First Meeting

A few weeks passed between the announcement of the cast and out first meeting.  We met at Arthur's house for an informal potlock get together.  Some people I had never met, others I knew but hadn't worked with previously.  I felt a bit nervous, not knowing what these new people would be like, how we would gel as a group.  Some changes in cast had already happened, a few more were to come.  Rehearsals had been set from the beginning at Tuesdays and Fridays 4-6 pm.  This precluded a lot of people from participating, namely those with inflexible "normal" day jobs.  I hadn't thought about this much until Sully pointed out that that was part of it, that those cast were necessarily of untraditional employment, the underemployed and self-employed and professional actors and freelancers.  The time was chosen as well for its magic place in the day, the transition between work and rest for most people, between labor and entertainment.  It is in this time, Arthur had explained, that the actors prepare to welcome the audience and create for them a world.  It is when the actors get to work. 

I like the time of day because it is just before the sun sets.  This time of year, 6 o'clock has the sun sitting fat and warm on the horizon, like a cat staring as it begins to doze off.  It's a beautiful time of day, the light turning everything golden if the sun is shining.  If the sun is not, it's just a slow and gentle fade to darkness as the grey gets greyer. I anticipate the way the light will change as the days get longer and on goes the rehearsal process.

Did I mention that nearly all of our rehearsals are set to take place in a field?  But this first meeting was inside, except for the part wehn we went outside to smoke, those who smoked, or be near the people smoking, those who didn't.