Here We Are

So, the one-week mark has definitely come and gone, and I find myself just waiting out the days until Christmas holiday.

After 10 months, 200 hours of prep-time, countless moments where I couldn't stop laughing or couldn't hold myself back from shouting, the show is over. I shared so many great moments with the kids, had so much fun and it was definitely worth it. Directing was an entire new experience for me. I had acted all through school and, while I definitely wasn't the next big thing, I loved it. I enjoyed it, and I had fun with acting.

However. I never realized how frustrating all of the little jokes, all the times we talked on stage, ignored directions and thought "ohhh, we have months to go, it's fine, we don't need to worry" could be to the director. Like making the transition from student to teacher, making the transition from actor to director allowed me to see an entire new side of acting. It was, again I'll say, definitely worth it, and I love it. However, it's much more stress, so much more responsibility, and there are things that I'd never even considered when I was just simply doing the acting.

Either way. The show went up officially on the 1st of December, a Thursday evening. The day before, a union strike across the country saw the academy closing to students. I called in all the kids for a rehearsal during the day. That evening was our final dress rehearsal, and we had an audience of about...10. Regardless of the number, having an audience definitely helped. On Thursday, Friday & Saturday evening, we had anywhere from 175-250 people watching the show. I spent the show running around backstage and standing in the wings nervously watching for tricky scenes that had always caused the kids a bit of trouble. When it was all said and done, We Will Rock You definitely did just that. It just rocked.

Sarah & Kristian came to spend a very short weekend with me and to see the show. On Saturday, we went to Windsor Castle for a couple hours. I felt bad rushing them through the end, but I wanted to make sure we were back in town in time to get me to school for the show. I was really excited for them to come see the show and spend some time with them.

After the final song and curtain calls on Saturday night, Rob (the other director) and I went out on stage, to thank the crowd and to thank the people that made this show so amazing. The kids came out on stage to thank the directors and, after calling me "Moose" (their strange nickname for me) in front of a sold-out crowd, they presented me with a great card, a beautiful purple orchid and a chocolate chip cookie the size of a huge dinner plate. Not even kidding. On the cookie, it said "Are You Kidding Me" (which, apparently, was my favourite thing to shout at the ceiling when I was getting frustrated).

So worth it. The entire show, the entire experience. It was amazing. It was sad to take down the set and see it stripped apart. It was strange now, with all the free time I had on my hands.

Now I'm just waiting for the holidays. See you in a week, Canada :)