"I'll Start A New Trend."

Preview tonight, and then three more shows this week, and I'm already sooooo tired. (Do not complain--you love it! That's my inner monologue.)

We are doing the hard part now, where we have to chill backstage and shimmy into our costumes without rustling too much plastic or making the floor creak (did I mention the theater was built in 1918?) and find something to do for freakin' 45 minutes between scenes (last night I remembered to bring Emma) and listen without breathing while people forget their lines, and we are doing all of this with NO LAUGHING.

It's not fun. But I went back and looked at my blog from last year at this time, and I was feeling the same way. It's just not fun to do all the work without getting any love. So tonight should change that a bit. It's going to be a small audience, but at least they'll be fresh meat.

Director is still not pleased with my first scene. Says it's slower n' molasses. Drags the whole thing down. I am flummoxed. I think it might be all the miming--eating cookies, pouring coffee, decorating the tree. I am new to miming, and I think it's like patting my head and rubbing my belly: I can't really do both at once. Not to make excuses. Of course I don't want to drag the show down. But last night, when he said "I know where we can lose 3 or 4 minutes: Charlene and Bertha!" my face burned, because I think that's how long the entire SCENE is. Tonight I'll have to pay attention to where people laugh. If they do.