it's done. I survived opening night. and it was fun.
the entire week we spent with dress rehearsals and sort of previews, and it was so physically demanding that I did not have much energy left for worrying. which was a good thing. we got thursday morning off to recreate, and I was glad to be back in the theatre thursday night. when friday came, I was so exhausted that I couldn't but just do it and look forward to it. I got about a billion cards from friends and family and fellow ensemble mates, and it was just amazing. when we actually started the performance, it felt okay. there were some very young students in the audience who were quite noisy, and it became clear through the first acts that they would not keep from commeting (the most sad and shocking: "man, whatever, they, like, didn't even, like, have jeans in the middle ages, duh."). plus, a few very conservative spectators felt the need to share their outrage ("but it's a classic!"), and that sure felt weird. at one point, when I was doing a scene with the baronesse and prepared for the consummation of the marriage she wanted (I took off my shirt and opened my belt, no more), someone shouted "nooo" from the balcony. that confused me, as our production is rather strict and close to the original play, and actually quite far from wannabe modern crap theatre. during intermission I was torn between fear and wrath, and used the latter for the opening monologue in the second half. it worked well, and I completely forgot about the audience later and enjoyed myself immensely. it is so much fun to surf through a well written and well directed evening, and the final ovations were overwhelming. some booed, but had decided to do so even before we had begun: the intendant later told us that he had overheard an elderly couple on the way to their seats. as soon as they had seen the non-classic sets on stage, they knew the whole evening was going to be a desaster. which is fine. I like it. it seems to be surpisingly controversial, the reviews have all been pretty good and accurate, which is wonderful.
oh, yes, and I threw up a little in the 5th act. the props people had given us fizzy water instead of still, and as I had thoroughly poisened my love and myself, I felt like I was going to burst. three bottles I drink. when I bent down in the end to find her dead, some water came out of my mouth and dramatically ran down my chin. gross, I thought at first, but very method, I figured later. you know, dying of poison and all, a little vomit is very realistic. and it was only water. the premiere bash was healthy and cheap for me: due to storage problems, I drank one small beer the whole night only. we will see how the performances go, I am looking forward to playing. and now that I know how some people find it controversial, I am prepared. after all, I know all the damn lines, the lights are all on me, and I can pretty much yell louder than any creep in the audience. this is gonna be fun.
and you know what else is fun? celebrating my first real day off since early november by not setting the alarm and having hours for my morning coffee. knowing it will all start again soon, but not just yet. I dig the ups and downs.
divine.
