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Show Diary: ASDLGLKAHDSGLKHAASKHL

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I may have picked the wrong show to do a show diary for, my friendoroonies. Or the right one? I’m not sure.

After I returned from my annual UP writing retreat, the vibe at rehearsals seemed… off. The production moved from our rehearsal space and into the theater and on the first night there was no air conditioning. So, I chalked it up to that. But the next night, it wasn’t any better. There was just weird and awful tension. On Thursday, my private messages were lighting up: the theater board had called an emergency meeting for voting members only; as I’m not a voting member, I didn’t go to the meeting. On Saturday, the board announced that our director had resigned.

What the fuuuuuuu…

And the thing is, through all of this? I had felt something was off but I was really more concerned about the perpetually broken bathroom door in the auditorium’s dressing rooms. I’m part of the disability inclusion committee on the theater board and I am absolutely unhinged (pun intended) over this broken door. It’s on the accessible toilets and you can get accidentally locked in, right? Well, I hear tell that the auditorium facilities people fixed the door. NOPE. No siree, it’s just as broken as ever. So, my personal vendetta against the door means I guess I wasn’t paying close attention to whatever was happening around me. What little I do know, I’m not sharing because I’m a board member and I would like to stay that way. But last Monday was the first rehearsal of “push week” and we had zero of directors. That would have been a shock, I think, even if I hadn’t been blindsided while I was caught up in my bathroom crusade.

I hesitated to write anything about this because it was so bizarre. This has happened one other time in my entire community theater history and everything went okay, but I was like… I’m not gonna blog about this right now. I’m not sure how everything is going to shake out.

We are now three rehearsals away from opening night. And the show is…

Magnificent.

In the face of adversity, everyone stepped up. There’s always been a spirit of community in this community theater (which isn’t always the case, as diehard theater people will tell you), but everyone pulled together like a magnetic jigsaw puzzle. Suddenly, instead of four people in the costuming work area, there are six to seven every night. The scene shop is stacked with volunteers. The most commonly overheard phrase I’ve encountered has been “how can I help?” The sudden shock of wow, we’re really in a tough spot seemed to throw everyone headlong into enthusiasm and optimism in the face of adversity. And it’s paid off enormously.

It’s not necessarily the way I would have liked it to happen, obviously. I’m not recommending this to other theater companies like, “hey, you know what really makes a show pop? Losing your director two weeks before opening night.” But the show has not only gone on, it’s gone well, and I know we’re going to knock it out of the park on Friday night.

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2 Comments

  1. Raluca Hippie
    Raluca Hippie

    A while ago, when someone else harassed by Kiwifarms died by suicide, I felt compelled to write an article with a few resources and practical advice. Leaving it here in case it helps:
    https://link.medium.com/etnLtn0Tesb

    August 5, 2022
    |Reply
  2. Camille
    Camille

    Thank you for this perspective. I saw this stuff pass by today. Fucking tragic. Hope xie knows Twitter is a cesspool and it’s okay to stay away for a long, long while. Hope xie can heal from this.

    August 8, 2022
    |Reply

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