What a Day

In my business things are predictable in its unpredictability. The framework is always the same though. We have three weeks of rehearsal. First we block the show, then we go through the show a second time to work the scenes, then we clean the scenes. We move to the stage and space the scene on the stage. One by one we add all of the technical elements; lights, sound, special effects, and costumes. Then we try to do it all at the same time. We try it again. We have a dress rehearsal and invite the people to watch.

This time we had seven rehearsals, broke for Christmas, returned to discover that most things slip out of your brain over the holiday. Have a week of rehearsal and got a new script-starting all over again. The new script was Jan 2, day off, yesterday we tried to talk through all of the changes.......
Today, today we had a weird opportunity. A truck pulls out of Calgary tomorrow with our set, props and costumes to Vancouver. Before it leaves they set everything up on stage here. We had the opportunity to work on the set today. Well before we were prepared to do so. We got to walk through things that we have only looked at once or twice (and in some cases haven't even looked at yet).
It may have been a great opportunity for the show. But it was a really stressful day for me.
Well it started very stressful. It was until we worked the "Flotilla" scene. This is a scene were 10 of our company members wear sisal rugs as coats and carry a 8' pole. On the end of these poles there are 15 small canoes the size of an envelope on wires. They all have to work their way from backstage through 3 single doors in the house of the auditorium, through the audience, up onto the stage, and through the obstacles of wires and trees onstage. It was so impossible and a disaster that I couldn't help but laugh. So I laughed for the rest of the day.
Ah well, tomorrow is another day.