Breaking the Silence

I haven't blogged since September. Whoops. So here I am breaking the silence!

This past weekend as been the best weekend of my life. Through Our Time, I wrote and directed a play and it was performed in New York by professional actors this past weekend. I feel so honored to have had this opportunity. I started the writing process back in August/September and at first I was really frustrated by it. I felt like it was never going to end. I was stressed and felt like my work was no good. I eventually learned to not take anything personally and that all the critiques/advice that was given to me was to make me into a better artist. I met my cast and started rehearsing two weeks ago. The first time I heard all of them sing, I think I stopped breathing. It was incredible to see my play up on its feet. I really cannot explain how talented and wonderful my cast is. They all are the nicest people and the most fun to work with. They took my notes and applied them into their acting without second guessing it. (Ps. I had to really get use to the whole telling adults what to do thing.) On opening night, I was incredibly nervous. Why? I wasn't the one performing. One of my actors told me that once I heard the first laugh, I would relax. He was right. I was nervous that people wouldn't accept my work and low and behold, when I heard them laugh, I started breathing again. On Saturday we had two shows and in between shows I had the opportunity to have dinner with the crew, a couple of my actors, and my fellow writer/director, Salina. It was first time having Thai food and it was delicious. Not only did we eat yummy food but we were able to have some good conversations as well. (And watching a few of them eat extremely spicy thai food and their reactions to it was also a highlight.) At our last show, I was a mess through out the whole thing! It was ridiculous. As soon as the character of Josh sang "Joanna, I am meant to be with you", I started getting a bit emotional. By the curtain call, my eyes were red, wet, and puffy. Through out this experience, I have gained a new found respect for writers and directors; especially writers. I can't imagine having to write and come up with ideas as an every day job. These people are so creative, it blows me away. And directors, it takes leadership and visualization to make a successful production. I am so thankful to have had a cast that made my job so easy! Every run through was better and better.

Now that the show is over, I relpay the memories over and over again in my head. If I had all the money in the world, I wouldn't have had a better cast. They were talented, hilarious, and professional, but most of all, they were kind-hearted people. It killed me to have to say goodbye to them. I will never forget this experience and the knowledge that I have gained. Everyone; cast, crew, set, lights, and costume designers, are "fantabulous". I couldn't have asked for a better team to work with.