First off book rehearsal

Yay!  Last night was our first off-book rehearsal!  I didn't have to call for lines at all, which was kind of a shock to me because I thought for sure I'd need it for one of the scenes.  That just goes to show you that we use the script as a crutch sometimes and it needs to be ripped from our hands for us to realize we can go without it.  We did Act 1 last night and it was about 1 hour and 20 minutes long, which is actually pretty good considering all the calls for lines and all the big pauses we took between scenes.  Oh, and the fact that none of us picked up our cues fast enough!  But I think it's really good considering we have 16 days left and most of those are rehearsal days.  Some of the cast members are getting nervous, but I'm just getting excited.  I love this so much!

Tonight we do Act 2 without our scripts for the first time.  It will be a little more challenging, even though it's shorter.  There are some pretty complicated parts, especially concerning who strikes what and when. 

Oh, and we tried our costumes on for the first time last night and they have to take mine in 2 inches!  I had no idea I had lost that much weight!  They also have to take about 2 inches off the length because I'm short, but that's okay.  I tripped over the skirt a few times during rehearsal last night, so I'm all about making it shorter.

Wednesday we are going to try to run the show from start to finish.  It will be the first time we've tried that.  I love that particular rehearsal - everything really starts to come together then, you know?

I think I've figured out one reason I love theatre so much, and I may have said this before but it bears repeating.  You have a chance, in that one moment, to experience something with a group of people that you will never be able to repeat.  That one moment in time, that one performance, will never happen again, and the audience has the same unique experience that you are having in that moment.  That's why recorded theatre is never the same as seeing it live.  It's one of the few times in entertainment that you can't rewind the Tivo or whatever if you missed something, so you have to pay attention all the time.  In a world of entertainment on demand, live performances are the only real unpredictable entertainment, the only real experience that you can never rewind or duplicate.  There are other reasons, but that one is key, I think.