Monday, July 25, 2011

Insomnia

Rehearsals for The Count of Monte Cristo start tomorrow night. Or rather, tonight, if you consider that it is well past one in the morning right now. I can't sleep. I think it's nerves. Also, I took a long nap this afternoon, because I didn't get much sleep last night either. There was a reason for that, however: I was trying to sleep on an uncomfortable sofa-bed in a house that, while air-conditioned, was warmer and more humid than my delicate sensibilities normally prefer. Tonight I am back home and was back in my own bed for half an hour, and now I'm out on the couch typing at you fine people because I can't sleep.

As I said, I think it's nerves.

It could also be Civilization V. The video game. I got it last Christmas, but wasn't able to get the upgrades necessary to actually play it until last week. I played for several hours before trying to go to bed. So that also may have something to do with it. When I close my eyes I still see the map I slowly uncovered as my campaign grew. I pushed on until my civilization discovered gunpowder. The game usually stops being fun (read: too difficult) for me after that, so I packed it in. I certainly felt tired enough when I shut the computer down. And yet here I am.

And I've got these rehearsals starting in a few hours, and I am certain that I have forgotten to do something vital to the success of this show. I don't know what it is. Maybe I should have done more tweaking since I presented the most recent draft. That was a few weeks ago. I wanted to let the script rest until rehearsals began. But now I'm wondering, should I have looked at that one section again? Should I have tried to work that one idea in somewhere? I thought they were small enough fixes that it would be no big deal, but now there is a part of my brain yelling that we start tomorrow and THE SCRIPT ISN'T FINISHED.

Of course, this is a Lifeline show, and I've done enough of these to know that the script is not finished until opening night. I still have six weeks to get it right. And I have a fantastic team with me to help me see it through. And the script really is in decent shape, I think. I'm excited about where it's headed. I can't wait to finally start seeing this stuff up on its feet. This will be an entirely new experience for me. I wonder if the work I do in rehearsal will be as fun as the work I did on my own was.

Still not tired yet. Any other interesting news? I sent my headshot and resume to an agent a couple of weeks ago. No response yet, but I think that's normal. I'm not worried about it. If it happens, then cool. If not, oh well. I'm too old to be sweating about it.

After 1:30 now. I really should try to get some sleep. Sure, rehearsal isn't until tomorrow night, but I also have to put eight hours into the bill-paying job between now and then. And that job has been requiring stamina lately. If I am not well-rested, the day could become unbearable.

1 comment:

Paul said...

I should have emailed you when *I* was up at 1am. I know this feeling well - "I have forgotten to do something vital to the success of this show" - and from experience I know only that whatever it is that makes the show successful is discovered in the process, not pre-planned. We'll get there, you and me, together, one rehearsal at a time. Tonight is going to be awesome. And never forget I am your brother-in-arms here.