Now that it is over...

*Great sigh of relief*

It is time to be Sayyadina again.  TheaterGeek struggled the last two weeks, seeing as Sayyadina was crowding TheaterGeek, itching to get back into action.  My house has been a mess since the return from our vacation (which I still need to blog, I know).  I have looked over the comparative squalor that I have been forcing my family to live in the past four weeks and felt less than great about it.

And then there was the play.  Most of you got to see it.  It was very good.  And it was not without it's negatives.  I felt friction on my soul the last two weeks especially.  I hope I learned things...

As I have said, I felt that the play was important: Grand Scheme of Things Important, as a matter of fact.  And there was a major part that felt it was not necessarily important for me, but for others.

Once again, I felt a brief hint of living the Law of Consecration.  I had talents and understanding, my husband had the patience and passion, my mother had the connections and the space, and our actors had the time and the talent.  We gave, and we took and we made something other people were willing to trade dollars for.  That's pretty cool.  Although, I did not take any of those dollars home for myself.  No one will.

So what did I earn in exchange for my time and talents?  I have satisfaction that I did something pretty good.  I learned what it feels like to be completely disrespected by an actor for reasons I can't fathom.  I saw a few people stretch their own abilities past what they originally believed they were capable.

And yet, I feel that the exchange was empty.  Then I get the feeling that I have not been "paid" yet.   I have not yet seen or received what it was originally intended that I see or receive.  That's fine.  I can be patient.  I'm really much more excited about the upcoming child, anyway.  And about going back to my home routine.  I truly love taking care of my children, cooking for and caring for my husband, and going to bed on time.  I love to make our home a welcome place for all.  I have missed it.  I knew that on the 30th of October, everything would go back to "normal."  I have prepared for it.  And in many ways, I folded space to get here sooner.

I'm sort of saying to myself - and to my Father - "Okay, I did it.  So what was that all for?"  I am just a little curious as to what the long term, Grand Scheme of Things payoff will end up being.  Because I am sure I have not seen the sun go down on what this show was intended to do.

But I am ever so sleepy.  And there is Trick or Treating tonight.  So perhaps I should pull myself together, and draw myself up to be a mother, as I am bound by heaven to be.  And my daughter needs a hug.  Off I go to be Sayyadina again!!!!!!!!!

Our current endeavor

Athur Miller's

THE CRUCIBLE

A few months ago I was in my mother's office and we were talking about what was next for Lights Up!, her theater troupe.  We threw out ideas like "Little Women" around Christmas-time, a big musical like Suessical for the spring, or - hey! - wouldn't it be cool to do "The Crucible" around Halloween?! 

Ya know, a play about witches and witch trials the week before we all go Happy Haunting?!  That would be awesome!  And ya know what else?  Muad'Dib knows a lot about it.  He did a scene from it in High School (or something) and it's, like, one of his favorite plays! 

We're just riffing, right?

Two weeks later, Mom asks if I'm really going to do it.  I have this feeling...so I say, "I'll run it past the husband and see what he says."

So then in the car I turn to my hunny and say, "Yeah, and Mom and I were talking and we mentioned how cool it would be to do The Crucible around Halloween."

His response was foresee-able: "We're going on vacation three weeks before Halloween; and we did say that we were going to take a theater break.  I don't think we should do it."

"Okay.  I see that. I'll tell Mom."

But then...a few minutes later..."But if we DID do it, we'd do it like this - "

Before I really grasped what was happening, Muad'Dib was all fired up and on board. 

Well, then I thought, "There's no way we'll get the theater for those dates... lets just go talk to the Station."

I was right, there was no time available for us in the theater.  It seemed like Crucible was dead.

Then the lady in charged asked us what the play was about.

I explained that it was a play set in 1692, following the Salem witch trails, with themes on morality, fear, infidelity, hysteria and goodness.

She got SO excited and basically said, "We have to find a place to put this on!" 

All said and done, we decided on Gallery 51.  To me, it looked small.  To my mom and the lady, it seemed perfect.  An intimate setting for an intense play.

Well, then it seemed unlikely that we could get a talented, age appropriate cast to show up for auditions.

Still, we set up auditions and held them.

Nine people came.  Nine, for a cast that required at least 18 people.

We told those who did come that we didn't have enough.  If they had any friends interested, we'd hold another set of audition/callbacks two days later.  If we didn't have a cast by then, we'd call it off.

When Muad'Dib asked me if it was going to happen...I had a feeling.  Yes, it was going to happen.

The next audition rolled around.  Not only did we get enough people, we got enough TALENTED, AGE APPROPRIATE people to fill the cast - including Shematite and Mayflower.

We have blocked the play in about three weeks.  We will go on a vacation for two, then come back and rehearse three weeks.  Then we will open. 

This is the story.  All of these seemingly impossible things have come together to form what is already an impressive endeavor.  I hope you'll all plan to come see it.

We will open with a noon matinee on October 23, and then have further performances at 7:30pm October 25 - 29. 

Tickets are $10.00 general admission

$7.00 students and seniors

$5.00 for students accompanied  by a paying adult.



More to the summer

As it turns out, there is more to the "this is an incredible summer" than I originally thought.  Okay: basic run down of the summer:

Drama Club - a variety show in the spirit of Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland but written by my brother and performed for Lights Up! when The Wizard of Oz fell through - spectacularly fell through, btw.  It was great fun, but seemed to really change the game for Lights Up!, the theater troupe founded and run by my mother.

Brainstorm - while discussing the possibilities after the Drama Club, the name of a particular classic play came up. 

Wedding: AJ got married.  To see more, read down a few blogs.

Showtime - Jeff got a break.  To see more, read a blog down.

The Crucible - the play we tossed out while brainstorming.  I then tossed it out to Muad'Dib...before I knew it, we had decided to accept a directing gig for Lights Up!.  We held auditions the Monday after my sister got married.  We had 9 people audition.  But I had a feeling that it was going to happen.  And that it was going to be good.  So we had callbacks.  We had 13 people at callbacks.  I told those present that we didn't have enough people and that if they were serious, they would spread the word.  Little less than a week later, we had a full and talented cast for The Crucible.  We began rehearsal.

Now, the next thing...we didn't find out until the fall...but seeing as I'm ten weeks on, it's safe to say that it happened this summer. 

I am pregnant. 

The big thing I kept saying about this summer - all the way back in April I was saying this - was that this summer was going to be a game changer.  For every member of my family, the game has changed; and the catylist was something that happened late spring or during the summer. 

Now, on the subject of pregnancy:  WOO HOO!!!!!  

Well...there are my disjointed thoughts on this summer.  The ripples of it are still traveling to the shore, and have not yet reached their full wave magnitude.  I'm just riding it out. 

However, I should say that I'm a little ski-wompus.  You know, reactionary in unconventional and unpredictable ways.  Such as when I was in RS today and quite basically started...for lack of a better word - fighting with a friend and fellow Sister in the gospel.  Yeah, I did.  So: I quickly see the error of my reactions, and still - if we interact, please cut me some slack.  Grumpy.  Grumpy is a good word to describe it.  Not sad, not angry...just grumpy.  Happy!  but also grumpy.