Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Of rehearsals and restaurants
It's well after midnight and I should be nackered, as the British say, but I'm wired from the evening's tech/dress rehearsal and the drive home. I've read my mail, paid my bills and am hoping a blog entry may calm me down enough to get me ready to sleep (along with a good wank which always helps).
Sunday was the pivotal day. We had a cue-to-cue rehearsal with actors scheduled for 1pm and a complete tech run-through at 6pm. The difference is that in a cue-to-cue you don't perform the whole show. You just perform a couple of lines before any sound, light or set shift cue and then do the cue over and over again until everybody gets things right. By some miracle we flew through the cue-to-cue. I then did my standard work- through-dinner-break routine, doing as many of my notes as I could while the stage was empty and the cast and crew elsewhere. Then I slipped out as everyone was getting ready for the complete run-through with tech, got dinner from the convenience store on campus, and settled into one of the handicap platforms at the back of the theater which is my habitual command post during this long and demanding weekend and three days of tech and dress rehearsals.
Monday morning I was in very early--7:45am and I worked all day on the trees that had been botched in construction. I added new branches I had cut and painted and applied the silk foliage sprays we had bought--25 dozen--until the flaws were concealed and the trees looked really great. We had another good rehearsal Monday night and I think we'll be in shape to open on Thursday.
Sunday morning was the second Boston-area gay bloggers' gathering at Hai La Moon in Chinatown. Bryan (That's Interesting) had assured us it's currently the best dim sum in Boston and whether or not that's strictly true, it was VERY good indeed--once we got seated. We were called to our table about ten after 11am--our gathering time--but didn't get to sit at it for another 25 minutes. I was concerned only because I had to leave at noon to get to the theater and I was hungry. But I had a good 25 minutes , enough time to dig into a lot of great food and get to know Sean (Seanlandia) who hadn't been at the first meeting and who's a really nice guy with a subtle, charming sense of humor. For the rest we were Bryan, myself, Keith (Data Jockey), and JC (Ex Post Facto) who joined me in demolishing a pile of baby steamed clams in sauce in no time at all.
Karl (Adventures in Gastronomy) and Jeff (Esoteric Diversions) were supposed to join us but weren't able to make it. I was worried something had happened to worsen Karl's mother's condition on the Cape, but that fortunately wasn't the case. Jeff was being a good husband and taking care of Moe who was quite ill. We've really GOT to get Jeff to one of these gatherings.
There seems to be a pattern. Our first meal was at the loud, chaotic and really good Border Cafe. Our second was at the loud, chaotic and really good Hai La Moon. Where will Bryan have us gathering next?
Sunday was the pivotal day. We had a cue-to-cue rehearsal with actors scheduled for 1pm and a complete tech run-through at 6pm. The difference is that in a cue-to-cue you don't perform the whole show. You just perform a couple of lines before any sound, light or set shift cue and then do the cue over and over again until everybody gets things right. By some miracle we flew through the cue-to-cue. I then did my standard work- through-dinner-break routine, doing as many of my notes as I could while the stage was empty and the cast and crew elsewhere. Then I slipped out as everyone was getting ready for the complete run-through with tech, got dinner from the convenience store on campus, and settled into one of the handicap platforms at the back of the theater which is my habitual command post during this long and demanding weekend and three days of tech and dress rehearsals.
Monday morning I was in very early--7:45am and I worked all day on the trees that had been botched in construction. I added new branches I had cut and painted and applied the silk foliage sprays we had bought--25 dozen--until the flaws were concealed and the trees looked really great. We had another good rehearsal Monday night and I think we'll be in shape to open on Thursday.
Sunday morning was the second Boston-area gay bloggers' gathering at Hai La Moon in Chinatown. Bryan (That's Interesting) had assured us it's currently the best dim sum in Boston and whether or not that's strictly true, it was VERY good indeed--once we got seated. We were called to our table about ten after 11am--our gathering time--but didn't get to sit at it for another 25 minutes. I was concerned only because I had to leave at noon to get to the theater and I was hungry. But I had a good 25 minutes , enough time to dig into a lot of great food and get to know Sean (Seanlandia) who hadn't been at the first meeting and who's a really nice guy with a subtle, charming sense of humor. For the rest we were Bryan, myself, Keith (Data Jockey), and JC (Ex Post Facto) who joined me in demolishing a pile of baby steamed clams in sauce in no time at all. Karl (Adventures in Gastronomy) and Jeff (Esoteric Diversions) were supposed to join us but weren't able to make it. I was worried something had happened to worsen Karl's mother's condition on the Cape, but that fortunately wasn't the case. Jeff was being a good husband and taking care of Moe who was quite ill. We've really GOT to get Jeff to one of these gatherings.
There seems to be a pattern. Our first meal was at the loud, chaotic and really good Border Cafe. Our second was at the loud, chaotic and really good Hai La Moon. Where will Bryan have us gathering next?
