For a long time I had planned to make myself a study/office/guest room in Jon's old room. This required sorting out the treasures, painting, re-arranging, etc., while still leaving it hospitable for those rare occasions when he's home. For some reason (laziness above all, but something beyond that) I have avoided this task, even when there's been ( Read more... )

"Play by Play" is winding down, with three more performances left. My heart is breaking. Usually I don't feel this way--once we're through with the rehearsal process, I enjoy the performances, but am relatively willing to let them go when the run is over. But this time, I sit backstage after the last of the plays I'm in, and feel like crying. ( Read more... )

Changes abounding ( Read more... )

So after my first visceral reaction to Joe's new space at Cap Rep (deep misery), I decided that we just had no choice except to make it as wonderful as it could be. The old studio is gone, so there's no point in trying to reclaim it. So we set to work. When we started, the space was piled high with leftover props and set pieces, and lined on all ( Read more... )

Killer month, cont ( Read more... )

This month has been exhausting. The closing took place on the building where Joe's had his studio for more than 15 years, and almost overnight--although the tenants still remain in it--the place took on the look of a ghost town. The lights in the hallways began to go dark, the parking lot is being dug up, the heat is gone from the halls (and it's ( Read more... )

Lots of changes feel as though they are hovering in the wings. It's scary, though I hope the changes are good ones. Among the biggest harbingers of change are Jon's finishing college and Joe's almost definitely losing his studio space. Both of these events have been in the making for about the same length of time: 17 years! Joe got his space ( Read more... )

The show is winding down....4 more performances and we're done. I know that the others in the play will be glad to see it done, and I won't miss the schedule too much. But I will miss the show. It's been a very gratifying experience, and no matter how I feel at the start of each performance, by the end I'm exalted and flushed with high ( Read more... )

Well, Thanksgiving is over and we are into the run of the show. This one feels like a marathon to me, more than many I've done in the past. We have 9-show weeks from now until we close December 19th, and it takes energy that I have to find somewhere. Some of my fatigue may just be the result of opening week, combined with Thanksgiving. Jon was ( Read more... )

Well, after two weeks of rehearsal for "You Can't Take It With You," we move into tech tomorrow. It's been a fun process, with a terrific group of people who are like the big kooky family of the play. We all get along, and there are no prima donnas in the bunch. Some very funny stuff, too, and boy, do we need an audience to let us know if we are ( Read more... )