Do I wake or sleep?

Dave Zimmerman recommended me for a staged-reading directing gig at _gaia, that women's center/studio thing (not exactly sure what it is) in Hoboken near Doug's old apartment--Stacy did a lot of stuff there. The woman who's running it is going to call me on Saturday to discuss details--I'll be at the RenFaire all that day so thank God for cell phones! Seriously, whatever did we do without them? She emailed me to say "feel free to pick a play"--except that I don't know the parameters. Any play? Does it have to be all female? How long? Are actors auditioning or can I use my own actors? I wouldn't mind doing a reading of Agnes of God--I've directed it already but it's such a rich play, I could certainly mine that vein again. The reading goes up in mid-October.

Also tonight I'm auditioning for a reading--Jason Kendall, the husband of Donna, for whom I did the Shakespearean cabaret in May, produces "Shakespeare Saturdays," a series of readings of Shakespeare plays up at the Inwood branch of the library. I think the deal is, two rehearsals and then the reading, so the time commitment is minimal. They're doing The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale this time--the thing is, they're really trying to target minority actors. I got an email about it and then Jason emailed me personally, saying "Did you get the audition notice?" I said yes--I'd like to audition but I'm not exactly a minority. He said "In my mind you are--a woman with talent, humor and intelligence." So I'm going to that tonight--trying to figure out if I should do "These are the forgeries of jealousy..." or "Gallop apace..." from Romeo and Juliet. I would do one of Puck's monologues but there are no roles in either of those two plays that are Puck-ish--I'm shooting for Portia or Hermione/Perdita.

Such a lovely day! New York is the best in the fall.

...I have no idea why Donna cast this show 8 ways to breakfast. There are 7 performances and she has 7 disparate casts (although some members are in more than 1, like me). We have TWO dress rehearsals tonight--1 for the May 5 cast, 1 for May 6. Next week, lather, rinse, repeat for the May 12 & 13 casts, and the following week. She must be exhausted, and it's not easy for us either. It's interesting--she's been pretty proactive about seeking my advice/thoughts on directing, scheduling, etc. and I've stepped forward to offer opinions a few times, although I am really careful about respecting boundaries because nothing is more annoying than a show with no clear hierarchy. One time she, Jason and I were talking after everyone else had left, and he'd suggested a big choreo rehearsal where Ria ('ographer) would have everyone line up behind their counterparts, and everyone step in to be taught the choreography in turn. He thought this would be more efficient than having 7 different 'ography rehearsals. Donna asked me what I thought--I said I didn't think it would work. They asked why. I said "Because it's more important not to waste the time of 7 people, than of 1 person." Jason paused and said "yep, she's right. So...that's that." Think of the children! Seriously, the group rehearsals are pretty inefficient.

That said, I'm psyched about Saturday. We have as good as show as it can be (there are, uh, inherent limitations with some of the cast members--blood from a stone, etc.). Aurora and I have a great chemistry together, and of all the Rosalind/Celia combos I've seen, I definitely think we have the best connection. I was working with one of the other Rosalinds on Sunday and she asked me what I did during "Super Hero" (a song where Rosalind tries to cheer herself up even though she misses her father, having been banished). I said I (as Celia) cheer her on from the sidelines--smile at her, make little jokes to get her to smile (which is in the text), try to connect with her. The subtext is all written out for you (it's TEXTUAL) in the actual script of As You Like It--"I pray thee, coz, be merry..." Floryn said HER Celia stays upstage of her and makes fun of her during the whole song. She didn't seem too happy. My eyebrows went way up--I said "that's, uh, not a very interesting or helpful choice, considering in this cabaret Celia is supposed to be IN LOVE with Rosalind!" How do you go from mocking Rosalind to the torch song of "Come Away Death"? (My big number--it is a beautiful song. Proteus's "Who is Sylvia?" is lovely as well.)