pavlovsdog

So much is going on and yet I have so little to say and even less time to say them. When it rains it pours, literally and figuratively. Over the past month and a half I've been directing The Tempest for The Montford Park Players, a theater group here in Asheville. It opens on Friday. Now is the time I begin to second guess myself as a director and the show Ive put together. When it comes to things I'm passionate about I'm a perfectionist, so not being able to attain the things I envision really brings me down. There are a lot of ideas I've had to let go because they just weren't happening. For example, I'm going for a kind of Afro-Caribbean theme to the show, so I wanted live percussionists to provide the music for the show. With all the hippies and drum circles in Ashevillie, I thought surely I can at least a couple of people willing to do it. Nope. See where actors will do things for free, musicians like to be paid, and on top of that nobody would commit to a four weekend show. So I'm using prerecorded music (Which I still have to find.)
Even more frustrating is the fact that our "tech" rehearsal scheduled for last night got rained out, so we lost a day of rehearsal and had to make it up tonight. Then there are my actors. Some are really good but there are others that just don't get it. I'll give them a note like three times, and they still never change. Others seem to get increasingly less and less focused as the play progresses. Tonights rehearsal was painfully slow. Maybe Ive just seen it too many times, but nothing seemed right. Blocking and buisness they had done for weeks were suddenly gone, the energy was dismal, and the whole thing was nowhere near my expectations. I have pretty high expectations though. We have three more rehearsals in which I hope I can iron things out. I'm just afraid I'm not going to be able to fix the problems, and the show is going to completely bomb.

Well I'm sure that doesn't sound like a resounding endorsement, but if anyone is interested, here is the info about the show:
The Tempest
7:30 PM Friday, Saturday Sunday
June 16th - July 9th
Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre
34 Pearson Dr. (Behind the Montford Community Center)
Asheville NC
Free (Donations accepted)

I would love for anybody in the area to come and see it.
Bring lots of wine too, because everything looks better when you're tipsy.