a satisfied mind

I am rarely satisfied with the finished product - the production itself. The joy I experience is in the creation. Maybe the reason the performance is not as satisfying for me, is because I obsess too much on the details. I know I am not alone in this department. There's just so little you can control once it's up and running. May I remind you of the incontinence at CATF's opening night?

So what IS my favorite part of the production? Is it auditions - when I get to search for the right actors and play with the material on its feet for the first time? Is it day one of rehearsals - hearing the play read aloud for the first time after months of prep? Is it staging? The nittygritty drilling down work? Is it design meetings, talking to designers about how to put the show in three dimensions? Is it a stumblethrough - which is at once terrifying as much as it is informative? Or is it tech, when it all comes together, and you as a director have to think on your feet in a way that is different from how you think on your feet in the rehearsal room?

I don't know. But I am pretty sure it's not performances...Is that sad? maybe.

But I do strive for enjoyment - I really do - and so last night, I had high hopes that after missing the Saturday performances, and being more or less satisfied with Friday's improved opening night performance, that I would be able to sit back and see the next stage of MASTER HAROLD's maturation.

it would be the final time I'd get to see MASTER HAROLD before departing from good ol' Weston Vermont.

Everything was humming along nicely, for the first 20 minutes - and then, without fail, something happened. A man had a diabetic seizure...or its equivalent. I saw him stand up, start to walk up the aisle towards an exit and then pass out...I went outside to make sure the house management was seeking medical attention for the guy - I thought maybe he was having a heart attack. The house management did not stop the show - but after about 10 agonizing minutes, the man stood up and walked out into the lobby. Fortunately he was ok. But man, it was scary.

I don't think the actors knew - but naturally, a good part of the house was shaken up by it - those who saw the man fall. There was a lot of noise as the paramedics attended to the guy. Many of the folks who didn't actually see the guy pass out had no idea why there was so much noise from the lobby - they grew very very distracted and they'd grumble whenever the paramedics in the lobby raised their voices in the hopes of making the man comfortable...

It wasn't until about the last 20 minutes or so of the play that things finally felt normal inside as well as outside.

So - needless to say, my enjoyment of the performance was pretty secondary to the fella's health. From what I understand he walked out of the lobby on his own and refused medical attention. But he's ok.

So I'll never get to see this show hit its stride - and I'll have to take satisfaction that the audience seem to love it - they're moved, they gasp, and they seem to be quite tearful at its end. I really hope I am not seeming callous here - I do hope the guy is doing well...