Others, that lesser hate him, do call it valiant fury

We showed up to the venue tonight and discovered that there was an awning built over the amphitheater upon which we were to perform.  This meant that we couldn't put up our set.  And if you've been following my blog (my four loyal readers) you know that that's one of the things that we are known for.  We roll up and pop-up a fully realized set, do a play, and then vanish "into the air as breath into the wind."  But we are next level when it comes to making shit work.  BJ rightly pointed out that we are the people you want to have around when the zombie apocalypse comes. Because we are survivors and thrivers. 

To give you an idea of what our set looks like, here it is on Friday night in Torrance.

And here it was tonight. 

Here's another look.

yup, that tiny thing in the background was all that we could put up under the awning.

But we may have had our best show yet.  I continue to be amazed by how game everybody is in this company.  There wasn't any bitching or dread.  Everybody looked at it and said..."fuck it, let's have fun."   (By the way, we celebrated our dear Jackie's birthday...all week long...but on Tuesday many of us got together at a few bars and drank mightily, and Olivia and I played pool on the same team, and we only had the 8 ball to sink, but Olivia had to bank it in with an impossible shot, and she said "fuck it" and made that shot.  Like world class, ridiculous shot.  And so we won.  Thought I'd share that as part of how we do.)  Oh, happy birthday, Jackie.  I have now said it more often in this week than I've said it to both of my daughters combined in their years on this planet.  It is literally the birthday that never ends.  But she's so wonderful, that I'm ok with it.  Even though she hates it when I bat her sword like a cat before I strangle her to death (spoiler alert).

The thing about this group is that we love and care for one another, and we share the burden equally.  (To be fair, BJ and Olivia probably do most of the heavy lifting, repairing, and figuring shit out...but the rest of us share what's left over equally. And they like being those people..and we love to let them be those people).  I won't say that there is no ego in the cast (I mean I am writing a blog documenting every moment of my process for the four people that care), but I will say that no ego gets in the way.  Hell, it's even better than that.  Everyone is walking around with a healthy ego knowing that this is awesome and we are the reason.  We.

So when confronted with no stage tonight, we just played the shit out of the play.  We were also nearly surrounded by audience members, so we filled the space and gave everybody a completely new Macbeth...but also the one that Steph had directed.  None of the blocking was the same.  It couldn't be.  But the world which we had built together is so strong that we were able to just live in it.  And we had people who had seen it many times there tonight who thought this was the best it had been.

I guess it's sort of like ( and I have written about this before which I'm sure you remember, faithful readers) how I feel most alive and authentic on closing night because I'm able to hear it for the first time best when I'm hearing for the last time.  (Irony)  Well, there was only the moment tonight.  Because we had no set or blocking to worry about (and yet on a higher level we were all working on it...using our training to stay open and find our light and counter) there was only the story.  And each other.  Of course, for me, that's becoming the norm.  Because Melissa is the type of actor that plays every moment as if it's the last. (or the first...or both...she's the bomb).  I have learned so much from her, and every night is a delightful challenge and dance.  I have bemoaned my inability to be as fully invested in the moment during the run as I am on closing...but I have discovered the trick...and her name is Booey.

We had an interesting show on Thursday night in Santa Ana.  The wild parrots wanted to be a part of the play.  Towards the end of the first half of our show, I (as Macbeth) conjure darkness.  (And it was right about sunset, which I think makes them randy.)  So they were swooping and cawing and raising hell.  I have a line which reads "Light thickens, and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood..."  They were going nuts, so I replaced "crow" with "birds," and the audience put down their phones and stopped talking to one another for a moment to marvel at the witchcraft that just happened.

Friday night in Torrance (which is always a great venue for us) Macbeth and Lady M. achieved a note that Steph had given us awhile back to work on...(that this was a good marriage in trouble)...in a big way.  (I used ellipses and parentheses at the same time, because I'm living in this moment).

And then there was tonight.  What a great week of shows.  I can't believe we only get to do it 6 more times.  I don't know what challenges/opportunities await us, but I'm excited to find out.

Here are some things I had hoped to talk about in this blog when I began it:
-Everybody else in the show.  I mentioned a few, but I really have lots to say about everybody.
-How slippery this role remains.  You can never just grasp it and hold on.  Because the things you think you have slip away.  Funny thing that the two speeches I was most afraid of are the ones that I am fully owning, while the one I have done as my audition piece for 20 year is shit now.
-The many friends I have that have come to see the show.  And only Rich brought me beer.  So he gets a mention as clearly the best of my friends.
-The overwhelming love and support of our audience.  It is humbling.
-How much better I am at Words with Friends than Kei'la.  Although, I think she may finally beat me.
-How I really wish that my neck/back/and (suddenly) elbow would just STFU with all this pain.

And so much more.

I hope to see you at the show next week. It keeps getting better and better.