As I was walking back to the apartment after rehearsal yesterday:
That’s Trumbull Street, by the way, not Bull Street.
It seemed like every few seconds I saw some incredible view of the sunset and whipped out my iPhone to record it.
No one else seemed at all aware of the staggering beauty of the sunset (though I’m sure many were.) But no one else was taking any pictures. End of the work week, tired, on their way home – I’m sure all of those things were at play for the commuters trying to get out of the city and back home again.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It’s all in the timing, isn’t it? I happened to be walking home at the perfect time. Any later, and it would have disappeared.
It’s not the end of the work week for us, of course. Sunday is the end of our week. On any given day lately, I find myself confused as to what day it is. This morning, I slept until 7:15, so it was light when I got out of bed. I looked out the window wondering why the parking lot across the way was empty.
Beat.
Beat.
Oh…it’s Saturday.
Three more weeks after this one. We’re heading into our last week in the rehearsal rooms and then we’ll be moving onstage. Three and a half weeks isn’t a whole lot of time in which to do table work, stage the entire play, work with the actors, and have several run-throughs before hitting the stage. I don’t know how Darko and the cast and stage managers and crew do it. In the old days there was more rehearsal time available. But it’s a costly endeavor, and most non-profit theaters have had to cut back on rehearsal time. Certainly, way back when I was working at the Old Globe, there was more time allotted for the rehearsal room. But every theater I know of has had to cut back.
So, I’d use the word ‘miracle’ but it really isn’t. It’s hard work and planning and dedication and drive and all the things that theater artists do without blinking an eye to create a fully-realized production.
Some of you have recently asked me what I do when I’m working on a play and what ‘coaching’ means (in my case.) I’ve written about it before on the blog and this post (from 2009, when I was working at the Old Globe for 10 weeks) pretty much covers it.
Book review on Just Let Me Finish This Page today.
Happy Saturday.
