TGIM - Our First Day Off!

In honor of our first day off from rehearsals, (mind you we all slept in 'til noon) Jana has also taken her first day off from blogging! This is Sarah! And I'm here to bring you my personal, end-of-week re-cap!

This week has been exhilarating, exhausting, yet most of all, educating. Everyone began in high spirits, ready to work. The days kept coming and the days kept going, each one a little more difficult to get through. Not that we weren't excited to work, there were many variables involved here! A) Most of us had to recover from traveling/adjust to the new time zone. B) Our show is very physical, AND we all seem to find it necessary to go to the gym after each rehearsal. C) Our living conditions are that of true bohemian artists, (3 of us are sleeping on air mattresses in the living room/kitchen of a school friend) and D)Syracuse, NY is very, very hot... and humid. Needless to say, these factors added up and began to take a toll.

So how does one do it? How does an actor jump over all of these hurdles and still bring a fresh, positive and lively energy to the rehearsal room? This is where I find myself "continuing my education."

The answer...? I'm still not sure yet. But, I do know that you have to take care of, and be kind to yourself. Lots of water, SLEEP, and good, healthy food have all been my saving graces thus far. I also find that once IN the rehearsal room, it's important to take a moment for yourself, see where you are that particular day, how you are feeling, acknowledge those emotions, and then leave them. You can't be completely present and ready to work if you are thinking about all of the other countless projects you want to be working on, or whatever it is for you personally. I know, our teachers tell us this all the time... but guess what? It's actually true.

The other biggest thing I am learning is that completely self producing your own show...? Harder than you think. I knew from the beginning that we all would be responsible for every aspect of the show, but this is TRULY an undertaking. In the same breath, the reward of being able to say that you accomplished something like this, far surpasses the difficulty of it all. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Yes it's stressful, yes it's hard work and yes, I'm exhausted. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love creating theater. And any way I can do that is a blessing.

Someone once said, "If you love what you do, it's not work." And I guess that's exactly what I'm learning, every day. So there you have it! My, personal, end-of-week re-cap! Jana will be back tomorrow and who knows, maybe I'll make another appearance next Monday! ;)