Macbetto

My intention was to regularly post my thought, feelings, etc. during the course of putting together Macbeth. I sort of dropped out of writing, because it's easier to post on facebook. My bad. Tonight is the next to the last night of the production. There have been some bumps along the way, but I now can trip lightly up the stairs, stir the pot and sing at the same time, without getting too out of breath. The cast party was last Saturday night and was at the New Yorker. It was a good venue for that many people and the food was yummy. I am getting better at the cast Party thing. The first few were really awkward, because I was so in awe of everyone. Plus, I think that performers are often shy people when not performing. It's hard to make small talk when you are used to having a script of what to say and do.
I also wanted to write about my feelings about the "house". I love the feeling of security that overtakes me as I walk down the sidewalk to the stage door. It is a feeling of calm and safety. When I go through the door, I usually smile at the security guard sitting in the booth, then down the stairs and sign in at the board. People are usually scurrying around and you hear singers warming up, but it's okay. I just feel so safe there, because I know that I have done all the work and now I know what I am supposed to do, along with everyone else. We have dressers and hairstylists to help us look right, someone has done my laundry and it is sitting at my chair along with my costume, ready for me to put on. There is a list of what I wear in each act taped to the mirror. Dressers are there to zip me up, help me with the costume and be sure I look right. The wig people make my hair look right and I do my own makeup, but even then, we have been told how to do it. It's a secure world, with no worries. By the time we are into the performances, I know my lines inside out, so there are no concerns there. It's just a lovely feeling and I love the experience of having that safety in my life.
One of the challenges that I think we all have it to keep the show "fresh". Susanne reminds us often, especially after opening night, that it is new to our audience, every night. We may have done it 4 or 5 times, but it is new to the people who paid to see the show. I try to remember that every night when I am standing backstage during the overature, waiting for the curtain to rise. I think everyone in the show tries to do their best each time.
I am always amazed at the process of making an opera, starting with picking up the score, laying in my bed, marking where I sing and trying to learn the words, then putting the words to the music. Next comes the rehearsals at the Practice Studio, with Susanne, and the difficulty of learning and memorizing. Next is fitting in the Costume Shop. That's when I first see how I am going to look, sort of. Then, Maestro comes and we practice with him. Next, the stage director starts telling us where he/she wants us to be and how to act. We try to figure it out, based on tape on the floor in the PS. Finally, we are in the "house" and on the set and trying to figure out how the staging we learned on a flat floor fits into the often multi-level set. Then, we start rehearsing with the orchestra and see how that sounds so much different from the piano that we have been practicing with. Dress rehearsals are next, with a small audience on Wednesday and a larger one on Thursday. Then a day off, and then, Saturday....Opening night. It's so fun!