Absence: Final Show

This was our matinee. Also our last show. I think everyone was a little tired. While it's useful to do the shows (especially if there are only 3) back-to-back, it can be draining. The group was more mellow but in good spirits on our final day.

This show was our smallest house, though after the overflow from the night before, it seemed much tamer. We were able to restore the seating to its more manageable arrangement.

There was one minor snag: Liza's crutches were left onstage before the performance, and not claimed at the top of the show. And how is an amputeed woman supposed to get on stage without her crutches? Fortunately, Michael just casually went and got them. Crisis averted (and I don't think anyone noticed).

In general, this was an incredibly satisfying experience. My team of actors -- Sarah Doudna, Jennifer Saltzstein, and Michael Weems -- did an amazing job. I saw so much growth from them and was so honored what they did with my humble script. Chrissie Reiswig was my insanely gifted costume/prop coordinator. Sound designer Benjamin Le Clear was a rock. Jennifer Huang truly brought the peacock puppet to life. I'm so proud of all of them... their dedication and hard work was an inspiration.

Absence: Performance #2

I knew we'd have a solid house for this performance. I did not anticipate the turnout we got. The festival sells 40 seats for our "theater" (again, it's really just a big room... hence the name "Studio Series"). Because I'm concerned about sightlines, I don't like to set up all 40 seats. You can't see past the person in front of you, and if they have a really big head or you're short, you're screwed. Plus, it gets so warm: there's an A/C, but it has to crank overtime to keep things cool with the stage lights on. Thus, while I'm always excited to sell more tickets, I was really hoping to get away with about 25 seats.

We had 45 people.

There literally weren't enough chairs. Several people had to sit on the floor. Two people stood in the back by the tech table (I did not make those people pay for their tickets). The audience was practically sitting in the playing area.

It was intense.

But the actors made the best and the most of it. The audience response was enthusiastic, despite any discomfort. And afterwards, there was much celebrating.

Absence: Opening Night Recap

Schlepped many, many heavy things from my home to Midtown. Fortunately, I waited until rush hour had mostly passed. One thing that is a huge issue for urban theater practitioners is transportation. How do you transport heavy things or bulky things? We take a lot of taxis. And we buy a lot of wheeled suitcases.

We spent a lot of time configuring the seating. The theater is really just a big room, with a few risers at one end. Sightlines were definitely going to be an issue. This is not something that's a problem in a theater with fixed seating (you know, like movie theater chairs). We were able to stack to of them to create three levels of seating. It cut down on the number of tickets we could sell, but overall created a much better experience for the audience.

Because of the heat, we offered ice water to our audience, free of charge. This was, I think, a lovely idea (suggested by one of the actors) and proved to be very popular with our audience. I even made $3 in tips. Hey, laugh if you want, but that paid for the ice that night!

Overall, the show went very well. There were a few missed lines, and one or two glitches with props. But the actors turned in a solid performance; I was very proud of them. We had a great turnout, filling every seat we offered. In all, opening night was a complete success.

Oedipus For Kids: How it Began...

I've received requests to post this in text form, so here it goes:

Back in early January Kim asks, "Do you want to write a children's musical for the Fringe this year?"

I respond: "The Fringe? The deadline's in, what, a month?"

"That's okay, it's a Children's Musical. It doesn't need to have quality or anything."

Since we both have a love for Grecco-Roman culture, decided to do an adaptation of a Greek Myth. We parted ways and each came up with possible ideas.

But what to adapt? Hercules would come off as strange, and it's been done. Medusa teaches a strange lesson. Most stories about the Greek Gods were too short, or too harsh. The Aeneid, Odyssey and everything Trojan was just too bloody.

Finally, I came back to Kim and responded, "We should adapt Oedipus."

"What?"

"We should adapt Oedipus as our children's musical."

"But... you can't do Oedipus for Kids!"

And so it was born.