Godspell...the show from hell.

I am directing the Musical Godspell for the WHIDBEY PLAYHOUSE in Oak Harbor. This is a community little theater, and every job, show staff position is voluntary. No Paycheck, We do this for the FUN(?) of it. yeah, right!!!

This is my very first directorial position after many as Asst Dir, and Producer, and a few as costumer. This is a very tough show to direct, because there is so much slap stick and so much improv with the show. I was terribly excited to do this show, as I had heard the music and had the CD, and I love musicals. I got the notification way back in March that I had the show. I started planning and got my schedule all arranged, chose my staff, and made the calendar out. I held auditions, and NO MEN SHOWED UP!! gotta have at least 2 men for Jesus and John the baptist. Then I get told that I can not have the stage until Dec 15, as they threw in another show...NUTCRACKER. that meant I had less than a month to get the set built and the lights set and the props up and get ready for opening night. THey let me rehearse in the new rehearsal hall, but then took it away for the kiddies from the NUTCRACKER to be staged in during performances.

Then there is the Holiday schedule to contend with, and then the FLU and today I get told that on Sat I needed to cancel rehearsal because the membership needed the stage for PLAYDAY!! then I also got told that the SUNDAY tech set was going to have to be rescheduled because there is a memorial being held there for a person who loved the playhouse. Tonight when I got in and broke the news, we started smelling something scorching. So we caled 911 and had to haul our asses out of the building into the freezing cold parking lot until the fire dept could determine what the problem was. The firecheif came out looked at the breaker boxes and shut us right down!! it appears there was a smoldering panel and could have broken into flames at any second. I told you this was in an old Dutch Reformed Church
at least 110 years old.

I crammed them all into the rehearsal hall, sans props and set, and costumes and rolled through Act II. Now we have Tues Wed Thurs until we film the cable commercial. So after rehearsal tonite, I told the cast that we were gonna have to rehearse more. SO Friday at 630, Sat at 100 Sun after the memorial, and then we should be ready to film. then 2 more rehearsals and we are onto Press night.

I am hoping that with the extra rehearsals they will be ready. They are all really hard workers and perfectionists, so I can only hope for the best. We SHOULD have the Lord on OUR side with this one!!

Jesus is still forgetting his lines. so After this Blizzard is over (if it ever gets here) I plan on working 1 on 1 with him and putting him through the paces and have him bounce lines off of me. I have no more shows lined up this season, so I am looking forward to this being over and done so that I can just zone for awhile.

OH the GOOD NEWS....I got a raise in my retirement check. They recalculated my retirement and I am getting an extra 23 dollars a month retroactive to Mar 1 so that would be lets see...thats 165.40 for the year after taxes. Whoot!!!

Can't say the US government is CHEAP!!! PHHHFFFFTTTT!!!!