I've packed my bags, I'm first in line...

So here’s what’s happening this week: I just sent off two boxes of stuff to Pasadena. I will always overpack, and that is something I will never stop doing. I’m comforted by having my belongings with me, especially for longer visits. I honestly didn’t bring as much as I thought I would for New Hampshire, and in the end I was burned by my decision to pack lightly. By the third or fourth day, the weather had become rather warm and humid, and I was going through three changes of clothing every day. I barely made it (thanks to Downy wrinkle release and Febreeze). There simply was no laundry time. So I shipped off a bunch of clothing to LA. Granted, I’m staying in an apartment complex that will undoubtedly have a laundry facility in it, and I will at least have one day off every week while I’m there, so I will be able to clean my clothes. However, that doesn’t stop me from piling in as much as I can. I look at it this way: It’s Pasadena in the summer, I’ve played there before at that time of year, it’s hot, gross, and I will change three times a day. How’s that for justifying my need to move as much of my life with me as possible?

And just because I’m away from the New London Barn doesn’t mean that I’m not interested or even involved. Tomorrow is the photo shoot, which happens between shows. I’ve come up with a list of shots and, if all goes smoothly, all will be taken. I can’t wait to see them! Keith is back up there this week as his girlfriend is choreographing MY FAIR LADY there, so he’ll be able to assist during the shoot. And yes, I still miss being there, quite honestly. I miss the simplicity of it; the complete focused-in world of those two weeks. I know I am about to immerse myself in another world of Texas accents, mini-skirts, pompoms, cheers, and whatnot. To be honest, I’m chomping at the bit. I was on the phone with Judy the other night and we couldn’t stop saying how excited we were to get going on this!

So I get to do some of the semi-dramaturgical work before going into rehearsals. This is something that always interests me greatly, and quite frankly, the research geek in me gets as excited as Tom Cruise jumping on a couch. While a true dramaturg will work more closely with the script, I’ll be doing research for the eras of the musical: 1963, 1968, 1974 and 1990. Songs, celebrities, movies, shows, commercials, fads, fashions, news, events, you name it, I’ll be looking it up, just to have in rehearsals as references for the actresses…and us, too. I think it’s so helpful to be immersed in the period in which you’re playing – that may sound silly, but I’ve worked with so many actors who just play a period piece as if it was today – very contemporary – and it frankly bugs the hell out of me. In the little time I had with MILLIE, I had to state that keeping tabs on the period was essential! I remember one of my acting teachers in college, Jim Zvanut, telling me of the process of an actress he knew. In preparing for a role, not only did she prepare a part of her apartment in the style and décor in which she thought her character lived, but she actually attained the style of whatever period that was: clothing, posture, dialect, vernacular, everything; and made it her business to totally immerse herself in it. Now, really – we’ve seen those people lumbering up and down the upper west side and the Equity Lounge…I think they took it a bit too far, but there is something to that. I was completely fascinated by that story and from then on always applied that work to my roles. Now I get to do it as a director, and it’s just part of the fun!

Four people now have suggested that I actually write a book about this experience. Ted Chapin did about his experience in the original production of FOLLIES, and I believe Bob Balaban wrote of his experience with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Should I balance out my daily involvement between book and blog? Make the blog a book? Save the juicier parts for the book? I don’t know! I’m going to challenge myself, however, to at least keep a daily journal of happenings and events, even if seemingly banal and uninteresting, and I’ll then choose which parts go into the blog and save the rest as a diary.

Ah, so much to think about! And right now, I’m worried about having packed enough socks and boxer briefs…

I'll have to see if there's a Target near Pasadena...