KLEZMER NUTCRACKER SHOW PREMIERE
Dec. 6th, 2008 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenkushnerI've been so focused on not screwing up my lines & my blocking that it had somehow escaped the forefront of my brain that TODAY I HAD A SHOW OPENING IN NEW YORK! I woke early this morning because - due to some slight computer disaster with the lighting cues - we had an early cast call for the 11 a.m. show - and I woke up full of joy, finally realizing what day it was.
Actually, I'd had a little starter the night before, when flowers arrived from my dear friends Mike & Deb in Boston. It made me a bit teary; god bless one's Family of Choice, as it would never occur to my actual family to do anything like that. (Though, to be fair, my parents are flying in to see the show. Because I told them it was not negotiable. Nobody else is.)
The cold morning sun was shining on Riverside Drive, and I decided to walk. Two steps out of my building, I hear "Ellen!" It's Gavin Grant (Small Beer Press), returning from his interview on Jim Freund's early morning radio show, Hour of the Wolf. "Good luck!" he shouted as he drove by. The sun was clear on the river. I had a rush of, "This is it! They're really going to do my play!" I called Delia, who's up in Boston for a dear friend's Bar Mitzvah (Liran, who's in the acknowledgements for Changeling and The Golden Dreydl; he's a great First Reader), and babbled at her briefly. A few blocks short of the theatre, I turned up onto West End Ave., and who do I see but our friend Adam (whose Bar Mitzvah is in two weeks) on his way to shul; we greeted each other as we passed by.
As I climbed the stairs to the theatre, I suddenly thought: "This is my Theatre Bat Mitzvah. I've studied my lines, learned new things, and today I go from wanting to do theatre to really being up onstage, as both writer and actor." In the theatre, I managed to find and set my props, drilled the Magical Nailpolish Moment with Lindsey, and was putting on my makeup for the show, when the costumer came in to say, "Ellen, I'm supposed to tell you Steve and Don are in the lobby." Steve and Don!! Two of my oldest friends from Boston! Sure enough, there they were: they'd come to town for the opera, and happened to be staying at a hotel around the corner from the show, walked past the theatre, saw the sign, and . . . . At this point, I nearly lost it. But wouldn't want to spoil that makeup! Got hugs, and made Don hook up the back of my dress.
After that, what was left*?
We did the show for the first time. People liked it. Kids guessed all the riddles. We did the show a second time (11am & 1pm), and it went faster, more smoothly. The cast started figuring out what worked. I figured out how to make the giant sequined dreydl spin.
It was fun. I think I'll do it again tomorrow.
*I do not suffer from stage fright; although this was my first time onstage with other actors since college, I've done so many live shows and lectures in the past 10 years that I've learned that almost anything will work if you brazen it out. The bigger the crowd, frankly, the better I like it; I only get nervous in front of small houses. Go figure. Yesterday, I was scared I would be scared; but by now I'm just to used to not.
Actually, I'd had a little starter the night before, when flowers arrived from my dear friends Mike & Deb in Boston. It made me a bit teary; god bless one's Family of Choice, as it would never occur to my actual family to do anything like that. (Though, to be fair, my parents are flying in to see the show. Because I told them it was not negotiable. Nobody else is.)
The cold morning sun was shining on Riverside Drive, and I decided to walk. Two steps out of my building, I hear "Ellen!" It's Gavin Grant (Small Beer Press), returning from his interview on Jim Freund's early morning radio show, Hour of the Wolf. "Good luck!" he shouted as he drove by. The sun was clear on the river. I had a rush of, "This is it! They're really going to do my play!" I called Delia, who's up in Boston for a dear friend's Bar Mitzvah (Liran, who's in the acknowledgements for Changeling and The Golden Dreydl; he's a great First Reader), and babbled at her briefly. A few blocks short of the theatre, I turned up onto West End Ave., and who do I see but our friend Adam (whose Bar Mitzvah is in two weeks) on his way to shul; we greeted each other as we passed by.
As I climbed the stairs to the theatre, I suddenly thought: "This is my Theatre Bat Mitzvah. I've studied my lines, learned new things, and today I go from wanting to do theatre to really being up onstage, as both writer and actor." In the theatre, I managed to find and set my props, drilled the Magical Nailpolish Moment with Lindsey, and was putting on my makeup for the show, when the costumer came in to say, "Ellen, I'm supposed to tell you Steve and Don are in the lobby." Steve and Don!! Two of my oldest friends from Boston! Sure enough, there they were: they'd come to town for the opera, and happened to be staying at a hotel around the corner from the show, walked past the theatre, saw the sign, and . . . . At this point, I nearly lost it. But wouldn't want to spoil that makeup! Got hugs, and made Don hook up the back of my dress.
After that, what was left*?
We did the show for the first time. People liked it. Kids guessed all the riddles. We did the show a second time (11am & 1pm), and it went faster, more smoothly. The cast started figuring out what worked. I figured out how to make the giant sequined dreydl spin.
It was fun. I think I'll do it again tomorrow.
*I do not suffer from stage fright; although this was my first time onstage with other actors since college, I've done so many live shows and lectures in the past 10 years that I've learned that almost anything will work if you brazen it out. The bigger the crowd, frankly, the better I like it; I only get nervous in front of small houses. Go figure. Yesterday, I was scared I would be scared; but by now I'm just to used to not.
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Date: 2008-12-07 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2008-12-07 04:46 am (UTC)And break a leg, too!
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Date: 2008-12-07 05:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 05:44 am (UTC)Klezmer Nutcracker
Date: 2008-12-07 05:52 am (UTC)Aunt D.
Re: Klezmer Nutcracker
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Date: 2008-12-07 02:12 pm (UTC)I'm so happy for you, Ellen! So pleased it's gone well! I'm off to sing strange medieval carols and Palestrina masses, wearing the green velour dress you found for me.... Think of my giant belly as you tread the boards...
*bacciones*
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Date: 2008-12-07 09:22 pm (UTC)I am thinking of you, and very excited about your coming bundle..... Much love to you both.
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Date: 2008-12-07 03:37 pm (UTC)Just know this, okay? that you are in my heart and I'm so proud of you!
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Date: 2008-12-07 07:25 pm (UTC)cheater
Date: 2008-12-08 01:52 pm (UTC)What would Robin Hobb have to say. :]
Re: cheater
Date: 2008-12-08 03:04 pm (UTC)(What *would* Robin Hobb say? I didn't know she had an opinion on something like this!)