Sleep Away

I've been quiet of late. About the time I got over my cold, I started with a nastier one. Sleep, rehearse, and a little work. I missed a day and a half or work last week. Sixteen hours of sleep a day, and thanks to the cold, really crappy sleep. Sleep for an hour, wake up, go back to sleep. Last night I got my first stretch of more than two hours sleep since last Tuesday, and only the second or third of more than an hour. Wow! I couldn't believe my eyes when the clock said 5:30 am. Four hours sleep without break. I should do that more often.

My sinus infection seems to be lifting, but I had a nasty morning sore throat which quickly calmed down. I still read to the fourth graders today. A silly story, with lots of characters, lots of silly voices. I hadn't tried that before and was pretty nervous, but it went well, especially with the second class. By then I realized the kids were having a little fun, and I had more too. The pictures were a little hard to make out, and I walked around the little cluster a bit with the book, which got them more involved. A really nice surprise this morning. Can't do that every week, but once in a while pictures that need to be seen close up can help out.

My character in the play, which is a bit of a caricature type of guy, has been a challenge. Ironically, while the bug has left me very little time for homework, the constant cycles of going to sleep has helped me do some Meisner type imagery to build a character. I don't want to be a caricature myself. It has helped get the bit of flamboyance I need to find, and is hard for me to do. I'm building hope I can build the character solidly, so his journey into realness works. I don't feel like it has really cracked yet, but it feels within grasp.

The first person I offered a comp to didn't get back to me, so I gave my two comps to my friend Beth and her mom. Sometimes I work hard to track down people for responses, and sometimes not. Now is a 'not' time. Busy at work and with rehearsal, so if someone hasn't got the interest to respond to an invite, move on. I always feel like a bit of a nebbish when I ask someone more than once. I know, I know, people are busy and often forget. I usually figure as much, but when you're run down the nebbish feeling is that much more immediate.

We open on Friday! Line-wise I'm ready. The paraphrasing is less every run, the blocking more solid, the actions starting to feel more organic, and it gets more and more fun. The character work is the biggest need for me. Here's to hoping I find the time and cracks I need.