Mountain Shakespeare Festival Blog

Opening Night…

July 5th, 2008

Tonight we open The Comedy of Errors with our Mountain Shakespeare Festival. For me, not acting in either play, this is an unusual moment. Normally, I am all geared up for that first entrance, that moment when all the work goes in front of a live audience. That moment is always a mixture of things for me with nerves in play and expectations and wild energies making for a spirited “conversation” between the ears.

As the artistic director it is quite different. I feel more like a mechanic than an artist, more like a troubleshooter than a director … my mind is as much on how comfortable the seats will be for the audience as it is on the quality of the work!

In many ways, my “job” at this juncture is to remove those things that would prevent the work of the actors from acheiving maximum affect.

OUtdoor theatre has so many distractions that can and will come up that it’s never a perfect world, but the imperfections are part of charm and excitement. You do the best and hope!

Here’s to no one firing up their chain saw in Act I, no pack of Harleys descending in Act II, no racing skate boarders wheeling through in Acts III and IV and no mating crows filling the trees in Act V!

Break a leg!

Peter

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