I’ve been deep into rehearsals for The Way of the Cross, an Easter Production which has only 3 performances on April 4 and 5. The group of 13 volunteer actors are doing a great job of coming together. Throughout this process, I’ve been stressed just trying to get the right performances out of each of them; the right balance of humor and tragedy. Theatre is a lot of work getting together; lights, sounds, costumes, sets, props, and co-coordinating it all can be a real nightmare. Thankfully, I’ve been able to balance all the elements quite nicely and I must say that this week in particular, I’ve laughed a lot in rehearsals. In reminds me that community, wherever you may find it, is important and necessary.

In last night’s rehearsal, I was working with three actors and we all had a good hardy laugh. One of the actors said afterwards that he had not laughed that hard in a long time. And I thought: yes, that’s right, that’s what it’s all about. We focused, did the work and had a great time in the end. I am sure as we get closer to performance date, things will get tougher as all the elements come together and my stress levels rise.

My re-write of Home is coming along as well. I have about a quarter left to re-write. This re-write involved a lot of different elements. Some scenes stayed as is while others were re-worked completely. There were some scenes taken out and moved elsewhere in the script. There has been a lot of cutting. One plot line was completely eliminated. I realize as I started re-working the plot and characters that some of the character’s journeys weren’t clear enough and their stacks weren’t high enough. Drama is dead without high stacks. Therefore as a result, the script is a little longer than the previous draft but much more focused in its character arcs and themes. I’m in that place again where I feel this is a solid piece of work and in the next month I’ll be sending it out – hoping for the best.