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I just lost my entire entry. I'll try again.
Today started out fantastically...Olive Garden and Borders were so much fun, even though I probably gained eight pounds in the process...thank you guys for that.
Rehearsal, however, was the complete and polar opposite. It started out slow, but okay, and I thought it was going smoothly considering that this was the one and only dress rehearsal for Jon's cast. It made sense to me that everything was going slowly, since every change of costumes and sets had to be totally perfected tonight. So, although we didn't finish Act I until 9:30...I wasn't overly phased. How wrong I was.
Toward the end of Act I, I had been waiting around backstage for quite some time, while Mary Kate perfected her transformation, which was important for a final dress. I was holding things for people, fetching things for people, just generally being a good person and doing what was asked of me. I noticed Lindsay's pearl necklace on the floor, and picked it up so as to keep her out of trouble, and eventually discovered that it was broken. So, I went backstage and reclosed the jump ring, and it was fixed again...not a big deal. I tried to give it back to her, but she declined, saying that she didn't want to risk it. This was a little irritating, but reasonable, really, so I just took it back to the dressing room. After we got our Act I notes, during our break, I approached Lindsay to tell her what was wrong with the necklace, to imply that I fixed it, and all she said to me was "I know," like I really needed to mind my own damn business. I was trying to help...I had guessed it before, but it seems pretty clear now that she has some underlying problem with me. I don't know what it is, since the one time I did snap at her I apologized...I can't see what I've done to make her hate me so much. I also find it difficult to think of she and Christy as sisters...they're just so different. I guess it's true that the nice, generally helpful people just can't win...something which was proven again later.
We started Act II at 10...Lindsay had been crying during our break, but I duly minded my business and still have no clue why. I again hung out backstage, keeping cool and talking to other people that had very little to do, and actually having some very enlightening conversations. I was thoroughly enjoying getting to know people better. At one point, Mackenzie ran through, saying that her dress had ripped, but I thought little of it...after all, didn't Dan Mulligan rip his rented tux pants the first time he wore them? I thought that theatre people would understand that accidents happen. Meanwhile, I guess tech hadn't been going terribly smoothly, someone said not as well as last night, but I don't know since I was backstage. The next thing I knew, everyone was being herded off stage, saying we were done. We were nowhere close to done with the show...Mrs. Dewey had essentialy given up on the evening's rehearsal, and it seemed that Mackenzie's dress put her over the edge. As Jess said...if it was anyone's fault, it was those of us who had been stepping on it constantly, not hers...And again, she was nothing but helpful, eager and open all the time. She helped with set changes and whatever she could, and yet the night had ended in such a way that she felt at fault. A lot of things caused the ultimate end tonight...heat, limited resources, time constraints...but NOT INDIVIDUALS. The only thing I blame Mrs. Dewey for is making Mackenzie feel like the cause...that should never happen in an "ensemble show," or any show, for that matter. Otherwise...it's no one's fault.
I love this cast. Going into the show, I was wholly optimistic. It is the most talented cast I've ever been a part of, I like everyone involved, there's no cliques...we're a friendly group, and I haven't lost faith in any one of the cast members. Someone I talked to blamed tech for tonight...another thing I won't and can't do. They've been working their asses off just as we have, and they don't deserve to be blamed for this...even if it didn't go as smoothly as last night. There will always be a problem...that's just the way theatre works. I'm still thrilled to be a part of a cast that has worked so well together and grown so much in such a short time. There have been rough spots...but aren't there always a few? And don't they make us stronger in the end? I'm going to play the obnoxious optimist for a moment; even though I know it's not my place, as it was not my cast that was so horribly let down tonight; and say that I still believe this will be an amazing production weekend. Mrs. Dewey's reaction was immature...even more so than most of my mother's reactions when we fight...but it's something we have to look at as a learning experience, and we can't blame ourselves. I love you all so much...and we need to stay tight to pull this off. I know we can do it.
"There will be a time when loud-mouthed, incompetent people seem to be getting the best of you. When that happens, you only have to be patient and wait for them to self destruct. It never fails. "
Richard Rybolt (interpret that as you wish...I don't mean it negatively, but you can, by all means, use your own interpretation.)