakes like that.) By the time I reach this point, I need to have faith in the decisions I've made, even though I sometimes find myself thinking, "wow, I hope that looks better when that's painted," and usually it does.
In any case, the set looks great. It's very exciting to see it being realized, and the people here are just wonderful. The actors aren't on stage until Tuesday afternoon, so there's plenty of time to tweak this and that before it needs to be functional.
Remember my little village? Take a peek out the window.