Yesterday was a shock. I got to work to find out our Secretary-General had passed away. That rather quickly changed my mood from ‘electric elation’ to ‘solemnly somber.’ And it was a long day at work, to be sure. And I was happy to have the opportunity to hit the stage and cut loose.
And so we went back up for our second show. The theatre world has alot of superstitions and beliefs. Actors are a superstitious lot, it would seem. And one of these beliefs is that the second night of a show is a crapper. But, just as we reinforced the belief that a crappy dress rehearsal means a strong opening night, we refuted the belief that a strong opening is followed by a lacklustre second night.
Truthily told, the performances lacked some of the unpolished nervousness of opening. But with that show behind us we were able to relax into it and have a little more fun. And the show was more polished, some of the laughs were easier, and the audience were more responsive overall.
Without trying to be too much of a dick I asked everyone to jump on top of each others lines a bit more. I had the feeling that the first night we allowed some pauses that slowed the pace down unnecessarily. People seemed receptive and we all passed around some notes, including one part that I kept skipping. Last night we kept it in and things went off well. By now I think it’s taken shape, the big adjustments have been made, and it’s time to just enjoy. And by relax and enjoy I mean attack the stage and shoot energy out of our faces and rocket like a hurricane.
Although I’m pretty fucking tired right now, that feeling will fade as showtime approaches.
