Beggars on stage

We have had so much fun putting this show on the stage. Bryan's set is beautiful, and perfectly configured for this story, and the lighting is magical. I had a great time working with Itai Erdal on the lighting states; actually, looking at lights with a designer is one of my favourite things to do, and it's somehow completely outside the stress and anxiety of the whole process of getting the tech rehearsals done. It's in some other realm beyond the nervous-making time of the theatre. We had very little actual time to do this, but still enough to have a lovely and creative dialogue about the lighting; I imagine one has to have a synchronous relationship with the designer for this to be possible at all, no matter how much time there is.The actors took to the set in a matter of moments, and the cue to cue, while late, was very trouble-free. Our first show was very smooth, even though we had had only one tech run before it, and therefore it was basically our tech dress, not even really a dress rehearsal. That may have to do with the fact that we have a great stage manager and a very grounded and experienced cast. There were a couple of problems, but it basically went very well. The audience seemed to love it. Tonight is opening: we'll see how that goes!