Mockingbird Hill Cottage

First of all, apologies for not posting, but the Wi-Fi in the hotel was questionable and my browser kept giving me warnings that it was unsafe and I was so exhausted that I just shut the laptop and that was it.

Sunday: When I still didn’t have the results from the PCR Test by late morning, I sent an email to the lab, which is in Tennessee. Someone actually responded and said that they didn’t have my test yet and it wouldn’t be done until Monday. I was not happy. I contacted the guy who is charge of the COVID protocol for the tour and he gave me the name of two places in Manhattan where I could get a test with a quick turnaround. The problem is, I would have to pay for it (they will reimburse me.) Keep in mind I was doing all of this as I was trying to get ready to go out the door. One place charged over $300. The other, $195. Both of them had their last appointments at 5:30 pm. My train was arriving at 4:50. I booked the less expensive one, which was on the Upper East Side. When my train arrived, I had to run out of of Penn Station and try to get a cab. The line for cabs was long and SLOW. I kept looking at the time on my phone, thinking I would never get there. But when I finally got a cab, the driver worked his magic and I got to the testing center with 5 minutes to spare. I got the test and was told I’d have the results in under an hour. Then I went out the door, grabbed another cab, and went to the hotel. But that took me a while because I had the wrong address! By the time I had checked in, my results were in. Negative. Keep in mind that I had been awake since 4 am at this point. I went out to the local tiny grocery store and bought a couple of things to warm up in the microwave. But the walk to the store seemed endless because I was so exhausted. I spent the rest of the evening in a catatonic state in my room – I wasn’t crazy about the hotel at all, though it did have free breakfast each morning. I fell asleep around 9:30. The next day I woke up to see my other test results had come in around 11 pm on Sunday, so they would have arrived in time.

Sigh.

Monday: I bought something to have for lunch (I was hungry the whole time I was there because there wasn’t much at all around the hotel (in an industrial part of Queens) and it just seemed like I never got to eat enough food. Got to rehearsal at 10:30 and there was Darko! I didn’t know he was going to be there. And Sarah, his assistant, who directs the touring company productions. And the music director. It was like old home week. In fact, it felt like coming home. Darko and Sarah and I spent some time together catching up and we all felt very moved by the fact that we were working once again after so, so long away and better yet, that we were all together.

I watched the young cast rehearse for a bit, then at 1:30, there was a brief run-through of all they’d done so far. Keep in mind, they’re putting this together in 2 weeks. Insane. Sarah has done a wonderful job at that. I met the cast, then after lunch, I started coaching the principals. I worked until 6 pm. Sarah, the stage manager and I sat together and made a list of who I had to work with the next day and then SM figured out where to slot everyone.

Tuesday: Got up early, got some breakfast downstairs, packed, checked out, and rolled my suitcase several blocks to rehearsal. Then I started coaching. I was in “super efficient mode” and managed to have productive sessions with 10 cast members, one after another. It’s important that those in the ensemble who might have a line or two in the show but are also covering for a major role get a chance to go through that text with me so they’re prepared when they have to go on.

I don’t know if you saw this post on Instagram, but wearing a mask while teaching actors how to pronounce Russian and French words isn’t easy. These three days are the longest I have ever had a mask on. Adding in train transportation, it was easily 9 or 10 hours a day. You have to wear a mask on public transport. You have to wear a mask in the hotel (except in your room.) Obviously, you have to wear a mask in the rehearsal spaces. I’m not used to wearing one that long and I need to find a more comfortable mask for working on the film – those will be even longer days. My ears were aching by the end of the day.

I don’t mind telling you, I got sick of it.

At 4:00, I finished and tried to hail a cab, which took a long time. When I finally reached Penn Station, I was seriously dehydrated. That’s another problem. I need to drink a lot of water every day and when I was sitting in a small room working with individual actors, I had a mask on. I had to wait until I had a few minutes by myself to drink some water, and that didn’t happen very much. Anyway, I got to the station, was able to change my train that was scheduled for 7:10 to two hours earlier, and I sat in the newly built Moynihan Hall – it’s gorgeous – in a waiting room and drank lots of water. The trip home was smooth and the views of the Hudson River were gorgeous. I arrived to see a tall guy waiting for me – with food! I was so darned hungry, I ate dinner in the car on the way home.

There you have it. I have to do it again on Sunday and Monday.

It was exhausting. But it was also exhilarating. I can’t tell you how powerful it was to see Sarah and Darko again. We’ve worked on Anastasia  together for a long time and seeing these two lovely souls again brought tears to my eyes. I’m very grateful.

I’m taking it easy today. And tonight, we have appointments to get our COVID vaccine boosters! Huzzah! So glad I’ll get this before I move into the city to work on the film.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.