When a show ends...

Finally, I have time to pay attention to my husband, empty the dishwasher, clean off the dining room table,  pay attention to my husband, pay the bills, clean out the new car, read the owners manual for the new car, do the laundry, pay attention to my husband, and get to writing that next one woman show I'm booked to perform in less than 2 weeks (gulp).  But what am I doing?  Mooning around the house, checking my Facebook feed (notice all my posts this morning, "friends"?), trying not to think about the fact that I don't need to head to Simsbury for rehearsal or a show any more.  "Almost, Maine" closed yesterday, and "Villian" and "Rhonda" are part of my past.

Being in the cast of a play is being part of a short term family.  First you audition with and for people you probably don't know well; you come together for a first read thru, try to put names and faces together, assessing each other's talent and delivery, wondering if the show will be any good; rehearsals bring you together as you struggle through learning lines and blocking, apologizing for throwing each other off; private jokes crop up, jokes that only your cast and director can appreciate, and they continue thru the run; your character begins to take you over when you aren't in rehearsal, you live in his/her world; dialogue from the play creeps into your everyday interactions; tech week comes, and you are all in it together, sharing patience as lights, sound, and scene change issues get resolved, re-remembering your lines as these new additions throw you off, reading your script again and realizing you've been saying some things totally wrong for weeks; dress rehearsal brings the awareness that this can be a GREAT show, and the hope that you didn't just peak (or the hope that now the disaster is behind you!); opening night brings a bond between cast members that has to be unique, nerves and butterflies and mutual trust, and the commitment to telling the story and wowing the audience; you get into the groove over the next few performances, loving your time on stage when you relax into your role and take it to the next level, and loving your time backstage, in the green room with your fellow actors, trying to "keep it down" as you laugh and joke and enjoy each others company; then, all too soon, comes the last show, the set strike, the cast party with your now very best friends;  and then...well, an empty place that you hope will be filled soon by another show.

You Facebook Friend the whole cast; you know you'll run into each other again, at an audition, or in a show, or in an audience; you try to support each other, get to each others shows...and you will always share the show you did together.  

It's a great passion, a lonely passion, a heartbreaking passion.  There is nothing like it.

OK, so now I've written it down,  maybe it's out of my system and I can get productive...but I'll probably start surfing the web, looking for upcoming auditions.  

It's not just a passion, it's a sickness...and I love every minute of it!