We are such stuff as dreams are made on...

Hey Everyone,

I'm back! I told Sarah it was so lovely to have her write. It felt like I had a guest to my column. We were both talking about the different outlets we have to create. Sarah gets up and sings every morning before rehearsal because that's what she enjoys doing on top of every other creative thing we come up with through the day.

I realized, upon talking with her, that I look forward to getting up and writing...even if it is on a blog - but sometimes I write on my own, too. In fact, because I realized how much I actually look forward to this, not only will I be making the effort to write here, but to write for myself, too. So, thanks for reading and being a writing encouragement.

So many things. My dad texted me this morning with: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..." This was his way of letting me know he has started to research the show. My adorable dad likes to research where he and everyone in his near vicinity is going so that we can each appreciate and enjoy every millisecond or where we are... (he's also told me about a whiskey shop in Edinburgh where I can, well, you know...) Anyway, this quote is a very famous one from the Tempest. It comes from our protagonist, Prospero, at one of his more vulnerable moments. And I think it blends right into what Sarah was saying yesterday and what we, as young artists, must acknowledge in the early part of our career. We are such stuff as dreams are made on. I guess I see this as absolute permission and absolute encouragement from the bard himself. We - artists - are the stuff that dreams are made on. And who better to dream than a creator? But doesn't it also reflect the life of a person - artist or no? We, people, are such stuff that dreams are made on. We each need a dream this early. This young. Freshly graduated. Why shouldn't we dream? And why can't a dream be built on us? It is a reminder of the necessity for our hopes for ourselves. ...Thanks, Dad.

Yesterday we all slept in nice and late. Hit the gym. Bought a Starbucks...well, I did...and used up all my Starbucks money. This morning I reverted to "People's Place" on campus which has cheap - and strongish - coffee. Tomorrow, I am restricting myself to instant. My mother asked me if I had ever had instant before. I replied, "Yes. And this stuff is in tea bags, so it brews in the cup." My mother winced.

We got our card for our zip car account. The account allows us to borrow a car for a certain amount of time and 'zip' anywhere we might need to go (in this case wegman's and target) The cupboard was getting bare, so mother hubbard was happy.

I don't know that I got to cover what we did on Sunday (since I took Monday off) so I will recap briefly by mentioning that we did a run through of Act II.i to Act III.iii. We did this twice and it took us about 45 minutes. We're not up to proper pacing, so I'm sure the time will be shaved once we start flying. The first run through felt very scattered. We stumbled through - grasping for lines, blocking. It was like a review before the test. We took a break and came back and it was much smoother. The lines were in better shape, we were solid on blocking and we were connecting in wonderfully sweet ways.

Today we mount Act I.ii. This will be ambitious. It contains the exposition, which we are choosing to illustrate physically. The meeting between master and servant and master and slave and the beginnings of the love story. Lots of magic to be had. We're very excited.

The promo video is done. I need the okay from the cast and then I can post it here, where you will all be free to snigger at its campiness. Please note: corny was an artistic choice. :P

This is Jana with Love. x