hello, good friend

I knew it. Called it a week ago. Someone asked me if I felt upset about graduating and I said, “Nah.” How nonchalant. Then I said “For me, these events rarely register until long after they’ve occurred.” Not until I return home, not until life slows, not until my mind mulls over them do I feel any…thing. Well, folks, today is the long awaited day.

Today I packed up my life in boxes (that’s becoming a generational catch phrase. cute.) and loaded life in a trusty Penske hauler. Thanks to my siblings and parents, of course. In the past six days they have unpacked one apartment, loaded its contents, transported said contents home, unpacked, organized, then packed up my room - plus accumulated first apartment belongings - and loaded the sum total into a moving van. My possessions are nomads.

I’ve also spent the past week on the road. Only two days since graduation haven’t involved endless car hours. Tomorrow we will arise at 5 a.m. for Baltimore and yet again tackle the highways.

You know, graduation wasn’t sappy sad. Or, it wasn’t sad for the usual reasons. Post-graduation day found most of our friends reunited in Ocean City, New Jersey. After our mini-vacation ended, we didn’t part with emotional goodbyes because, as our friends remind us, they’ll see us at the wedding. (A good thing, Jon and I figure. By that point we’ll need a reconvening.) To tell the truth, I’ve only been friend-absent for two days. Today: the initial pangs of separation anxiety.

I give in. I concede. This is sad.

Last night the actors donned their headset microphones for the first time. The sound system makes such a difference, I think. Especially in a musical. Up til this point, we’ve relied on the actors’ stage voices for projection, but the mikes contribute such a feeling of performance.

Yesterday the cast performed three full run-throughs: one at 10am, another at 1pm, the last at 6pm. By the 6pm rehearsal, they seemed exhausted. Rena, the student director, had difficulty encouraging energy during warm-ups. If you think about it, that kind of non-stop, fully-engaged practicing takes a physical toll on people. Props to them for making it happen.

Today, the actors only run two rehearsals: one at 10am and a second at 1pm.

On Saturday the tech crew runs a wet tech rehearsal at 10am. They’ll run through the entire musical with the actors, checking for functioning microphones, official prop placements, lighting transitions, etcetera. Later the actors will run a sitzprobe, a rough musical rehearsal sans costumes, scenery, and acting. Basically, the actors sing through the musical numbers while the orchestra accompanies them, and Tim Dixon, the conductor, will focus on integrating the two groups.

Here’s my J-term confession: free theatre is a beautiful thing. I would choreograph every musical if it meant attending daily rehearsals. Granted, I’m not doing the grunt work of acting. (Half-guiltily I admit that the difficulty of my job ended about a week ago, after I finished choreographing the dances). Now I get to bask in creative energies and performances gratis.

Opening night: February 7, 8pm. Come see the show!

Hello, kids, and welcome back to sunny Grantham. The temperature is 66 degrees, believe it or not, and I just drove five hours from home with the windows down. Guess I won’t need those 983741 sweaters I packed after all.

Welp, back to work. I don’t know about your breaks, but mine was a whirlwind of (positive) busy-ness, and it’s possible that I’m slightly more exhausted now than before I left. Funny, though, I don’t mind it so much. It’s liberating to be a mere semester away from graduation. (And the spring-ish weather certainly helps.)

On the agenda for this J-term:
1) choreograph Godspell ! (Come see the show!)
2) watch season 3 of “The Office” (I’d like to acknowledge my brother Tommy for giving a most excellent Christmas present)
3) take a road trip to the Jersey shore (ya know, I’ve only set foot in New Jersey once)
4) watch movies
5) bake food

Hm, maybe we should grill out tonight…? Actually, that’s a splendid idea.

6) grocery store trip after work