Saturday, July 26, 2008

Where has all the summer gone?

Seriously. Where has the summer gone?

I really just feel like it was yesterday that Kevin and I got married and were on our honeymoon. It's hard to believe that it has been almost two months now. Kevin and I both came back to lots of work - he has been working 50-60 hour weeks and I have been splitting my time, less evenly than I would like, between Imagination Stage and my high school.

Most of the summer I have been teaching dance classes and working on fall planning for the HS, but two weeks ago I started my directing job and my life has been completely consumed. Summer Showcase, the program I am working on, is not a book musical, essentially we are creating a revue to existing music around a theme. This year the theme is identity. So in the span of four weeks, we actually create a plot, write a script and produce a very detailed revue. I use the term "revue" loosely because while that technically is what it is, we really try to develop a fleshed out and interesting plot line with 14 characters with each of them having a story arch. It is definitely more interesting for them as actors to do so; however, making a story that interesting and fleshed out is ALOT of work.

Don't get me wrong - I love, love, LOVE this project. I really enjoy working with Debbie and Kierstie, and with this year, Don. I also love working with the kids - it's such a unique project and experience. Admittedly though, the intensity of the project has made the last two weeks fly by more than I could have imagined. I have pretty much spent my time: wake up, do Showcase work, get showered/ready, drive to Bethesda, do Showcase work, rehearse Showcase, meet about Showcase, go home and do more Showcase and finally go to bed. You can see how the time might fly... but it is really rewarding work and I clearly love to be able to do what I love and get paid.

Nevertheless, with intensity comes some freaking out. On Tuesday, I had my personal flip out moment - I realized that our design run is next Wednesday for SHOWCASE and we still hadn't fleshed out the plot outline let alone start doing all of the improvisations we needed to in order to start developing the script. You can't exactly block a show as a director when you don't have a script yet. On a bright note, now we have our plot figured out and have worked on most of it, so by Monday most of our script should be done.

Nonetheless, this Friday it definitely hit me that in two weeks SHOWCASE opens and then the next day I get on a plane to go to Scotland for two weeks with 8 of my high school students, and as the only adult chaperone. My HS students are performing at the American High School Theatre Festival in Edinburgh. (This is a show I am not directing, Lauren is). So you can see why I might be a little stressed...

With this I also realized that I have two more weeks of summer in the USA, because when I get back from Scotland I have one more weekend, but school starts that Monday...thank god for the three day - Labor Day weekend that follows- but really, how is it August already? How is it that I am already thinking about September...

So on that note- I am off to transcribe more video scenes so that hopefully I will have a script to start blocking on Monday... [sigh]

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